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.

Wow at the 1000+ miles!
I ended on 875 which was good for me given injury and illness. My biking numbers were way down on previous years but again, the first 6 months were plagued with injury, illness and stress.
However, despite lower numbers than previous years, I'm fitter and faster than ever (well, post-kids).

Parkrun tomorrow to start the year off...and it'll be a season best even if I jog round!

Happy New Year to you all...and may 2024 bring you lots of running achievements and PBs.

@chutneypig The half event is on 21st January, so week 3 out of 16 of the London Marathon Improvers' plan. The longest run for that week on the plan is 80 minutes, and the week after the long run will be 90 minutes. Given it's quite early on, I think I might be able to get away with doing a reduced volume week.

Thank you @OhOneOhTwoOhThree , and well done on reaching 1000+ miles for the year.

Happy New Year everyone, and may next year bring you many positive running moments.

Happy new year everyone! I'm up and at the coffee before parkrun.

It does sound like you can work round the half @xsquared and it'll be good motivation.

I've had a look at YWA so might start it off and see how I go. It's work travel for me too @Jumbojem that was putting me off. But I'd forgotten about double days and I did get a travel yoga mat for Christmas. I'm trying to do a couple of yoga/pilates classes at the gym each week too so maybe could stretch it out and try and do some yoga every day.

Hope everyone enjoyed theirs parkrun this morning and I'll hold on to @brooksghost thought on season best

@CatherineMaitland you are in my neck of the woods! I'm in North Somerset. I considered the Cheddar running festival races last year but think it clashed with something DS was doing. I really should have a look and commit to something. There were Maverick races on the Mendips last year which also looked good so might see when those are.

@chutneypig well done on getting up for parkrun. Hope you enjoyed the run, probably a good atmosphere on NYD parkrun, more so than the usual good cheer of PR. I didn't get out of bed until gone 11 😆 I have been for a run though, 42 minutes of easy pace as dictated by the Garmin to whom I'm now a slave!

Waving to you @Jumbojem I'm in the Poldens which I guess is the middle of Somerset, or the dodgy bit as I like to call it. It seemed to be a friendly and nicely run race - that said it's the only one I've ever done - and you could get a chocolate bar at the end, then walk back through Cheddar and buy a latte before getting the bus back to the car parking/start. They have the road races in September and the Cheddar trail/challenge in June. I don't think I would run down Cheddar gorge without the roads being closed to vehicles.

If I ever get fit enough I'd like to do one of the Albion longer Mendip races, but I'm probably 2 years away from doing anything like that.

@Jumbojem I've done a few of the Maverick races; they are really well organised so I'd recommend them if you are thinking about a race with them.

I went to Parkrun and did indeed run a season best! Course was muddy and slightly precarious in places so I focused on staying upright whilst pondering my choice of (wrong) shoe! Got 1st lady so that was a good start to the year.

@brooksghost wow, well done, what a start to the year!
@xsquared good luck with the marathon training. Sounds like you've got a handle on the training.

Very impressive @brooksghost! I wasn't troubling anyone on that front today!

Hi all, would it be ok for me to join? I did my first ever half marathon yesterday and now I feel as if I have whiplash I had avoided jogging like the plague until a few months ago but have been shocked to find that I am growing to like it. A bit. I was planning to book a half in March and May to keep the momentum going, worrying that without a goal to work to now the first one is done I'll just stop going for jogs!

I haven't got any races booked. I'm toying with a HM in about a month as I'll be away for my usual one late Feb.
I'm currently on a 10k improvers plan (Garmin Coach) which has a lot of speed work. Between that and autumn HMs/ 10mi races, I've got it in the tank to gently complete a HM with no time pressure. Partly why I'm doing the 10k plan to tide me over the winter.

It's just as well that I'm trundling through my base running with some intention because the constant rain put a premature end to my trail running options since October as they're now shin-deep mud-swamps and rivers where there should be little streams. They're normally dodgy Jan-Mar, but the mud set in early this year after October's record flooding.

