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?

Thank you for your watch recommendations everyone. Will investigate a bit further and order soon.

@Jumbojem how did your 10k go?

@chutneypig how is your fasting week going? How nice to have a new four legged running friend!

Well the 10k was awful! It was meltingly hot, and I do not do well in the heat. didn't plan where to be dropped off well and ended up with a hot 2 mile speed walk to make the start line. I guess it was warm up of some kind?! I had to cling to a fence post at the end as I felt like I might pass out.
Ah well, it is done even if it was one of my slowest 10ks in a long while.
@chutneypig yes, how is the fast going? I'm need to shift weight which has slowly crept up on me but frankly I don't know where to start. Do you get light headed or tired on the 500cal days? I have low blood pressure and sometimes just need to eat to not go dizzy. Although if I'm being honest a drink would prob do the same job. I just like food too much!

Oh @Jumbojem you poor thing. Hope you have recovered. Evenings are awful at the moment with all the accumulated heat of the day.

I did 5 early mikes along the Thames on Tuesday and several laps of a local park yesterday. Very relieved not to be running again until Saturday , when I’ll do a few miles pre-parkrun. And then the HM on Sunday -eek. Forecast is warm and cloudy and we’ve been advised to carry extra water by the organisers, good thing I have been wearing my running vest even on shorter runs.

I bet it was rough in this heat @Jumbojem - you did well to get there. Hopefully it'll cool a little for you at the weekend @OhOneOhTwoOhThree.

The fasting is going ok, I'm down a kilo over the last three weeks. I'd be doing better if I didn't slip up at the weekend, so I'm going to focus a bit more there. I usually fast Monday or Tuesday then Thursday. It's probably nearer 600 calories and I split that between lunch and dinner. I do feel a little spacey for want of a better description in the afternoon but fine post dinner. I try and eat as much veg and protein as possible. Lunch is soup and oatcakes and then dinner is salmon with broccoli and spinach. I quote enjoy the discipline in a way.

I took our new dog out very early on Wednesday for my interval session and it was very good running with him. Hand held lead (parkrun prep) and it didn't feel a uncomfortable as I thought it would.I did get a bungee lead. My pace on the intervals was faster than it has been so I was pleased and he enjoyed it. No parkruns for him until it's cooler though!

I've had another week of 30 miles including a 17miler yesterday.
My legs feel surprisingly good today so I must be getting fitter over the longer runs.
I'm going to have an easy week this coming week and then build again the following week.
I now feel that I can finish the 50km but still unsure whether it will be pleasant or not!

Thanks for the fasting info @chutneypig and well done on dropping a kilo already. I’d be so much faster if I shifted some weight.

Well done @brooksghost on your 17 miles and good that you are feeling OK.

DH and I have both done the Sandringham half today. It was brutal in the heat but I took the good advice to treat it as a long run and managed to stick to my goal pace. I stopped at every water station and drank plenty and filled up my hydration pack and needed the loo a couple of times so my official time was slower (my garmin stops when I do).

@chutneypig one of my pals has a place in the Royal Parks but isn’t sure if she will use it (she lives overseas). I’ve told her I’m first in the queue for a number transfer!

Well done all on those longer runs in this heat. I had a 10k race this morning which I had planned to try and get a good time in. The first half was spot on pace wise and then the wheels came off and I was questioning my life choices! It was always a possibility that the heat may get to me and it certainly did.
No more races planned, except for some 5ks/parkruns to tune up the flat speed and I will book some races in when it's cooler.

Well done @shamoola and @OhOneOhTwoOhThree on your events today. The heat really does sap energy doesn't it?

I was supposed to having a break from running but I was bored of being home all the time (WFH 4 days, bored of local walks, strength or yoga are both home based). So did a slow 6 miles this morning on a route I've not run in ages.
@shamoola any ideas what you'll enter next? I was looking up 10ks in September. I did think about a trail half but one won't be able to train late August due to holiday so think I'll only be fit enough for a 10k!

@shamoola well done on your 10k. I know what you mean about questioning life choices. The ultra sounded such a good idea when my friend and I were chatting about it last year, but I failed to realise that I’d be training all through the summer.

@Jumbojem well done on your run. Am I right that you have been suffering with your shin? Hope it’s OK.

I've been appreciating running a 5k plan in the heat! I'm doing it on the garmin, and it is interesting having the instructions on my wrist and doing structured sessions.

I touristed a parkrun yesterday on a lovely but undulating course. Then we did a 10k walk in the afternoon. I was so shattered by evening that I accidentally fell asleep on our new carpet in the evening! It's only 2 weeks since I ran an HM too, but the humidity does make things harder.

