Running help please

[flowerycurtain]

Hello. In a fit of January inspiration I entered a half marathon. Never run further than 10k before and that was 4 years ago. Have consistently been doing 5k 3 times a week before this decision though.

Since then training has been going well. I've been following a plan and doing well. A short 2-4 mile run on a Monday. Im up to 6/7 miles of hills on a Wednesday plus a long run of 7 miles on a Saturday.

All going well except I miscalculated and the half marathon is in 3 weeks time not the 6 I thought I had!!!

Experienced runners - do you think I could do it or do you think I'd be better to drop out and find a further away race?

You can do it.. Honestly if you can run 7 miles you can run 13.
I trained by adding a mile each run.
So stick to your short run, then add a mile to each other run for next two weeks.
So next run is 7, then 8, then 9 then 10.
Then do one run week before half marathon then do the race.
The adrenaline on the day will carry you.
It's about confidence you can run that distance, you have to tell yourself you can do this.
Good luck

You don't really need to run further than 10 miles before the race so I'd just do this week a 10 mile long run and then week after and taper after that. You'll be fine, it'll just be harder than if you'd trained properly which is only another way of saying it'll be easier for the next one

Thank you both. I have been really pleased with how the training has gone and I can see how building up the mileage each week slowly really works so I think this spanner really threw my confidence.

I'm not aiming for a time I just want to try and run (plod) the whole distance!

I'll aim to do a 10 mile tomorrow morning I think

It can be done although you will probably feel a bit sore the next day!

Don't make the mistake of playing catch up with your training by drastically increasing the volume of miles between now and the race. You will just increase the chance of injury. You are on 7 miles now and can probably get to 10 miles before the race. You can easily squeeze the extra 3 and a bit miles on the day when you are full of race adrenaline.

@Theredjellybean

You can do it.. Honestly if you can run 7 miles you can run 13. I trained by adding a mile each run. So stick to your short run, then add a mile to each other run for next two weeks. So next run is 7, then 8, then 9 then 10. Then do one run week before half marathon then do the race. The adrenaline on the day will carry you. It's about confidence you can run that distance, you have to tell yourself you can do this. Good luck

Totally agree with this. Good luck OP.

Last time I trained for a half marathon I did a few 5ks during the week and a longer 10-12k at the weekend.

Just a little update. It's my half marathon on Sunday and I'm feeling really positive. Thanks to the advice on this thread ive done 3 long runs of 10 miles each so really hoping with adrenaline I can push on with the last 3.

I discovered gels on the last run and blimey the push they gave me!!

Good luck Flowery, I am sure you will be fine - it is amazing what you can push yourself to do in the moment! I wouldn't worry!