Question on training for a half marathon

sf898
sf898 Posts: 1 Member
edited December 23 in Fitness and Exercise
I am new to running. Weighed 364 17 months ago and I am at about 219 right now. 6'1. I ran a 1/4 marathon this morning. I did 6.55 mikes in 73 minutes (11:09/Mile). I ran on smooth sand at the beach. I would love to run a half marathon in about 3 months and average closer to 9 minutes/mile. How should I train for that? Would dropping another 25 pounds help me there?

Replies

  • riffraff2112
    riffraff2112 Posts: 1,756 Member
    How did you train to build up to 6.5 miles? Losing more weight will help of course, do you have 25 more to lose?
    There are many training programs available online, but nothing is going to replace getting out there and running.

    What worked for me in a nutshell was to
    1. increase my distances gradually. I would routinely run 5km, so about every 4th run I would up the distance to anywhere from 6 to 15k. I bounced up and down a lot depending on how I felt (a month of training might look something like 5,5,6,5,8,5,5,7,5,6,5,10,5,5 ...) and to be honest I don't think I ever ran further than 15k in my lead-up to the half marathon. Once I got pretty good at being able to run far I decided to work on pacing

    2. My routine 5k took about 35 mins (7min/km) so I just tried to cut that down in 15sec intervals. This was not nearly as easy as changing distances! I actually started this portion of my training by just making sure I could run even 1km in 6:45sec, I would run the 1km, walk around a bit to get my breath back and then do it again.
    It took me about 3 months of training to finally be able to crack the 30min 5km mark. Changing the pace made it very difficult for me to run far so I had to kind of find a happy medium where my pace didn't screw up my breathing too bad.

    congrats on your success so far and good luck in the training.



  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,749 Member
    Losing weight can help with speed, but at the moment, the most important thing you can do is run more. Running more miles will make you stronger and faster and more efficient as a runner. It takes time to develop your strength, lungs and heart, your muscles and tendons and joints. Keep on running, mostly easy, occasionally hard. Follow a plan that will gradually increase your mileage. Hal Higdon has free plans online for people at all levels.

  • xrunlukerunx
    xrunlukerunx Posts: 37 Member
    You weight a couple lbs more than me, and same height. Losing more weight will definitely help, but so will getting more miles in under your belt. Just keep being consistent and slowly increase your mileage
  • noblsheep
    noblsheep Posts: 593 Member
    Mileage is easy. Start upping your weekly long run, with a cutback every two or three weeks, and you'll finish 13 miles with little ado. I think it's too early in the running game to be worried about speed though.
  • Shortgirlrunning
    Shortgirlrunning Posts: 1,020 Member
    I recently ran my first half and got a lot of advice from very experienced runners I know because my dad is super into running and has lots of friends who were all eager to give advice. They all agreed that really your only goal for your first half-marathon should be to finish. Focus on the distance, you can worry about time later.
  • TheMrWobbly
    TheMrWobbly Posts: 2,541 Member
    edited November 2019
    Good morning @sf898

    Try joining a running group on here. I recently joined https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10770461/november-2019-monthly-running-challenge#latest and they are an active and helpful group. Got me through my first ever half for Remembrance weekend.

    There are free training plans on mapmyfitness.com that are part of the under armour family and link to MFP that work over 11-16 weeks as you choose.

    In my humble opinion looking for that sort of speed increase is asking a lot though I have no idea how sand running converts to tarmac? If you have found your 'comfortable' running pace this is what you want for your first HM and you will find it increases your speed on the shorter distance as a matter of course.

    Good luck!
  • littlegreenparrot1
    littlegreenparrot1 Posts: 702 Member
    I have often come across the general rule of thumb that you shouldn't try and increase by more than 10% a week, that is for distance or speed. It allows your body to adapt and get stronger so you (hopefully) don't hurt yourself.

