Half Marathon Trainers

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Half in Geneseo, NY (Read 469 times)

    Greetings. Let introduce myself if I may. I started running when Bill Rodgers was winning Boston and have been at it most of the time since. Had a very good mentor back then who got me off to a great start that has lasted 30 years. I have my closet-full of tees, 5Ks, 10Ks, and two 20Ks, but never a marathon or even a half even though the 20s come close. I am more of a solo runner, rising to personal challenges of running between communities near my home or running home from work (18 mile, rural run), things like that. This year I am re-running after a 2 year hiatis during which I was diagnosed with full-blown type 2 diabetes. When I thought my running was over was when I discovered that there are many, many successful diabetic runners our there who, in on-line fashion, have inspired me to get back at it. Anyway, I am presently planning on a half marathon in Geneseo NY (nice college town in upstate NY just south and between Buffalo and Rochester) on September 3rd. This run will be 40% trails and 60% roads. My training has not been proper for this race as I''ve only been re-running since the end of June. But a couple of co-workers will be running and it will help support the college's track club. Here's where I am at the moment: I use a heart monitor to determine the intensity of my runs. Base per week: 20-25 miles Longest run to date: 7.5 miles with only 2 left before the race 9 miles on 8/18 and 11 miles on 8/25 then 13.1 on 9/3 (race) As long as I can keep my carb intake balanced with my running requirements, there should not be a problem. This is truely an experiement for me! I am certain I will be do better than a finish-only. My plan is to run it within my targetted heart rate which should be a 9:30 pace (unless we get another heat wave). So we'll see how it goes! John (other diabetic runners out there check out my "diabetic runners" user group on this site)

    Discipline is never an end in itself, only a means to an end. (RF)

    Wingz


    Professional Noob

      Hi, John! Where you're at in your training sounds a lot like where I am... and I'm biting my nails worrying about whether or not I'll be ready in time for an Oct 22 HM... Boy, I wish you luck!!! Hopefully some of your older experiences will kick in for you... If you're not already doing it, you may want to start throwing in some trail runs. I've discovered they're VERY different from running on paved surfaces. I too use a HRM to gague proper training effort... and have discovered that I have to run [even] slower on a trail in order to keep in zone... Plus, there's that little thing about ankle strength that trail running seems to think is important... Please keep posting back here! I need the company! Big grin Janell

      Roads were made for journeys...

        Having done the 2 20Ks I already know what I'm in for. Done lots of trails in the past and I have some nice dirt road runs out here in the country that include some modest hills. So as far as training resources go, I think I'm set. At this point I'm just going to stick to my plan and not try and "race" anybody. Hey, I will keep you company. Are there others you know of running a half soon?

        Discipline is never an end in itself, only a means to an end. (RF)

        Wingz


        Professional Noob

          Zoom-Zoom's planning her first pretty soon here. I think she's shooting for Sept. also. There are a few others - they posted on the original thread, then kind of drifted off...

          Roads were made for journeys...

            Getting back to my lack of proper training for this race, what experience has taught me is that of pragmatism, patience and pacing. Doing what works, being patient with what works, doing what works at a sensible pace. I know that without these an injury could be right around the corner. So I am going to be realistic about it. The deadline for pre-registering is 8/24. If I con't feel it is wise to move forward, I will certainly wait for another race that is later in the fall. I've been down the injury trail before and will avoid it now (that I'm older and wiser) more than ever.

            Discipline is never an end in itself, only a means to an end. (RF)

              Hi John (and all). So we're moving our conversation away from the who's new thread? Probably a good idea before it gets to hijacked Smile My present fitness state is a lot like John's in terms of weekly averages -- I used to keep track of my mileage on another site, but never really looked at trends. When I moved to this site, my training pattern became obvious, as my last 6 weeks of training were 31, 17, 34, 19, 32, 19. My longest run lately was a 14 miler that went well (~8:45 miles). I'm hoping to use this half marathon as a training base for setting a 10K PR on Thanksgiving (currently 44:10 from 4 years ago). I use a Garmin GPS gadget, so my half marathon plan so far is to set the "virtual partner" to run at a certain pace and see if I can stay with it. The pace is still up in the air and I might play around with speed a bit on my next long run. I was hoping to set it at an 8:00 pace, but that is probaby pushing it. Thoughts anyone?
                Hi Poose. Good to hear from you again! Keep in mind (having not seen the course) that the Geneseo race will be partly on trails, so keeping a consistent pace may be difficult to maintain in reality. Good idea for training I would imagine. So maybe we'll get to meet at this race!! Cool. John

                Discipline is never an end in itself, only a means to an end. (RF)

                  yeah, an HR monitor would probably be a better pacer for this race than the garmin. I may have to actually listen mostly to my body! Smile
                    Wait until you get older!!! Some days though, I'm not quite sure what it's saying. John

