Training advice needed--deciding between walking a half or running a 10K

[YawningDodo]

Making a thread for this because I don't want to hijack the general running thread --

Today I finally took an in depth look at my calendar and built the best training plan I could work out for the half marathon I'm registered to run on June 10...and today I realized that I've backed myself into a nasty corner. The facts:

1. I'm working the next two weekends, so apart from the run I just did this morning I can't start long run training until March 30. This gives me 11 weeks including the week that ends with the race.
   
2. I'm an interval runner and my intervals are still a lot more walk than run (my usual is 45 seconds walking to 10 seconds of running).
   
3. I didn't train over the winter, and now that I'm back in it I'm topping out at around 3 miles on my long runs. At my easy pace, that's about as far as I can comfortably go before I'm huffing and puffing and wanting to stop. I do, however, maintain a steady/increasing pace over that distance.
   
4. I'm struggling to find an alternate half marathon later in the season.
   
5. The half marathon I'm signed up for has a 5 hour limit, and basic math tells me that if I walk at an easy pace of 20 minutes/mile I should be well within the allowance.
   
6. My longer term 'A' goal is the 2020 WDW Marathon, so by January 2020 I need to improve both pace and distance by a very large amount.

I came up with a plan for mileage increases to get me to 11 miles at my longest training run before step-backs and then the race...and at my current fitness level I think it's wildly unrealistic for me to expect to actually increase my mileage that quickly if I'm running. So I see two options:

1. I train to walk the half marathon. I do the mileage increases as I've laid them out; my weekday easy runs are still runs but my long "runs" are all very long walks. I think I can do this without injury. Following the half, I spend several months focusing on shorter runs in which I adjust my run/walk ratio and increase my pace before building distance in the fall.
   
2. I switch to the 10K at the June 10 event and train up to the mileage needed in interval running, accepting that I may or may not have a chance to run a half marathon before I plan to run the full. Following the 10K, I alternate working on pace and distance throughout the summer and fall.

I think either of these options should be doable...at the moment the second one sounds more fun (though I'm disappointed at the thought of putting off my first half), but I'm trying to decide whether it's also better for my long term goals or if pushing myself to build up endurance (even walking endurance) is a good move at this time. Thoughts??

 

[BuckeyeBama]

When increasing mileage for your long run, I recommend increasing by 2 miles per week two weeks in a row, then a lower mileage week to recover. So the long run mileage could look like this, with week one being 2 miles longer than your current 3 miles, which gets you there in time. Those long runs are going to be tough, but you can do it.

Week 1 - 5 miles
Week 2 - 7 miles
Week 3 - 3-5 miles (recovery week)
Week 4 - 7 miles
Week 5 - 9 miles
Week 6 - 5-7 miles (recovery week)
Week 7 - 9 miles
Week 8 - 11 miles
Week 9 - 7-9 miles (recovery week)
Week 10 - 11 miles
Week 11 - 13.1 miles

 

[YawningDodo]

The plan I made for myself was loosely based on Galloway's HM plan...heavily modified since he didn't build it to be done in 11 weeks. The step back weeks were sharper steps back (more like 3 miles even when the long run was up to 9 to 11). It looked more like:

Week 1 - 3 miles
Week 2 - 6 miles
Week 3 - 3 miles
Week 4 - 8 miles
Week 5 - 3 miles (race)
Week 6 - 9.5 miles
Week 7 - 4 miles
Week 8 -11 miles
Week 9 - off (traveling)
Week 10 - 5 miles
Week 11 - 13.1 miles

Week 9 is an issue; I'm traveling over Memorial Day weekend and expect to be spending time with friends basically nonstop; I know from experience that I'm not going to have time or energy for running that weekend (should have mentioned in the first post). Week 5 could either be running the 3 mile race at my best speed, or turning it into one half of a back to back weekend of lighter runs.

I guess I'm just concerned about whether I really can do it. 5 miles is a big leap from where I am now. I'm not sure if going in expecting to be out on the longer run will help me mentally to cover the distance; the furthest I ever got last year was probably about 4.5 miles on a long run. I suppose I can decrease my intervals and go slower if I need to, without slowing all the way down to a constant walk.

