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Half-marathon - peaking too soon
I've been training for the Royal Parks Half Marathon which is in October. As I'm very much a beginner runner (started C25K in January this year), the excitement of actually being able to run any distance at all has kept me going to complete a 5k-10k programme and I'm now on week 8 of a 12 week 21K programme and running for 90 minutes - or about 8.5-9miles.
Obviously, I'm going to finish in a month and be 'ready' for the half marathon - far too early.
Any ideas what I should do? Should I try staying at a 10 mile long weekend run for the next couple of months, with 3 shorter runs in the week, and then take up the training again later to increase mileage? Or maybe drop back to a 60 minute weekly run to try to avoid getting injured?
Any advice would be welcome. Thanks!
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Comments
Firstly, well done
You are doing really well and looks like you have gone the right way about doing things.
If it were me, I would consider the work so far as a "base". Complete the current plan first so you know you can do the distance.
I'd start a new 12 week training plan culminating in the half, one that is just a little harder than what you have been doing.
Until you reach the "Start" date of the new plan, just keep to the 3 runs midweek and a 9-10 miler at the weekend to maintain and stay fit. Provided you don't increase your weekly mileage by more than 10% week on week, and you don't do anything too intensely then you shouldn't get injured. Just keep it steady
Thanks Matty, that's really helpful.
I'll have a look for an intermediate training plan to move onto after this. I definitely need the structure of a training programme rather than trying to go it alone.
I need the same. Its the equivalent of a coach telling me off. if I have the plan printed and on the fridge I know I have to do it. Weird psychological motivator, but it works!
It's a good day to day motivator - another big one for me is my sis-in-law telling me I'd have to walk most of the half-marathon... which means I WILL run the whole thing!
Also consider doing a half or two in advance as practise run them slow n gentle to get used to it
Good idea. It's maintaining that sort of distance that worries me... or maybe I shouldn't worry and just get straight on with a marathon training programme
That's another decent alternative.
I'm a little biased, so I try not to go around saying just get on with doing a marathon, as you can get just as much fun out of running a park run each Saturday
I and a lot if fellow runners are guilty of saying get on with it and run a marathon when millions of runners don't because they just don't want to.
Running half marathons or 5k's your still a runner, hell look at Usain Bolt he'd struggle to do a 5k and no-one complains about him not being a runner
ok, ok, he wouldn't struggle but you know what I mean
Hi, I did my first half earlier this year and based on my experience your training seams to be going well. If I could give you one piece of advise which may go against the gain with some runners........ do the distance at least once before in training. I only trained to 11 mile and when I got to that point during the race I found going on another 2 miles much, much harder than I expected. If you have ran the distance in training physiologically you know during the race you will get round, no matter how hard it gets when you hit the wall. Best of luck
My top advice for people doing their first big event like this is do some smaller 5/10k first, to get used to running in a race situation. I know my first half marathon was a lot harder than it should have been as it was the first time I'd ever run in such a large group it is so different to your training runs. If you have one close do a few parkruns and see about doing 1 or 2 10k 'races' between now and when you need to start uping your miles again for you next half marathon plan.