Hi all,
NEW POST HERE!!! healthunlocked.com/marathon...
Hope you all have had a chance to look at a few half marathon plans and think about how you are going to structure your training.
Here is a link to the previous post, where I went on at great length π about a few free plans I found online:
healthunlocked.com/marathon...
And another post with a list of more plans I found in my Google search:
healthunlocked.com/marathon...
We'll be kicking off the October Half Marathon Group next week - so I hope you are all FEELING EXCITED about starting your new training plans! I know that some of you will not be starting next week, but I'm sure you'll be thinking about it anyway πππ
I've put up a picture of all the half marathon medals I have collected so far. I ran my first (Milton Keynes Winter Half) in December 2015. I'd been enjoyed running 10Ks around Brighton & Hove and one day I thought to myself hmmmm a half marathon is only two 10Ks and a bit, I reckon I could do that!
But I didn't actually get around to using a formal half marathon training plan (I have used marathon and ultra plans) until my fifth and most recent half at Hastings - and that was the plan I'd drawn up for the Spring Half Marathon Group π
I think I went through a similar process to many of you: C25K gave me the habit of running three times a week with at least a day of rest in between; as I went along I learned about the benefits of speed and hill training, and the long slow run; as the years passed I incorporated more cross-training into my routine, and eventually regular strength workouts too.
So basically I was able to figure out that, to get to that first half marathon, I needed to build up my long run week by week, include a speed/hill run, and maybe a little extra-curricular stuff like swimming and pilates π
I made a few mistakes along the way - the worst of which was starting out too fast and hard (circumstances had reduced the amount of training time I had) for my first half marathon and ending up with a classic case of runner's knee π
But apart from that, I think this is a perfectly valid way of tackling the half marathon, and I saw in recent comments that some of you are planning to freestyle your training too.
The thing is that the training has to work for YOU!! This is why I encourage you all to look through a few plans to give you some ideas, but then go back to your diary and your current fitness regime and see how you can fit half marathon training into your life. You should still push yourself, and you WILL have to make some sacrifices to reach your goal - but it's all good πππ Many of the formal plans available will mention moving workout days to suit your schedule, and that's great! Do it π
NB if this is not your first half marathon you may well be thinking about how you can get a PB! Nothing wrong with that π A formal plan is helpful for this, and there are plenty out there that will help you aim for a specific finishing time.
There is one very important thing I have learned in the past few months. Everybody is different of course, but the general pattern is that as we get older we take longer to recover from hard effort. This the reason why, being 16 weeks in length, my half marathon plan is a bit longer than many - it is basically a 12 week plan stretched out to incorporate more rest days!
I urge you all to consider this question:
"How many days after a hard run (be it long or fast) does it take for me to feel like I have completely recovered and can go out again and perform as well as (or better than!) I did during that hard run?"
I think that this is also an important question to ask if you are a relatively new runner.
Many of us are fine with greater running volume: more than three days per week, running consecutive days, going for longer distances - and that's great! But never discount the power of recovery, and if that means you run just two days a week, that's great too!
Recovery is just as important as the workout itself. It is the time to rebuild before you come out again even stronger than before πππ
Enjoy your planning - and running!
roseabi xx
My plan: docs.google.com/spreadsheet...
List of OHMG (October Half Marathon Group!) members: docs.google.com/spreadsheet...
HUHM Strava Club: strava.com/clubs/huhm