Do I have enough time for half marathon training?

[C_leen]

Hi-

I've been working out for 7 full weeks & am down almost 12 pounds. My work outs include spin, Body Pump (weight lifting), walking, Pilates, and I am on week 2 of C25K.

My question is, do I have time to train to walk/jog a half marathon on 9/16? I just found out there is one in my town, and I think it would be a great motivator. If I have the time to train, do I keep the C25K or totally switch for walking mileage? I've looked at a few online sites, but am unsure what is a realistic training guide for me.

Thanks for your recommendations!

 

[solotraveler]

Hi-

I've been working out for 7 full weeks & am down almost 12 pounds. My work outs include spin, Body Pump (weight lifting), walking, Pilates, and I am on week 2 of C25K.

My question is, do I have time to train to walk/jog a half marathon on 9/16? I just found out there is one in my town, and I think it would be a great motivator. If I have the time to train, do I keep the C25K or totally switch for walking mileage? I've looked at a few online sites, but am unsure what is a realistic training guide for me.

Thanks for your recommendations!

Forgive me for sort of "thinking out loud" to answer your question...

First, how is the C25K plan going for you right now?? Is the running easy, difficult or somewhere in between? What does your current mileage look like??

As for the timing.... Cool Running's Couch to 5K is 9 weeks long, so that would take you to the end of July right now... or about 6-7 weeks between the end of that program and the half marathon. The three weeks before a half marathon are where you back off your training before the big day, so you'd be looking at 3-4 weeks of really ramping the training up. IMHO, that's just not enough time.

That said, if the C25K is easy for you right now and you are willing to change plans, then it's probably doable if you find a 16 week plan like Marathoning for Mortals.

It's tough to make a call not knowing your current ability level, but a half marathon is a great motivational goal to have.

Please let us know if you have any other questions!!

Kevin

 

[cdn_gal_eeyore]

First off, congrats on sticking with your workouts and dropping the pounds, that is terrific! I'm with Kevin in that it is a bit hard to say, without knowing how you feel while you are doing your training, but it sounds as though you are still pretty early on in your C25K program. I would honestly caution you against it since I think the timeline is a bit tight. The worst thing that could happen is you choose to do too much for you, and you find it difficult and get discouraged, or get injured. We tend to talk a lot about half and full marathons here, but a half marathon is quite a distance. I would encourage you to find a 10K to train for. Those are great events too, and I'm sure you'll find it a great challenge and incentive. From there you can work your way up.

Good luck!

 

[wtpclc]

It looks like you are only 14 weeks out right now. If you were doing MfM run the half program, next week would look like this

During the week, 2-40 min runs, 1-40 min XT, 1-30 min XT and a 5-miler on Saturday. I'm guessing that walking would be similar times and distance. No more than what's there.

Does that look do-able to you?

 

[windwalker]

If you are planning to try to run the half, you probably don't have enouth time to get ready. If on the other hand you are planning on walking it with maybe a little running mixed in, then you can probably do it.

On Robert's site, DisneyRunning.com you can talk to Charles (Cewait) who is a personal trainer and you and he can plan out something. Or on the Walking site, Patty can help you put something together.

A lot depends like the others have said on where you are starting from.

Dave "YARC"

 

[C_leen]

I plan to primarily walk the half marathon. I have no intentions of running it.

I work out about an hour a day it appears as I am counting minutes for the June Challenge. As I mentioned, I just started week 2 of C25K & I picked that up to pick up more cardio - not really for a love of running. I also picked up the spin class for more cardio. In the last 7 weeks I have steadily increased my stamina. Before I started working out almost daily, I probably exercised 1-3 times a week sporadically.

 

[ultramickeymouse]

My question is what is your goal race time? Is there a cut at the race(or min pace)? If you can go slow if you run out of gas and can still officially finish, go for it. Most races put time constraints so that would be my main concern. The training will be tight so just don't be surprised that you hit the wall somewhere. Just keep moving

 

[C_leen]

Hi-

Well I looked around on the marathon web site and I couldn't find a course closure time. It is a recommended Prevention Walking Event, so I think I'll have enough time. I did find a 12 week training program on a local running store's web site which I think I can do. My goal is to finish. I'm not too concerned about my time or my walk/jog splits.

I think I'll continue doing what I am doing until July 1, then meld the C25K into the training program. In fact, my Pilates class falls on a rest day, so I can retain that in my work out schedule. I might drop the spinning in August to dedicate the time to the longer walks. I'd like to retain my weight lifting class because I am vain & want nicely defined arms someday!

Thanks for everyone's input! We shall see how things go!