Half Marathon Trainers

1

Introduction (Read 147 times)

Zelanie


    Hello everyone!  I'm Melanie, and I have come here with the wave of RWOL posters who have lost their forum.  I apologize for the rocky start that some of us have gotten off to, and am looking forward to getting to know this place better!

     

    I am hoping to run my first half marathon in April, 2013.  The course is flat, fast, and local, so a nice place to start!

     

    I am a new runner.  I finished C25K last April, and since then have been mostly working on building my base.  I have completed several 5Ks and a 10K.  Right now I'm at about 26 MPW in 4 days of running, with a LR of 8 miles.  For December, I am going to add a 5th day of running, and try to get up to around 35 MPW.

     

    Then in January I'd like to start my "official" training plan.  I think I am going to use Pfitzinger's HM plan "B" from his "Road racing for serious runners" book.  That starts at about 30 MPW but builds fairly quickly to 50 during the endurance phase, which is why I'd like to be a bit over 30 when I start so that the first few weeks feel relatively easy.

     

    I have no idea what my target paces are, since I've mostly been running easy lately, but my easy pace has dropped.  So I don't know what I could actually do if I pushed myself.  So I am planning to run a 5K in mid-Dec. to get my VO2 Max, and possibly a 10K at the end of the month.  That should help me get my target paces for my quality workouts nailed down.

     

    I look forward to getting to know everyone better!


    an amazing likeness

      Welcome aboard.

       

      Sounds like you have a plan, Zelanie -- which is more than most folks running the first races. Bumping to 50MPW is pretty aggressive, and as you note, adding days will pay dividends more than just pursuing miles.

       

      To my opinion, 10K (and 10mi) are great predictors for 1/2 Marathon pace targets, much, much better than 5K.  A few 10Ks in your training cycle are good endurance and pace tests and partner well with the 8 - 10 mile tempo run half marathon prep.

      Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.

      FlippyNoodle


      Not a dude

        Hey! We should be training buddies then. I did my first HM this month, but my second will be in April 2013. I'm also planning to use Pfitz, but want something in between the two plans, so I'll be modifying the "less than 30" plan to peak around 40 mpw. I just can't put in the time for more than that right now with work, school, and family. FWIW, I ran a 10k in early October and it was really helpful in planning my target pace for my HM...and even then I improved a lot over the course of those 6 weeks leading up to the half. It's kind of cool to be a noob in that regard. There is so much improvement to be made so quickly!

        Zelanie


          Thanks for the feedback!  The mileage build of Plan B might be too aggressive for me, and I will slip back towards Plan A or somewhere in between if that's what needs to happen.  But that's what I'm aiming for at the moment!

          Maybe this is a newbie mistake, but I really want a recent 5K to help me pace my 10K.  My 10K PR especially is pretty soft, I think, and I don't think I'm experienced enough to run the distance by feel to get a better sense of what I can do.  So I'm thinking I'll race the 5K without a watch, and use what I learn from that to help me pace a 10K a couple of weeks later.  Then those numbers I will use to get my pace targets for training.  But of course how that feels in training will determine whether I keep those paces or adjust accordingly.

           

          There is a 10 mile race about a month before my goal half that I'm hoping to run that will hopefully help me get a sense of what's in store and where my training is at that point.  I might do another 10K in there somewhere between there as well, or just run the TT runs in the plan if there's nothing available that fits.