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thinking of starting to train for my first half, how far out should I start? (Read 1725 times)

    I'm fairly new to running, started in April.  I have run 2 5k's and 1 5 miler race.  Ran really consistanly all summer leading up to the 5 mile race.  Since then I have had a hard time putting the miles in.  I have discovered that I am a goal driven person and have decided to set a goal of run a half in the Spring.  How/when should I start seriously trainging for it?  My longest run to date is 10 miles, usual run is in the 3 to 5 mile range.  Need to get focused on a goal to get back at it.  Any suggestions would be great. 

     

    Thanks!

    AmoresPerros


    Options,Account, Forums

      I'm no expert or coach, but the Hal Higdon site has some training plans which start 12 weeks out:

       

      http://www.halhigdon.com/halfmarathon/

      It's a 5k. It hurt like hell...then I tried to pick it up. The end.

        I ran my first half marathon on a base of 20 miles per week, a peak week of 27 miles, and four ten mile long runs.  I tried a 13 mile long run, and walked the last two miles.  My fastest ten miler was at 10 MPM.  I ran the half marathon at 9 MPM, or maybe a couple seconds under that.  I spent the next several days walking down stairs backwards while holding the handrail with both hands. 

         

        The folllowing year, I had a 30 mile per week base.  That resulted in a faster half marathon, and I was in much better shape afterward. 

         

        Training plans are great if you like that sort of thing.  If you don't, then just go run. 

          I'm no expert or coach, but the Hal Higdon site has some training plans which start 12 weeks out:

           

          http://www.halhigdon.com/halfmarathon/

           

          +1

           

          And come join us here: http://www.runningahead.com/groups/hmt/ 

          2017 Goals
          1) Run more than 231 miles
          2) Be ready for  HM in the spring

            I've followed Higdon plan for my first 10 mile race and I think will get you to the finish line in good shape.

             

            If you are running 3-5 miles regularly now, and have already run a 10 miler, you can complete a HM now, if you don't have a time goal. When I did my first HM, ran about 20-25 MPW and my longest run was about 11 miles in about 2:05 , and my race time for the 13.1 miles was 2:04.

              The simple answer is the longer you train for it the better prepared you will be.

               

              I found it useful to run well over the race distance, out to 15 miles, and to do several race distance time trials to make sure I could reach my 2 hour goal.

              PBs since age 60:  5k- 24:36, 10k - 47:17. Half Marathon- 1:42:41.

                                                  10 miles (unofficial) 1:16:44.

               

              Wing


              Joggaholic

                I'm a newbie too, I started in July and just recently reached the HM distance. The advice I got here that worked really well for me is just run slow and add distance. I'm quite goal-oriented as well and I found that setting short term goals helped. I don't really have a training plan. When I started I was running mainly 5k distance, and my goal was to add some 10k runs during the week. Once I achieved that, I changed my goal to throw in some 15k... (you get the idea). I didn't set any deadlines or speed goal and that made my runs less pressured and more enjoyable, and thus I was able to run more because it became less of a "chore" to go out and run. Increment goals are less daunting, and I get to cheer on myself every couple of weeks. The only issue I ran into was as I increased my mpw I now started having to schedule my runs ahead of time.

                 

                Good luck to your training.

                Bryan Castro


                  I just finished my first half marathon a couple weeks ago. I didn't do anything complicated, as I was mainly aiming to finish it (although I eventually had a goal to finish under 10 min. pace). My main strategy was to run 4-5 miles easy runs during the week and on the weekend, slowly increase the distance of the long run, starting at 6 miles. I started about 4 months before, built it up to 12.8 miles (two weeks before) and then I ran a 5K race the week before. It was perfect for the level of fitness I was at the time.

                   

                  In any case, as SimonR mentioned, if you know you want to running, start working on it as soon as you want. The sooner you start the better I think.

                   

                  Best regards,

                  Bryan

                  2011-2012 Running Goals

                  5K under 22:00

                  8K under 37:30 (in 2011)

                  HM under 1:51:00

                  Complete Marathon

                   

                    30 weeks is better than 18.  And 18 is better than 12. 

                     

                    So starting today is a good idea if you can continue and build for that long. 