It's looking like a fresher week ahead...

Just got the email to remind me that the Great North Run is 12 weeks away!

I'd better start training properly again!
I had calf issues for weeks after Manchester marathon, but having seen the physio, changed my shoes and lowered my mileage, it's been a lot better.

I usually follow the plans on Garmin, but I fancy a change.

Have you don't Royal Parks before @OhOneOhTwoOhThree? It'll be my first time, I've entered the ballot for years so I was very surprised to get in this time.

I had to laugh at the questioning of life choices @shamoola - exactly how I felt in my last 10k race!

Sounds like you're doing fantastically with the ultra prep @brooksghost - well done!

Sometimes you just need to get out @Jumbojem - I feel the same working from home, get a bit antsy.

I was toast after a bit of parkrun tourism on Saturday @BogRollBOGOF and it was as flat as a pancake compared to my normal course!

@xsquared i have found it a struggle planning over the summer with a Garmin plan, not being able to see ahead and work round holidays etc. GNR will be great, I did enjoy it when I did it, planning on entering the ballot with my son next year as he'll be old enough then.

I managed 5 miles yesterday before work but ran/walked it. I'm still struggling with the heat and pollen but if I don't start stepping the distance up now I'll be in trouble by September. I'm a bit peeved that the base I'd got for LLHM seems to have gone, despite keeping up with my runs each week. But I'm feeling more balanced with the strength and yoga so hopefully that will pay off.

@chutneypig i have done the RPHM before, a few years ago now. I entered the ballot and completely forgot about it until the email arrived saying I had a place. Hopefully your fitness will come back once you start training in earnest, you worked so hard at the start of the year.

The rain was so bad this morning that I put off my training until after work. I really struggle with evening runs - it's not actually that I'm slower it's just everything feels so much harder and the air less fresh. It was a hard (for me) session today 3 800m, 6 400m and 6 200m. Those last 200m only had 30 secs between and not enough time to get my breath back.

Proper huffing and puffing. I only hope it was making some difference. It did push my VO2 max up to the next number which is always pleasing.

What I'm finding in this current training plan is that I'm missing the long slow runs as they keep including goal pace segments which really distracts from the podcasts I like to listen to on a Sunday run.🙂

@shamoola I went out this morning thinking "oh it's only a shower" - except it wasn't. I quite enjoyed it actually, except when I was running along the river path, that might as well have been the river. I was soaked to the skin when I got home.

Am wondering what this means for my event this weekend. The first time I didd it it was sweltering hot and dry, and the second time a mud bath - I had to go and buy trail shoes on the Saturday morning as the Friday night had been so bad.

@OhOneOhTwoOhThree hopefully it will be just right!

You can jiggle the upcoming Garmin runs in the calendar to different days, but not retrospectively if you miss one.

You can see the dates scheduled ahead, but it is awkward having limited notice of what those runs are.

My plan is 13 weeks to improve my 5k pb. After 2 HMs and a marathon this year, it is feeling a bit limited at the moment, but with a couple of weeks base in, the sessions for next week are begining to mix up a bit more. It's my brain being impatient, but actually, it's a good break for my dodgy ankle and it's a doable level of running over the sunmer holidays as my DCs are of an age where they can be left for shorter runs, although DS2 quite likes accompanying me on his bike for 10k.

If I'm successful at reaching the target on this plan, that will make my parkrun pb the same as DS1's 😂

@OhOneOhTwoOhThree is it your ultra this weekend? Good luck!

I've totally backed off from running! I was doing close to 30 mile weeks at peak of my half training, now they are like 6 mile weeks. Unfortunately I've yet to start the strength training which was supposed to fill the gap...

I have started the Garmin 5k coached plan with an ambitious goal, like you @BogRollBOGOF ? But I've missed most of the runs so far as even when I have run it's been with someone else and I don't feel like I can say right we're doing X speed for 10 mins then y etc hen we just want to run and chat!

Trying to juggle training through the summer, holidays and so on is what has put me off an autumn half @chutneypig and Strava shows my fitness going down like lead on the graph. I loved seeing it go up week on week when I was training. It sadly disappears so fast.

My VO² max has dipped. I'm naturally blaming the hot weather for increasing the effort.

I've gone off-piste with a nice casual 10mi for the fun of it. It's an easy run on the plan tomorrow, and yesterday's wasn't exactly taxing either, so my body can take it. I don't want to lose the stamina either.

