Hello I am being very lazy and seeking others advice rather simply googling this question (a. because I trust the opinions of people who actually run and have experience & b. I'm a bit pushed for time to sift through a load of rubbish!).
I am thinking of doing a half marathon in October and have started looking at training plans recommended by others, and it looks like I need to start asap. Will it matter if I jiggle around what is done on certain days as long as I complete the required amount of activity in the week? My variable shift pattern with 12hr shifts days and nights means there is no way I could stick to any plan entirely, but I don't want end up injuring myself be altering things too much. This is probably a really silly question but I feel safe to potentially make a fool of myself on this forum as everyone is so friendly.
Off now for a quick swim, thanks in advance for any advice.
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mandap
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I use my ascis plan recommend by Miss W. It allows you to adjust your days. Also a few weeks ago I had to do 2x8 runs and 1x12km, I was out on my 8km run and felt good so did the 12km. The plan is there to guide you it's not set in stone. I would recommend using my ascis as it also sets a pace, I find it hard to stick to the slower pace but it's a good. I have have an 11week plan for Hm so if you have just over three months you have the ideal amount of time. Good luck.
Or look at what JuicyJu did - there is a post somewhere with her marathon training plan! That's the kind of plan I'm more inclined to do...
At the moment I am pretending to follow a Myasics plan to run a 10 k on the 25th of July - it seems good but I just cannot stick to it - and I doubt I'll ever get to the pace they think I 'll achieve and I have not registered for the race yet!
I found a training plan for 10k and I've done a week and a half so far. I have not run ANY run in the correct sequence yet, but I have kept to rest days and run the required miles/speed etc. I truly hope it doesn't matter or i might have real problems on the day.
I'm trying not to commit to it yet, but I'm getting more and more sure that I'm gonna try a HM next, so I'm interested in your answers. Sounds like I'm going to have to take HM more seriously though
Going by your posts where you've posted your Park run times and such, I think that is perfectly do able for you
Ah you will be fine, I am sure you will have a great time on the day. I think we worry too much over these things , and 99.99 of the time , they turn out okay ! xxx
Thank you so much for the replies already, as I hoped such rapid and useful responses 😃 I have read a lot of positive reviews of the asics plans so will look at those in more detail vixchile.
Keep going pigivi, I only started thinking about hm yesterday after signing up for my first 10k in September (first one I could find to do). I set out in positive spirits not sure how far to aim for and ended up running for an hour and doing 10-11 k (gps problems mean I've not got an accurate distance). In the back of my mind I thought I'd try a hm next year, but yesterday I thought i should at least look into if it could be possible to do one locally in October. I won't be registering for a while just to see how I get on with more longer runs and doing additional exercise too, but fingers crossed...
So far rmnsuk the only plan I have looked at I found from a link in a previous thread, walkjogrun.net. I'm planning to do lots of research as know very little about hydration and nutrition needs. Good luck with the 10k training.
I would also vote for the Asics plan... takes minutes to set-up and as others have said clearly sets out your runs and the pace. Also great to see your progress through the plan and run days can easily be moved around.
No, it doesn't matter at all whether you move some runs around, change days, change a long run to a short one when time is short and then do the opposite swap later on. Just listen to your body, if something hurts then take action to make it stop hurting. And make sure it remains fun and doesn't become a burden.
What everyone said, really, but also: if you have to skip a run, don't loose your long run. They're more important than the shorter ones and give you a chance to practise eating and drinking enough on the go (some people can manage without extra energy but I found not taking food/energy gel made it nearly impossible to keep going. 8 or 9 miles is fine, 12 or 13 suddenly really isn't), and being on your feet for longer.
You'll be fine, by the way. I did my half marathon on not-nearly-enough focussed training (but a year's regular running and some long weekend runs in the lead-up), and did fine. Will be back next year to better my time because I know I can do better, but got round and really enjoyed the whole thing.
I believe that you answer is --YES!! My understanding is that there are basically two objects to be attained by endurance( long distance) training plans. One is too acclimate your body to run the distance by increasing slowly the overall volume of your runs each week ( partly done by increasing the weekly long run and also by increasing the length of some of the shorter easy runs.) This first object is especially important for "first time to the distance" runners . The second object is faster runs to improve pace - more important for more advanced runners who have already raced the distance.
So - you can move the days around IF you also take into account the principle of "easy follows hard" - that is , if you have had a "hard" day, then it should be followed by an "easy " day. A hard day can be a long but slow run -- or a short but fast run. An easy day is simply that - easy!! Could be no run at all or cross training or a short but slow run.
Thank you everyone for the reassurance and positivity 😄 I have set up an asics plan and got the app, looking forward to my first official training run tomorrow. Will be strange thinking in miles rather than km, but couldn't find an option to change that. Also even though the instructions appear clear, when I tried to swap the run and rest days on the I pad nothing happened 😳
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and I have not registered for the race yet! 
Brain training
training for a half-marathon
Week 11- Marathon training - claiming a sub 4 hour marathon.
Crash Training for 5km run 
Running and Strength Training
