Half marathon - any one doing one?

[Cherryminx]

There was a thread last year which I looked at in admiration as I struggled through C25K and then went on to run a 10K. So I can hardly believe that in a fit of madness I've signed up for a half Marathon in May.

Training starts tomorrow! Would anyone like to join me?

You're not kidding! A minute a mile off is a huge ask. Sub 2:10 is fab in itself though, less than 10-min miles all the way round.

My aim at the moment is to go sub 1:50 in my next half, and sub 4 in my next marathon. 1:50 is only 5 mins off my current pb, but that's actually quite a lot in reality, I think!

That autumn trail half looks beautiful. Just had to google where the forest of Dean was though my guess was a good 200 miles out!!!

Definitely Cherry although I'm very jealous of yours, looks gorgeous. Reckon I'm aiming for 2.10 for mine. I knocked three minutes off my 10k PB today so with a bit of work could be possible. Got a 10k per month now till July then we start!

Well done chutney - 3 mins off 10k is good going. My plan is Race for Life 5k with DD in early July and then our local NT place had a 10k every month so could do those too. Otherwise will prob stick with the plan I did rather badly for this HM. Maybe if I do it better I'll go faster.

Am flirting with minimalist running shoes as have a pair of vivo barefoot shoes - meant to be good for reduciing injuries. Even though I haven't actually had many.

Well done cherry!!! Great time!! Glad to here you managed without the loo too!! Hope you're all recovered now.

The shoes sound interesting, might be worth a go if you're not planning any great distances for a while Cherry. How are you feeling in general?

I'm off to the physio today to get some advice on my niggly hip/arch thing. Been putting it off as its not really a problem as such but feel like some advice would be helpful.

How's everyone else getting along? Who's up next?

All quiet on here this weekend so assuming no one doing one. I was really tired earlier in the week and also feeling a bit deflated but cheered myself up by helping out at a local 10k.

Haven't done any running - just catching up with life but am going to write out a plan for me and DD to do our race for life training to get myself going again which I thought I could try out in my barefoot shoes as you are meant to build up gradually with them.

I'm also going to start going along to a running club session on Friday mornings which is off road and quite friendly.

Hope everyone else well.

Good luck with the shoes Cherry.
Am doing the race for life with my daughters next month, the oldest is refusing to train so we'll be walking a lot I think!
For me I hope to do a local 10 mile race at the end of July, then it's the biggie in Glen Coe in October. We do have a local half in September which I could use as part of training so thinking about that too.

Hello everyone. I haven't been posting because I am still not really running. Stupid foot still sore, so I'm volunteering tomorrow. I have my entry for a local 5 mile/8.1 mile/HM over a weekend in late June filled in and ready to post, but haven't got round to sending it off. I've done it the last two years and been at the back both times, so don't mind being slow, but don't want to make myself even worse.

I'm volunteering at parkrun tomorrow so will at least be around some runners

Great idea to start out with those shoes Cherry and ease yourself in. The running club sounds a great find too.

My DD got so carried away in the atmosphere at Race for Life last year I could hardly keep up. She'd only ever done a lap of our parkrun before but then was hooked. She's done thirty odd parkruns now. Im hoping DS likes the atmosphere this year for the 10k or he'll be grumbling the whole way that were too slow.

Tricky call FiftyNine it'd be a shame not to do it but not at the cost of making it worse. When's the deadline for entry? Enjoy the volunteering!

I like the idea of a ten mile race emummy, is that another hilly one?

I'm considering a half next month - it's a very hilly one, but that suits me!

Just parkrun today though. Trying to get my 5k time back to somewhere near what it was this time last year, before DD came along...

Think the race is mildly hilly chutney, but on road so no big mountains! It's based in Ballater which was badly affected by flooding so they haven't totally decided on the route yet as some bridges have been damaged. So it may be a surprise!

One week to go for me - I have the Edinburgh half marathon next Sunday. Did 7.5 miles today which was quite pleasant and will do 5k midweek. Slightly sore feet from spending yesterday in high heels at a wedding but I am sure they will be fine by next week.

Joining the thread to say I have my first half in September! Dead scared but excited as it is one of my goals. I have done 2 10 mile races before, one in the snow/cross country and one on road. This will be a fairly flat half.

My worry is that after I've done 10 miles I have nothing left in me! Especially with going that bit faster with the race atmosphere. I need to work out how to pace myself.

I am also worried about toilet troubles!

Welcome naice cuppa. I'm sure if you've done 10 miles on snow, 13 miles on roads won't seem too bad.

For the pacing thing, have you got a running watch? By the time I'd done all the training, I knew pretty much how fast I could run for how long so just used my watch to keep an eye on how fast I was going. But TBH I don't have much of a range of paces.

As for the toilet troubles - if you read my posts you'll know all about mine. White food for about 3 days before the race and immodium did it for me.