I may well do an autumn half. I'm not sure what yet. I'm not really sure what options are avaliable. I wasn't fit for one in 2022, 2021's was deferred and out of season, I did one in 2020 but the Covid measures were somewhat underwhelming (being alone in a forest from miles 3-13 was pretty disappointing really) and 2019's has been disbanded. I tend to do October ones and ramp the milage up in September.

Thanks for the good luck wishes @Jumbojem. This weekend is my marathon in a weekend - 3 races of 5 miles, 8.1 and 13.1 between tomorrow evening and Sunday afternoon.

I had a sports massage yesterday in an attempt to loosen things up. The masseuse said at the end she had no doubt my legs would get me round an ultra (she’s a runner as well).

Hi everyone!

Sorry to hear that your 10k was not pleasant @Jumbojem . Well done for getting out there and doing it! I know what you mean about the fitness on the Strava app. I’m still having shin issues so the mileage has scaled back and it’s a bit disappointing to see that reflected in the app even though i am doing other things instead.

@chutneypig the fasting sounds interesting indeed, hope it continues to work for you.

@OhOneOhTwoOhThree good luck!!

I did a 9k race yesterday, 165m uphill including a really steep bit at the end. It was at 6pm at 28 degrees. It was tough! But I enjoyed it and glad it’s done. Felt exhausted afterwards and ready for a nice rest day today. Summer is always hard, with holidays and the heat. Really need to get my mileage up for the 17k I have on the 1st of October.

have a good Sunday everyone

Hello everyone. Well I did it. It wasn’t pretty, and I was very slow but I ran all three races.

Friday 5 miles was a bit slower than previous outings.

Yesterday 8.1 XC felt like a disaster - it started at midday so super-hot and the going was really hard, but my time was exactly the same as in 2014. I was happy with that as I never know how to fuel for a midday run.

Today HM was a total nightmare. I’d decided to run/walk the whole thing, and ended up with some extra walking on the hills. By the second (of two) lap I was shattered. Towards the end I came across a runner who was having a rough time so I walked (very slowly) with her for a while (I did check that she wanted the company!). So my time will probably be a PW for the course.

However, some nice moments - four men from our local running club clocked up their 20th challenge (or 60th race as one of them put it to me). The HM winner lapped me later on than in previous years (same guy as other years) and was the only person to run a sub 1:30 and I bumped into some parkrun friends I wasn’t expecting to see.

Afternoon nap is calling!

@OhOneOhTwoOhThree great stuff, sounds like a fun weekend and yep, it's hard going in the heat esp midday.
When is the ultra?
@Lamontaine well done on your hot hilly race as well. Sounds like we are in the same camp with shin issues. I'm easing off but find I can't stop completely as miss it. Also DS1 is now on a long summer break and needs encouragement to get out, he has got a bit chunky and unfit during the revision period (and exam stress). So I'm doing a few 5ks with him.
@BogRollBOGOF you are convincing me to look for a late autumn half, although Sept/Oct are really busy for DS2s running. But I will be 50 in Nov so maybe I should look for something to challenge myself around that time, to prove I still have it in me!

Thanks @Jumbojem - it was fun, although I don't think I'd do another one. Last time was 2016 when I was still under 50. Having said that, there was at least one woman in the 75+ category, as she won prizes today for winning the HM and the series in her age group. So there is sill hope!

@Lamontaine sorry for missing your post. Some interesting distances, and well done on such a big climb. Sorry to hear of the shin issues.

I'm not looking ahead to the autumn yet, my 50k is in September and I may well never want to run again afterwards...all this running is getting a bit in the way of swimming and cycling, so my plans for a sprint triathlon are on hold for now.

The "mountain" half is tempting me...
It's not actual Scotland/ Wales/ Lakes type mountains, but will certainly require more hill training than my usual local undulations, and the route isn't sitting in the valley. Plus usually I tend to seek out flatter routes for my long runs. I spent the winter by the rivers/ canal routes for the marathon training.

I have got some steeper hills nearby that I normally tend to swerve. That said, my pleasant 10mi bimble last week had significantly more height change than my trail HM in early spring despite the shorter distance.

I like the thought of doing something different, as if a first marathon wasn't enough this year 😂
But in a way, the marathon had been contemplated for 3-4 years, and signed up for 18m ahead (due to deferring) and was the focus for a year of running, so the achievement was new but the concept wasn't.

Well done to all that ran this weekend! It was scorching enough at the parkruns! I had no regrets about volunteering rather than running, although DS1 smashed 15s off his very dusty old 2k pb. He's finding his mojo a bit more at the moment. DS2 is faster and it's more about their mental determination than innate ability, but DS1 seems to finally be emerging a bit from the crushing blow 2 years ago of DS2 doing his first post-Covid parkrun and totally smashing both their records.