Forums >Running 101>first half marathon-- 7 months to train
When I've made big ramp ups in my weekly mileage, I've always used a "cut back" week every 3rd week or so.
i.e. if I'm running 40 miles a week regularly and I start to ramp up, week 1 = 43 miles, week 2 = 46 miles, week 3 = 43 miles, week 4 = 48 miles, week 5 = 50 miles, week 6 = 46 miles, week 7 = 52 miles or something to that effect.
Mentally it feels like I'm getting a break that week and physically it seems to help adapt to the increased load.
Age: 50 Weight: 224 Height: 6'3" (Goal weight 195)
Current PR's: Mara 3:14:36* (2017); HM 1:36:13 (2017); 10K 43:59 (2014); 5K 21:12 (2016)
Member Since 2008
All advice given on this thread is spot on. Google a training plan, stick to it and slow down.
Thanks for everyone's input! Six weeks have flown by since I officially entered the half--- 26 weeks to go!
I have been at 35 mpw for the past three weeks and the long run is up to 9 miles at ~9:10/mile pace (probably too fast for my current fitness level??) Two of my weekly runs are between 5-6 miles each and usually at 8:30/mile (close to 10K race pace). The other two weekly runs vary from 3 to 6 miles and pace varies anywhere from 8:30 to 9:00/mile. Next week I plan on ramping up the long run to 10 miles (will probably slow to 9:30/mile for that distance or add in a little walking) and increase the other runs by 1/2 to 1 mile each and hold that for a couple of weeks (total of 35 mpw).
Not really following any specific plan, but basically my plan is that every couple of weeks I add one mile to my long run and add between half a mile and 1 mile to the other runs and then hold for a few weeks before increasing again. I plan to be at 13 miles for a long run by mid to late January (at 50 miles/week) and up to 15 by late February/early March and keep total mileage to ~ 50 mpw--if the weather cooperates and I stay injury free. So far no issues with injuries but realizing the mental challenges of reaching new milestones in run distance. I try not to think in terms of setting out to run" x number of miles" on my long run, I tell myself it is just a few loops around the park and on next ramp up it will be a little more. As time goes by and race date gets closer I think I will drop one of the tempo type runs and substitute an interval type workout like Yasso 800's.
Again, thanks for everyone's input and feel free to critique my current plan I'm following and future plans.
an amazing likeness
If I got it right, a quick summary of what you just posted as your current workout pattern:
1 x 9 miles @ 9:10
2 x 5-6 miles @ 8:30 (10K pace)
2 x 3-6 miles @ 8:30 - 9:00 (so easier than 10K)
Where's the easy miles that let your body recover and rebuild from the training loads? That's what's missing.
You've got plenty of time...months of time...time is a resource and you should treat it like one; use it. Get the miles in now and leave out the constant tempo-level hard running.
Apply the training stimulus, then allow for it to soak in.
To be blunt...stop racing those easy days or I'd bet you wont make it to your goal race.
Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.
Milktruck,
Thank-you for your input. Yes, you summarized my runs correctly.
One of the earlier posters had suggested I slow my long run pace to about a minute slower than 10K pace. I ran a 10k race a few weeks ago (with 15 mph headwind for 3 miles) and pace averaged 8:15. (splits: 8:16 8:19 8:15 8:22 8:15 8:23). So what pace would you suggest for my long run--2 minutes slower than 10k pace?
The two runs of the week that are "easy" vary between 8:30 and 9:00. If I run shorter I run harder, if I run longer I go with the slower pace. But you think that's still too intense? I'm trying to gage how far and fast to run based on how I feel on a particular day. Are you saying I should slow down regardless of whether I'm feeling up to a faster run on a particular day?
The general training guideline you'll hear around here is, run a lot, mostly easy, sometimes hard.
Lots of folks here aren't big fans of RunnersWorld, but my wife has a subscription and I read an article they had this month on Masters runners and it suggested that 75% of your weekly miles should be easy. That sounds about right to me.
The article suggested only 10% of your weekly mileage being at or near your "race pace" for that distance.
