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Dilemma: Insanity and 1/2 marathon

skinnyack
skinnyack Posts: 683
edited December 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
Alright, need some help deciding what to do. I have a 1/2 marathon on May 6th and I have been kinda training for it- yes, I've been lazy when it comes to distance. I did a full marathon in January and I'm just a little burnt out. I'm still jogging/walking and I have no doubt that I can go through 13.1 miles, doing intervals and have a great time (as in enjoyment) but probably not a great "time" (as in the number on the clock will probably be around 3 hours or more). Totally ok with that. That being said- I'm not an idiot- I know I still need to be spending some time on my feet if I want to be able to walk on May 7th (day after 1/2). I have planned some interval runs up to ten miles with a taper over the next 5 weeks. So that being said- how unrealistic am I to want to start Insanity- preferably this week. I am currently doing some 30 minute yoga/pilates DVDs along with my current jog/walks- 2-3xs a week and seeing a little bit of results so time wise it isn't too unrealistic (perhaps add an hour during the week and another hour on a long run on the weekend). My reason for wanting to bust out the Insanity now instead of waiting is I most likely will have my last dress fitting (wedding dress- super ahead of schedule on this) and engagement pics (we lag on this part) in May- I know Insanity helps with the inches and my legs look fantastic but my arms and waist are still... uhm... not looking like they've ran a marathon. haha! So- what would you do? Do I just go for it? Or am I already insane enough without a program to prove it? :flowerforyou: Thank you kindly for your responses.

Replies

  • jayessica
    jayessica Posts: 12 Member
    I am training for my first half marathon on May 20th and just completed day 13 of Insanity. I had a 10k last Saturday and could definitely tell a difference in my leg strength from doing Insanity. I don't think you're crazy because Insanity will help with the legs and it's sooooo much fun :)
  • mlb929
    mlb929 Posts: 1,974 Member
    I ran a half last June, had major surgery, and couldn't run for a full month, I could only run mildly in August - so in September, I started Asylum. I did Asylum all of September, and ran a half on October 15 by only running 1 day per week. I did recovery every Friday, and long run on Saturday - then back more milder of disks on Sunday - and just slightly modified. I didn't run it in record time - but it was an all hills course - and I only missed my previous time by 3 extra minutes. I hadn't really worried too much about time on that run. But I really believe Insanity was enough to prepare me, not for any records, but enough to get the endurance up.
  • skinnyack
    skinnyack Posts: 683
    Well that sounds encouraging! Thank you! I have a friend who hadn't been running, but was about 2 weeks into Insanity, who just jumped into a 5K with me and did great. Granted a 5K isn't a half but maybe it's a cardio is cardio kinda thing. If your body is used to being stressed physically it can make it through the challenge (within reason). Any other thoughts?!
  • onlyhalfcrazy
    onlyhalfcrazy Posts: 114 Member
    I would defiantely go for it!! I know that you can over train but your body has a great way of letting you know when you are pushing to hard. I am doing a half april 21st and am starting p90x tomorrow. I hope to complete my half in under 2 hours. I believe stepping it up these last couple of weeks will only help me reach my goal. So go for it and have fun!!
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    I'd think with one long run each week and Insanity during the rest of the week you'd be fine, especially if you've already run a marathon recently. Since you're talking about intervals, anyway, the very worst that's going to happen is that you'll need to walk more.
  • aweightymatter
    aweightymatter Posts: 222
    I vote for doing Insanity and just the long training runs if you're really trying to lose inches and you don't care about your time. I find that when I'm spending a lot of time focusing on running/training for a long distance, it's harder to get a handle on my weight. During my half-marathon cycle I just maintained, pretty much. Now that I've scaled back I'm losing again.

    Good luck :)
  • skinnyack
    skinnyack Posts: 683
    Awesome! Thank you all. I gained about 5 lbs training for my full marathon (Over about 3 months)- so I hear you on that! I was hoping it would just drop off when I stopped but... not so much.
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