Anyone training for half marathons?

I ran my first and only Half Marathon about a year and a half ago (@ 61). First, congratulations, since this is your first, you're going to have a Personal Best at the distance. Second, find a training plan and follow it as closely as reasonable. Three, your training pace will be slower than your race pace, mine had a full minute a mile difference. Four, enjoy the training and enjoy the "race". Race is a euphemism for group run where I'll probably do my best. If I didn't enjoy the whole experience, I don't think I would have finished it. (2:17:10)

I did a trail half in August. I have a few shorter races lined up over the next few months, and will be looking for another half in the Spring.
I don't really worry about the time, just relax, walk if you need to, and enjoy. Feels amazing when you've done it.

How much experience do you have with running in general? I think the advice for someone who has never run before is different from someone who runs regularly but hasn't run a half yet.

TavistockToad wrote: »

bfredericks wrote: »

I’ve been running for 2 years. I do a lot of 5k races and did a 10 mile race in March.

If you can run 10 miles, you can do a half! :bigsmile:

Yeah, you're probably good to train for a half. Some HM training plans even have 10 miles as the longest training run, though I am glad I did a 13 mile training run before my first half. It wasn't necessary for my physical training, but it gave me the psychological boost because I knew I was capable of covering that distance.

If you think you'll need fuel during your race, you should train with whatever you plan to use. Get a few different gels/chews/etc. at your local running store and try them out. Not everyone eats during a half, but speaking as a solidly mediocre runner, I eat a couple of gels over that distance. You should try out all of your race day gear on a long run before the race, but at this point you probably have clothes and other things figured out. Fuel doesn't really come into play until you get into longer runs.

Also, be prepared to replace shoes more often. HM training puts some mileage on a pair of shoes.

debrakgoogins wrote: »

My first half marathon is 4/28 at Stirling Castle in Scotland. I started with the Fat to First Mile program then start in on a Hal Higdon plan in two weeks. I work with a personal trainer once a week and do cardio kickboxing and yoga a few times a week. I'm not worried about the running - if I have to walk, I won't be upset. My goal is to finish, uninjured. My biggest worry is food. I'm concerned the food there will be quite different than what I have available to me here. I don't want an upset stomach on race day.

Debra - bring what you need from home i.e. bagels, or instant oatmeal, or a protein bar. Bring your own gels or shot bloks. I have a friend who races on Krispy Kreme donuts and Mountain Dew that she brings in her suitcase. For your meals the day before, just do the best you can to find food that doesn't have too much fat or fiber. Also, bring a rain jacket. You may get rain for your race.

spiriteagle99 wrote: »

debrakgoogins wrote: »

My first half marathon is 4/28 at Stirling Castle in Scotland. I started with the Fat to First Mile program then start in on a Hal Higdon plan in two weeks. I work with a personal trainer once a week and do cardio kickboxing and yoga a few times a week. I'm not worried about the running - if I have to walk, I won't be upset. My goal is to finish, uninjured. My biggest worry is food. I'm concerned the food there will be quite different than what I have available to me here. I don't want an upset stomach on race day.

Debra - bring what you need from home i.e. bagels, or instant oatmeal, or a protein bar. Bring your own gels or shot bloks. I have a friend who races on Krispy Kreme donuts and Mountain Dew that she brings in her suitcase. For your meals the day before, just do the best you can to find food that doesn't have too much fat or fiber. Also, bring a rain jacket. You may get rain for your race.

I have so many questions about this.

Don't the donuts get stale? I mean, I'm not a fan of Krispy Kreme when they're fresh, but I can't imagine they're that good after being in a suitcase for a day or two.

Do all her running clothes smell like donut?

Original glazed or something more exciting?

Donut holes or whole donuts?

And has she considered running the Krispy Kreme Challenge?

I'm thinking about running a 1/2 in cincinnati in early may. If I do, I'm going to join a training program that a local running store does. It helps me to have someone or some thing that will hold me accountable. (especially in the winter)

Good luck!

I've run 3 halfs in races plus a few more as training runs for fulls and I guess you could say I'm currently training for a half as I have a race in March, but my next half distance run is on Sunday.

My advice, don't push too hard to start with, that first half is going to be a pr no matter what, unless you don't finish.

Take your long runs nice and easy, it's more about time on your feet than speed.

Don't be afraid to walk if you need to, there's an actual legitimate running method called jeffing that involves run/walk intervals. I tried it for the first time over the last couple of weeks and smashed 5minutes off my ten mile time.

Vary your routes, include hills in some, long straights.

If you can incorporate actual hill repeats (run up a hill, walk back down (or gently run down), repeat for 20mins) and sprints (choose a long straight road/path with regular lamposts, run as fast as you can to one walk to next repeat. As you get better you can increase the sprint distance to 2/3/4 lamposts and add recovery runs rather than walking)

Practise with fuelling now, you may not need anything during for a half distance but it's a good idea to start deciding now. Some people use gels, but I don't like how they feel in my mouth, so I use Percy Piglets, which are a vegetarian sweet that's probably only available in the UK. If you're not veggie then there's jelly beans that are a similar size.

It's also a good idea to play with which foods to eat in the 24hrs before you do your long run. I do best with a large, carb heavy dinner the night before and then a big bowl of porridge with nuts, honey and berries at least an hour before I run.

Fluids are also an important aspect, I always make sure I drink more water than usual the day before a race/long run. Decide whether you want to carry water, and how you want to carry it. I can't carry bottles of water they just annoy me so used to use a hydration pack. Now I've got used to not taking on anything other than at water stations.

Talking about water stations, try to find out whether the water is supplied in bottles or paper cups. If it's in cups it's worth learning how to drink from a cup while running, I almost choked the first time I tried. (You need to squeeze the rim of the cup to create a spout and then sip). It's also worth thinking about only drinking half and then pouring the rest on the back of your neck, especially if it's warm.

Watch the floor at water stations, lots of people just throw their cups/bottles on the road when they're done so if you're near the back it can be a bit slippy.

Most important advice is have fun, I'll never be super fast, I'm at the back of the middle of the pack and it's a great place to be, we all support each other (although I will still sprint at the end no matter whether I've just run 2 miles with you)

I think it's best to bring your own gels, because a) they often don't offer them until late in the race, which may be too late, b) they won't necessarily have a kind that you like and that your stomach can tolerate. It took me a long time to figure out which ones didn't upset my stomach. Practice on runs over 10 miles. I agree with Brian Sharpe, since you have some experience, aim for an intermediate program, not a novice one. It will give you more miles, which will improve your training and make race day much better.