It gets a bit tedious when everything is greige to look at!

Welcome @newyearnewknees and congratulations on your first HM. Please do join us, all welcome here!

I hear you @BogRollBOGOF! I went out this morning and my usual riverside route was one long puddle. I try and do as much trail running as I can but some of my favourite routes are off limits at the moment.

Would anyone like to help me work out my HM pace for my training runs? It's a bit of a novel, this post ...

I have a road, flatish HM booked mid-April. My only other road HM was in 2016 (yikes) and completed in 2'34. I did quite a few trail HMs after, but none since 2019.

I haven't run consistently since the pandemic, so I started C25K in July, then did the BUPA beginner 10k plan, completed a 10k race in December in 1'15 - cardio-wise, was fine, legs pretty stiff afterwards though, so don't think I could have gone faster.

Now following a 16-week Runtastic beginner HM plan, which has 1 easy, 1 long and 1 tempo/hill/fartlek run a week, plus two cross training sessions.

I can't run more than three times a week as I have hypermobile EDS and I have to be super careful of my tendons/joints - sometimes I do have to skip runs in the plan. I do one swim and a bike ride/hike as cross training, Yoga with Adriene on YouTube and three 30-min sessions of physio exercises with a bungee.

First goal is to complete - but in my training plan, some of my running needs to be at HM pace - would it be realistic to aim at breaking 2'30? I am also 5 kg over a normal BMI, so if I did lose some of that between now and April, it would probably help with speed.

Not sure it's realistic to think I could run my HM in twice the time it took me to do 10k, even if I have four more months of training under my belt? (And hopefully a few fewer pounds.)

I think it's realistic to aim for 2.30 if you've done a 1.15 10k, especially as you're following a plan.
Jack Daniels (US running coach, not the drink) is the go to for training pace calculations. The online calculators let you enter your results and it will give you paces for the other distances. Or if you want to target a time for a distance it will give you the paces you need to train up to.
https://news.vdoto2.com/2023/04/pace-calculator/

Thanks @Jumbojem for the encouragement and the calculator! A part me thinks trying to go from slow to marginally less slow is a bit of a pointless, but another part thinks PBs are for anyone!

Welcome @newyearnewknees!

@Trickedbyadoughnut I think you'd be ok aiming for 2.30 too, you'll naturally get the pace increase with that amount of training. I often run around those times. I have hypermobile joints but am lucky as they don't give me much trouble apart from weak ankles on trails runs. Some weights really helped my pace a few years back when I was in a huge pace rut - would that be a no no for you?

Thanks @chutneypig. I'm definitely looking at adding a little bit of weight work after my HM, but I'm a bit nervous both adding weights and ramping up the distance. I think it might be too much for me.

Thanks for tagging me. I have now finished Couch to 5K but I am only running up to 4.5km at the moment as my pace has slowed a bit. I’ve fallen into a pattern of doing 5km in about 38 minutes, which I recognise is a bit slow.

I’ve joined a running club to repeat Couch to 5K over the next few months. That’s two running sessions a week taken care of until the spring. I feel a bit lost without Jo Whiley although I’ve found Nike Run Club’s short guided runs a good substitute. For the third session a week, I was thinking about following this plan and “jeffing” the Saturday runs (perhaps 30s run, 30s walk): https://cdn1.parksmedia.wdprapps.disney.com/media/rd/redesign/running-training-programs/runDisney-Half-Beginner-Training-Plan.pdf. If I start next week and manage to follow the plan that should take me up to May.

I am thinking about registering for the Cardiff Half (October) as the cut-off time is 4.5 hours but given I have only been running continuously for about 35 minutes and cover 4.5km in that time, it feels wildly ambitious today! Going more than four times that distance seems eye-popping but I think if I stick to a run/walk strategy it will be doable, even with my poor levels of fitness.

