Half Marathon Training Spring 2024

[xsquared]

The other thread got full, so I'm starting a new one to keep us motivated.

How is everyone doing?

Went out earlier today for a 8 mile run, when it was a little drizzly, but then got completely soaked as Storm Babette did their stuff! I'm still glad to have got out though.

Since completing GNR 2023, I've been training for a 10 mile race next month with Hal Higdon, as well as running 2 of the XC fixtures for my club.

I found out earlier this week that I got a place at a HM race in January 2024 through the new ballot system, so I will start training for that soon.

I'm leaning towards jeffing when I start up again @gm2023 - I really like that plan you shared. My parkrun Saturday wasn't the immediate improvement I was hoping for on the meds but I did have a dog, needed the loo and my shoes suddenly started running. Could only be grateful it was a lovely route and added to my tourist total.

Garmin's are mean @BogRollBOGOF - I feel Mir arguing with it when it does that!

Summer always throws me @CatherineMaitland and @Christmaspiggyjack - both heat and holidays.

Sounds like you're making the most of the holidays @OhOneOhTwoOhThree!

Oh, and I forgot to say I've entered a 10k race (or running event as my husband says I should call them) on 17th August just for the fun of it. It's in the evening in the Quantocks so it shouldn't be too hot. Has anyone here done a Channel Events race?

Yes @chutneypig - I can get up early to run, but only if I go to bed early, and it's too hot to do that now! So pause it is.

I was originally going to do a Jeff Galloway RunDisney plan that went up to 14 miles - it was all about the long run with just two 30-minute runs in the week. Given I wasn’t able to train for about a month, I’ve put that one in the bin. The new plan only gets up to 10 M which I know is fine but it does make me feel a little nervous! I think the mileage is high enough that it shouldn’t be a problem on race day to do the final 5K!

I don’t think I’ve got quite enough time left to safely go much further than 10 M in training, anyway, so I might as well make peace with it.

I am currently experimenting with ratios. So far I’ve tried 20:20 and 60:30. My next run is due to be 4 M and I am planning to try 45:30.

@gm2023 I've never done more than 10 miles in training. They say the race day excitement will keep you going for the final stretch and I've found that to be very true. Getting to 10 is a big psychological boost and that's important.

And honestly, I think you're less fatigued going into the half for not having done longer distances. I've known more people have issues from niggles etc from over training than not doing longer long runs.

Hello! I haven't posted in ages but happy to see you are all here and still running.
I've still been running, in fact shocked myself to realise I've been running 4 days a week in July. However, been finding it really tough, first 2/3rds of a run hard going then suddenly feel good. My Garmin says I'm productive, even peaking one day last week. Strava on the other hand says my fitness is down over the last month, 3 months, 6 months, year...! I'm definitely slower. Not following a plan, just doing the daily suggestion on my watch and taking a day off when either circumstances or my body feel like it. Off on holiday in a week's time so will see how things are after that. I'm itching to enter something but it will be September when I'm back, DS has loads of events and then I'm back into XC season...
@CatherineMaitland not done a channel events race personally but friends have done storm the fort a few times and enjoyed it. Just had a look at their page and they have some great looking slightly different races. I'm thinking of entering "The Big Cheese" which is an off road half organised by Cheddar running club, looks fun and is in April so post XC.

Hi @Jumbojem ! I'd like to do that one but might be on holiday for it this year.

My hip is better but I'm now on antibiotics for a foot injection plus something bit me yesterday and my whole leg swelled up - better now - so I'm back to not running for a few days.

The Big Cheese sounds fun. I noticed there was a Crook Peak Cake Race which also sounded fun!

Last year I took myself off a run on the Mendips just above Cheddar but I didn't realise quite how wet it would be - it was a bright day after a lot of rain and I just didn't think - I had to stop at the garden centre on the A38 on the way home and buy myself some dry socks to get the rest of the way. Was a great feeling up on the top though.

Ooh cake race... will have to look that one up!
Hope the foot clears up soon.
Yes, parts of the Mendips can be quite boggy all year round.

It was only a short one - up to Crook Peak and along. I looked up the finish times and decided I would be far too slow to try it. Maybe when I get a bit better.

I've had some lovely long, gentle plods recently. I'm up to 10mi which was slightly sooner than I planned, but my body's happy with it (raced a road HM in June so milage is still recent in the tank). Focusing on undulating terrain at the moment, and it's gradually getting easier to keep plodding up the hills. I'm currently jeffing my long run and free-styling a 10k- those hills and stiles get in the way.

Last year I was thinking HILLS, for training when actually the ones on the doorstep were ideal for the trail race I did. Come September I'll head off to some of the steeper ones again because I enjoyed them, but I'm hoping that these long runs now will make a difference on keeping my calves happy and un-crampy.

