This week I’ve signed up for my first half marathon, the Hackney Half - which I’m reliably informed is a good beginner half as it’s nice and flat.
With 13 weeks to go, I’ve looked up training plans and discovered there’s a whole world of extremely different advice and plans to get there ... and that’s before you get into the advice of the seasoned marathon runners in my office.
What would you say are the unchanging rules of race training?
Hi. How exciting! The most important thing about a plan is that it works for you, fits around your availability. If not, then it will not work abd you'll be miserable! The next is the long slow run which increases gradually over the 13 weeks. We are currently running a Half Marathon group aimed at people running a HM in spring. Shall I add you to the groyp?
We have weekly posts packed full of info - with one of the early posts being all about plans! The latest post is always in the pinned posts and if you scoll to the bottom you'll find a link to all the earlier posts. Take a look and then let us know if you still can't decide where to start. Here's a link to that latest post healthunlocked.com/marathon...
You should also be able to find a race report post on this forum for Hacney half as it's a popular choice.
Good luck, keep posting with any questions and let us know how you're getting on.
I just took a look at your previous posts - what is your longest run to date? Many 12 week plans assume you are at a base of 10k before starting but it looks like you may only just have graduated C25K. Is that right?
Hiya. I’m at 7k at the moment. I’ve graduated C25K recently but my baseline fitness is pretty decent as a regular tennis player and spin aficionado, otherwise I’d probably be a little more worried!
That makes your time schedule a bit tighter and you may have to adapt a standard plan as most take from 10k to HM in 12 weeks or more!!! Your priority will be to avoid injury. Cross training will be helpful, but try to keep as much of it as possible as low impact - spin will be great. If it does become an issue, you may want to consider a Jeffing approach (run/walk) which may people find successful. In the meantime, you'll soon be at that first 10k milestone 😍
Hi! Welcome to the community!!
To add to Linda's comment about the HM group, we'll be posting on Tuesdays (as much as possible!) up to the end of March. I suggest you follow Linda and me so you'll get email notifications of everything we post - tap our names to go to our profile pages, and select 'Follow'. You can always unfollow us again when you get tired of our blether 😊😊😊
Your question about 'unchanging rules' is interesting! Myself I prefer to think in terms of guidelines rather than rules, because everyone is different. But I'd say the most important considerations are to have some sort of plan in place and stick to it as much as possible, ease into increasing distance (long run) and intensity (increasing paces, hill practice etc.) of runs gradually, check back at your progress regularly and make adjustments as necessary, and enjoy yourself!
A plan does not have to be fancy, particularly for a first half marathon. You can choose, for example, to run three times a week, short, medium, and a long run that gradually increases over time. So you could start with say 3k, 5k, 7k this week, then 3k, 5k, 8k the next, then maybe 3k, 6k, 9k etc. An increase in weekly distance of around 10% is a safe guideline for a beginner.
Many formal plans you find online will include speed/endurance work and cross-training, which are excellent things to do. You already have cross-training down, and I notice you are in a hilly area - hill running is great for strength! But most important is to build your distance and look to have an enjoyable experience at your first half marathon.
Anyway, good luck and have fun! xxx
Just go up each week. Don't need a plan for a half.
First Half Marathon 