                     

                     

                     

                     

                      I'm fairly new to running, started in April.  I have run 2 5k's and 1 5 miler race.  Ran really consistanly all summer leading up to the 5 mile race.  Since then I have had a hard time putting the miles in.  I have discovered that I am a goal driven person and have decided to set a goal of run a half in the Spring.  How/when should I start seriously trainging for it?  My longest run to date is 10 miles, usual run is in the 3 to 5 mile range.  Need to get focused on a goal to get back at it.  Any suggestions would be great. 

                       

                      Thanks!

                       

                      It turns out that I just started training for a half-marathon in the spring as well.  I am much the same as you- without a goal it's just hard to get out there everyday and train.  

                       

                      To you answer your question, start by training right now.  You can never start too early.  The thing is, you have a lot of time to get ready.  I feel like the best thing you can do for your training is to work your way into being able to run at least 45 minutes on most of your easy runs.  Don't worry about distance so much, that will come with the time.  My coach in college (he was a 2:11 marathoner!) told us repeatedly that you really don't get maximum aerobic benefits until you reach 45 minutes of straight running (and i do believe that).

                       

                      Another thing to work on is becoming comfortable with the long run.  10 miles is a good start.  I think that a good goal would to do a number of 80-90 minute runs (again, don't worry about distance).  It will take time to work your way up to that, but I think it's a good goal.

                       

                      As for the goal setting, you may want to add some more races in there.  For myself, I just race once a month.  That keeps me motivated on a monthly basis, which in turn will continue to help me train for my half-marathon in May.  It doesn't matter what the distance of the races are, you can do anything from 1 mile up to a half-marathon if you really want.  The key is to have something on the horizon that will make you say, "If I miss my training now, I'm not going to run well at my race in a couple of weeks."

                       

                      That statement isn't very believable if you substitute the weeks for months.

                       

                      Anyway, I realize i went off on a few tangents here.  The other posts were all pretty good as well.  Good luck to you and your goals!

                       

                      Also, I have a month-by-month training play set up for myself if you want to look at that for ideas (though i don't suggest following it)


                      Maggie & Molly

                        I used Hal Higdon's plan and it worked great!  I finished my 1/2 in the time I was shooting for.

                         "It does not matter how slow you go so long as you do not stop."
                        Wisdom of Confucius

                        HF 4363

                        Brandy


                        booyah

                          30 weeks is better than 18.  And 18 is better than 12. 

                           

                          So starting today is a good idea if you can continue and build for that long. 

                           

                          agreed

                           

                          the more prepared you are the better. Since you really don't have a great base, start with that first.  30+ mpw minimum imho.


                          Climbing Mt Ruapehu

                            Most "programmes" are around 12 weeks

                             

                            However I think before that you are best to put in a "training to train" phase where you condition your body for the training programme proper

                             

                            This will reduce your chance of injury and create a more solid base.

                             

                            At my work we got 50 free entries to a marathon/half marathon. Now we are 2 weeks out people are dropping like flies with injuries etc and it is all because they have attempted to go "from zero to hero" and do the bare minimum training and wonder why the body fails them.

                             

                            I am no expert but this training to train phase could start off with say 3 runs a week, pretty much all easy runs and just build the condition of your body and mind. start with say 5km runs and just build milage ever so slowly and gently into the start of a 12 week programme.  if you need to miss a run during this phase because the body is sore or tired for recovery it is of no real consequence...walk or cross train instead

                             

                            If you can start a 12 week programme when you are already running say a couple of 10km a week (50-70 mins) and a couple more 5-10km (30-50mins) a week you will be in an awesome position to excel

                             

                            All the best

                            Personal Race Records:

                            M 3:52:48 (Auckland 2011), HM 1:38:16 (Taupo 2010), 10km 45:05 (Sir Barry 2010), 5km 20:21 (How Pak 5km 2010)

                             

                            2012 Goals:
                            Run the 75km Hillary Trail in a day (done 10/3/2012)

                            Troy.


                              30 weeks is better than 18.  And 18 is better than 12. 

                               

                              So starting today is a good idea if you can continue and build for that long. 

                               

                              +1

                              It should be mathematical, but it's not.

                                I just started Jeff Galloway's training plan

                                 

                                http://www.jeffgalloway.com/training/half_marathon.html

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