Tell me about your first half marathon

Trained for about 4 months (had a strong runnning base before I started).

Yes, it was my longest run by 3.1 miles.

Hurt like hell after mile 10. I had no legs left because I tried to run the whole thing. Switched to the Galloway method and my second one was relatively painless.

I ran my first half a few weeks ago after running a full in Nov. During the six weeks between the full and half I averaged 73 miles per week and ran a bunch of 11 mile runs and five 14 mile runs.

Before the full I trained for eight months with one month off in the middle for a broken foot.

The race was hard and uncomfortable but it didn't really hurt. I came in 25th out of 333 and third in my age group.

Mine was the Urban Cow, in October 2010. I trained for exactly 2 months, having not run previously (except in high school gym class). I had been walking a lot, about 3-5 miles a day, 5 days a week, so I had built up some good endurance/muscle prior to them.

Of course I was sore after the race, but it really isn't that bad. You just need to stick with a training program (there are tons online or you can join a local running store group) and don't miss your runs. Keep building up your mileage. It's definitely worth it to see yourself cross the finish line.

EDIT: Oh and my longest run was about 11.5 miles prior to the race.

I had been running regularly for a few years before deciding to do my first 1/2 marathon .... the inaugural Bellingham Bay Half Marathon in October 2007. I don't remember following any particular training plan ... I would guess we trained for 4 or 5 months? My longest training run was 12 miles.

It felt pretty hard at the time, the weather was kinda gnarly (50 mph winds), and I was really sore for about 5 days afterwards - mostly my quads.

I trained for 5 weeks. My longest run was 12 miles. I under-performed, not surprisingly. I came close to cramping up towards the last couple miles of the race. I was so sore I could barely walk that evening.

My 1st half is Feb 25th. I am nervous and excited. Thank you for posting this. My longest run so far is 17km. I have a strong running base. Im using the Runnersworld plan. Its a 12week plan. All the best for your 1st half.

I got a late start on my training. I only trianed for about 2 months, and in those months I didn't get as much running in as I would have liked. My longest run ended up being just over 8 miles. I did it a couple times and I kept getting dehydrated and just felt miserable. I couldn't figure out what was going on, and it was only a couple days til the race. I never thought I'd be able to do it since I could barely make it through an 8 mile run. Then I talked to a MFP friend who is more experienced and found out that I wasn't fueling properly. I got some gel packs for race day, and a power drink from GNC that helps with hydration. I felt wonderful during my run. Never got dehydrated and never started feeling like I was running out of energy. The packs helped so much. I was shooting for a time of 3:15, but expected more like 3:30. I ended up finishing in 2:57!!!!

This IS helpful, I'm scheduled fot my first half marathon this April. I've been following Hal Higdon's 10k training to build distance and my first 10k is this saturday. I've also registered for a 15k two weeks before my half. My longest run so far has been 7 miles.

Am i the only sleeping more with this training? Also more or less 2hours after my runs, i just wanna take a nap.

Well I did it!! I finished my first half marathon!! Finished in 2:28 It was very difficult, I think I should have done more strength training as my thighs were so sore for the last 8k. But all in all I am very happy as my goal time was 2:30 and I only decided after I finished my first 10k race 3 weeks ago to even attempt it.

Thank you all for your help!!!

Nice one :-)

My first half marathon was last year. I trained for 12 weeks, and my longest run was 12 miles (only once). I was doing ok, but my biggest mistake was that I didn't do any hill training! The course was merely undulating but my training runs round where I live were mostly flat. I got cramp at 10 miles and had to walk for a bit, finishing in 1:53:37, way past my target of 1:40. That evening and the day after I felt like an old man... could hardly walk up the stairs, and was crippled by cramp in my legs and my abs at the same time!

My second half marathon is on April 1st. I feel way better prepared for this, as yesterday I ran just over 12 miles with lots of hills and I just feel pleasantly fatigued rather than completely destroyed. Basically my experience is that if you want to feel comfortable while running a half marathon, you have to do a few 12-13 mile runs beforehand so your body and especially your mind get used to it. Physically, if you can run 10 miles, you should be able to do 13.1 miles just fine. Mentally is another matter!

I will probably aim for at least one 14 mile run in the next 6 weeks, as then I can tell myself on the day of the race 'It's no big deal, you've run further than this before!'. Any other half marathoners take a similar approach?