Does this sound sensible?! I just need a sense-check before I register.

@gm2023 it sounds perfectly sensible. I jeffed all my long runs when training for my first half and it's a great way to get time on your feet without overdoing it. I'm currently a similar time for parkrun and my most recent halfs were either side of the 3 hour mark. I did next to no training for those. A lot of running halfs is the confidence to do it and a good plan will take care of that. You've got a good stretch of time to work your way up too.

Hi @gm2023 - I run/walk all my runs from parkrun upwards. The ratio that seems to suit me is 10 minutes running, 2 minutes walking. I keep meaning to join up the runs, but never seem to get round to it.

With training you will manage the distance.

@Trickedbyadoughnut a 2.30 HM sounds achievable if you can cover 10K in 1.15 and you manage the training. Good luck!

@chutneypig @OhOneOhTwoOhThree Thank you! Given current levels of fitness and only having started running in October I think a run/walk strategy is best for me. I will try a few things and see where that takes me. I noticed my times seem faster on Strava in earlier weeks of Couch to 5K when I was run/walking more - presumably because my heart rate was more under control! It’s really high (180bpm) when I am running now, which I think is just a fitness thing as I am running at a conversational pace. Onwards to the autumn!

Hi all. I’ve been for my first run/walk and covered just over 7km in an hour so I’m really pleased about this. I had to walk more than I hoped because it was slippery and icy in patches. That also included a 5-minute warm up walk. I’m feeling like a 3-hour half marathon is within sights!

I’ve looked at the sign up form and need to add a finish time. It’s my first one and I’m new to running so do you think I should add some time to my goal? So while I would be aiming for, say, 2:59, is it worth adding on another 15 or 30 minutes to that? I’m going for finish line, not finish time, and I may “Jeff” a lot of it so I wondered if there might be advantages to being even further back.

Thank you!

Well done @gm2023 I wouldn't add more than 15 minutes personally and I've always put a (realistic) goal time as a spur to keep me training. It is good to be in a wave though where you won't get immediately dropped. I've only ever done smaller events where you did say a time on entry but on the day everyone just lines up where they want.
I try to balance where I start as motivationally it helps if you start where you can overtake a few people. I did a half once where I started to far forward, went out too fast, and got overtaken and overtaken. I didn't overtake anyone the whole race and it really made it a tough event for me.

Thank you! I will go for 3h15m. I was very sedentary prior to completing Couch to 5K so I am hoping that improving my fitness over the next 9 months will balance out any dips in pace from going a longer distance. I think I have fairly realistic expectations, given my fit running friends seem to run 6 min/km and I’m hoping to do 7:30-8 min/km after 9 months of training.

I’ve got my first (beginners’) running club session on Monday and the leaders are very experienced so I am sure will also be good sources of advice over the coming months! I’m targeting an October race so there’s lots of time left too.

@gm2023 I think you've gone for a sensible option there, it'll be helpful in not setting off too fast, which is always tempting.

I went to my home parkrun to try and get a benchmark but it was packed. Most were cancelled locally for flooding so they had record attendance. That's why I'm ignoring that my time was slower than my first ever parkrun. I enjoyed it - apart from when someone asked if I was alright. Very kind of them of course but I didn't think I was looking that bad!

Hahahaha @chutneypig. We were similarly packed out today after a number of cancellations for flooding. We did have a water feature ie shin deep puddle which seemed to go on for ages. I also missed the start so my official time was over a minute slower than my watch time (which included running from my car as I had to park a lot further away than usual).

Someone kindly asked me if I was OK and if I knew where I was going a while ago - it was only my 200th+ parkrun there 😊. Love that people are so kind and friendly.

This will probably muck up my training no end, but a parkrun friend has talked me into a 17 mile trail run in March. This is the same friend who go me started on cold water swimming so I have a lot to thank her for.

I hane kept up with the Yoga with Adriene so far - today’s was a good post-parkrun stretch with no downward facing dogs.