 

[camaker]

The plan I made for myself was loosely based on Galloway's HM plan...heavily modified since he didn't build it to be done in 11 weeks. The step back weeks were sharper steps back (more like 3 miles even when the long run was up to 9 to 11). It looked more like:

Week 1 - 3 miles
Week 2 - 6 miles
Week 3 - 3 miles
Week 4 - 8 miles
Week 5 - 3 miles (race)
Week 6 - 9.5 miles
Week 7 - 4 miles
Week 8 -11 miles
Week 9 - off (traveling)
Week 10 - 5 miles
Week 11 - 13.1 miles

Week 9 is an issue; I'm traveling over Memorial Day weekend and expect to be spending time with friends basically nonstop; I know from experience that I'm not going to have time or energy for running that weekend (should have mentioned in the first post). Week 5 could either be running the 3 mile race at my best speed, or turning it into one half of a back to back weekend of lighter runs.

I guess I'm just concerned about whether I really can do it. 5 miles is a big leap from where I am now. I'm not sure if going in expecting to be out on the longer run will help me mentally to cover the distance; the furthest I ever got last year was probably about 4.5 miles on a long run. I suppose I can decrease my intervals and go slower if I need to, without slowing all the way down to a constant walk.

I’d take a look at Hal Higdon’s Half Marathon Novice 1 plan. Take the next couple of weeks to get runs in wherever you can to build a little more and then start up at week 2 of the 12 week plan. The Higdon plans work great for interval running and I’ve used them extensively during my interval running stints during injury rehab.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

I train to walk the half marathon. I do the mileage increases as I've laid them out; my weekday easy runs are still runs but my long "runs" are all very long walks. I think I can do this without injury. Following the half, I spend several months focusing on shorter runs in which I adjust my run/walk ratio and increase my pace before building distance in the fall.

I've heard or read Jeff Galloway say many, many times that you can't run the long run slow enough. The long run builds up the endurance, so pace there isn't nearly as important as getting those miles in.

I switch to the 10K at the June 10 event and train up to the mileage needed in interval running, accepting that I may or may not have a chance to run a half marathon before I plan to run the full. Following the 10K, I alternate working on pace and distance throughout the summer and fall.

For what it's worth, I do not recommend attempting the marathon before you've run at least one half marathon. I made a lot of mistakes leading up to and in the opening minutes of my first half marathon that led to a difficult day for my first race. While I still finished, I spent most of the race just hoping to survive it and not really enjoying it. A few half marathons, and 5 Star Wars multi race weekend challenges later, I realized I wanted to attempt the marathon.

While I had run 9 half marathons before signing up for my first marathon (and Dopey) and would run my 10th half marathon before that first marathon, I needed to learn how to cope with the half marathon before I could deal with the marathon. I made a lot of mistakes in that first half marathon and subsequent half marathons that did not cost me in those races, but had I continued to make in the marathon, I would have had a very different marathon experience.

I'm not saying you should delay your first marathon until you have a certain number of half marathons under your belt. I'm certainly not the example of start with shorter distances and then build up to the longer ones. My first race was a half, my first 10K was part of the Rebel Challenge, my 2nd 5K was part of Dopey, and my first marathon was part of Dopey.

Now all that said, I had a tremendous first marathon experience in large part because I learned from and corrected mistakes I had been making for years in the half marathon distance. I've heard many people say that the gap from half marathon to the marathon is larger than the gap from 0 miles to the half marathon. In my opinion, and that's worth a penny or two at best, I think you'll have a better first marathon if you have run a half marathon before then.

 

[OldSlowGoofyGuy]

My unprofessional, non-scientific advice is do the half. Based on the following:

1. 11 weeks is a reasonable amount of time. Marathon training plans are generally only 16 weeks.
2. Your points 4-5-6 are basically reasons you have given to attempt (and complete) the half. You're trying to talk yourself into it.
3. Nothing gets you motivated like a serious goal on the horizon.
4. If you don't try it, you'll never know.

