Half marathon new thread

[londonmummy1966]

Starting a new half thread - as we are running out of space - no I'm ot envious of the lucky guys with London places - no not at all...

Have just booked what will be my 2nd Half - Great Birmingham run - as it's relatively local and I have childcare in place as I have a concert on the Saturday. First not quite booked as it's stone age postal entry plus SAE and I need to buy stamps - task for tomorrow.

3 and a bit weeks to go and I have my last long run this weekend (12 miles - going to run home from parkrun..!) thanks to DH's work patterns. 10k trail race for my race pace 10k then possible hill walking week (toddler dependent) before a final taper into the race.

10 miler was interesting - definitely needed fuel at about 8 miles (DD's fruity paw thingies) and would not have wanted to go much further without water (well hydrated before) so have borrowed a belt to try for the 12 miler. Shouldn't need to carry water on the race as there are water stations though. Wasn't that sore afterwards though which was something. Was a linear route and net uphill - fortunately the race is a loop so any up will be balanced by down which definitely helps!

@Chutney depending on location Great Eastern run is 8/10 and Birmingham following weekend. Forest of dean has good reviews from my RC and is about that time of year as well!

So my 12 miler became a 13 miler. Did a parkrun then ran home so had a breather while doing barcodes and another couple of breathers while considering the navigation situation plus a couple of snack walk breaks but otherwise ran the whole thing. 3 week taper due to holiday/DH work commitments.

My plan is to keep my HR below 160 apart from up hill and see what pace that gets me - with any luck that will be somewhere near 2h30 which is my ideal world target.

Can I drop in to say 'hello'?

I started running last year, have just done my first 10k race, and am hoping to do a half early next year.

I'm planning on sticking to running up to 10k over the summer (hay fever) and then train for the longer distance through the autumn.

Does anyone have a favourite plan? Or can it be done just by doing what I do anyhow, which is run 3-4 times a week, 2xshort, 2xlong, and by making one of the longs progressively longer?

I'll have a look at those, thanks random. Water on the long training runs is such a hassle this time of year, I've been thinking about a hydration pack. I've got bottles that go in my flipbelt which are very comfy but I find any belt very hot in the summer! Catch 22. Well done on the 13 miles.

Hello Auntie! I've followed a few different plans. At a minimum I've done parkrun, a longer run which I've gradually increased the miles on and a short interval run. I'm sticking with that, maybe alternating intervals with hill runs and adding in an extra shorter run at race pace. I think they key thing is extending the distance and mixing up the rest of the runs so they're not all the same pace.

I am not an expert but found the BUPA beginner plan helpful as I used it for the long run lengths and then did 2-3 other runs in the week. Parkrun if not otherwise engaged, some form of speed or form session (hills, sprints, intervals)

Evening all, I'm signing up for my first half in October.

I started running at the start of the year and did a 10k a few weeks ago. I'm very slow but going to be starting interval training to help with that.

That sounds great shortaris1, good luck with the training

First half done. Was undulating mixed terrain. Undulating meant lots of down in 1st 5k when I was trying to keep up with the pack, then constant low level up for the next 12 followed by some down to finish.

Annoyed with myself for going off way too fast but got round without walking more than up some of the steeper bits and at water stations. Managed to run all the last mile at a decent pace and even managed a sprint finish!

Really friendly race and water every 2 miles was much appreciated!

Well done random that sounds really lovely. gentle inclines are my least favourite. My HM training is going well and I only missed 2 runs when on holiday. September is my third HM and as before I cannot imagine running 13.1 miles!