Newbie with half-marathon goal

[Cianalas]

I'm new to this group so thought I'd say hello.

Can't believe I'm considering a half-marathon! I said the same about 5k and 10k, and both times the C25k and Bridge to 10K communities were really helpful so I reckon this is the best place for advice and inspiration for the half.

I'm currently running 10km on alternate days and the half marathon I have my sights on is in March. Looking forward to the challenge and aiming to build up slowly.

😊

[Hillrunner2201 Marathon]

You are well on the way already if you're doing 10k on alternate days. Then just increase one run a week by about a mile a week until you get to about 11 miles on the long run. Some people (me included!) prefer to run a full 13 miles in training as a confidence boost but it's not essential. There are lots of plans out there you can follow for a half but remember that you've already done the hard work getting to where you are now and there's nothing wrong with adapting a plan to your suit your needs.

[Tomas Marathon]

Sounds like you have an excellent basis to build the HM training on.

I hope you become a regular and keep us informed of your progress

[Cianalas Half Marathon]

Thank you for the advice Hillrunner2201. Increasing one run by one mile per week doesn't sound tooo intimidating.

Yes, impossible as it sounds just now, think I'd like to have done a confidence-boosting 13mile run beforehand.

I'm quite close to the route, so can practice the scary big hill a few times - even if it just means I will know how long it takes to walk up it!

[Cianalas Half Marathon]

Thank you Tomas. Yes I will check in regularly and cheer people on too.

[misswobble Marathon]

Don’t over run! 10k on alternate days sounds way too much to me You don’t need a sledgehammer to crack a nut

You don’t need to have done all the race distance before race day. The adrenaline of race day gets you round the distance 🙂

Most of all enjoy your training, so go steady! 👍🙂

[Cianalas Half Marathon in reply to misswobble]

Does 10km on alternate days sound too much?...been doing it for a few months now and feel fine, which is why I felt in need of a new challenge and decided to aim for the half-marathon. Maybe as I extend the distance each week on one run I might reduce the distance on another ...🤔. Thanks misswobble 😊

[C3PO Marathon]

Welcome, Cianalas ! It sounds like you are definitely on track. I'm one of those who likes to have done the full distance before my HMs. Maybe because I only did my first one two years ago. I think working on the hill is a great idea. I've done something similar twice on my HMs - tested out the section that I figured would be hardest on the day. It was really helpful.

[Cianalas Half Marathon in reply to C3PO]

Thank you C3PO. Sounds like I should plod up that hill a couple of times then...ugh!

[JohnTheHulk]

I don't know how long you have got till you run it. You don't want to run a long distance 10 days before the ½ marathon. If you take 10 off the number of days you have got ,then you can calculate the number of days before you need to increase your distance. I ran to within 1 mile less then the ½ marathon. Also if the course is hilly, you may want to do some hill training. Here is a web site that me of use to you: gb.mapometer.com/ . if you create or import the route into it you will see the hills as a graph of the elevation change.

[Cianalas Half Marathon]

Brilliant, thanks for that JohnTheHulk. I will have a look at your link. Hope your running is going well.