You can talk yourself into a goal or you can talk yourself out of a goal. There are lots of folks on this board (any 1st time Dopeys want to speak up?) who talked themselves into a goal. You can do it, and we're here to provide whatever help and encouragement we can.

 

[OldSlowGoofyGuy]

LOL, one of the 1st time Dopeys posted while I was composing my post.

 

[CDKG]

Having big goals is great! Just remember to keep them realistic for you. Personally, I trained for 8 months for my first half marathon. I was also starting from the place of an avid walker and first time ever runner. Five plus years and 17 half marathons later, I finally attempted my first full marathon. Not everyone takes it as slow as I did. But, running is hard! It gets easier, but it never gets easy.

Only you can make this decision. If it were me, I would start with a 10k and make sure I was comfortable with the half marathon distance before committing to a full marathon. My biggest thing is making sure I am setting myself up for success. I like a challenge, but it needs to be an attainable challenge (with some hard work).

 

[YawningDodo]

Honestly, I'm still more than a little torn...and this thread has hit on a larger concern this has kicked off which is that...well, maybe jumping to a marathon so soon is a mistake. I only started training at all last year, and I feel like I still have a lot of work to do at shorter distances. I very much want to run a full marathon, but it might be too soon to have it in my sights. It's occurred to me that one of my options at this point, regardless of what I do in the immediate future, is to adjust my 2020 WDW Marathon Weekend plans and plan to run the half rather than the full (I've got my heart set on a January 2020 trip at this point regardless). That's hard for me to say because I've been telling everyone (including myself) that I will run the 2020 marathon...and I think it's still within the realm of possibility. it's just also very possible that I could make my first marathon experience a bad one because I've rushed it and end up injuring myself or being unable to finish. Or, possibly just as impactful, that I don't get the time and opportunity to focus on becoming a stronger runner at 5K and 10K distances and relishing those accomplishments along the way to the half.

I really do appreciate the encouragement, and I do think that the half marathon in June is still possible, just very difficult. Same with the marathon in January. It's just that I'm starting to feel like I set those goals before I had enough experience to know what they really meant. I've got two weeks to think about what I want to do when I start training back up in earnest, and I've got until April (or later, if I put off registration) to decide about January. If I do want to do the half at WDW, though, I think I might want to aim for the 10K now and make WDW my first half marathon.

 

[camaker]

Honestly, I'm still more than a little torn...and this thread has hit on a larger concern this has kicked off which is that...well, maybe jumping to a marathon so soon is a mistake. I only started training at all last year, and I feel like I still have a lot of work to do at shorter distances. I very much want to run a full marathon, but it might be too soon to have it in my sights. It's occurred to me that one of my options at this point, regardless of what I do in the immediate future, is to adjust my 2020 WDW Marathon Weekend plans and plan to run the half rather than the full (I've got my heart set on a January 2020 trip at this point regardless). That's hard for me to say because I've been telling everyone (including myself) that I will run the 2020 marathon...and I think it's still within the realm of possibility. it's just also very possible that I could make my first marathon experience a bad one because I've rushed it and end up injuring myself or being unable to finish. Or, possibly just as impactful, that I don't get the time and opportunity to focus on becoming a stronger runner at 5K and 10K distances and relishing those accomplishments along the way to the half.

I really do appreciate the encouragement, and I do think that the half marathon in June is still possible, just very difficult. Same with the marathon in January. It's just that I'm starting to feel like I set those goals before I had enough experience to know what they really meant. I've got two weeks to think about what I want to do when I start training back up in earnest, and I've got until April (or later, if I put off registration) to decide about January. If I do want to do the half at WDW, though, I think I might want to aim for the 10K now and make WDW my first half marathon.

Taking the step up to the marathon is always going to be a step into the unknown that will be fraught with self doubt and uncertainty. I don’t think there’s any way to truly know if you’re ready until you try it.

Only you can answer the question of whether you’re ready to take the step and try. Objectively, you have time to train for your half in June and more than enough time to train for a full at Marathon Weekend in 2020. The question is, are you willing to commit to the training to make it happen? Marathon training can start to feel like a 2nd job when those mid-week runs start to get longer.

