Forums >Running 101>Half Marathon Training
I am new getting back to running. I am 43 years old and last time I ran a race with the Ass to Ass run which was 7 miles when I was in 4th Grade. I am scheduled to run the Color Run 5K and the St Patrick's Day 5K also.
I am training for a half marathon because I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. I lost about 25 pounds before the beginning of the summer then my weight started creeping up again. I started running in September and completed the Couch to 5K but realized based on my personality, that I needed a long term goal to keep me going.
I signed up for the See Jane Run 1/2 Marathon in June 2013. I stared the Hal Higdon 1/2 Marathon Novice on November 5th but is scheduled to complete at the end of January.
I have been lurking on the site and reading about tapering one's runs.
After Hal Higdon App is completed, should I continue training by dropping to 9 miles and continue up to 14 and then drop down again. Or should my long run continue to be the 13.1 or 14 miles.
Thanks.
Kirsten
If you can handle the 14 miles, at least every second week, then I see no reason to drop back.
You might also look at some other races such as a 10k before your main goal race.
PBs since age 60: 5k- 24:36, 10k - 47:17. Half Marathon- 1:42:41.
10 miles (unofficial) 1:16:44.
Forget about the plans and just keep gradually increasing your mileage. Make one of your runs longer than the others. Do some strides or some fartleks or some form drills on occasion. The more miles you run without getting injured, the better off you'll be on race day.
Short term goal: 17:59 5K
Mid term goal: 2:54:59 marathon
Long term goal: To say I've been a runner half my life. (I started running at age 45).
#dowork
^This.
PR's - 5K - 20:15 (2013) | 10K - 45:14 (2011) | 13.1 - 1:34:40 (2013) | 26.2 - 3:40:40 (2014)
Up Next:
???
I agree with Love the Half. Run more miles without getting injured and you'll get faster. Depending on how fast you're doing your runs, you should maybe add more running on other days rather than more to your long run - many people say keep it at less than 3 hours.
I am new getting back to running. I am 43 years old and last time I ran a race with the Ass to Ass run which was 7 miles when I was in 4th Grade. I am scheduled to run the Color Run 5K and the St Patrick's Day 5K also. I am training for a half marathon because I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. I lost about 25 pounds before the beginning of the summer then my weight started creeping up again. I started running in September and completed the Couch to 5K but realized based on my personality, that I needed a long term goal to keep me going. I signed up for the See Jane Run 1/2 Marathon in June 2013. I stared the Hal Higdon 1/2 Marathon Novice on November 5th but is scheduled to complete at the end of January. I have been lurking on the site and reading about tapering one's runs. After Hal Higdon App is completed, should I continue training by dropping to 9 miles and continue up to 14 and then drop down again. Or should my long run continue to be the 13.1 or 14 miles. Thanks. Kirsten
Wow, wow... Hold on a second!!
Well, first of all, I'm sorry to hear about your diabetes. I knew a woman who, at the time a few years back, was the fastest diabetic female runner in the US. I believe she ran something like 2:41. I know it makes things a bit tough but can be done. So hang in there! And congratulations on picking up running again! Despite what's been said here and there lately (that running can be harmful, etc.), running still is probably THE best way to keep you healthy (http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1703763_1703764_1853207,00.html).
So let me get this picture; you took up running with C25K this September. I believe it goes for 8 weeks (November)??? So now you are up to 3 miles. Then you are doing HH half marathon novice program. I'm not so much familiar with HH program but I imagine it goes something like 15-20 weeks??? For Half Marathon, it goes, what, 13 or 15 miles for the long runs??? So you jumped from 3 miles to 13 or 15 or whatever HH plan would call for in the next 15 weeks or so? Do you have any other race, half or otherwise, scheduled now? Or you don't have anything until June next year? Kind of a hind-sight but it probably would have been better if you took more time and gradually increased from 3 to 10 or 12 or whatever; THEN hold.
I'd be curious to know what pace you're doing those long runs at... Hard to guess without much information about yourself and your log but I wouldn't be surprised if you simply slowed waaaaay down so you can manage the distance (15 mile or whatever HH Novice Plan calls for); is that the case? If your goal is simply to survive the half, you're probably already there. You don't want to do anything above your head and get hurt or burnt out; otherwise, you should be in a good shape to do that. If not, you may want to sit down and study some training PRINCIPLES, not just to follow any plan blindly. My hunch is that your progression curve is most probably a bit too steep, getting from C25K to HH half marathon plan. There's nothing wrong about dropping down to 9, depending on how you feel doing those 9s, and then back up to 14 if you feel fine about it; there's nothing wrong with staying at 14. It WOULD be wrong to do so just because... (in other words, no particular purpose to it). It could very well be not suitable to your own fitness level; it could not be enough at all. We have no way of knowing without gathering more information about yourself and your own ability.
RunsWithDog
I don't know exactly how the HH Novice HM App is structured, but assuming it follows the HH Novice 1 HM plan, maxing at 10 miles, then I think you could consider any of a number of things . . .
If you, like me, like to be ON A PLAN . . . then you'll just need to narrow down your goals a bit in order to choose just the right plan for you!
You could hop into the HH HM Novice 2 plan, which offers just a bit more distance and gets you up to a 12 mile long run. I'd maybe jump into week 5 or week 7. That'll get you another 6 weeks or so of training on a schedule.
(FWIW, I generally skip the race weeks altogether as I never have local races the right distance. So, if you have local races the right distances, by all means do them! Otherwise, just take that week a bit easy with a shorter weekend run, or repeat the last week, or skip that week altogether . . .)
http://www.halhigdon.com/training/51312/Half-Marathon-Novice-2-Training-Program
Once you get your long run over 10 miles (or, say, over 2 hours), I suggest taking at least one week out of three as a "cut back week" when you take a shorter (say hour to ninety minute) weekend long run instead of the longest ones. One trouble some of us run into when we first learn to do 10mile runs is we do them every week without break. You can get away with that for a couple month HM plan, but if you are going to be holding stead at this level for 4-5 months, then you might want to go ahead and include cut back weeks in your routine to avoid injury.
Another nice idea to aim for is to increase those mid week runs a bit. There is a solid school of thought that, ideally, your long run each week shouldn't be more than 25-30% of your total weekly mileage (in order to minimize injury potential and need for recovery time from a particularly difficult long run). That is pretty hard to achieve on the Novice level HM & M plans from HH. So, for the long term, once you get your long run to 10-12 miles, you might want to just stay at that level (instead of building past 12), and take any extra time/miles you have to give each week and put them into making one or two of your midweek runs a bit longer -- more like 6-8 miles instead of 4-5. I personally think that having at least one midweek run of 60-70% of your long run distance is really healthy and makes those long runs much more manageable. Looking at HH Novice 2 HM plan, I'd like to add about 1-2 miles to each of those midweek runs to make it more balanced. So, if you have time and inclination, that's what I'd work towards with your spare weeks!
Good luck, and congrats on your progress and plans!
PRs: 10k 57:30, HM 2:11:12, Full 5:02:57
Next Up: HM 1/6/13 & Marathon #3 3/24/13
Training Plan Right Now: Hansons Brothers Beginner Marathon Plan