Half marathon training, starting 1/1/23

[JessicaBrassica]

Hi,
I'm planning to start half marathon training in n Jan 1st. Aiming definitely for an event on May 13 but plan designed around a race on 22/4. Just in case.

Anyone want to join me?
I've done several halfs before but not run a good one for a few years.
I'm using the Garmin beginner 3x a week programme.

Anyone want to join me?

@OhOneOhTwoOhThree I saw on the Parkrun thread that it's your 250th parkrun soon...are you doing anything special for it?
I have my 100th very soon and am debating a trip to Bushy if I can, but maybe for the 101st as I like being at my home run for milestones!
Parkrun#98 this week for me with one of the dogs. He loved it though his pacing was a bit off; the first 2 miles were at 9mins/mile then he blew a little with a 12min mile! He managed a sprint finish mainly he seemed to love the cheering of him down the finish straight!

I ran yesterday and felt good. I've woken up today feeling fine so I know the Physio is paying off. Hopefully I can now to start to build the distance up again as there's 8 or 9 weeks until the Ultra. I don't feel ready yet but hopefully it will all seem manageable in a few weeks.

Hi @brooksghost. Glad to hear that you are making good progress with the physio. That must be a relief.

I am indeed doing my 250th parkrun this weekend. I think I have actually already passed that milestone as I have at least one or two runs where I was unknown runner when I forgot my barcode or it didn’t scan, back in the days when it was paper barcodes only. I am volunteering at my home run (it’s also my 50th time volunteering), and taking some cake to share. I have Mumsnet to thank for my starting parkrun as I found out about it when I read a thread on here.

I woke up with a sore knee on Sunday so decided to rest it, and ran 10 miles on Monday with no ill effects. Did another 5 miles of the Thames path last night. The further west I get the harder it is to align the end of the run to public transport. But I’m enjoying discovering new bits of London and how they all fit together.

How is everyone else getting on?

Big day on Saturday then @OhOneOhTwoOhThree! 250 is a long time coming, such a gap from 100. DH did the same as you, his 50th volunteering the same day but wouldn't let me tell anyone! I agree, definitely home for milestones. I was hoping to make 250 year but I've ended up RDing a lot as we don't have many.

That's great news that the physio is paying off @brooksghost, that ultra is in sight!

I've been sat planning my half training over the summer, it always goes belly up with holidays so I decided to design my own plan this year. I've started using a digital planner, so that helps with shifting options around. I'm aiming for a tempo session, mixed intervals and a long run a week as a minimum, with plenty of stretching and strength work. We'll see how that goes!!

Congratulations on the parkrun milestones!
My running has been pretty flat lately, my shin is playing up again. I got carried away with the lovely weather and without thinking ran 4 consecutive days which pushed it.
I have my 10k the week after next haven't really trained at all but looking forward to it.

@OhOneOhTwoOhThree how was the 250th/50th? Hope the run went well.

I did a 12 mile run this morning; I was out by 7ish as it's A-level micromanaging time here so parkrun was on hold.
It was a decent run but a tragic one...I came across a dog who had just been run over, the owners were distraught so I stopped to help. The rest of the run has me just wanting to get home to my dogs. Poor dog, it was all very quick I think.

Oh no @brooksghost, how upsetting.

Good work on the running everyone and the park run milestones.

How is your shin @Jumbojem ? I too have seemed to have strained the muscles next to my shin. After 2 weeks off I went out for 7km yesterday, went up some challenging hills. Leg felt fine but then I went to a wedding and spend rather a long time on the dance floor in heels so… rest day today.

have a good Sunday everyone

That's so sad @brooksghost, always a for us as one of our dogs is prone to bolt.

Hope you had a good day yesterday with the milestones @OhOneOhTwoOhThree

It's easy to get carried away isn't it @Jumbojem - after such a long stretch of rubbish weather the sun is too tempting.

A rest day sounds a good plan after all that @Lamontaine

Good to see people out making the most of the lovely weather.
I am trying the Runna App for a coaching plan for improving my 5k over the summer. Really enjoying the App, as it incorporates strength as well but goodness it's hard work! Feels much harder than a Garmin coach plan. The long runs are not the usual long slow plods of Garmin but long workouts. So today was X1k at easy pace followed by 11k at 5:25 per km pace and my already tired legs were struggling by the end mainly because of the strength training that I've not really done consistently before.

An afternoon nap is called for today!

Hi all, had a lovely morning yesterday. I tail walked at parkrun with a lovely lady who was coming back for injury. Had coffee and lots of cake, then ran 10k. Later on I went open water swimming and did 1km in my wetsuit and (bravely I thought) a couple of hundred metres in my costume. First time I’ve been in sans wetsuit this year and it felt wonderful.