The difference this year is that I can leave the DCs longer now they're at the "yeah whatever, go" stage. I'm pointing out that I'm telling them where I'm running, my intended distance and overly optomistic time out of manners and where to send the rescue if I'm not back in 6 hours after telling them I'll be 90 mins for a 10k (i.e. no panicking within two hours by the time I've paused the watch to water the bushes or have a nice sit on that bench at the top of a hill)

Fortunately DH is off the short-lived idea of training for his first autumn half, because he'll just be annoyingly good at it! He's up towards 10k so it was a totally do-able idea. He's already on thin ice with his enthusiasm that he burns over 1000 calories in a day by a 10k run and gym visit. I'm genuinely pleased that he's got fiit and it's better than the perma-knackered sedentary version, but bloody hell the calorie burn difference between 6ft of middle-aged man and 5'2" of barely middle-aged woman is just grossly unequal!

It sounds like you are doing so well! I’m feeling quite positive too. I’ve returned to running regularly following my piriformis injury. I’m taking things at a comfortable pace and walking during all of my runs. I’ve done nearly 21.5km this week so far in 2h53m (but over 3 separate runs) which gives me huge hope that my 3 hour half-marathon target is doable come October. I was hoping for sub-2h45m prior to injury but I am enjoying running so much more now that I have actively slowed down a bit. I am still worried about hurting myself again so I think going slower is going to reduce the risk.

I’m mostly following the plan I shared previously with a few adaptations for running club sessions and holiday. It’s going well and feels doable. I’m also going to my first body pump class this evening too in the hope that being a little stronger will fend off injury! I’d like to go to the gym to do weights another day but I’m out 3 x evenings a week already and once at the weekend so it feels like a LOT with a young family. Any tips, please?! I’ve got one nursery-aged child and one primary school-aged child so I don’t have loads of time. Oh, and I work full time. 😵‍💫 I am finding it really tricky and guilt-inducing training for this half. But I really want to do it. Couch to half-marathon in a year was hugely ambitious but I think I might be able to do it.

I would still like to be faster but this isn’t the time for me to do speed-work so I’m focusing on getting the miles in and on strength training.

I am making a concerted effort to eat well as I am carrying an extra 10kg and I am quite sure losing those kilos will have a beneficial impact on my running speed. I’m hoping to have hit that healthy weight by this time next year so perhaps that will be the year for the sub-2h45m half instead. I feel I can only get quicker through consistently running, strength training and eating well!

I’ve been looking at halfs for April-Jun as I’d like to do two per year (this one in October and another) and have a decent time between Oct-Jan to focus on improving my 5K time.

My husband is the same - he can eat 4000 calories a day and not put on weight, he has long legs, running comes easily. I struggle along and I only have to look at any food to put on weight and it's so hard to lose it. 'Pesky husbands.

That's great to hear @BogRollBOGOF. I had to laugh at the telling them the times etc. I'm sure my two wouldn't notice for days! It does make it a lot easier when they're bigger.

Let me know how you find bodypump @gm2023 - I'd love to give it a go, just never quite got round to it. You've really got a balanced strategy there. I'm with you on the 10kg I'd like to shed. I need more focus on that next month post holiday! It's a great example for the children as well. My two started running because I did. They both really need to buck their ideas up for their half though in October. A few parkruns won't cut it for training!

I'm struggling to even run 5 minutes continuously so I've gone back to the most basic of basic coach Greg plans for 12 weeks to build up my 5k runs. I figured the feedback and stats will help, so did my benchmark run today. My BP meds are definitely having an impact on my body but I haven't had the instant improvement in running I was hoping for so I think this approach will build me back up.

What are everyone's plans for the weekend?

I’ve just been listening to the Women’s Running podcast’s latest episode where they talk about strength training. Interesting idea of periodisation where you shift your focus away from running to strength training for a block. That’s essentially what I was planning to do after my half marathon (alongside working on getting faster over shorter distances) so that’s been really helpful!

So basically for now it’s a running focused block for me - 3 x runs, 1 x maintenance strength session (bodypump for me) - and then after that it would be 3 x strength sessions, 1 x running session. I like the idea of this over the autumn so I think I’m going to definitely give it a go!

I’m due to run six miles on Sunday but as I did nearly five yesterday (an extra run, as I was able to make my running club session) I may skip it (worried about overuse injuries). I’ll see how I feel on Sunday morning.

My first HM turned out to be couch-HM in a year. It wasn't my intention! The original point was that I was fed-up of post-natal puffing around, and needed something flexible to fit in around a ravenous BF baby, and C25k could be done at 10:30pm! That first one was about 2:30.
Then my marathon ended up being C242k because of injury recovery. Gentle time build up of time on feet and strength work is definitely the right focus there.

Since the marathon and learning how to get more out of my watch, I've ended up periodising training more. I kind of did on milage for different race lengths, but I've done more focus on short fast blocks and longer slower blocks rather than just bimbling around a range of distances.

The other benefit of the DCs getting older is that I can now join DH at his gym. I've been doing strength work consistantly for a few years anyway, but I'm enjoying working out with DH too. And the saunas (if I ignore him bragging about afterburn on his watch when my heartrate's back to normal) It's also keeping me more consistent while my usual term-time classes are off. I'm looking forwards to them returning... everyone else will grumble about getting back into it after a block off when I've been secretly keeping going. Mwah ha ha!