Hello naice! Sounds like you'll be fine if you've already done 10 mile races. I think your perspective changes once you're used to running longer and longer distances. Train so 10 miles isn't such a big deal and the extra 3 will be fine! And don't go off like a rocket on race day!! I'm like cherry with the loo department - lots of over sharing on this thread! But Chelsea buns and white toast for carb loading seemed to work for race days. But my training is often blighted by loo issues

I've lost my way a bit running, seems I'm a slave to a training plan and a definite goal to aim for! Just had a look at the events list for my area. The next one near me is in October but it sounds so dull, 4 laps round Bradford. Other than that there's a beautiful off road HM but it's not till Feb 2017 .

I did do a lovely new route last night, definitely a summer run as there's a mile section of no pavement along a lane but the views from the top are stunning. Worth the pain of running up some massive hills!!

Mildly hilly doesn't sounds bad emummy, all your runs sound so interesting!

parkrun must be a good benchmark Running, you've come back with a vengeance with another half in the offing.

How exciting Jaggy. How's the foot feeling? Weather looking good for he weekend?

Hello naice. I agree with the others, ten miles especially under race conditions will see you fine. Have you got a plan in mind. From that base you should be able to get to thirteen miles early in training which will give you confidence. I love my Garmin. To be honest I'm on the slow side so it's less about going off too fast and more about reminding myself I'm not going as slow as I thought so I should push on.

I know what you mean about losing your way Igotta. It's not that I've not been running but I feel like I lack focus. I'm hoping the 10ks will be a benchmark thing but I do t feel I'm really training if that makes sense.

Thank you all. I have no plan in my mind particularly, apart from to get out and do a few 10 mile training runs, as I don't often get the time to do that long. I run an average of 4 miles every other day and sometimes daily, and save the longer run for the weekends. I do have a Garmin. I am a steady pacer and have concerns about reducing my 'fast' pace to conserve energy.

Thanks for the tips about white carbs! Do any of you need something for that extra energy boost when doing longer runs? I tried the gels once during a race and nearly threw it back up in my mouth, it was vile! Perhaps a sugary drink would be better.

Cuppatea - the problem with a sports drink is that it's heavier and bulkier to carry round than a gel. I like my Camelbak, but over really long distances it can chafe.

Jelly babies are ok, but tend to weld together into a jelly mass when it's hot. I stick with gels as they're the easiest thing to carry, and to eat - though my god, they're disgusting. I threw up after a "pink grapefruit" flavour one once.

From past experience, the SIS lemon and lime flavour are the least horrendous of the bunch.

Anyone doing the Huddersfield half on June 5? I'm debating it. Had a place last year but cancelled as was pregnant and feeling rough. It's a hilly one!

Naice I use clif shot bloks , strawberry is lovely, mountain berry not bad. They are like thick chewy sweets and usually don't make me feel sick! I take the first one at 45 mins, then every half hour after that, although I think the packet says to have more. If it's a particularly tough run I might take more than one.
Lovely run today, saw some deer which always makes me smile!

emummy your runs and races all sound idyllic!

Running Huddersfield isn't too far from me but it sounds like a tough race. I'll have another look at but it might be out of my league.

jaggy good luck for this weekend. Hope you're recovered from 'stiletto foot'!

chutney, glad it's not just me struggling with focus, I have my triathlon training to start but I don't really need to do that for another 6 weeks. I just need to sign up for something, be it a 10 mile or a HM and get on with it!!

Thanks all. "Stiletto foot" seems to have passed. Just back from a fairly gentle 5k and that is me now until Sunday. The forecast looks fine - cloudy and not too windy. It's an 8am start so it shouldn't be too warm.

Good luck jaggy! I did Edinburgh last year and really enjoyed it. The hardest part I found was when the faster runners had turned and were coming back, I kept looking for the turning point and it seemed to be a long time coming! If I had remembered it was at 11 miles I would have relaxed a bit more I think. The support along the route is pretty good and the crowds at the finish are very enthusiastic. Fingers crossed for good weather for you.

Gah! Wrote a big long post and then lost it.

General gist was:

Good luck jaggy. Hope its not too hot.

Naice - I eat those dextrose tabs which probably aren't much good for energy but are something to do when you are getting a bit bored about mile 8.

running & chutney - know what you mean about loosing direction. Haven't been out much in last two weeks but did do training run with DD and tried my new shoes out very slowly. I'm going to go out with a local National Trust running group tomorrow - off road & fairly chatty so should be nice.

Anyone else carrying more weight than they should be at the moment, and finding it tough? I'm still in the process of losing the baby weight and it makes running SO much harder. The aim is to be back at "perfect" weight before mat leave ends, and definitely before the marathon in October.

cherry - trail run with a group sounds perfect. I'm getting out 4/5 times a week at the moment, but not pushing myself as hard as I should be. Got a 10k fell race soon though, which will be punishing!