Training for a Half Marathon

[stasijane]

Earlier this week I woke up and decided I wanted to run the half marathon. I have never been much of a runner, even had to walk the mile they make you run in grade school. I do alot of physical activity at my job so I am not to bad out of shape and I have a good weight of 125lbs. Back to the point at hand, I joined the YMCA this week and went out to buy a pair of new Nike+ shoes and the Ipod adapter to keep track of my schedule, which I love by the way.

So mon I ran one mile and hurt for the next two days, wed I did 3 miles in 31 mins, tonight I did 3 miles in 25 mins Go me! So has anyone successfully trained for a Half Marathon in 6 months? I was hoping to do the relay but my other half backed out, hes doesnt share the love of Disney like I do.

I would love to hear some encouraging stories! and if anyone is a member of Nike+ and wants to make a friend on there I would love to have someone to challenge on there.

 

[ultramickeymouse]

Earlier this week I woke up and decided I wanted to run the half marathon. I have never been much of a runner, even had to walk the mile they make you run in grade school. I do alot of physical activity at my job so I am not to bad out of shape and I have a good weight of 125lbs. Back to the point at hand, I joined the YMCA this week and went out to buy a pair of new Nike+ shoes and the Ipod adapter to keep track of my schedule, which I love by the way.

So mon I ran one mile and hurt for the next two days, wed I did 3 miles in 31 mins, tonight I did 3 miles in 25 mins Go me! So has anyone successfully trained for a Half Marathon in 6 months? I was hoping to do the relay but my other half backed out, hes doesnt share the love of Disney like I do.

I would love to hear some encouraging stories! and if anyone is a member of Nike+ and wants to make a friend on there I would love to have someone to challenge on there.

Congrats on you wanting to do a Half! 6 months is lots of time to train for one. Main tip is listen to your body and don't be afraid to rest to avoid injuries!

Good luck on your race

 

[supercritter]

Wow! Congrats on your 3 mi in 25 min! I've run almost 1000 miles in the last 14 months and I still can't run 3 mi in 25 min.

6 months is plenty of time to train for a half marathon. I did so last year. Have you looked at the C25K (couch to 5k) plan? That might be a great place to start and then once you accompliah that use another training plan. Coolrunning.com and halhigdon are great places to search for training plans. Good luck to you.

 

[jmasgat]

Just wanted to second the idea of looking at a 5k or 10k training plan. Couch to 5k is a 9 week plan that incorporates runninwg/walking, although since you are already capable of running 3 miles in a very speedy time, you might find it too slow. But a word of caution....it's great that you can do 3 miles at that pace, but please start this journey slowly. You don't need or want to train at the pace you might race at,you want to build some endurance (best done at slower training speed) and most importantly you don't want to add too much mileage too soon or else you may injure yourself.

I would suggest finding a balanced 5 or maybe 10k plan and doing that (meaning one that incorporates long run, a little speedwork, etc). Then graduate to a half plan. 6 months is plenty of time---but you want to make sure you don't rush your mileage buildup and risk injury. There should also be advice on training pace based on your current performance level.

I used a Hal Higdon plan for my first half marathon, but am now using the FIRST program. "Marathoning for Mortals" is another book that people have found success with.

You've made a great start! You've got the right shoes (I love my Nike Vomeros 5) and hopefully have the right other gear (wicking clothing), so now just add the right plan, take it one day at a time, build your mileage judiciously (don't increase more than 10%/week) and you should be on your way to that 1/2.

Good luck.

Maura

 

[crewmatt]

Hey, you can certainly build to a half marathon in 6 months, just make sure to build up slowly. Muscles and lungs will get in shape much faster than bones and joints. Dont want to get an injury. I did first 5k to first half marathon in 3 months when I was in highschool. The main focus there is going to be training for distance not speed. Once you can comfortably run the 13 miles then focus on running it faster.

 

[johde]

Welcome

You've gotten some great advice already. Like others have said, don't rush things too much. It can takes longer for your bones, ligament, etc. to adjust to the stresses of running than your heart and lungs. The fact your physically active give your heart and lungs a leg up. Like Maura said, find a good plan in the 5k to 10k range. Just starting out, I don't know if I'd worry about speedwork just yet. Also remember to take a rest day. Good luck and have fun.

 

[stasijane]

Wow! Congrats on your 3 mi in 25 min! I've run almost 1000 miles in the last 14 months and I still can't run 3 mi in 25 min.

Thank you, I was really proud of myself, That was all I had in me though. I am thinking about signing up for a 5k that goes right past my house in a month but I am alittle scared still.

I see so many women on here accomplish such great things and its an inspiration to me. I just hope that I will stick with this long enought to acomplish something also. I am looking into starting a training program, they have one on Nike+ for the half marathon that I want to start but it starts with 4 miles so I have a little while before I will be ready for that one. I want to go for distance since I'm pretty sure my short little legs were not made for speed

 

[Minnie Lor]

6 months is enough time especially at your fitness level. I trained for my first half in 9.5 weeks but I mostly walked it. Good luck on your training...but do get a training plan. Otherwise, you might get hurt.

 

[stasijane]

I am starting to feel better listening to everyone and reading the forums. I think with that much time I am sure I will do fine as long as I continue to stickwith it. I did sign up for local 5k tonight its called the luck of the irish run. I'm pretty scared but ready to get started.

 

[Bibbidi]

I am starting to feel better listening to everyone and reading the forums. I think with that much time I am sure I will do fine as long as I continue to stickwith it. I did sign up for local 5k tonight its called the luck of the irish run. I'm pretty scared but ready to get started.

Yes, as others have said, please take your time. I started running about 2 years ago, but due to work and then recurrent cases of strep throat (I teach preschoolers), I had to give it up for a while. I am like you--fairly active, weight quite low. Last spring I started doing more elliptical work and cross training--then disaster struck when I went to go running again. I started out doing a minute of running, two minutes of walking, etc for about 30 minutes, but by the time I got home my right foot was killing me. I think the injury actually began as part of some jump training I was doing, but the running sent things over the edge--and I developed plantars fasciitis. That was last July--today my foot still hurts periodically. I haven't gotten back to running yet, but thankfully can do my elliptical and cross training. I plan to do the Halloween 5k at Disney, with the hope that as spring progresses and my foot hopefully heals entirely, I can run some of it--but if not, I'll just walk it. Either way I'll finally get my chance to enter and complete a Disney race which, although it's not a 1/2, was my goal when I started running those 2 years ago.

 

[supercritter]

Good luck on your 5k. You'll do great. I like having races as my carrot to keep me motivated to do the training.

I'll also reiterate to build up slowly. Going too hard, too fast is a surefire way to get injured. There are thousands of plans available, just find one that works for you. I personally like ones based on time not milage.

 

[stasijane]

stasijane tagged a 3.27 mi run on 2/20/2011 at 5:29 PM Furthest run yet!