The remainder of the mileage should be higher intensity, intervals, hill repeats, and stuff like that according to them.
All those sound about right to me and fits most training plans I've seen other than some specific marathon pace training plans like the Hansons.
What I think most of us are saying is that if you back off on some of those 5 and 6 mile runs that you are running at 90%+ of race pace, you might find that you can add some more mileage to the week pretty easily.
An easy run is an easy run, regardless of how far you are running. Just because you are running shorter doesn't mean you need to run faster.
My 2 cents. Probably not worth that much. Nathan
Thanks Npaden.
75% slow
10% tempo
and 15% high intensity??
Sounds like I need to speed up AND slow down!
re you saying I should slow down regardless of whether I'm feeling up to a faster run on a particular day?
Yes. Your run on a particular day isn't just about what you can do that day. It also is about the next 2, 3, 5 days. Today's run should be planned with tomorrow's run in mind.
You're getting a lot of advice here, and I don't want to just add to the cacophony. So I'll leave you with two simple pieces of advice about your plans:
1. Make 3 of your runs easy. And by 'easy', I mean ignore the pace and run lightly. There should be no beating on your body. No fatigue when you're finished, no aches, no pains, no soreness the next day. You should be able to chat away in full sentences while running with no huffing or puffing. Ignore the pace.
2. Every run should have a purpose in your training -- and you should know what the purpose is before starting the run. The long run is building endurance, the 10k-pace runs (tempo) are for aerobic capacity and the easy runs (which you don't have right now) are for filler miles to build running vigor.
tl;dr version of all that ==> Run lots, mostly easy, sometimes hard.
That's what the article said anyway. Most of us run our easy runs to fast and our hard runs too slow.
When you are ramping up mileage you would probably want to limit the higher intensity stuff though IMO.
I have been at 35 mpw for the past three weeks and the long run is up to 9 miles at ~9:10/mile pace
You are in half marathon shape right now.
No advice to share i just wanted to say you are amazing! good luck and have fun preparing for your goal its such an awesome feeling when you finish what you set out to do, i wish everyone could feel that at least once in their life.
I do if for the bananas. They are really good bananas.
Last night I found a calculator on a website that pretty much spelled out what my training paces should be, based on a current 5K race. Turns out that when I plugged in my 5K race time of 23:56 (from May of this year) it too calculates my current easy runs as too fast (like everyone here has told me) but that my hard tempo runs are too slow, just as the article states. http://www.runworks.com/calculator.html My current 10k race pace (51:19) is somewhat slower than predicted by the above calculator as I just don't have the fitness. So my long easy runs are faster still; but tempo is pretty much where it needs to be based on the 10K fitness. For training purposes I think I will slow down the easy and long runs at least another 30 seconds/mile and work on getting my tempo runs closer to the 8:08 min/mile pace as predicted on the 5K time. I'm also thinking of replacing one of the tempo runs each week with an interval workout, sooner rather than later and keep the repeats at a small number for now and coupling it with a couple of miles of easy warm up and cool down.
I don't know why I am making this so complicated for myself. I need to just go run: easy and long most of the time, and fast every once in a while..... now where have I heard that before?
It's been exciting to hear the reports of your training. Along with everyone else, I am impressed by your speed.
So let me throw this thought out: what if you are really REALLY talented? Maybe your long runs are slow enough, but you need to continue your training and endurance, so that your tempo and race paces are even faster (and you can expect to improve your speeds for at least the next 5-7 years)?
Here are some times from Running USA (http://www.runningusa.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=pages.kathryn-martin) for Kathy Martin, who is now 63 years old.
So, if you can carry on a conversation during your easy runs, and sing during your long runs, you might just be a master's elite in the making.
(The cardiac rehab unit at our local hospital says that moderately easy on the treadmill means being able to speak in short sentences; very easy is being able to sing while walking)
Unless you are somehow not measuring your training runs right, your race paces and training paces do not match. My race times are similar, but can't get within a minute of your training paces.
My race times are similar, but can't get within a minute of your training paces.
same here.