Running plan for 8.5mile run?

[keepitsimple144]

@alkoneronchikom I’d not heard of this so this is great and sounds like what I need!

 

[maish]

@keepitsimple144 Without the higher amount of days then I do think you’re being unrealistic.

That said a walk and jog combo can really cut down on time.

My biggest red flag is your legs handling the distance. I wouldn’t want you to have to drop out due to nasty shin splints that show up in a few weeks and take months to truly go away.

Can you handle walking/hiking long distances? Could that help your mental dislike for running?

 

[keepitsimple144]

@maish I love walking, and I get 10-12k steps as a minimum every single day without fail, I make it a conscious part of my day to do so. I walk at quite a pace and could happily walk for a couple of hours.

My fiancé died with 31km of his 2022 running challenge left to do, so I completed this remaining distance for him over the course of 6 consecutive days at the end of last year (1x 6km and 5x 5km). So I do think I have a good base level of fitness to build on, but I know I need more stamina and more longer runs.

I just know that running 4x a week isn’t going to be something I can handle, like a lot of the online programmes suggest. I hoped I could build up at a slightly slower pace than these plans do, as I have 17 weeks to go.

 

[maish]

@keepitsimple144 Yeah, totally sounds like you can do 8.5, it’s just the pace. Probably not a true run, but you sound set up to be well above a gentle walk.

Good luck, it’s a beautiful memorial dedication project t.

 

[keepitsimple144]

@maish Thank you. Honestly I don’t even mind if I’m at a snail’s pace, he knows how much I hate running so I’m sure he’d be proud either way! If I do have to run half and walk the other half then that’s not the end of the world either. I just would love to be able to say I’d ran it all if possible

 

[floof]

@keepitsimple144 When I trained for a marathon I only ran once a week because that’s all my schedule allowed. As you get into better shape, endurance will come. But for now, each time you’re running and you feel like you are bored and ready to stop, challenge yourself to go a little further before you stop, whether that be five more minutes or another half mile. And when you finish that, see if you can add a bit more. Eventually you’ll be able to run without stopping

 

[keepitsimple144]

@floof It’s nice to know that running once a week helped you achieve your goals though, so hopefully my 1-2x will too.

 

[keepitsimple144]

@floof Thank you. That’s definitely part of it - sometimes bored, sometimes just ready to stop! But yes, got to try and keep pushing.

 

[vivianyang]

@keepitsimple144 So sorry for your loss.

I am similar to you in that I don’t enjoy running very much. I liked Hal Higdon’s half marathon training program; it has room in the schedule for cross training which I liked. Got up to ten miles with his program before I injured my knee and had to stop. It takes ten weeks so scale up to 9 miles as the long run.

 

[keepitsimple144]

@vivianyang This is really helpful, thank you - I’ll definitely look into this.

 

[poppies78]

@keepitsimple144 To add to that, I just did a half using Hal's program, but I knew I couldn't do it in the short time of the plan. So I stretched it out over twice the time (which you have time to do) and increased half of what he suggested. So if it was supposed to go from 4 miles on one Saturday to 5 the next, I did it like 4 miles, then 4.5 the next week, then 5 after that. I successfully went from being able to barely do 2 miles to a half marathon in about 7 months. And I'm definitely out of shape and not a runner!

 

[keepitsimple144]

@poppies78 That’s definitely worth knowing/considering too! I’ve actually just looked him up since the previous comment and he has a 10 mile programme which would be ideal. But it expects me to run 3x a week, which honestly just isn’t feasible for me, so it almost puts me off starting, because how useful can a programme be if I’m not even really following it properly?

 

[jaz2001]

@keepitsimple144 You might have a little better luck asking in r/xxrunning. I’m a runner but I’m terrible with tweaking programs. I use Higdon for my plans but have to run 4x a week or I can’t handle adding mileage and I get hurt. Good luck and I’m so sorry for your loss.

 

[ladavid52]

@keepitsimple144 It's kinda hard to schedule that way but maybe you could stretch it so that you'd have three runs in 10 days? It won't be as effective but since you don't care that much about the pace I believe it doesn't really matter

 

[mfloor]

@keepitsimple144 I'm UK based too. Not sure if this is what you're after, I've used apps like Couch to 5k, 10k etc and they helped me a lot as a fellow non-runner. The NikeRun Club app has progressive runs too and would help you with managing the 8.5 miles (i.e., when to slow down, increase pace, breathing, etc etc). I definitely recommend trying those two. Sorry these arent plans as such. My preferred was NikeRun Club.

Have you thought about joining a local Parkrun? You can improve your timing, stamina and get tips from fellow runners.

I wish you well and hope you smash this run in honour of your partner ❤

 

[keepitsimple144]

@mfloor Thank you for replying. I actually didn’t know there was a couch to 10k, but honestly I think I’m maybe past the couch to 5k one - I can run 5km already, and in a fairly decent time (although I don’t enjoy it!), but the 10k version may be with looking into.

Yeah I’ve been to a couple of parkruns, I haven’t really spoken to anyone though, so maybe I need to pluck up the courage for that!