No long run today as we had a long car day doing family stuff, but I went for a walk with a friend first thing and ran 5 miles when we got home so have about 8 in my legs altogether today. Am counting yesterday as a long run day instead.

@brooksghost how upsetting. Must have been awful.

Hope everyone is doing well and injuries (whether running- or dancing-related) clear up soon.

Any nice plans for the week? A bit more of the Thames Path for me.

Gold star for me! The Physio doesn't need to see me again unless I stop doing the exercises. I can start building my running up again but no hills/intervals/fast work for another few weeks.
He also thinks I should add in some strength training so I need to research S&C for running...any recommendations? It's not something I have ever done or really enjoyed so short and snappy would be best.

Anyway, 7.5 weeks until the 50km and I don't feel ready yet but in a few weeks, maybe I will. I want to hit 25km miles in training and then that will be a boost. If I can hit 50km in a week then that will also help.

I've done my HM, the training was an April marathon, one horrible, "my body hates me" long run in May and a good few 5ks. And it went well! Mainly because I was realistic about pace and took it easy. It was really enjoyable despite the heat building. More fun than trying to run it 15 mins faster!

Time to go shorter over the summer and do a few long runs for fun when I feel like it. Nothing in the race diary at present...

Good grief that sounds hard @shamoola! I need a nap just thinking about it.

What a lovely weekend @OhOneOhTwoOhThree! Have you got out on the Thames path in the week? I might do a short stretch in the morning if I feel like it, I'm doing 5:2 fasting in a big to reverse my increasing weight gain, and today is a fast day.

That's fabulous @brooksghost. On the strength side, I like Caroline Girvan on YouTube for weights, though I use a lot lower than she does. I've been quite erratically doing a leg, bums and tums class at my gym near home which I think will help when I manage to get in a rhythm of going.

Sounds fantastic @BogRollBOGOF, well done!

Hi all, great news that you are better @brooksghost , and well done on your HM @BogRollBOGOF. Did you do a marathon in April?

i did another 6 miles of the Thames Path on Tuesday. I got slightly lost looking for the station and ended up with a sprint finish and leaping on to the train back into town with a minute to spare, as the alternative was hanging around for half an hour until the next train. Then five miles this evening along the river and a disused golf course. Wore shorts for the first time this year and got nettled on my legs.

@chutneypig id be interested in hearing how you get on with fasting. I was chatting to a friend earlier this week who had just bought a book about it and was going to give it a go.

@BogRollBOGOF well done, sounds like you had a great run!

Great stuff everyone else in getting out, or getting back from injury.
I have a 10k on Tuesday I'm entirely not ready for. Garmin shows my fitness going down and down since my half and has me in "recovery" now. Shin is pretty painful so after the 10k I'm going to stop running for a couple of weeks and then see how it is.
@brooksghost I will also be picking up strength work in place of running. I was recommended "lift with Cee" on YouTube by someone on here (I think). She had a series you can follow, so moves through upper and lower body. She is in her 50s and it's geared and people in a similar demographic. Not started yet but they are around 20mins long. I also do yoga most days.
If you have a Strava subscription you can get access to the "Recover" app for free. I've started using this and it's no frills but helpful for reminding you to stretch. You can tell the app where you are having issues and it will suggest stretches and exercises to help, with videos to demo them. I am doing the stretches for shins and did the mobility routine it suggested after my walk. It's linked to Strava so will suggest based on your activity.

Hi everyone.

great news @brooksghost ! I use thé body coach vidéos for weight training, they’re usually between 20-30 mins long which is good for me. Sometimes go to Les Mills Body Pump at the gym but it’s an hour long.

@OhOneOhTwoOhThree your Thames path running sounds glorious, well done on the sprint!

@chutneypig i too would be interested in hearing about fasting. I feel like I’m gaining weight every day since I did my half.

@shamoola that app sounds brutal! Well done!

@BogRollBOGOF well done!

@Jumbojem sorry to hear your shin is still painful, I too can’t seem to shake off the pain in my leg :(. Thanks for the Recover recommendation, I’ll look into that.

Leg still painful for me so no running which is worrying as I have a 10k in two weeks which involves quite a big climb. But I have been out on 2 bike rides this week as my DH signed me up for a triathlon in August! It’s a very short one (200m swim, 10k bike and 2.5k run) so should be ok but I am stressing about a bit about the transitions and the lake swim.

Wondered what watches you all have and can recommend as I think I’ll purchase one to help me for the training for this uphill 17k I have in October…. 🙃

@Lamontaine I have a Garmin 255 and love it. OH and DS have the 45 or 55 which do everything they need them too.
The short triathlon sounds fun, I could cope with those distances but as you say, it's the bringing them together and moving from one activity to the next that needs practice.

Goodness me it's hot out there today!

@Jumbojem sorry to hear your shin is still sore, and thank you for the Recover tip - I do have a Strava sub so will have a look.

