Half marathon help - struggling

[Shefliesonherownwings]

I need some advice or maybe a reality check here as I am struggling with my half marathon training.

So I used to do a lot of running, was a member of a club, ran three times a week and have done several half marathons but this was all 6/7 years ago before marriage and kids and life got in the way. Before last year I hadn't been out running at all for about 5 years.

I decided last year I wanted to get back into it because I used to love it, I wanted to get fit and healthy after having my DS and I wanted to raise money for a charity very close to my heart. So I signed up for a half in April. I started training last October and went right back to basics starting with couch to 10k.

I started well, out three times a week, meeting all the targets on the app and went from nothing to running 20 mins straight within about 6 weeks. I was loving it again too and the weight was dropping off. Then illness hit us all. DS started nursery and over December all of us were constantly sick, I ended up on antibiotics twice. A family member got rushed into hospital too so my running went out the window.

I had the first week of Jan off work so thought I'd get back into it then but I am really struggling, mainly with my stamina and breathing. I can barely run 15 mins now without stopping. I just can't see how I can do this half in April, I am nowhere near the mileage I need to be. At first I was hoping to get close to my old times (nothing major, just 10 min miles) but now i'll be happy just to finish the half. I don't know what to do. I'm back to going out three times a week but I just can't seem to increase my mileage at a rate that will get me close to 13 miles.

I would be gutted to pull out/defer as people have donated money and I am running in my daughter's name which is something very important to me, I wanted to do something in her memory. But I just don't feel I can do it not unless I walk the whole thing :( It is such a struggle when i'm out.

Any advice/tips/kicks up the backside? Is it really doable in 11 weeks??

for a start, the cold weather can make it difficult.

you have plenty of time! I only ever train up to 10 miles then adrenalin will get you round. you've done this before!! you know race day excitement (remember that?? I love that bit)will help you along

have you tried/considered run/walk otherwise known as jeffing?

Of course it is doable! You don’t have to run the whole thing.

Try run/walk in your training and build up from there.

It's definitely do-able - there's plenty of time.

First things first, don't think about speed. If you're struggling with breathing, slow down. And then probably slow down some more. The speed will come back at some point, but just focus on time on feet for now.

If you're back to running 3 times a week, try and give each run a focus. One just a nice easy run - this might involve some run/walking for now, that's fine. One is your 'long' run - this might not start out that long, but this is the one you're aiming to slowly increase the time/distance of.
The third can be some form of focused workout - mix it up for variety. So one week might be hills (lots of suggested workouts online, but essentially find yourself a hill and do some intervals up and down it - run up/recover down, lots of times over, maybe mixing up the time/distance of the uphill bit), one week might be intervals (so you might run 6x 2 mins 'fast' (whatever that means for you) with recovery in between; or maybe 5 x 3 mins, or 8 x 1 min - the focus is on mixing up your speed so your legs get used to going a bit faster but there's still plenty of recovery), one week might be fartlek - google that one, it's good fun and makes the distance go by more easily.
If you used to run with a club, I'm sure you've done all these things before though...

When in April is the half?

Look up jeffing - it's a run/walk technique a bit like start C25K but it should help you to go further in a shorter length of time and reduce the risk of injury. Forget about speed, you just need to make it round.

I think it's doable. For a start, the cold weather can cause chest tightness which makes breathing much harder so you're probably not as unfit as you think. I reckon you need to be doing a 6 miler once a week, a longer run at the weekend (to work up to 13) and an hour or so of cross training inside to keep your cardio fitness up. Your body will remember how to run, you just need to remind it. Best of luck, I'm sure you'll absolutely smash it on the day with the race atmosphere too

Oh, I'd also mention that your long run should be sloooowww. I find a couple of minutes slower than 5k pace for 10k for example, or even slower if also off road/up hill. You don't want to wipe yourself out, you just want to build up your aerobic fitness.

I started a half marathon training plan 2 weeks ago with a completion date of April so it still sounds very achievable to do your half. (I also run regularly but want to do a marathon in September and have gone back to basics as my running has decreased lately).

