Half Marathon Training Spring 2024

10 weeks until my first HM… my runs have been a little patchy over the last few weeks. Mostly due to summer holidays, plans, a week holiday etc. I hadn’t been doing much more than 5/6km in the last month along with weight training. However, I went out and did a 8km this morning, started off feeling “ploddy” but I enjoyed the last half. Hoping that this gets me into the swing of longer distances and ready for the HM. The thing is, if I do a 10km race I can happily do it in just over an hour. It’s the peer pressure and motivation of other people running too. It’s a different story when I’m on my own! My 8km was 53 minutes, slower than normal but was happy to do it consistently.

I’ve been back and forth about plans. But given I’ve not been able to run recently I am going to try following this plan (I’ve started on week 2 with a two mile run) - as slowly as possible. I found it on Runnersworld, I think. But I am ignoring all hill and speed workouts - just using it for the miles. I will most likely Jeff all runs longer than about 4 or 5 miles too - ratio to be confirmed! An American pacer I follow online seems to get on well with 90:90 when she is pacing 3:00 half marathons and that might work.

@Trickedbyadoughnut sounds like you have plenty going on! My DC are grown and left home, and we have never had animals :-). My longest runs were marathon distance x 2 which I took really slowly with plenty of rest stops/ice cream breaks etc. I am looking forward to getting my Sundays back tbh.

Well done @CatherineMaitland and good to hear recovery going well @BogRollBOGOF.

I didn't end up running today, I slept badly last night so slept in this morning and we hiked 9 miles and swam in the sea instead.

Congratulations @OhOneOhTwoOhThree ! Did you get out for your recovery run today?

I'm glad to hear you're both on the road to recovery @gm2023 and @BogRollBOGOF.

A nice early start is the only way I can manage in heat @CatherineMaitland unless it's an actual event.

Five days yoga is excellent @Trickedbyadoughnut feeling good is such a great incentive to reward the commitment. I've only done a class a week for the last month and can feel I ought to do more.

I've started my BP meds so I'm giving it a few days and will see how parkrun goes Saturday. I'd still love to do Robin Hood if I can up the distance over the next few weeks, I'll follow @gm2023 fine example there and see how it feels. Bit of holiday running potential too which always helps.

Well done on the ultra, @OhOneOhTwoOhThree, and pleased to hear about everyone else’s recent achievements too!

I’ve now done 3 runs - 20 mins, 30 mins and 25 mins. I’m also making sure I walk for 5 minutes before and after, and I’m doing stretches and focusing on my physio exercises. I’ve had my gym induction too and have a plan for the weights machines so I’m going to try to do that twice a week.

I don’t need to rush deciding whether or not I can do the half marathon so I’m focusing on getting the miles in and I’ll take it a day at a time. I’m painfully slow but considering I could barely walk three weeks ago I’ve decided that’s OK!

Running uphill without stopping is always an epic feeling.

I might have been 32+ mins at parkrun the other day but I ran up all three big hills unlike 27 min DS who had some walking time!

5mi trail run done and the only aches and pains were earned in the gym last night

I love the romantic idea of doing an ultra but seems a lot to aim for considering I can't even do a half marathon yet. There are some good ones near where I live in Somerset that wouldn't be hard to get to and of course other counties like Wiltshire would be accessible too. The flat ones seem to sell out fastest but seem to me to be less interesting. But I quite like a bit of up and down, yes the up is more strenuous but then you get the fun and reward of cruising downhill.

I got up early again to run up the Selborne zig zag path as it's really steep and was always a tiring walk. Pleased that I could run all the way (slowly) without stopping.

Congratulations @OhOneOhTwoOhThree sounds like a lovely course, glad you enjoyed it. Can I ask how long your longest runs were distance/time wise? I would love to do an ultra in my home county, I've looked at it for years but I'm not sure that I can really commit to more time training when I have a dog, two horses and a DH (order of importance 😆).

That\s good news @BogRollBOGOF!

@Trickedbyadoughnut well done on the yoga. I'm about a month behind with the playlists, but hoping to double up a bit over the next couple of weeks as we're on hols. I'm very impressed by your cycling, now that my big races done I want to get back on my bike this summer.

@gm2023 good that you are doing some gym work to stay fit.

So I did my ultra on Saturday. It was really hot so I was a bit slower than I'd planned but otherwise it went well. It was super-well organised, rest stations well stocked and nicely spread out and a beautiful trail route with a bit of everything from fields to woods to roads through villages to a bog. I haven't checked the field but it seemed as though there were a lot of women running which made for a nicer/more relaxed vibe than some other events I've done that have felt a bit testosterone-heavy.

We had a long walk yesterday and I had a quick dip in the sea. I'm hoping for a short run tomorrow to test the legs properly.

Got my eye on a couple of trail HMs in September just to keep the running going an maintain my fitness - I've worked so hard to get to this point and don't want to have to start all over again in a few months.

I'm running again

I did a short, gentle run-walk to test the ground at the end of the week and parkrun on Saturday. DS opted for the hilly course as he wanted to CB that one and go sub-30. I set my timer up to jeff, but actually ended up running the vast majority of it.

I've also been to the gym. Swimming was more comfortable than last week, and I had a much improved range of movement. I'd say I'm about 90% recovered, with a functional range of movement, but still some weakness and twinging when pushed.

It's good going to stay fit @gm2023 ! Hope your recovery keeps going well.

@gm2023 a bit different, as it wasn't an injury situation, but all my previous races were done on two days running a week as I was doing a lot of cycling - five days I'd cycle commute either 25km or 50km total, run on Wednesday, long run at the weekend and the other weekend day was a rest day. It was doable.