@Lamontaine I've just gone from a forerunner 40 to a 45. It's not entirely clear if it's suitable for swimming, so I am still using my 40 in my tow float/dry bag (I set it to walk, as it doesn't have a swim option, and just edit when I upload). Your triathlon sounds fab!

I ran before and after parkrun to make the distance up to six miles yesterday. Left really early this morning to get a long run in and try to beat the heat, but it was just so energy sapping even in the shade. I stopped a few times to buy drinks/snacks/use the loo. Stopped run/walking at 16 miles, and walked another mile to the cafe where DH was waiting for me. The sofa is calling for the rest of the afternoon.

I had a big confidence boost with this week's running.
The Ultra is in 7 weeks time and I've really not felt ready due to the injury.
This morning I ran 15 miles which gives me a weekly total of 33 miles. I now know that I can do the distance (albeit over a week) and that I can get to half way without issue. I'm not thinking about the 2nd half yet!
It was my longest run since I ran a marathon back in 2005 so a good boost. Super hot though this morning even at 7am.
I still need to slow down otherwise it could be a very messy 2nd 15miles!

Well done @brooksghost. I think today was my longest since my Edinburgh marathon last year. I agree it was unbearably hot today. And all this ultra training does not feel like a sensible taper for next weekend's HM - which I'm treating as another training run, not a race where I want to do well.

@OhOneOhTwoOhThree good luck for next weekend. You could use it as a trial of equipment and fuel. Run with everything you'll be taking on the Ultra and eat when you would at aid stations.
I'm now eating at 9km/19km etc which are the aid station distances for my Ultra.
I'm still pondering the Thames Path but will make a decision in 7 weeks; I may say never ever again!

I tried a new energy bar today...Kendal Mint Cake energy bar. Full of mint and some electrolytes/vitamins. Really nice to eat today on a hot day as I can break the bars into 6 and have a piece every mile to keep the electrolytes up. My banana at 6 miles was revolting...warm, ripe banana, ewww! Bananas do not travel well in heat and hydration vests!

I'm so pleased to hear that @brooksghost, that's a real tribute to the physio effort you've put in.

I'm enormously impressed with 16 miles @OhOneOhTwoOhThree - parkrun was quite enough for me yesterday. I'm going back to basics as hayfever has hit my pace a lot, so I did my 'long' run of 4 miles on Friday morning.

Sorry to hear things aren't going to plan @Jumbojem. I'm feeling similarly and it's a struggle to keep ploughing on.

I've got a forerunner 255 as well @Lamontaine - I'm very pleased with it even if it does keep telling me I'm in recovery mode as well. I got my son a Vivoactive 4 for his birthday which has a lot of of the same features and a touchscreen. He loves it.

For the 5/2 fasting I'm aiming for 500 calories on two non consecutive days a week. Probably nearer 600if I'm honest. I've done it a few times before and quite like it, it's just a struggle to schedule the running. I find if I run on the morning of the fast day I'm starving later, but if I run the following morning it can be a struggle, although not always. I'm fiddling around with running the following lunchtime. It's another reason I've dropped down to 3 runs a week, makes it easier to schedule. I honestly think losing some of the 10 kilos I've put on in the last 3 years will do more for my pace than anything.

On the plus side, we've just adopted another dog. Who likes running and even managed to get our other dog round parkrun last weekend. I think that's going to be a boost although typically bit too warm to run them at the moment,

That's a good idea @brooksghost. About 4 miles in I thought my hydration bladder had sprung a leak as my back was getting wet and cold, which would have been annoying as it's a fairly new replacement for my old one which started leaking after several years of regular use . Turned out I hadn't sealed the top properly, so a good lesson to check in future.

I bought some flavoured water about 5/6 miles in today, drank half and put the rest in my water bladder, and shortly afterwards had awful stomach cramps. So no more flavoured water for me! I know plain water, squash and apple juice are all fine so I will stick with them, and my favourite flapjack. I took some sour patch sweets (I don't like jelly babies) but couldn't face them in the heat. Tried some plain crisps but didn't enjoy them either (not salty enough).

I am really enjoying hearing about everyone's runs, esp those of you doing long run ultra training.
Also getting a large dose of FOMO though!
I have my 10k event on Tuesday and it's forecast to be 26 degrees at 19.30 when it starts. I really hope not as I melt in the heat 🥵 My only hope is that it will rain tonight to at least freshen things up, we've not had rain in weeks here. Must remember to start on the electrolytes tomorrow.

Oh my goodness @Jumbojem hope it won’t be too hot on Tuesday. Good luck with your 10k.

Thank you! I'm not especially prepared, hadn't factored in eating etc during a busy day full of mtgs and it has still not rained here so will be hot and sticky.
Ah well, what will be well be, and it is at least pan flat and on roads I know very well!