I wouldn’t let the length of time you’ve been running be too much of a barrier, either. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been running, that step from 13.1 to 26.2 will be tough, mentally and physically. I agree that it’s a good idea to have a half under your belt before that first marathon, if only to experience how a longer race feels. That doesn’t necessarily have to be the June half. You could always run one in the fall during marathon training.

I’ll share my running story as another data point for you to consider. I started running in early 2015 after my PT asked me to run the W&D half with him. I thought I was stupid and crazy to even consider the idea. Fortunately, stupid and crazy are right in my wheelhouse. I ran my first 10k in April and was hooked. In June I ran my first half marathon. I ran 2 more halfs in September before an injury sidelined me (injury was from previous sports, not running) and curtailed my training. After failing to get registered for W&D, I had signed up for the 10k and half at 2016 MW and later went back and added the marathon as a “why not try it” bucket list type item. Although I wasn’t able to fully train for that weekend I finished all three races and that marathon is still my #1 running experience.

If you want it, go for it. Just be prepared to commit to the plan. Also, be ready to turn a critical ear to the voices in your head. It’s always easier to decide you can’t do something new than to take that step into the unknown.

 

[jmasgat]

Taking the step up to the marathon is always going to be a step into the unknown that will be fraught with self doubt and uncertainty. I don’t think there’s any way to truly know if you’re ready until you try it.

Only you can answer the question of whether you’re ready to take the step and try. Objectively, you have time to train for your half in June and more than enough time to train for a full at Marathon Weekend in 2020. The question is, are you willing to commit to the training to make it happen? Marathon training can start to feel like a 2nd job when those mid-week runs start to get longer.

I wouldn’t let the length of time you’ve been running be too much of a barrier, either. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been running, that step from 13.1 to 26.2 will be tough, mentally and physically. I agree that it’s a good idea to have a half under your belt before that first marathon, if only to experience how a longer race feels. That doesn’t necessarily have to be the June half. You could always run one in the fall during marathon training.

This. But also, don't put so much pressure on yourself now that this all begins to feel like work. The marathon at WDW doesn't generally sell out, so it's not like you have to decide this part right now. You could wait to register. I realize your alternate plan might be the half, but even that has not sold out right away.

One other thing, I wouldn't get so much hung up on pace as distance. It's the endurance for longer race distances that I would concentrate on. Even as an experienced runner, my training paces for any race are set based on current fitness, not "what pace I'd like to be able to run".

 

[BuckeyeBama]

I should have added that your age and overall health should also be a consideration. I am a part of a decent sized runDisney group in my area. We train together a few days each week most of the year. I set the training calendar and paces based on the capabilities of the weakest of our group present during that training cycle. One particular member of the group is my age (in her 50s) and has a number of health issues. Her first 16 minute mile was a HUGE milestone, and it took us 4 months to get her there. There is no way that she could have run a half marathon with so little preparation time. The first year she ran the 5k and 10k with us. Last year she ran the half marathon and she did GREAT!

My younger son (19 years old) is running the SW half with me in April. He had a very bad concussion so could not train all winter - nothing - no exercise at all was permitted by his doctor because of the severity of the injury. By the time he was recovered sufficiently from his concussion to run, we were only 11 weeks out and he was very weak - but weak for a 19 year old is not the same as weak for a 50 year old. His first run with me was 2 miles and he set the pace. He ran 13 minute miles doing 30/30 intervals. He is already much faster and we ran 11 miles together yesterday. So age and health matter.

 

[bumbershoot]

I’ll first say that I have no interest in a marathon.

But if I did, I would feel that nearly 10 months of training would get me there.

If the half in June isn’t doable or doesn’t go well, that's just that event. Doesn’t mean much for January. There are other halfs out there to do.

Get in the runs that you can during the weekdays and move forward with a plan.

 

[YawningDodo]

One other thing, I wouldn't get so much hung up on pace as distance. It's the endurance for longer race distances that I would concentrate on. Even as an experienced runner, my training paces for any race are set based on current fitness, not "what pace I'd like to be able to run".

