Just putting together my draft plan and copying sheets with strength exercises on from your links, roseabi ! I wondered if you’d mind quickly looking through to see if anything looks badly wrong?
I’m starting my long runs at 15k, but was a bit unsure and random about when I scaled this back to 10K based on your 7 day plan. I want my long runs to usually be Mondays, to do Parkruns on Saturdays, and to factor in a week of Scottish winter hillwalking / climbing. I’ve given myself Rest or alternatives for the Christmas / New Year breaks.
I’ve kept my long run at 21.1k to do a few repeats before the end of our main plan timetable. As I plan to do my HM race on Sunday 19th May (a week before my 50th!), I was then thinking of cycling up and down a little bit with the long run distances each week until the week of the race (with some drops back to 10k too). At this point I’m not considering going beyond the HM distance.
Written by
mountaindreamer
Half Marathon
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In case it’s too blurry to read, I think it’s ok to give the link to my google doc spreadsheet rather than a calendar roseabi ? (If not I’ll delete it...)
The link doesn't work, you need to change the sharing permissions on the file. But it doesn't matter, your screen shot is fine!
The plan looks fine to me, the 10k breaks will give you a nice rest every few weeks, but I like that you are going to give running 21k on two consecutive weeks a go too - a good test of stamina!
I am also really happy to see your hill walking/climbing week in there 😊😊😊
Having never done a half marathon I can't answer your question! But I do know it's great to have a plan isn't it? Feels such a positive step. Good luck and enjoy it
Thanks Linda - yes, it’s great having one. Just not sure if I’m being a bit to optimistic repeating HM length runs 3 weeks in a row! I’ll probably have more of an idea after I’ve done the distance once! 😳❤️
I was wondering if you were ok and running “naked” with no Strava or poorly / injured. What date are you planning your HM for? If you’re not too well, can you delay starting your plan until you feel fully fit? ❤️
Last night I entered us both (me & speedy husband) into the Chester HM in May...so I guess we’re doing this!! 😂😂
I’m pretty certain it’s flat, and it doesn’t look too big. (Bigger than anything we’ve done so far, but limited to only about 5000 runners.) Also not far to drive to for us! I guess I can even go and practise the course if I really want to...😃
Well done for getting started. It does seem your plan has you running a HM three times prior to actually running your 'first' HM. I havent looked at roseabi 's plan in that much detail, but other plans I have seen the first time you run a HM would normally be the day itself. However, I will let roseabi respond as she has far better knowledge than I do on running.
mountaindreamer 's situation is a bit different in that she's already up to 15K and is not doing her half until May.
However, I don't think it necessarily matters if people choose to get over and above 21.1k before a race. It depends on the person, and the amount of training time they have. It makes sense not to run to the FULL marathon distance in training, because it is a very long way and it can be injurious to run it too frequently. However the half marathon is a much more doable distance for most people, and a good challenge to follow the 10K 😊
My plan is aimed at beginners who may just want to reach the distance as opposed to doing an actual race, so its aim is to finish with 21.1k, although I have suggested options for those who want to go further before a half marathon event.
I didn't run more than ten miles in training last year (cos thats what myasics told me to do), and I did struggle in the last part of my HM. I put that down in part to injury sustained which interrupted the latter aprt of the training though and I guess I liked the fact that the first time I actually completed the distance was on the day, as it made it feel a bit more special.
However, this year I want to go back and improve my time, and I wonder whether getting to the distance beforehand would help or not. At the moment I have a couple of 11 milers planned. Although, I suppose as you say it is individual choice.
I am really loving the discussions your plan has created!
I think getting to the distance in training helps a lot of people, and it makes sense if you have already run a half marathon.
A half marathon is not easy by any means, and there are likely to be struggles, particularly towards the end. Go back to your data from race day (if you have it) and see what you can spot - maybe you started off a bit too quickly?
Good point. Though I have only run one and it will be a year to the day when I attempt my second, so I'm not a veteran by any means.
I will look over my run data as you suggest. I know I din't go off too fast, as I ran chatting with my brother-in-law for the first 5k (we were overtaken by big-bird). Although, come to think of it when we separated I did pick up the pace - perhaps too much, (I hit a 10k PB) but it did feel good.
Thanks Whatsapp . As roseabi says below, I’m starting from 15k already, and have until May for my HM. (I want to do our local one in Chester the week before my 50th birthday. 😊)
I feel as if distance running is part psychology and knowing you can pace yourself to do the distance. Before my first 10k race, I wanted to do the distance a few times, so I knew how much I could push myself on the day. I may be a bit more cautious than many of you, because all my pulserate comes from pacemakers, and that can cause a few issues. 😊
I’m also trying to build my stamina up to try and give myself a chance of a time I’d be happy with on the day, rather than just making it to the finishing line. Even at 15k, the first time I did it I felt my legs had nothing left. The 2nd time, I felt I could have continued further. Although I sometimes manage to speed up for the last k, I tend to get progressively slower the further I run. I’m hoping more repeats and better stamina will help reduce this effect! 🤞😊
Thanks roseabi - it sounds like I’m not being too unrealistic then. I think I’ll play it by ear once I get to the full distance, and then decide if I do it on consecutive weeks or not. It just seemed the main plan was doing “almost the distance” while still building up over those last weeks, and dropping the odd k at that point seemed a bit arbitrary.
Just been to my Sports Therapist this morning (re spine / injured wrist / recent shoulder injury... I collect things 😂😂), who is now on board with the HM plan too. I showed him the strength exercises I was planning from the links I’d checked out, and his comment was that he didn’t think it was such a great idea to do some of them because of some of my structural issues, and how they’d fit with the daily exercises he already gives me. The good news is he’s going to decide what I should do instead for the strength days, and give me a different programme. So if others are in the same boat and have past issues / injuries, then I wonder if asking a Physio or Sports Therapist to give them a suitable alternative strength programme might be worth it to avoid problems?
If you have any current injuries, or past injuries causing you problems, you should certainly check with a medical professional before embarking on any fitness regime 😊
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Garmin HM plan
ChrisL's lightweight 2hr HM plan
Training plan HM milestone 
My HM plan
HM training plan