I have been running on and off for about 12 months and have just signed up for my first half marathon in April. I would be intrested in any training tips to get me ready for the race. I am currently running about 5 to 6 miles 3 to 4 times a week.
WOW that doesn't leave long to get prepared! I ran my first half last September and prepared with the following.
Ran 4 times a week. 1 session of intervals, sprinting at 80% max effort then recovery jog for around 30 mins. 1 session of a long run, 9-10 miles at easy pace and a session of 4-5 miles as quickly as I could bear.
It's really good to mix up your runs rather than do the same thing every session. Doing the above over 3 months enabled me to run sub 1:40 after having only run for 9 months (and giving up the ciggys!) Rest and eating well is also VERY important.
Daniel has kinda covered it - you need to build up one of your runs to cover more mileage, to at least 10miles and I don't think you need to go over 15 miles. Personally for my first half, I only went up to 10 miles so that completing the 13 miles on the day added extra sense of satisfaction. The long run should be at least a minute per mile slower than your target race pace.
Intervals are optional, but definitiely help. You may want to mix this up with tempo runs, which would be 4 to 5 miles at your target race pace (or a bit faster if you feel up to it). If you do intervals one week and a tempo the next week would probably be the best combo for your first HM.
Comments
WOW that doesn't leave long to get prepared! I ran my first half last September and prepared with the following.
Ran 4 times a week. 1 session of intervals, sprinting at 80% max effort then recovery jog for around 30 mins. 1 session of a long run, 9-10 miles at easy pace and a session of 4-5 miles as quickly as I could bear.
It's really good to mix up your runs rather than do the same thing every session. Doing the above over 3 months enabled me to run sub 1:40 after having only run for 9 months (and giving up the ciggys!) Rest and eating well is also VERY important.
Daniel has kinda covered it - you need to build up one of your runs to cover more mileage, to at least 10miles and I don't think you need to go over 15 miles. Personally for my first half, I only went up to 10 miles so that completing the 13 miles on the day added extra sense of satisfaction. The long run should be at least a minute per mile slower than your target race pace.
Intervals are optional, but definitiely help. You may want to mix this up with tempo runs, which would be 4 to 5 miles at your target race pace (or a bit faster if you feel up to it). If you do intervals one week and a tempo the next week would probably be the best combo for your first HM.