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cardiff half marathon training
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i am very new, only started running in july and totally new to exercise after a stroke at birth. i never joined in school sports but after 20 years at 36 decided to try running to keep fit after losing 6 stone 
. to keep motavated i decided i would sign up for the cardiff half marathon and have done 119 miles training so far and starting back after a break for christmas because of work tomorrow but how can i get better, my current speed is 3.2 to 4 mph. i know i have tons of time but want to get a great first pb and to prove to my family i can do this!
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Comments
Hi Emily, you've made a great start.
Cardiff is a long time away, so it would be worth getting some 5k and a 10k race in before the autumn to help with the motivation, and to give you some experience of participating in events.
Assuming you are in cardiff or nearby, I think there is a parkrun in the city that would be worth trying. It would also be worth trying to find a local 10k sometime in the summer.
Hi Emily, I've signed up for Cardiff half aswell, I did it last year and its a great race!
As Stutyr says, its a long way ahead, and I agree doing some 5k parkruns and a local 10k would be good preparation. Try and vary your runs so you're not always running at the same speed. Intervals are a great way to improve.
well done on getting started!
Congratulations - sounds like your training is going well. Have a read of Booktrunks thread 0 to a marathon in 22 weeks if you want to some inspiration. You say your current speed is 3-4 mph, you could try running as far as you can comfortably at 5 or 6 mph, then increasing the distance slightly each time - even if it is only 50 or 100 m at first (I suppose this is like small intervals?). Maybe even try a HR monitor and train based on that (its working wonders for me). What is your heart rate at your current speeds at the end of a run? How tired are you during/after a run? How far is your average and longest run?
Park Runs in Caediff and Newport, plenty of 10K's around Cardiff in next three months. RW and Cardiff both produce good schedules. Trawl this site for previous plans. Good luck, it's a great race and you will enjoy