First half marathon ADVICE

You should start doing the c25k app to help you, it's a program that helps your body to eventually get use to running. build your stamina and get a good training esp when you mention you can barely run a 5k. this is a good starting tool into running. i run at least 3x a week, i would usually start running on 4.5 and gradually upped it to 5.5, 6.5 and 7.5, i'd adjust it back down when my legs are getting weak and bring it back up. the key is to not stop, to not walk and to not give up. because if you start walking it's gonna be harder to get back into the groove. if you are running outdoor, same thing. try to pace yourself, don't quit running and don't start walking just because your mind is telling you to stop and you are tired, because you are not. it's just in your head. your body is capable of doing the impossible, you just have to believe it. try to start running 3x a week for as long as you want. whenever you can run, do it. make sure to drink lots of water, banana and even protein shake.

I am planning on doing half marathon as well but for now, i'd just stick with 5k's and 10k's, i work 3rd shift so it's harder to train better. let me know how it go. i'd love to see what training you'll end up doing

You have plenty of time to train for October race. Start running 3~4 days a week. It's easy to over train and hurt yourself in the beginning so take it easy and build at a moderate pace. The half marathon training plans (there are lots of them out there) are typically 10~14 weeks in duration. And you want to be in shape to comfortably run combined 13~20 miles a week before you start one. So you want to time your training to start a training plan about 2.5 months before the race.

Have fun.

and I disagree with the no walking rule. Slow down and walk through water stations. If you do walk runs as your long run training plan it will be ok.

Include some hill training-it really pays off on race day.

Go in some local 10 k runs or 5k runs as part of your training. They get you used to the race day energy.

Have fun! As John Stanton says the goal is to cross the finish line upright and smiling.

3 x a week is fine, just make sure you do a long run, a hill run and a tempo run. Personally I have found running room type clinics really help keep your training on track and it's easier to run the longer runs with other people. Also I trained for a marathon by doing 10 and 1 ( 10 mins running, 1 min slow walk) and ran the marathon in Boston qualifying time.

Nothing new on race day! No new shoes, no new socks, no new supplements, nothing!!! Trust your training and you'll be great!

Thank you for the information. I started running a year ago and I love. Goal this year is a half marathon

Train for a 10k race first perhaps?

nicolemarie999 wrote: »

3 x a week is fine, just make sure you do a long run, a hill run and a tempo run.

Why would you suggest speed work to someone who can barely run 5K yet?

OP, focus on your aerobic base and, for the time being, ignore speed work. Your goal is to finish, upright & with a smile on your face.

SusanUW83 wrote: »

Now I've run 11 successfully since Jan 2016 -- my time has been between 2:43 and 3:16. Add me as a friend if you want, and I'm happy to pass plans or advice.

I'm hoping the 2016 is a typo. 11 half-marathons in less than 10 weeks?

BrianSharpe wrote: »

nicolemarie999 wrote: »

3 x a week is fine, just make sure you do a long run, a hill run and a tempo run.

Why would you suggest speed work to someone who can barely run 5K yet?

OP, focus on your aerobic base and, for the time being, ignore speed work. Your goal is to finish, upright & with a smile on your face.

I totally agree with @BrianSharpe here. Forget about any speedwork until you have a SOLID base. Last year I went from non-runner to a sub 2-hour half marathon in 6 months with 98% of my runs being slow runs, other than the various 5K and 10K races I entered.

Rule #1 for training for training for your half is to avoid injury. Do that by slowly increasing the miles and doing all your miles as easy-paced miles, or "conversational pace" miles. This will allow your body to adapt to the longer miles while allowing you to run longer distances.

Also echo Hal Higdon. I went from not being able to run at all in late July 2013 to my first 5k in late September and my first HM in April.

Some lessons learned that are repeats of above.

1) start with the C25k to learn to build an aerobic base. Once you're able to run 30 minutes, you'll find it easy to tack a little bit on with each run.

2) Build your mileage slowly. I think the adage is to only add 10% to your weekly total per week. There will be a point where you'll feel great and want to boost your mileage across the board. It's a recipe for an overuse injury. Just keep slowly building up.

3) Get fit for shoes. I got a bad fit and ended up win some neutral Brooks Ghosts. Awesome shoes, but I got a bad case of post tibular tendinitis that bothered me for months.

The Hal Higdon Novice 2 plan is great. It slowly builds up your mileage. The last mile of each long run will feel like a chore. (The last one is 12 miles). But on race day you'll be absolutely ready.

Good luck!

