So.......I think I want to run a HM!! I have set myself a challenge to run a HM before my birthday in October (shhh.....big one, don't tell anyone!). My reasoning is that if I leave it any longer I may never manage it!
A while ago I looked at advice posted by roseabi - such a lot of useful information about training plans etc (thank you). I even saved and then adapted a plan to suit my running days and researched events. Tonight I found that plan and amazingly Day 1 was today - how strange that I should look it up tonight. Luckily I did do a run today, although not a long one but at least I got out. I am going to try very hard to run 3x a week, although the mid week one will have to be short since I am always very tired after school. Once the holidays start I will be able to really focus on the training.
So I now have decisions to make......
trail or road?
virtual or organised event?
local or overnight stay?
dog or no dog?
And I have so much to research about pace, fuel (I usually run on empty) before and during, shoes (I currently only have trail shoes) and most pressing is WHICH EVENT!! I see some are now full and entries are closed. I know that I need time to train and want to run in Sept or Oct (can't run in the heat) but that is about all.
Lots of great advice and very experienced folk on this forum so I will be reading lots of posts and learning lots
Written by
skysue16
Half Marathon
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Fabulous! It is clearly meant to be this time. If you can find something fairly local (whether organised or virtual) it definitely cuts down on logistical worries. But other than that I'd say all options are fair game. There will be lots of HU people training for Sep and Oct HMs (I have a big event in Sep and another in Oct), so you will be in good company. Enjoy!
If you do want to do it with Mr Squiggs, don’t forget that he won’t be able to train with you over the summer holidays as it will be too warm unless you get up very early x
Yes, thank you, definitely need to be careful about heat and humidity - for me too 🥵. Over half term we were out by 6.30-7.00. Squiggy has a very short hair cut in the summer and that helps, plus we usually run down by a river. Hope all is well with you. Been busy at school so not caught up with your posts!
So happy to see your official post SS. Woohoo, how exciting! 🥰
You have lots of choices to make. Make sure you research your HM route for when the time comes, ie badly timed hills etc. I know that I’d have struggled even meeting a bump in the road after 16k the first time I ran it! If someone had offered me £1 million to run another step, I’d have said “nah”!
I’ve run 3 on trails and 2 on roads, all virtual, and the same with dog vs no dog. I wouldn’t run that far with her on a lead. I can’t wait to do my actual race in September (it’s a long way by yourself!)
Nutrition is very personal of course, but I survived on Tailwind/SiS and jelly babies. 😀
Whatever you do, you have us all here to cheer you on!
Thanks for the advice Cheeky. I am thinking of running from home along the coast to my Mum’s village. There is one big uphill after about 10 miles which I will no doubt walk up!! One thought I had about Squiggy was only running with him for the second part - mostly off road. He could then pull me up the aforementioned hill!! 😂 Nutrition is a complete mystery to me but I have heard Tailwind is good.
The best way to figure out nutrition is to give it a try! Some things will suit you, others won't. Think it's worth noting that, if it's something chewy like an energy bar, just bite off one small piece at a time. I found that when I bit off a large chunk, I couldn't breathe and breathing is quite important whilst running!
As you get used to longer distances, I think you'll find that your porridge is enough to take you most, if not all the way.
Thank you for the advice SkiMonday 😊. I usually run early before eating anything and I have managed 10 miles without eating anything. I think that I need to experiment with tailwind and see how it goes.
Yes! Go you! I remember writing a similar post when i was 69! Wanted to do it before I was 70!
The support you will get her will be amazing..it certainly got me through.
I would say, keep it local, cutting down on travel or overnight stay arrangements...I loved the one I did which was a Trail run..so interesting, so much to say and such a varied running surface
I, after taking some great advice from misswobble , maintained my already healthy eating regime and hydration routine, with a few tweaks, and didn't have any extra supplements, before or on the day etc...But, that was me... and what works for each of us may be very different
Working in a group training on here too was really helpful... all doing it together and supporting each other... the plan I was with was put together by our amazing roseabi . It kept me motivated and buoyant. I tweaked it a bit to suit my lifestyle too.
The main advice I would give is to ( yes you have guessed it... ) , take it steady and slow and simply enjoy the whole build up to the day!
Thank you so much for all that advice Floss. Yes, I am going to use roseabi’s plan - just tweaked it a bit. I think I would prefer trail....more interesting and I haven’t got any road shoes! I wonder if there will be another HM group starting soon.....it would be a great boost. 😊
Trail is harder work but it’s more interesting so time passes more quickly
I swear by the recipe on here for peanut power bars. I make a batch and freezer them. I take one out with me, or two 😃🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️ I save Tailwind for marathon day as it’s expensive. High Five is ok. Not too sweet
This is a great alternative to expensive energy bars. They taste a million times better than any commercial bar, has all the required ingredients for endurance activity, cheaper and probably healthier than any of the alternatives. Pine nuts and almonds are packed with essential minerals, vitamins and "heart friendly" mono-unsaturated fatty acids that help benefit in reducing cholesterol levels in the blood. Similarly oats are an excellent source of slow release energy and have additional antioxidant and cholesterol lowering benefits. The sugar content helps if you are on your knees, but this is well balanced by [good] fat content helping minimise the chances of a 'sugar crash'. Pat and I have been using this recipe for a couple of years on long cycle rides and for any endurance activity in the hills. Power Flapjack was a big help in getting me around the Winter Cairngorms Circuit a few years ago. Try it, we're sure you'll like it!
