Half marathon advice

[allpraisebetogod]

Tips for running a half marathon

Hi all! I am preparing to run a half marathon in September. I have been running for around a year now, the longest I have ran is 10.7km, took me 1h 30min. By the end of it I was tired but did not feel like I could not keep running if I wanted to. While running I felt comfortable and confident I could complete the run. I don’t have any too ambitious goals about my speed, I am hoping to complete it in 3 hours. Wondering if anyone has some advice how I should approach my training? Should I worry more my perseverance, i.e. about being able to run constantly for 3h and try to increase my speed? With the 3h aim it would be 7km/h, if I want to improve my speed, what would be a reasonable target? I am planing on following the Nike Running 14 weeks plan, has anyone tried following this one? Thanks!

 

[natalli]

@allpraisebetogod Hard to tell.

Try the FAQ of the running subreddit.

Generally though, run more, mostly slowly.

Rules of thumb include increasing your total mileage by 10% a week, and your long run by 1km a week.

Like, 90% of your runs should have your heartrate average zone 2 (google), and 10% should be quicker runs.

Make sure your shoes are decent (ideally, I recommend beginners start with brooks glycerin, asics kayano if they don't suppinate, saucony triumph or new balance 1080x (probably the pick of the bunch at the moment)... nike pegasus are acceptable too.

 

[allpraisebetogod]

@natalli Thank you! The heart rate is interesting, definitely an easier metric to observe than when someone says “run your 5K effort”! Will give that a go, thanks!

 

[godschilde]

@allpraisebetogod Hi! I ran my first HM last fall. I had been running for about a year (on and off) then hurt myself. I was fully recovered by July but basically starting at my longest run being a 5K. I used the Nike 14 week plan and felt I was well prepared. Although I found myself skipping a lot the interval work outs. I didn't enjoy them, and my goal was not to get a good time but just to finish. I finished with a time of 2hrs and 43 mins and I only walked once for a few minutes up a big hill. Hope this helps! Good luck and happy running!

 

[allpraisebetogod]

@godschilde Thanks so much for sharing your experience. Sounds similar to my goals, nice to hear the program worked for you. I was starting to get a bit worried, saw so many posts about 2h completions, good to know there are other more similar runners out there!

Happy running!

 

[strawberry0034]

@allpraisebetogod For your first half your training should be steadily building your base with occasional speed work. This means you have 3ish runs a week, 1-2 base runs and 1 long run where you steadily raise the mileage.