I love the Hal Higdon plans! I used them for my first 5k, 10k, half and now marathon in May. You can do it! Find your food rhythm, I don't eat before I run and I don't drink until mile 10 (I don't eat til mile 8).

gcaracciolo2 wrote: »

Don't forget the importance of cross training at least once a week. Was instrumental when I was a runner.

True stuff here. running builds your cardio endurance - but you need to build up you strength as well. I started running in the fall of 2014. Ran a couple of 5ks, HMs and my training time was pretty static. For the last 6 weeks I've been doing mostly boot camp (Camp Gladiator) which is more cross training/overall strength/cardio. I recently picked up running again and am almost a minute a mile faster. All those lunges, skaters, squats, lower body exercises have made me a much stronger runner.

BrianSharpe wrote: »

nicolemarie999 wrote: »

BrianSharpe wrote: »

nicolemarie999 wrote: »

3 x a week is fine, just make sure you do a long run, a hill run and a tempo run.

Why would you suggest speed work to someone who can barely run 5K yet?

OP, focus on your aerobic base and, for the time being, ignore speed work. Your goal is to finish, upright & with a smile on your face.

SusanUW83 wrote: »

Now I've run 11 successfully since Jan 2016 -- my time has been between 2:43 and 3:16. Add me as a friend if you want, and I'm happy to pass plans or advice.

I'm hoping the 2016 is a typo. 11 half-marathons in less than 10 weeks?

Why would I suggest speed work? Probably because it works ! I studied under Dr. Gibala at McMaster University, he is a leading researcher in HIIT.....which has been shown to very effectively improve cardiovascular health - more or equally effectively than "endurance training". If you want to improve your cardiovascular fitness HIIT (speed and hill training) is the fastest and most effective way of doing it. In fact I am a firm believer that speed and hill work (given a slow, long, progressive warm-up) should be favoured over endurance runs and makes a runner less prone to injury when done correctly, so long as you start out easy, listen to your body and progress slowly -just as you would with endurance training. Although the intensity can be a bit much for a newbie. I have been running for 20+ years now (with a few breaks for pregnancy) and have only ever had one injury that kept me from running (for 2 weeks) and than was over 15 years ago. The speed intervals can start out very short; 30-45 seconds with 1-2 minute rests, and use HR or perceived effort as your guide. Besides, you should vary your training to get the most benefit (speed work + endurance training) and to avoid injury and boredom. I'm not saying I'm an expert by any means, I'm sure there are people with more knowledge and experience than myself on this site, but I do have some knowledge of exercise physiology and a lot of personal experience with running.

macleans.ca/society/health/the-interview-the-benefits-of-short-intense-workouts/

theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/fitness/want-to-try-high-intensity-interval-training-consider-these-4-things/article14926092/

Interesting, I read his column in the Globe & Mail and even he concedes that the HIIT vs traditional training methods still requires more study.

Don't get me wrong, I think HIIT has it's place and it's something we use at my tri club. There's no doubt that when HIIT incorporated into a fitness program that it can confer considerable benefits but when dealing with a newbie runner it fails to take into account the mental stamina required for a longer race.

I'll stick with my advice for the OP to focus on aerobic base for now. HIIT later - for sure.

I love that this is a debate now So much more interesting that talking about boring old calorie counting, lol.

As for mental toughness I think EVERY runner would agree running is 99% mental, I mean we don't need skill or good coordination or exceptional balance, etc.....all we need is the mental strength to keep going and going no matter how much it hurts. It takes mental toughness to do sprint intervals and run hills too, and the speed at which you improve and the feeling of accomplishment after is very motivating. This is also why I like 10:1, b/c mentally you can break the race or training down to just 10 mins of running, I find it's so much less daunting than thinking about running for 2 or 3 hours straight....

For sure, more research needs to be done on the long-term benefits and the mechanisms by which HIIT works. From a purely aerobic fitness perspective though HIIT is very well supported. I'm not suggesting a person can go out and run 13 miles without doing long runs, your legs would never make it, but I also don't think people need nearly the milage that we have traditionally thought is necessary. In fact I would love to see the future of this research going in that direction. And just to prove a point (because I'm an a#*hole, lol)....I went out for a run today. I haven't run at all in 2.5 years, except for two 20 min runs back in the spring of 2015. For one year I couldn't do any exercise (high risk pregnancy, bad c-section, high blood loss, split my pelvis) and then for one year I choose not to run because I was breastfeeding, and for reasons that are TMI for this site, I don't like to run while breastfeeding and then for the last 6 months I've just been off the running bandwagon. So I have been doing HIIT plyometric circuit style workout for 20-30 mins twice a week, a little weight lifting and yoga. Today I ran 5 miles in 48 mins (including a slow warm-up), I stopped at 5 miles because I was getting some twinges of pain where my pelvis was split. From a cardio perspective I wasn't taxed at all and my legs could have made it at least another mile at the same pace. Now my pace would have made me cry tears of shame a few years ago, lol, but for not running at all in 2.5 years its not terrible. All I'm saying is HIIT works for cardio fitness! Now if my pelvis would hold up I think I could possible get to 13 miles in about 8 weeks, maybe will try it just to come back on this site and claim I went from non-runner to half marathon in 8 weeks and stir up some s@*t, lol.


