Half Marathon - Training plan destroyed due to sickness

[kerry19834]

I am meant to be doing the Bath half marathon on the 16 March. I have never run that distance before but wanted to challenge myself. Training was going well I was up to 8 miles. However I have been so ill so the last 2 weeks with this cold and flu bug, I have no energy and I had to abort a trial run due to coughing and breathing issues. I am just so tired I can just about managed to get through work on a given day and keeping the house going.

I am still coughing and feel bungged up. Its just over three weeks to go and I can't see how I can do it. I just have not worked my way up to the distance and I am just not recovering.

Should I pull out now, I am worried that I just don't have the distance under my belt and will injure myself if I run. There is one more 12 mile run on the trianing plan next week, but I just can't seemyself recovering and also 8 to 12 miles is a huge jump.

What would you do?

Do you mean you've never ran more than 8 miles and you've only done that once? Have many miles a week were you running before starting the training plan?

You know how you feel. That said, I don’t usually go over 8/9 miles (have done 10 before but it’s not a regular thing) and I feel that if I took it steady I’d make it round a half marathon now. So maybe see how you go and make a decision a week or so before.

Sorry to hear this, OP - you must be really disappointed.

As to whether you should pull out now, that entirely depends on how experienced a runner you are.
If you had never run 8 miles before and have only got round 8 miles once in training, then you are not going to get round a half marathon in three weeks time without it being very unpleasant indeed, with lots of walking. In that case you should pull out now and book an autumn half instead.

However, if you're a pretty experienced runner and have been running three or four times a week for a decent amount of time, as well as running longer distances than 8 miles in the past, then that's different. You might only have done eight miles once in this training block, but you have miles in your legs and you'll be more used to the feeling of grinding it out when it gets tough on the day. In that case you'd probably be OK to give it a go if you're feeling well enough on the day. Don't do the 12 mile training run though, that would be madness. Try for an 8 or 9 if you're up to it.

Most HM plans go up to 10-12 miles, so 12 miles is not essential. 10 will do the job if you are up to that next week.

3 weeks is a fair time to see if you can shift the lurgy. Drop any time goals though.

Depending on the extent of illness, I often find I can walk before my body has the energy to run. If that's the case and I can walk comfortably, I train to time and walk the time of that run e.g. a 2 hour brisk walk swapping a 2hr 10mi run. It's not the same benefit as running, but it is still filling the gap of time on feet and not stressing recovering body.

Another strategy if you're feeling semi-functional but not full power is jeffing (a run/ walk strategy) The walk is always 30s which gives chance to stabilise breathing and keep heart rate down. The run bursts are also short. Some people use it as their primary running strategy, and its main advantage is energy conservation. I've run/ walked HMs in 2:30 compared to 2:12 for pushing hard- not a huge gap!

If you have a sports watch with heart rate, use it to keep your heart rate down. They're good indicators of health and how much you're being compromised. What you don't want to do is pile extra stress onto the stress of recovering, but if you're in a partially recovered state, the lower energy strategies might bridge that gap and help you complete the event.

I agree with others that it depends on how long you've been running. I would say if you are inexperienced then I really don't think it's a wise move. But if you've been running regularly for years then it might be in reach. I probably would just pass the number on now assuming the event is booked out. There are plenty of other races you can do

I did a half years ago after only having run 7 miles at the longest, I'd been running for a few years before that, though. The first 9 miles were fine, the last 4 and a bit were absolute hell, tbh, but I finished it