Half Marathon

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janiceover
janiceover Posts: 26 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I am a new runner, and have been working out regularly at the gym with a trainer. I have felt motivated to sign up for a half marathon in October....has anyone out there done one....???? Do you have any suggestions or helpful hints that I could use regarding stamina and training? Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

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  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    October......the Toronto Waterfront or Niagara Falls?

    Have you started your training program yet? October is closer than you think (I know - I'm killing off an already too short summer)

    If you haven't found a training plan yet have a talk with the gang over at Running Room (there's one in Kitchener & one in Waterloo), even if they don't have a formal program going they have free group runs Wednesdays and Sundays (I think it's the same for all of their stores).

    There's no secret to building stamina. You need to run, you need to run a lot but the good news is you build up gradually. You should be running 3 to 4 times per week. One of your weekly runs will be your "long slow distance" (LSD) - this is the one that builds endurance and slow is the operative term. Your other runs will be shorter and until you've been running for a while I wouldn't worry about speed work, your goal is to build endurance.

    Here's a link to a 12 week plan

    http://running.about.com/od/racetraining/a/basichalf.htm

    Your longest run (at week 10) is 18km which is in synch with the plan I followed for my most recent race. They show your LSD on Saturday - I usually ran min on Sunday with and EZ half hour on Saturday (just a minor change from this plan) and your Tuesday and Thursday run aren't terribly long.

    If you haven't already.....get yourself some good runners and good luck!
  • lsunderl
    lsunderl Posts: 38
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    If you haven't found a training plan yet have a talk with the gang over at Running Room (there's one in Kitchener & one in Waterloo), even if they don't have a formal program going they have free group runs Wednesdays and Sundays (I think it's the same for all of their stores).
    ^^^ Great place to meet other runners and learn about proper form, training plans,hydration, nutrition and my fav: clothes!

    A typical Half-Marathon training program is 16-18 weeks ie, you better start now!
  • janiceover
    janiceover Posts: 26 Member
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    Thanks!!! And actually it is the Blue Mountain Half Marathon. I appreciate the advice!!
  • josiereside
    josiereside Posts: 720 Member
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    I did my first one last October and currently training for my second one. I follow the Hal Higdon novice training program, it is 12 weeks long so you have time to get started!
  • bert16
    bert16 Posts: 726 Member
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    I agree with everything that's already been said - get yourself a training plan ASAP (they're mostly 16-20 weeks, depending upon the plan; you can find one at your local running store or online. A lot of people like Hal Higdon's program.... I'm sure the forums on Runner's World has more options, etc. They're all basically the same fundamentally, with tweaks on a theme). Get yourself properly fitted for running shoes at a running store (not a sports super-store... an actual running store), and then get out there! Plan on practicing everything in your training that you're going to do on race day - race day shouldn't be the first time you do anything, other than run 13.1 miles! In other words, make sure you race in shoes and clothes you've worn before, that you've figured out your pre-race nutrition, that you know how often you're going to hydrate and eat gels, if you're going to eat gels.... all those things should be worked out during your training.

    Most importantly, have fun! Getting all the training in is a hugely fun part of the journey. Happy running! :flowerforyou:

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