You can stick to your advice and I can stick to mine, lol.

Why would I suggest speed work? Probably because it works ! I studied under Dr. Gibala at McMaster University, he is a leading researcher in HIIT.....which has been shown to very effectively improve cardiovascular health - more or equally effectively than "endurance training".

A leading researcher in HIIT? That sounds made up. Also, why is "endurance training" in quotes? What does that mean?

If you want to improve your cardiovascular fitness HIIT (speed and hill training) is the fastest and most effective way of doing it. In fact I am a firm believer that speed and hill work (given a slow, long, progressive warm-up) should be favoured over endurance runs and makes a runner less prone to injury when done correctly, so long as you start out easy, listen to your body and progress slowly -just as you would with endurance training. Although the intensity can be a bit much for a newbie. I have been running for 20+ years now (with a few breaks for pregnancy) and have only ever had one injury that kept me from running (for 2 weeks) and than was over 15 years ago. The speed intervals can start out very short; 30-45 seconds with 1-2 minute rests, and use HR or perceived effort as your guide. Besides, you should vary your training to get the most benefit (speed work + endurance training) and to avoid injury and boredom. I'm not saying I'm an expert by any means, I'm sure there are people with more knowledge and experience than myself on this site, but I do have some knowledge of exercise physiology and a lot of personal experience with running.

This is where you list your PRs for the marathon and the half marathon to show how it is more or equally effectively than "endurance training". You missed out on that opportunity. I mean, if you're going to insist that it's possibly more effective than traditional endurance training at least point out how many half marathons Dr. Gibala placed in.

_Waffle_ wrote: »

Why would I suggest speed work? Probably because it works ! I studied under Dr. Gibala at McMaster University, he is a leading researcher in HIIT.....which has been shown to very effectively improve cardiovascular health - more or equally effectively than "endurance training".

A leading researcher in HIIT? That sounds made up. Also, why is "endurance training" in quotes? What does that mean?

If you want to improve your cardiovascular fitness HIIT (speed and hill training) is the fastest and most effective way of doing it. In fact I am a firm believer that speed and hill work (given a slow, long, progressive warm-up) should be favoured over endurance runs and makes a runner less prone to injury when done correctly, so long as you start out easy, listen to your body and progress slowly -just as you would with endurance training. Although the intensity can be a bit much for a newbie. I have been running for 20+ years now (with a few breaks for pregnancy) and have only ever had one injury that kept me from running (for 2 weeks) and than was over 15 years ago. The speed intervals can start out very short; 30-45 seconds with 1-2 minute rests, and use HR or perceived effort as your guide. Besides, you should vary your training to get the most benefit (speed work + endurance training) and to avoid injury and boredom. I'm not saying I'm an expert by any means, I'm sure there are people with more knowledge and experience than myself on this site, but I do have some knowledge of exercise physiology and a lot of personal experience with running.

This is where you list your PRs for the marathon and the half marathon to show how it is more or equally effectively than "endurance training". You missed out on that opportunity. I mean, if you're going to insist that it's possibly more effective than traditional endurance training at least point out how many half marathons Dr. Gibala placed in.

OK I'm not even sure what to do about this comment. You are acting like I just said big foot is real or Elvis lives in my basement. I'm sure a quick Google search will show you that he is a professor of exercise physiology, has a PhD and does research in the area of HIIT ( high intensity interval training ). I have no idea if Dr. Gibala runs or not but I'm pretty sure the scientific validity of his research would not be effected either way.

I suppose my use of quotations could have been misplaced, but I just meant to convey by saying endurance training, the traditional advice of lots of long slow runs, basically resulting in high milage running.

I see you have also chosen to ignore the fact that I have said you also need long runs and endurance training as well....in every single post i wrote.....sigh

And you underestimated me, like most runners I will brag when given the opportunity and stated that I have run a marathon in Boston Qualifying time, but I am not a racer and never took running seriously beyond recreation. So sadley I haven't placed in a racr or won any Olympic medals, therefore I suppose you are free to ignore my advice, lol