    As you increase mileage and get stronger you will get quicker, but I wouldn't get hung up on speed.
    I've been running for years and am only just now getting to 13 min miles, it doesn't really matter, the achievement for me is the same.
  • mjhooperii
    mjhooperii Posts: 11 Member
    Hello fellow runner. As others have said, losing weight will certainly help, but I think you are being a bit ambitious trying to not only increase your long run from 6 miles to 13.1, but also increase your half marathon pace from ??? to 9:00 min/mile. For comparison, my half marathon pace for this past September was 12:12 (it was hot hot hot that day) and my 10k pace at the time was about 10:15. My runs are always done on flat ground whereas you indicated sand which is harder, but if you want a good indicator of what your half marathon pace will be, try to run a 10k at your 10k pace and look up a comparison on a VDOT calculator (https://runsmartproject.com/calculator/)

    Definitely keep increasing your weekly mileage, ideally so that your long run is at 13.1 before the HM but no less than 11 miles. The speed will come as you build your aerobic engine so I'm not saying its impossible to do both like you want, I'm just saying to manage your expectations and be realistic.
  • runnermom419
    runnermom419 Posts: 366 Member
    I think you could do a half marathon in 3 months. Cutting over 2 minutes per mile off your pace while doubling your distance in 3 months? Probably not going to happen. Look into Hal Higdon's training plans. Find one and stick to it.
  • eleanorhawkins
    eleanorhawkins Posts: 1,659 Member
    Another vote for Hal Higdon training plans. His Novice1 Half Marathon got me through my first HM, and I used his Novice2 one for my second, and intend to keep on keeping that as the base for my training for the future
  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
    I never like to discourage anyone from achieving their goals, but I have to agree that, given your current level of ability, running a half marathon in under 2 hours is a pretty lofty goal. I only say that because trying to do too much in such a short period of time is likely to leave you with an injury that could keep you from running a half marathon at all. You are definitely in a position to run the half marathon, but I would encourage you to put your expectations of pace aside and just focus on achieving the distance goal. Once you get there, there is plenty of time to work on improving your pace. I know many, many people that have been running for years and still have not achieved a sub-2 hour half marathon.
  • Duck_Puddle
    Duck_Puddle Posts: 3,237 Member
    To echo the comments-a half in three months is quite doable. You should be able to train quite nicely and comfortably to do a half and have it be an enjoyable experience.

    Your pace and weight loss goals are very aggressive for that same time frame.
  • nytrifisoul
    nytrifisoul Posts: 499 Member
    You might want to start trying to run your 1/4 on macadam. Sand and macadam is like comparing apples to oranges. I used to run 10 miles (on macadam) in 70 minutes. It was my best run, and my knees are shot because of it. I was 35 at the time (40 now) not sure your age but maybe you still have some years left on your knees.
  • daveredvette
    daveredvette Posts: 88 Member
    lot of good advice from other runners. Since this is your first 1/2 marathon, set your goal to finish and enjoy the finish line. You will then get the running bug and want to do another 1/2 or full. Find another 1/2 to run in 2020 and then train for faster pace.
    shot out for Hal Higdon training
  • DoubleG2
    DoubleG2 Posts: 123 Member
    daveredvette wrote: »
    lot of good advice from other runners. Since this is your first 1/2 marathon, set your goal to finish and enjoy the finish line. You will then get the running bug and want to do another 1/2 or full. Find another 1/2 to run in 2020 and then train for faster pace.
    shot out for Hal Higdon training

    ^^This.

    The only way to go fast is to go slow. Your body needs to build up the fitness required to efficiently run fast and that take hours and long, slow, miles. Increasing your pace by 2:00/mile over 13 miles is not trivial. 3 months is not nearly enough training time to increase your fitness level; and doing too much, too soon, too fast is the best way to become injured. I would focus on a consistently training over the next 12 weeks - something like 3 weekday runs x 3 miles and a long run on the weekend. That will give your body enough time to recover between workouts. Your goal should be to run 10 miles at a comfortable pace in 12 weeks. Do not worry about race-pace. You're halfway there! Enjoy your first half and when it's over, grab one of Hal Higdon's training plans and sign up to RACE your second half. BTW congrats on your weight loss - damn impressive!
  • ironhajee
    ironhajee Posts: 384 Member
    Wow! Amazing your post is so inspiring Mate! Keep doing what you're doing! Keep me posted on your progress and ad me as a friend!!
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