Help !! 1st Half Marathon in 46 days but I'm old, slow & not a 'natural runner'

[waxmytash]

So wayyy back in March the idea of a half marathon seemed like a good idea and (for me) aged 49 would be a real achievement.

I started with the couch to 5k and then progressed to 10 k (please bare it mind its taken me since march to get this far.........}

Anyway D day is looming fast & I now only have 46 days left to get from 10 to 20 k.

My current plan is 5k park run on a Saturday,8k mid week and a longer sunday run adding 1.5k to my 10k distance.Embarrassingly my 5k time is 34 mins and 10k is 1hr 12 but what I lack in speed I make up with enthusiasm and determination !!

What else can I do to have a hope in hells chance of finishing alive ?
I'm not too worried about my time - I just want to be able to say that I ran every bloody step !

Dropping out is NOT an option, I WILL do it !!

Your 5k and 10k times are not embarrassing. 7 weeks is not masses of time but is enough, though if you can fit in another run each week, even better...

If your aim is "just" to finish - which is a massive achievement in itself - then the only thing you need to worry about is distance. Ideally you'd do a mix of types of workout, but the main thing you need to focus on is physically getting round, if the furthest you've run is 11.5k - that's only halfway...

If it were me - I would be increasing my Sunday run every week, by 1-2 km. Once you have already run 18-20k, you can have a good level of confidence that you'll get round 13 miles. I would be using my Parkrun as a speed workout, because that builds stamina & ability so when you run "normally" it's less effort. Mid week then you can mix it up - maybe some hills, or speed training, or just distance. (Hill training is also good because it make running on the flat seem less effort).

About a week beforehand - cut right back on it, do about half as much (tapering - your body is storing up its resources for race day).

www.bupa.co.uk/health-information/directory/r/running-programme-half-marathon might help...

Doable but tbh I would think twice. Increasing your weekly distance anything but very slowly is a great way to get injured. ITB syndrome, plantar fasciitis, stress fractures etc etc. All very painful, crippling problems all stemming from going too far too fast.

I don't think couch to half mara in 6 months is a recipe for healthy legs. I'd stick with 10k for a while. That is a hell of an achievement. You do need a base of LOTS of miles befoe you should even consider the serious distances (half mara and above).

Many Thanks Lord

Will definitely try and add another run each week.- I work full time and have a six yr old so would probably only manage to fit in a 5 or 6 K.

Fortunately there are plenty of hills where I live so that's hopefully helping (I do purposely pick my shorter routes to include the hills)

Why did I think this would be fun.....................

When I ran my first half I hardly did any training. It was a mistake, but it all depends on the run itself too. Is it a big half? One that is well supported, most likely to mainly through a town or city? Im asking as the bigger half's will have lots of people walking parts (some maybe all)

You've done up to 10K so another 5 weeks (gives you time to taper - cut down training) to get up to 10 miles (you dont need to run more than that in your training runs) so add another mile a week.

It will be fun and the sense of achievement after will be totally worth it.

Your times are good so dont be embarrassed by them.

It is certainly doable.

Rivers That's probably sensible advice BUT I HAVE to at least try .

Dr Its a big half I think 11,000 did the half & full last year and a city centre route.

I suppose I need to get my bum off the sofa and go for a run as its stopped raining...................

I think it's fantastic taking this on, and your 5k and 10k times are not embarrassing at all. You'll get 'round it just fine!

Like others have said, I'd aim to increase your distance each week by 1-2k and use the Parkrun for speed training. The atmosphere of the race will really help to spur you on as well and you'll find you can push yourself much harder with all that encouragement.

Do you wear a running watch at all? That might help to give you a sense of the pace you should be starting off at, as it can be a bit demoralizing if you start a bit fast then feel very tired after the first half. The other thing worth considering is nutrition, you probably haven't needed much for 10k but I usually eat something if I'm running for more than an hour. Experiment with different gels and blocks etc, but jelly babies or beans work just fine.

Well done you, I'm certain you'll get 'round it and as Dr said, you won't be the only person walking if you do need to.

For my first half I trained up to 10 miles and then the rest was just a parkrun to the finish line.

It's very doable

And your 5/10k times are not embarrassing at all

Erica I treated myself to the garmin forerunner 35 and its really helped me keep a steady pace.

Thank you all so much for the tips and encouragement - this really will be a massive personal achievement for me as I was always the last person to be picked to join the team in PE & the last one to finish the cross country......

I'm an old slow 49, too. I wouldn't even attempt a HM so well done you.

It's okay if you drop to a walk for stretches. Maybe after the first hour, walk one minute in every ten minutes. A lot of people walked for spells on a 5 mile run I did; and yet still finished in front of me who didn't walk at all.

the only advice i can give you is in the 6 training weeks do all your runs easy and try to increase both weekly millage and long run and try to add an extra day if not id change days of runs it makes no sense to have 2 days running next to each other satarday and sunday and 1 run in the other 5 days