Thank you all, you've made me feel a lot better. I've done hill runs, speed work, interval training before but i'd forgotten about all that and just been too focused on the distance.

Not heard of jeffing or fartlek so will google those.

I'm struggling to get out of my old mindset in terms of how I used to train, and my speed. In my old training days, I'd get upto 11 miles then taper and I just don't have time to do that now. The half is the 3 April, it's the London Landmarks.

What I could really do with I think is a running buddy, the distraction of having someone with me who can help spur me on would be great. But I don't have any local friends who run, as i've moved from where i used to live and the club I used to belong to. I don't feel confident enough to join a club here because my stamina is so rubbish.

you are lucky to have a place in landmarks half!! enjoy it

I absolutely believe you can, and will do this. Forget about speed. You just need to adjust your thinking and get the joy back. Can you train in green spaces? Can you listen to music? Don't even time your runs, just run. You. Have. Got. This!

What distance are you up to? Try and add 5 to 10% a week.

Good luck but you don't need it.

It's really worth looking up a local club - there's bound to be one near you that suits your needs.

I run a running club, and we welcome a variety of abilities, but are also very honest with people if we think we're not going to be right for them, and have good relationships with other local groups so we all refer people to each other as appropriate.

If you'd emailed our running group with what you'd put in your post, we'd welcome you with open arms!

Have you thought about a running club? There are good virtual ones (lonely goat or the Run Mummy Run Community Club) if you can’t get to sessions. They are not all for speedy runners, they definitely have runners like you and you might find a running buddy, or can find like minded souls to give advice and encouragement.

Just read your update. Please join a club. You must know that runners are the most supportive people in all of society! My old club had such a mix of abilities but the code was that the fastest double backed to the slowest. We were all made to feel equal. There were absolute beginners and people who could easily do a sub 40 10k. Just have a look for a club and raise your concern that you are "slow" and their response will tell you if that's the club for you.

@SummerHouse that’s as exactly what my old club was like, I loved it and everyone was so supportive.

But I had a bad experience with a different club I went to about 5 years ago. In hindsight I should have contacted them first about my abilities and not just turned up as the speed they ran at and the distance was way too much for me and I left feeling very discouraged and disappointed. It’s put me off a bit as I’m now nervous to try again, especially given my current issues. But I do think the supportiveness of a club would help my training. I find I’m losing my love of running as I’m finding it so hard again. I’ll look into local ones, I’m not sure I’d get on with virtual clubs, I need to be with people.

@GirlInACountrySong I know I am but I don’t feel very deserving of it at the moment

Definitely email/contact a club first! We always find out about people when they first come, and they tell us their rough speed, then we can subtly make sure they're running near/with people who we know are at their speed. I remember the first time I went to a club and of course had no idea how fast people were going to set off at, so no way of judging who to try and tag along with. Us run leaders just want people to be happy and get the most out of their sessions. If you tell us where you are in the country, maybe people will be able to suggest clubs - you never know, someone might live near you!

If you have a local parkrun then that's quite a good way to suss out clubs. Check the results page as club runners tend to have their club registered so if they've runners at the lower end of the field you get the idea that they're not an "elite" club.

I’ve done Lamdmarks, it’s a great course with loads to take your mind off the effort. There’s a bit of a lull around mile 9 I think so can you get some support there? The finish is brilliant!

It is totally doable. Finish line not finish time!

My feedback probably doesn't really count as you are already much more experienced than I am! I've only done one half marathon before however what I do have experience of is having a half marathon to do, looming over me and struggling with the training and mindset.

