1/2 Marathon

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BroDave
BroDave Posts: 249 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I am training for a 1/2 Marathon coming up June 4th I am 52 and about 80 lbs over weight. I have been walking for a few months and just started the C25K. My walks are up to 8 miles and doing about 30 miles per week. Any tips or encouragement will be appreciated.

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  • bethrs
    bethrs Posts: 664 Member
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    Sounds like you have a plan BroDave, and I'm sure you will do great. I'm going to run my first 1/2 on April 30th. Good luck!
  • BobbyDaniel
    BobbyDaniel Posts: 1,460 Member
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    I'm a grad of C25K and now working on the Bridge to 10K, great program that will help you build up in endurance and over time get some weight loss also...it kick started my weight loss last fall. I'm not quite ready for a 1/2 Marathon, but that is on my to do list in the future! God Bless!
  • akaMrsmojo
    akaMrsmojo Posts: 762 Member
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    Hi,

    I am about to start looking into a marathon myself. The Couch to 5K is a great start. I have and love it. I would suggest seeing if there is a marathon training clubs or group in your area. My running coach used them and she did great. The weight fell off her and she loved it.

    Get great shoes, that is another thing I have been told. You might want to blog about your experience.

    Good luck,
    Charity
  • sweetheart03622
    sweetheart03622 Posts: 928 Member
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    I'm doing a 5K in May and a half marathon in September! I've been running for about two years but these are my first races. The biggest thing I've learned is not to push yourself too far and to make sure you give yourself a good warm up and cool down. Best of luck!!
  • Beth720
    Beth720 Posts: 661 Member
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    Sounds like a plan!!

    Are you planning to walk/run, run/walk or run? Having done my first half in January using a run/walk method, I will say that if you're going to use run/walk or walk/run intervals that you do it from the very beginning - if you wait "until I'm tired" to drop to a walk, you might not start back running again. Using the planned method, I dropped my 5K time by 7 minutes in 6 months!

    Also, I'd plan on working my long run/walk up to the TIME you're thinking you'll be on the half course. The one mistake I made in training for my first half was to go by mileage - my plan said 10 miles, I did 10 miles. Never mind that I did 10 miles in just over 2 hours and my estimated finish time for the half was 2:40/2:45. When I hit that 2 hour mark, my legs were like "Um, what? We stop now!" and the last three, though I wasn't totally dying, were not the most pleasant experience of my life.

    Contrast that with my second half, just done March 20, where I purposely did my long runs for time, making my longest 2.5 hours (which ended up being 12.11 miles) and had a much easier time both during the race and with my recovery.

    Good luck!!
  • BroDave
    BroDave Posts: 249 Member
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    Sounds like a plan!!

    Are you planning to walk/run, run/walk or run?

    I plan to walk/run but mostly walk. Thank you for all the help.
  • BroDave
    BroDave Posts: 249 Member
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    I did Week 1 C25K this week along with my walking plan, and lost 8 lbs so this has been a really good week for me I will do my long walk tomorrow but it is only 8 miles. It will increse a mile per week untill the 14th of May then taper back down for 2 weeks before the Big Day June 4th.
  • sftb
    sftb Posts: 40
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    Are you planning to walk/run, run/walk or run? Having done my first half in January using a run/walk method, I will say that if you're going to use run/walk or walk/run intervals that you do it from the very beginning - if you wait "until I'm tired" to drop to a walk, you might not start back running again.

    I think this is a fantastic method for your first 1/2, and very sound advice listed here! When I ran my second 1/2, I ran the first 10 km like a rock star, and then fought IT band issues through the last 11km! You definitely don't want to wait until you are too tired to run to start the walk segments, because you may injure yourself.

    Good for you for signing up! I wish you all the best....and enjoy that wonderful experience.

    BTW - some people walk the entire race - marathons too!
  • arc918
    arc918 Posts: 2,037 Member
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    BTW - some people walk the entire race - marathons too!

    big time, my friend Yolanda holds the world record for most marathons in a year (106) - she is a power walker (often beating lots of runners)

    and good luck with your race BroDave!
  • stacimusmax
    stacimusmax Posts: 172 Member
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    Just a word of encouragement. I have run/walked several 5k and 10k's. However, I set a lofty goal last year to do the 1/2 marathon here in San Antonio in November 2010. I trained off and on. I was not trying to lose weight at that time and was probably close to 185lbs (a good 50 overweight). However, I committed to doing it with a friend (who was training...regularly). So, when the day came, I laced up my shoes and went for it. The first 6 or so miles were pretty good with the run/walk method. However, even with some pretty bad hip pain, I kept going. I finished my first 1/2 marathon in only 7 minutes longer than I predicted. I was so proud of myself. I said that I was never going to do it again (a bucket list kind of thing) but I'm starting to get the itch to do it again only 40-50lbs lighter and much fitter.
    Who knows...maybe I will. I know you will do great. A positive attitude and commitment is all it takes.
  • iplayoutside19
    iplayoutside19 Posts: 2,304 Member
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    Sounds like a plan!!

    Are you planning to walk/run, run/walk or run? Having done my first half in January using a run/walk method, I will say that if you're going to use run/walk or walk/run intervals that you do it from the very beginning - if you wait "until I'm tired" to drop to a walk, you might not start back running again. Using the planned method, I dropped my 5K time by 7 minutes in 6 months!

    Also, I'd plan on working my long run/walk up to the TIME you're thinking you'll be on the half course. The one mistake I made in training for my first half was to go by mileage - my plan said 10 miles, I did 10 miles. Never mind that I did 10 miles in just over 2 hours and my estimated finish time for the half was 2:40/2:45. When I hit that 2 hour mark, my legs were like "Um, what? We stop now!" and the last three, though I wasn't totally dying, were not the most pleasant experience of my life.

    Contrast that with my second half, just done March 20, where I purposely did my long runs for time, making my longest 2.5 hours (which ended up being 12.11 miles) and had a much easier time both during the race and with my recovery.

    Good luck!!

    After C25K this is pretty much how I work it. I'm faster when I run 10 minutes, walk 1 minute when I run any distance longer than a 5K, which I pretty much try and hammer through.
  • BroDave
    BroDave Posts: 249 Member
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    I did it!!!! My time was 3hrs 4 min. I felt great and I am already looking for my next one. Like to be around 2hrs for the next one in Sep or Oct.
  • stacimusmax
    stacimusmax Posts: 172 Member
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    Awesome! Congratulations :)
  • sla0814
    sla0814 Posts: 240
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    Great job!!:) God bless
  • Beth720
    Beth720 Posts: 661 Member
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    I did it!!!! My time was 3hrs 4 min. I felt great and I am already looking for my next one. Like to be around 2hrs for the next one in Sep or Oct.

    Woohoo!!! Congrats!!!!

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