                    Discipline is never an end in itself, only a means to an end. (RF)

                      I'm looking to pack away 28 miles in this week; + 10% over last week. Did two 5-milers in two days. Yesterday I pushed a little and today did the same run nice and easy. My HRM really helps me to keep my pacing on-task. I also fast walk about 15 miles per week during the evening with my wife which I believe is really helping my training. My son called tonight and will be home on Saturday to do my scheduled 9 miler with me. So far my plan for the HM at a 9:30 pace on 9/3 is falling into place. I know the distance will be fine as I believe in the ever-lengthening long run. The technique has worked for me many times in the past. It's the pace goal that may need to be modified slightly as I can only maintain 9:30 for 7 miles at this point. 9:45 may be more realistic. Still, I keep reminding myself that I'm coming off of two years of walking only and have only been training (very, very carefully) since the last week in June. I just have to keep injuries at bay! John

                      Discipline is never an end in itself, only a means to an end. (RF)

                        My training pattern is such that I run early mornings and then walk briskly for about 30 minutes evenings. These walks are really great as they loosen up the legs and they give me some indication as to how things are going. I will often determine the next day's intensity by what my legs tell me during the evening walk. This past week my mileage climbed to 25 and I thought I would press for 28 this week and then taper down to the HM on 9/3. But during tonight's walk my legs were asking me to back off a little. I do build rest into my schedule and I think tomorrow will be good day to just walk a couple of miles as I am planning on a 9 miler the following day. Having already logged 15 miles the past four days, the 9er will bring this week up to 24, a nicer place to be considering my level of training right now. To push it at this point is to risk injury and having been injured many times over the years, I have learned to heed the warning signs. It was risky enough (stupid?) prepping for this race in just two months anyway. As close as it is, I don't want to spoil it now! After my 9 miler on Saturday I will decide whether to press on or perhaps wait for another time. Undecided

                        Discipline is never an end in itself, only a means to an end. (RF)

                          Well. Felt pretty good this morning so I walked my youngest son to soccer practice (10 minute walk) and then did two miles of alternating laps of walking and 10:00 pace running on the school's brand new track. What a nice facility, and right out my front door to boot! Okay, tomorrow's 9 miler with Tim (son #2) is on. Wish me luck!

                          Discipline is never an end in itself, only a means to an end. (RF)

                          zoom-zoom


                          rectumdamnnearkilledem

                            Hope this morning's run is a nice one! I think you will be ready for that HM! Big grin k

                            Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

                            remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

                                 ~ Sarah Kay

                              Hey John, How'd your run go? Yesterday's tempo run was horrible. I could only fit the run in at 4pm, and it was hot and humid. To make it worse, my wife is sick and didn't want me gone for long, so a 6 miler turned into a 3 miler... and I could barely keep the tempo pace with the heat (that said, with only 3 miles it's hard to get a good warmup and gradually build to the tempo pace). Today I ran with a local running store group training for the Rochester HM and M. We thought we were doing 12 miles but ended up taking a wrong turn and only getting 10.7. Oh well. The pace was fast enough that I felt like stopping and not doing the extra mile or so. So, cutting a couple runs short this week put me under 30 miles for the week. Oh well. I think I'll ramp it up a little this coming week, then taper back the week before the race. The couple who own the running shop are the race directors for the Oak Tree HM. He said alrhough there are rollers, the only bad hill is a 1.5ish mile hill at mile 10 -- fairly steep and long. I'll probably try to drive the course before hand so I know what I'm in for.
                                Hi Joel. Thanks for the post. What you experienced is really the reason I stopped participating in races years ago. When I would be training for an event it would be very difficult for me to "go with the flow" of my normal life events (which really should come first). I still don't like having my training bound to this up-coming race. But my goal is to eventually (finally) do a marathon, so doing official runs such as this is necessary. So you had an unplanned easy week. Sorry about that. Think of it as playing cards and you just got a not-so-good hand. Play it the best that you can. I had a 9 miler all mapped out on Google Maps and when Tim and I drove it this morning to place some water bottles we realized the hills were way too much. So we scrapped that idea and simply combined two of my regular courses into one 9.4 miler which worked out just fine. It was nice that the rain held off throughout even though it was overcast and very humid. Temp was about 70. Hmmmm! Sound like a hilly run on the 3rd. I might drive it Sunday afternoon and see what's up. I do get some hillwork on my daily runs as no mater where you run outside our village, there are at least some small hills. There are moderate and big ones too if I should ever feel ambitious in the future. Anyway, got it done. Next week an 11 and then the race. At this point I guess I'll send my registration in. Man these races have gotten expensive since I last did one! John

                                Discipline is never an end in itself, only a means to an end. (RF)

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