I should have added that your age and overall health should also be a consideration. I am a part of a decent sized runDisney group in my area. We train together a few days each week most of the year. I set the training calendar and paces based on the capabilities of the weakest of our group present during that training cycle. One particular member of the group is my age (in her 50s) and has a number of health issues. Her first 16 minute mile was a HUGE milestone, and it took us 4 months to get her there. There is no way that she could have run a half marathon with so little preparation time. The first year she ran the 5k and 10k with us. Last year she ran the half marathon and she did GREAT!

Honestly, overall health is a big part of why I'm sort of talking myself out of the 2020 marathon right now. I'm only 32, but I'm at my heaviest weight and when I say I'm running 10/45 run/walk intervals...seriously, that's all I can maintain. My overall pace for my run yesterday was 16:27 and that's a pretty good pace for me. I've dipped below 16:00 in 5K races when I'm pushing harder, but when I worry about pace, it's because I'm at a point where maintaining runDisney's minimum pace of 16:00 would be challenging for me. As I've been training I've been able to improve my distance but my pace hasn't really gone anywhere. And that's fine in the larger scheme of my journey, but if I'm still this slow at my first marathon I'm going to spend the entire race worrying about being swept. When I've looked around for training programs they assume a certain baseline, and I'm not at that baseline.

Been talking with my housemate this morning--she's not a runner but she has more context for my overall life. She pointed out that I've been talking pretty excitedly about coming back again in 2021 for WDW's 50th anniversary. And when I talk about not doing the marathon in 2020, I don't mean I'll never do it--2021 could just be a better time for me. It'd give me this summer and next to get a couple of halfs under my belt, and running my first marathon at the 50th would be pretty dang cool.

 

[aalvis]

As I've been training I've been able to improve my distance but my pace hasn't really gone anywhere.

When I was trying to increase my pace I found that (for me anyway) it was easier to decrease the walk time than increase the run time.

 

[YawningDodo]

When I was trying to increase my pace I found that (for me anyway) it was easier to decrease the walk time than increase the run time.

Yeah, that's the angle I've been going at. I'm down from 50 seconds to 45 on the rests; went as low as 35 at the end of my last 5K race. Figure I'll keep the run at 10 seconds until I'm comfortable with a 30 second walk interval, then start increasing the run after that.

 

[jhoannam]

I will be honest, it sounds like you aren’t willing to put the time into training. No one can motivate you to make time to train.

We are all busy and have plenty of excuses as to why we can’t train. I work full time, have 2 kids involved in after school activities, their Saturday games are as early as 8:30am and both have games on Saturday. I can’t workout after work, Saturdays are crazy busy... see I just came up with lots of good excuses. What do I do? I wake up at 4:30am during the week to be at work at 7:30. Saturdays at 5:30am to be ready by 8am. You have to commit to the training, you can do anything if you put in the miles. You have plenty of time to train for the full. If you don’t feel like you have enough time to train for the half, then do the 10k but don’t do it with the mindset that it’s going to be easy and you don’t need to train as hard. Find a plan and commit. You can do this!!

 

[YawningDodo]

I will be honest, it sounds like you aren’t willing to put the time into training. No one can motivate you to make time to train.

That's not an accurate assessment of the problem.

 

[sandam1]

I just did my first half marathon at Disney in January using the interval method - 30/30 or 60 run/30 walk. But I did the 5K with my best friend (who did minimal training beforehand) at a 10 run/50 walk so I kind of have a feel for what pace you are talking about.

My suggestion would be to use the next 3 months to work towards the 10K and try to get your intervals to be more run than walk for the following reasons:
- Don't risk an injury by trying to do too much, too fast. Get success at the 10K distance and then move on to the bigger distances.
- Doing a half marathon, even walking it, is A LOT of time in motion. The slower you are, the more time you are talking and that just takes a toll. Also, I'm not sure where you are located, but you are also talking about June, which could be warm.
- The long runs are your "what works for me" time. I found out A LOT about my nutrition, hydration, clothing, etc. on my long runs. You only have 3 of them, which is not a lot of time to figure out your race day strategy.