I’m still not really running as I’m terrified of hurting myself again. I’m not in pain any longer and have been consistently doing my physio exercises but I’m not due to see her again until next week. I’ve joined a gym and been twice now - mostly to cycle on an exercise bike but I’ve also had an introduction to the weights machines and I’ve been promised a bit of a programme to follow next week. I tried running yesterday as it’s now twelve weeks until my half marathon. I managed 20 very slow minutes but as I’m still officially signed off running I didn’t want to push the pace or distance. I’m going to try a similar run on Sunday to see how that feels but I’m really trying to keep everything as light as possible.

I am quite close to giving up on doing the race but I’m giving myself until 1 August to see how I am. If I do it, I am wondering if I can get by with only running twice a week (I usually run three times a week) and replacing one run with a cycle/strength session. I assume my injury is essentially an overuse one so perhaps doing something else while increasing my long run might be sensible. But I keep reading that’s it’s important to actually run so your body makes the necessary adaptations to get around the course.

Just taking it one run at a time for now though!

@BogRollBOGOF thank you for mentioning the carb cycling, I think it could really work - low carb works well for weight loss for me, but just doesn't work for me on long run or hard workout days. I can't get through a half on low carb snacks 😅

@CatherineMaitland definitely back on it if you're getting up at 5 to run! I get up at 5.30/6 sometimes on hot days, some times I'll run in the forest in the evening or, as I'll do today, I'll get on the turbo trainer for some cross-training.

@OhOneOhTwoOhThree my watch doesn't really seem to register the zone 2 running correctly so it seems to mess up my fitness predictions - but I've done a HM PB and a 5k PB this year so I know I am fitter! For a start, I worked out my zone 2 heartrate on a website according to my VO2 max and my zone 2 is up to 150 bpm - whereas if I get 150 bpm on my watch, it puts me right up in zone 4 and puts the run down as anaerobic, rather than aerobic.

Still not back on the yoga absolutely every day, but at least five times a week and I'm feeling better and sleeping better so need to keep going,

THat's an easy start @CatherineMaitland but how lovely to have finished your run before more people have started their day.

@BogRollBOGOF re tech - my strava tells me that I am significantly less fitter than I was last September (when I'd followed exactly the same training plan). I am running slower this year, but don't think that I'm any less fit!

Got up at 5am to get my run in today (4 easy miles) - I'm staying near my parents' house up in the South Downs and it was pretty lovely. How do you all manage on hot days?

I'm still not anywhere close to half marathon distance, but also 3 months to go till my vague plan for a race.

That's the cool thing about a good base of distance running, you're pretty flexible about picking your next event rather than having 3-4 month training blocks.

I tend to do 3 HMs per year which is a nice balance of base and recovery. Mentally that was a good base for my marathon as I only needed 4 runs beyond my usual range to be ready for a beginners plan, then did a HM 6 weeks later on "no training"

My intention is to repeat last autumn's trail HM which I really enjoyed.
I'm still not running but have walked 22 undulating miles in the past week which is probably more than I'd have run. My symptoms are easing a lot now and I'm being checked over tomorrow. At least it's timed for post-race recovery and not impairing my next training block. Walking undulating terrain is no bad exercise anyway... except according to Garmin where I've barely made it to the "warm-up zone" despite walking at a decent pace!

In a moment of madness over the weekend I googled 8 week marathon training plans, as that is the gap between this weekend’s ultra and a fairly local trail marathon. In the cold light of day I realised that the half would be a better option, as all the training runs would be shorter than anything I’ve done recently 😀

I think I'm back into a regular running groove. I like the Strava feature of matched runs - I did a route today that I haven't done since April, and I was considerably faster today. Reminded me that you can't always see progress in the very short term and you have to look further back to see how far you've come. I'll remember that next time I feel like I am slow and bad at running.

(speaking of dishonest bodies - so often when I feel good I turn out to be have been practically walking, and when I feel bad on a run, the performance turns out to be decent)

That’s so funny @BogRollBOGOF I had to run for the train tonight. Granted I was in non-running trainers and a normal bra, but I felt like I was going to have a heart attack. Too many long slow runs!

I went for a long walk yesterday. My body was trying to tell me that it's never been for a walk before, let alone running a HM 10 days earlier.

Bodies are dishonest bastards

Oh that's such a shame how frustrating for you. @gm2023 If you can find the right gym I think that'd be great to keep things ticking over. Despite my running decline the weights and yoga/pilates have kept me in much better shape, so I feel I'm in a good position when I pick things up again. It feels much more positive mentally.

Can you defer your place? I can with Robin Hood, so I've been eying up that list @OhOneOhTwoOhThree shared to find one to aim for in spring.

Looks like another two weeks off for me, although pain is definitely subsiding so I’m feeling more positive than I have done so far. Some new exercises to do and an encouragement to try cycling on an exercise bike to keep up some cardio fitness. Going to look at gym memberships today to see if I can find one that will tide me over for the next month or so. Trying to stay positive - and managing it mostly - but think I’m going to sell my half marathon place. I think I’ll be running soon but that distance on an expedited training plan might not do my injury any favours!

I keep a weight near my front door so I can do weighted calf raises/ stretches at the end of a run. Sometimes I actually remember to do them! 😂

Still on my running break. I'm improving. Did a strength class today and the range of movement is definitely better than the last two weeks. Still adapting around it and staying low-impact though and it's definitely not right yet.
The worst bit's been the disturbance to sleep from pain at night. That's also improving, but there's a bit of a lag as that exhaustion wears off.
I'm being checked over in another 10 days, so hopefully should be much closer to normal then.

At least I did my race and am in a natural rest phase.
Plus the DCs are now old enough that I can run pretty normally through the summer holidays these days so can get back on it when I'm ready.