Ingredients
125g Butter
150g Soft brown sugar or muscovado
125g Crunchy peanut butter
75g Honey
200g Porridge oats (not jumbo oats)
150g Dried fruit
50g Pine Nuts, Almonds (mixed).
Power Flapjack Recipe
Instructions
Line ~20cm square tin. Place the butter, sugar, peanut butter and honey into a large pan on a very low heat until melted. Stir in oats, dried fruit, nuts and seeds. Put the mixture into the tin. Garnish with a few nuts on top and bake at 160 degrees Celsius for approximately 30mins.
Leave until cool then cut into squares (or bolt the lot while warm!).
If you can find those dried sour cherries I’d deffo include those. They’re lush 😃. I use unsweetened peanut butter. I also use SET honey
I cut them to size and wrap them individually in foil, then freeze in a Tupperware box. They don’t need defrosting. Just grab and go. By the time you need your first one, in say an hour, it should be ready to snaffle 😋
Fabulous 👍🏻😁 if you're used to trails, go trail. Roads can be really dull over the distance. Plus most trail events are not as fixed on pace. Trail runners know you can't go as fast on rough terrain.
If you eat well normally, a good filling, slow release breakfast like b porridge, a couple of snack bars in your pocket, you'll be fine. Hydration is super important though expecially if it's hot, make sure you're taking on enough fluids. If you train with a vest or bottle you'll be more used to getting it in on the go. 👍🏻
Thank you for that advice JoJo. I have porridge for breakfast nearly every day - yummy 😊. I agree, I think a trail run would be better, although some events have a mixture of terrains. Need to get searching!
I recommend the Beachy Head half as an amazing trail experience (hilly, but!) - well, I haven't done the actual half, but the marathon and 10K are both fabulous!!! 🤣
Part of the reason for my recommendation is that they usually allow dogs, but apparently that has changed due to their social distancing plans - this may be a consideration for other races I suppose 🤔
There is a great coastal trail run a bit nearer to me (across the border in Devon) but running with Squiggy is probably not a good idea in case he pulls me over the edge after a seagull!! 😬 I think the hills at Beachy Head would be too much for me!
I've never actually run an event and don't run with our dog either because he's exuberant and weighs roughly two-thirds of what I do. However, if you choose a real event, do check that dogs are allowed. They're not permitted at my October event, even though it's a very hilly trail marathon in open countryside.
Fwiw, the idea of running a marathon on roads feels way beyond me. Being off-road and running hills actually takes off some of the pressure for me - at least I shouldn't have problems with pace or boredom!
Totally agree, I find running on trails is great because the terrain is always changing so I adjust my pace (sometimes very slow!) accordingly and running with Mr Squiggy I don't get chance to be bored - especially when the squirrels are about 🤣🐿️🐶!
Great news skysue16 ! Sounds like you’ll go trail from the posts above. 😀When I trained for my first organised HM, I ran a mixture of trail and road but the even was on roads (The Bath Half) Yes, trail is more interesting to run on but you can’t beat the crowds of a decent road race (if such a thing is allowed of course!🤞🤣) Another vote for Tailwind too but it really is about finding what works for you. You have plenty of time to train and explore the logistics. Fingers crossed , I will probably look for another HM for the late Autumn too. Last year, I did a virtual one but am hoping to run with others next time!
Thank you Sandra. I spent a long time this evening searching for events. There are a few that are reasonably close to here but just not sure what to go for 🤔. The trail events sound scary - tough hills etc! The road events look very busy (looking at past photos). So still pondering....
Going away from home to race is an extra layer of logistics. I’d stay closer to home if possible 🙂
I do a November marathon that involves a hotel stay. I have to pack extra clothes not knowing what the weather will be like. Does my head in as I like to travel light
Yes, I think on this occasion I need to choose something close. Although when we lived on Skye we did have to travel to get to events, once all the way to Edinburgh! But we enjoyed a lovely weekend away 😊
I did it without any plans, without any fuel or even water 🤣 I just ran further and further each run 3 times a week until it came naturally to keep going until half marathon distance. That was about 2 or 3months after graduating c2k5, 22km to be exact 🤣. Build up naturally and aim for targets, 10k, 10 miles etc... I would not advise doing it completely like I did though, do take a drink for anything over 10k, better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it 👍🏻 I didn't find eating during my runs necessary but fuel up well after your runs, bananas, Weetabix, chocolate milk all really good. Good luck with it 👍🏻
That's what I did for my first HM too. However I'm taking marathon training way more seriously, not least because it's much hotter weather as well as far further!
I've only just really started building distance back up, havnt ran further than 10k in ages. Let my training drop after the HM and I'm nowhere near as fit now. Back on track though so il start adding KMs again but will certainly take fluids this time 🤣
Thanks for all the advice Jericho. I always take water, even on short runs but haven't tried eating anything. Although I have run 10 miles my usual distance is 10k so I will build up my long run of the week gradually.
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