I read your comment about telling everyone that you are going to do a marathon and I'll let you in on a secret - even through I "only" did the half, the only person that ever used the word "only" was ME. Everyone else was seriously impressed (or thought I was crazy) to finish 13.1 miles.

If you want to do something at Disney this year, register for the half. And if you find another half to do in the fall (and I agree that you probably should have a half under your belt before trying a whole), I think that you can upgrade to the whole.

Whatever you do, if you put your mind to it and the time in, I'm sure that you will be successful. I was an absolute mess last year as I prepped for the half. I am sooooo NOT a runner. I am overweight and not fit. But despite that, I did it anyway. Lean on this community as necessary - they are an awesome group of people.

 

[YawningDodo]

I just did my first half marathon at Disney in January using the interval method - 30/30 or 60 run/30 walk. But I did the 5K with my best friend (who did minimal training beforehand) at a 10 run/50 walk so I kind of have a feel for what pace you are talking about.

My suggestion would be to use the next 3 months to work towards the 10K and try to get your intervals to be more run than walk for the following reasons:
- Don't risk an injury by trying to do too much, too fast. Get success at the 10K distance and then move on to the bigger distances.
- Doing a half marathon, even walking it, is A LOT of time in motion. The slower you are, the more time you are talking and that just takes a toll. Also, I'm not sure where you are located, but you are also talking about June, which could be warm.
- The long runs are your "what works for me" time. I found out A LOT about my nutrition, hydration, clothing, etc. on my long runs. You only have 3 of them, which is not a lot of time to figure out your race day strategy.

I read your comment about telling everyone that you are going to do a marathon and I'll let you in on a secret - even through I "only" did the half, the only person that ever used the word "only" was ME. Everyone else was seriously impressed (or thought I was crazy) to finish 13.1 miles.

If you want to do something at Disney this year, register for the half. And if you find another half to do in the fall (and I agree that you probably should have a half under your belt before trying a whole), I think that you can upgrade to the whole.

Whatever you do, if you put your mind to it and the time in, I'm sure that you will be successful. I was an absolute mess last year as I prepped for the half. I am sooooo NOT a runner. I am overweight and not fit. But despite that, I did it anyway. Lean on this community as necessary - they are an awesome group of people.

Thank you for this. Addressing/agreeing with your points:
- I've already injured myself once in training when I pushed for too much too fast, and I lost a month of training to it last fall. I don't want to be over-cautious to the point of losing out on training opportunities, but I also know what happens when I adhere to an idea of what I "should" be able to do instead of my current level of fitness.
- Yeah, I figured it at 4.5 hours if I walked the entire thing. I'm in Montana, so June may be quite nice, or it may...not. Early June probably won't be too bad, but one never knows.
- This is also one of my concerns about rushing my training. So far I've been happy with my gear and clothing, but I've not yet had the opportunity to figure out fueling, etc. in training.

I've found another half on August 18 that's right here in town. That one will be hot, but I know the area and it's a pretty flat course along some of my favorite places to run. It's also got a 5 hour time limit, so it should be a pretty solid pick apart from the likelihood of hot weather. That's only 9 weeks between the 10K and the half, though. There are a couple in September that are within the realm of possibility but more expensive because I'd have to do some overnight travel to run them.

My feelings on the 2020 trip are fluctuating pretty quickly as I think through all of this. My housemate and I have been discussing alternate trip plans for that period that could fill the gap and tide us over until doing a big marathon trip in 2021. I think more and more I feel like I don't really want to do the half at WDW; I'd like my first runDisney event to be the full marathon and it actually feels really serendipitous to do it in conjunction with the 50th anniversary.

The plan I'm currently leaning toward:
--Switch to the 10K in June
--Register for the local half marathon in August
--Build a 20 week training plan for the half that incorporates the 10K
--Plan a non-WDW trip for late 2019/early 2020 to satisfy my need for travel
--Train for and run a variety of local races from fall 2019 through fall 2020, including at least one more half
--Run the WDW marathon in 2021