Hello racers!
Most of us are just about at the halfway mark now (or further along) - how are you getting on?
Who has done their "5K Race"? I totally failed to get to mine (which was to have been my first tourist parkrun visit too, damnit!) at the weekend 😄Such is life - I'll juggle in an extra parkrun in a couple of weeks. I'm volunteering there this Saturday as a tail walker, so I'll get a running credit but it won't be very near my "race pace" 😊
Speaking of race pace, pianoteacher posted a great question about it, and there were a lot of really helpful replies - check it out:
healthunlocked.com/marathon...
I have been thinking more about HILLS. You could say I'm a little bit obsessed 😊 Because the Hastings Half gets off to steep start I've been planning hills into most of my runs. I must say I am rather enjoying it, it certainly is keeping me warm in this chilly weather!
Here are a few more hilly thoughts:
★ Whether or not your half marathon will have hills in it, I'm sure you're aware of the benefits of adding in some hill training. I know that some of you have been adding hill repeats into your workouts - how did you find them?
★ I didn't include any hill repeat sessions in the plan, but if you'd like to give them a try you could slip a few into any of your runs. This article on Runners Connect has a lot of useful information, including suggestions for gradients to choose. They specify two sessions per week, but unless you're only doing one or two of the very short repeats described in this article, I'd think one hill repeat workout per week is more than enough.
runnersconnect.net/sprint-t...
★ But what about if your half marathon is mostly flat? In that case it's a good idea to make some of your long runs as flat as possible. You may not yet realise, but to run long on a very flat route is in many ways more tiring than running on a more undulating profile. This is because when you run uphill you tend to recruit the muscles and tendons at the backs of the legs, whereas running downhill the fronts of the legs are used more heavily. So when you run on the flat there is less variation, so all areas feel the strain all the time - therefore it is a good idea to prepare your legs for this!
★ What if your area is really hilly or really flat? You may have to think about doing multiple laps of favourable areas, running up and down steps, using a treadmill, etc. But for goodness sake don't let the fun slip away!!! At the end of the day I think that the most important thing is that we are enjoying ourselves and getting fitter, and I hope you will take at least most of your runs where they please you.
Enjoy 😊😊😊
roseabi xx
First Half marathon training plan
