Hello everyone! I just started this running habit this last spring and was soing pretty decent until illness sidelined me for a few weeks. So i had to start back up again and now am doing better than before thanks to this web site(which i only found like a week into december). Anyhow, I made a list of goals and one of them is to run in a HM at the end of summer, i think i should be ready by then. So i figured I would ask for any advice anyone has to offer.

Hi! I'd seen you on the big board, so I'm glad you found our group. I trained for my first half in about ten weeks, so you have more than enough time to train for the distance. I think steadily lengthening your daily run is a good idea. A few months out from your race--no less than three or four, probably--you need to start lengthening your long run. Some training plans call for you to run no longer than ten miles, and it's a highly individual decision whether you stop there or build up to the full race distance or even do a 14-miler. Build cutback weeks into your schedule; don't keep adding to your total mileage or your long run every week. Every third week or so hit a plateau and stay there, then climb back up slowly. Some people do great on training schedules, some don't. I like to look at different plans and then come up with one that fits into my life. For my first HM, I looked at Hal Higdon's novice plan (sorry I can't seem to link directly to it) but was already running 5 for my easy runs and wanted to run more than 10 miles for my long run, so I tweaked his training schedule. It was a good place to start, though. The half is a great distance, and a fantastic goal. I hope you feel welcome to our group and free to post in our monthly thread. Though I'm not training for a half at the moment, I think it remains my favorite distance. (modified to try to fix link)

Welcome to our group! I am sure you will have more specific questions as time goes by, until then take it slow, enjoy yourself.

What's a Yankee Fan doing out in Ohio? Seeing as you have been running since last spring, you have established some base mileage, how much? Miles per week = Times per week = Longest distance = Knowing some of these things will help us understand where you're at. VixiDu is right, that you have plenty of time to prepare for the HM at the end of the summer and that most programs require a minimum of 12 weeks of training to get you there, "PROVIDING" you have a good base to begin with. The next thing to do is to find some training programs to model after. You don't have to follow them word for word, but it will give you an idea of the base needed and the increments to increase by. Some programs will have you run the 13.2 prior to the race, others will get you close. Some of the members here use a training of Run/walk to get the milege in and it's worked for them, but the important thing (like the rest of my friends have said) is to get the milelge in. Don't take anything from me as being Gospel, as I've only run one HM myself (lasy year) and injured myself 2 weeks before my targeted 2nd, but do join in on monthly discussion thread and share with us over there as we cover lots of things from our own training trials and tributes to a great variety of stuff, some related to running some not, but it's a really great bunch of people who participate in the monthly thread.

Well living here in CT, we are split mostly between Red Sox and the Yankees, so it can get quite interesting. My question about times was do you one 3 time a week, 4 etc. You must have an idea of how far each run is if you're able to calculate your mileage. You have lots of time to prepare, but will have to get that mileage up a bit. LPH