I did a half marathon after being with a club for a while and really enjoying running for the first time ever in my life! My club was extremely all abilities friendly, and very very welcoming to any new runner. When I started i used to say to people running alongside me "I won't be able to answer back to you because I'm too out of breath!" but I found it really helped me not get too wrapped up in my breathing having someone to listen to on the way round, and also was good gage to when I was building up stamina as I built up to being able to hold a conversation all the way round. Another thing was, and you may not be the same, but I would have never pushed myself to do half of the stuff they used to incorporate like a variety of routes, hill work etc. The other runners were an absolute mine of useful tips and encouragement too as people were doing all sorts of different runs and events outside the club. There used to be smaller offshoot unofficial groups too where people would get out for extra runs and there would always be something to fit what you needed like a group getting in a ten miler getting ready for a half, or a group who just wanted a 5k and then a coffee and chat. I didn't take advantage of these as I sometimes went with a friend but in hindsight I'd have done this becasue it would have pushed me to fit it in my schedule and made sure I got the longer runs done. I hated running alone, some people love it, but my mind used to talk me out of it and I used to struggle to switch it off. I like having the company even if too out of breath to chat!

So I guess beforehand I wish I'd done some of the extra runs with people from the club; I wish I'd sampled some energy gels (I had never used them but bought them in a panci just before doing my run, but was too scared to use them for the first time on the day due to potential er....stomach reactions!) I did have some gummy bears which I had every so often on the way round and were just a nice distraction and felt a bit refreshing in my mouth too.
On the day - I downloaded a 1 hour podcast to listen to that was quite chatty and funny, I figured this first hour I was just going to be plodding along getting my miles in and didn't want to be aware of how much time was passing. This really helped me. I then had an energising playlist to play after my podcast which was a really good 'the end is in sight' feeling switching it over. I made a fateful mistake just after mile 10 where i was feeling great, and pleased to have made it to 10 miles, and I thought I'll just have 30 seconds walk to get my energy for the last 3 miles blast....I could not for the life of me get going again after that. I really wished I had never stopped and just kept at my albeit slow jog pace. When I spoke to other much more experienced runners afterwards, they all said 'nooooooo that's the worst thing you can do at that stage'.

I think for you, psychologically you know you can get to the end as you've done it several times before, so have that in mind. Maybe there is a forum for that run where you could link up with a running buddy who's the same pace, that you could go round with if you'd prefer the company? Or maybe at least some other people might be training for it from your area that you could do a couple of training runs with?

I haven't been running at all of late, having got completely out of it after moving to a different area but I feel inspired by your post to maybe start myself from scratch with the couch to 5k app!

It sounds like the illness has knocked your health and confidence and both need a bit of building up. It's hard to say what is possible in 11 weeks as it depends on how your body recovers. In your place I would probably aim to run walk (from the start, not just at the end) so you can take the pressure off yourself to achieve a specific distance in your training.

The cold weather plays havoc with breathing so don't worry about that. Slow right down, even if you have to walk - I've done loads of hiking recently which has actually really helped my running stamina, even though you think it's a bit of a cop out and not getting you anywhere.

Don't be afraid to walk/run, and do try to add some hill reps or interval work in - even just lamp post to lamp post sprints (that's what my friend and I are doing tonight),

Definitely look at clubs in your area, it's so helpful to run in company. Whereabouts are you and maybe someone can recommend a friendly club?

You have plenty of time - YOU CAN DO IT and do your daughter proud

Thank you all, I feel quite teary reading your supportive messages. @DonttouchthatLarry you’re right my confidence has been knocked a lot. I was doing really well with the training and felt so pleased to be doing something for my daughter, then it’s all gone backwards, not helped by the fact I still don’t feel 100%.

I will look into local clubs, I live in Hertfordshire. Without giving my exact location away, I’m Watford, St Albans, Hemel Hempstead way.

@Shefliesonherownwings loads of clubs round there for athletics although I'm not sure on running, might be worth asking Dacorum, Watford, and Chiltern Harriers. Chiltern used to have a running coach called Martin who was absolutely wonderful at getting people in to running but I think he'd be about 90 by now! There's also a ladies group in Croxley I think...

What are your local parkrun options?
I've met some lovely people who run at my pace at parkrun

I use the book by Graham Hilditch for HM training and there's a twelve week program for intermediate runners you could do starting now. It has tapering. I'm on week 3 of it for Cardiff Half on 27th march. Recommended.