Half Marathon/Full Marathon Training

I've been using a modified version of the one posted above. I ran 3 days a week. 2 shorter paced runs on the treadmill then the longer run on the road. I trained for almost a year. One thing I learned was you have to take breaks in training. You can't just keep adding mileage and adding mileage. everyone's different with food, but I found complex carbs the day before long runs to be most beneficial.

well that would depend on your goals and what you consider killing yourself

if you just want to finish, then it should be manageable

quote:

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Is it manageable to go from couch to a half marathon on March 25th without killing myself with training?

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I'm going to say no if you're truly "couch" level.

The Couch to 5k program takes 2 months. Maybe you're ambitious and healthy and can do it sooner, but from my experience as a "couch" runner, it took about two months to do it.

Running is mostly a mental exercise. You have to get to the point where you believe you can go farther without hurting yourself.

That's the trick to getting to the 5k.

From 5k to half marathon though, it's a mental exercise as well, but you do have to be careful about hurting yourself. My tip is to take breaks as needed or wanted. People with long experiences running or in general shape may be able to just pack on miles. As someone who is still a beginner, I have to adjust my program to suit my abilities.

I'm about to tackle 9 miles on Hal Higdon's program. It's a great program, but I can't really do the 3 consecutive running days. I've found that Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday is the best schedule for me.

Right now I'm doing:

3 miles Monday
5 miles Tuesday
5 miles Thursday
9 miles Saturday

I don't do the cross training days that he suggests.

It took me a while to get into a groove where a 4-mile run was a "base" run. Now I'm trying to slowly raise my base run and improve on my long runs. The 8 mile run I did a week and a half ago felt great as an accomplishment, but my body was beat down afterwards. Terrible blister on my foot. Bit of a nagging pain in my right achilles.

tl;dr - Going from couch to half marathon in 2.5 months doesn't seem possible to me. Too much involved in training for a half marathon when it might take you a while just to hit a 5k.

Don't skip cross training days. It really helps with other physical aspects. I never have run more than 3 days per week --- that's just how I started and how my coach has it set up for me.

I'm sure this is included in others' advice and recommended programs, but figure out your Jack Daniels/HR zones and work up to lots of weekly miles at your aerobic-endurance zone (aka "marathon" pace), which will be very slow for someone just starting out.

Take off from running, a couple days a week (maybe three at first).

My HR range for this Zone is 144-154bpm.

Start logging miles at this pace, and you'd be shocked at your progress.

That's your endurance base. Hills help build aerobic capacity too.

The other stuff in those programs helps build speed and endurance too, but just don't push it and hurt yourself.

And I agree re: ice. I recommend ColPac out of Chattanooga. On Amazon. The biggest ones, on top and underneath elevated knee.

I used to roll when I had IT band issues, but zero-drop w forefoot strike corrected that.