Are we still here or have we all run our legs off? :-)

I completed the 10k race - everyone except me was so fast, it was a tiny bit dispiriting. BUT I still enjoyed it, the course was fun - hillier than I expected. I actually thought I wasn't too bad at hills but I was a bit found out there.

If anyone is local in the south west I would recommend Channel Events, the organization was very good, people friendly, etc. And not too expensive - I think it was about £25 including a finishers' medal. They are a community interest company so supporting them helps some good causes too.

@CatherineMaitland still here! Well done on the 10k, I get how you feel about it being a little bit dispiriting to be slower than everyone, but glad you enjoyed it still. My only recent 10k time was December, I ran 1.15 something and we were dead last with my friend! It was a good job we were running together or I think I'd have given up.

I just ran my trail HM on Sunday - first trail HM in six years! Very happy to have done it but the weather was absolutely biblical rain overnight and before the off, then rain on the way.

As I'm so slow, (third last of 230-ish) and the 50k had taken the same route (similar number), there were several kilometres of single-track that were literally several centimeters in mud and impossible to run around (steep grass on either side). I would overtake some people on the climbs, but everyone re-overtook me on the descents (people were going arse-over everywhere) and I fell three times and had a bit of a moment alone at 2300m altitude in the fog with 4 degrees just slipping constantly in mud, it was literally coming over the top of my shoes!

I finally made it to the second aid station at 14 km, which meant (a) people, (b) other runners as it's the same finish as the 50k runners, (c) I was out of the fog and the sun came out and (d) I only had solidly runnable roads and gravel tracks to complete (although still managed to fall about 500m from the finish as some 50k runners came pounding down behind me and cause I have partial hearing loss, I kind of got a fright, not their fault at all).

A good 45 mins slower than I've done that one before at five and a half hours - such a shame as I think I was better prepared! Calves are very sore (probably the clenching them in fear that did it) and priority to recovery as I have another road HM in eight weeks.

The organisers were great and very kind and helpful, other runners were all very nice - the only thing that made me a bit sad was the race t-shirt they gave me was "Women's size L" (the biggest women's one they had) and it is a skintight crop top on me. Yes, my BMI is 27 but I'm a size 14. I should have asked them for a men's one, but I was a bit thrown. I might email and ask if they had any left.

Anyway, I really do need to prioritise losing some weight, as I'd love to improve a bit on my road HM PB in October and I'm pretty sure getting to a healthy weight would make it happen.

Sorry that was epic!

Oh man, that sounds TOUGH. But I think you're amazing for keeping going. I think I might have given up on a day like that!

I am very stubborn - it's not always a great personality trait but can come in handy!

@Trickedbyadoughnut Wow! Sounds like you did fab especially given the weather! well done!

Im currently looking at hydration vests. Does anyone tend to use them? I’ve not ran more than 7 miles in my training so tend to just make sure I’m hydrated before I head out. Some are quite expensive and I’m wondering if the cheaper ones are any good? I’ve just shelled out £120 on new trainers so don’t want to splurge too much. My running hobby is getting expensive 😂

Not sure if this is a helpful reply... but I just have a small bottle stashed in my shorts pocket. It's been enough for me for now (currently running up yo 2 hours). Similar to this....

www.1000mile.co.uk/products/runners-bottle-300cc
I also make sure I have a couple of sweets I can suck on, makes a difference. I use them as half way etc rewards :)

I bought an Ultimate Direction vest in the spring with 2 flexible bottles. I usually wear it if I'm going to be doing over an hour, especially in the hotter sunnier weather. It's very adjustable and works well. I only have an awkward back pocket/side phone pocket on my leggings, so the extra compartments for carrying a few sweets etc are convenient too.

I am enjoying blackberry season - the odd one from the hedgerow while jogging along is a lovely treat.

@Christmaspiggyjack the Decathlon ones are pretty good, I'm thinking of one to replace my 15 year old pack, so I tried them on a few weeks ago. Lots of people had them on the start line on Sunday. They have belts too (although I find belts generally are on top of my bladder and make me need to pee 😳):

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/sports/running/running-hydration-packs/f-product-nature_hydration-backpack_water-bottle-belt-holder

I've seen that HandM have some at a low price, but haven't seen them for real.

I've got a decathlon vest too. It is good for long distance, but can chaffe my back if it gets arguing with my bra.

I'm plodding on. My holiday on the south coast is very good trail running although somewhat calf-crushing!

Thanks everyone for the hydration pack recommendations. I ended up ordering a karrimor one. We will see if it does the job!

my half marathon is 6 weeks away. I did a 7mile run this morning. I wanted to do a run that was over the half way mark! Managed it in 76 minutes, I did struggle at times and had 1 or 2 periods of walking. I’d like to work towards no walking but think it might help me more to adopt the mindset that it’s fine to walk!

Hope you’re all doing good.