Thursday, February 28, 2013

Half Marathon Goals

Two posts two days in a row??  Who am I?  Maybe I'm just excited that I'm finally going to run today with my Thursday night group!  It's been nearly 1 month since I've run (with the exception of 1 mile on the treadmill on Monday).  Our plan is to meet at our usual trail but with the crappy weather we have had this week, we will probably run on the streets to be safer (no ice or snow).  I cannot afford to slip and fall.  As I said, unless the weather gets better soon, I might take more runs to the treadmill for now to avoid possibly shoulder injury if I slip.  BUT, I'm SUPER excited to run tonight.  I mean...I've never been happier to run!  It will be slow going and short, but I will run (possibly 3miles, maybe 4).

I think I'm getting too ambitious though.  I had previously signed up for the Indy Half Marathon in May.  This is supposed to be a goal half marathon with a sub-2:00 time.  Well, I'm still going to try for that but obviously with my shoulder, my training and speed work was non-existent this month.  That's ok, with just over 2 months until the half, I can build back up (if I feel up to it).  I will find out during the next few runs how things are shaping up. 

I also signed up for the Illinois Half Marathon in Champaign (I did the full marathon last year), which is the week before the Indy half.  The IL half will obviously not be a goal marathon and will be just a training run.  I was waiting to sign up for this one until I knew what I might be doing with my shoulder.  I didn't want to waste money if I wasn't going to run it.  But right now, surgery is not in my plans.  And the price increases after today, so sign up I did!  I know a lot of people doing the full and the half (as always on this one), so I am excited that I'll be down there.

Now comes my "dilemma".  It's not really a dilemma but I like to be dramatic.  I've never trained for a half marathon.  When I first started to run half marathons, I didn't do it the right way.  I ran once, sometimes twice a week (if I ran 3 times, I took the next few weeks off!).  I only got past maybe 6 miles once when I would throw in a 9 mile run.  And consequently, I always struggled through the half marathons.  Of course, when my mileage increased while training for the full marathons, I never really needed to "train" for the halves.  However, my half marathon pace is coming to a stall (I think, I mean, I did PR my last 2 half marathons).  But in order to get a sub-2:00, that's not going to "just happen."  I need to work for that one.

Since I haven't been running the last month due to my injury, I'm thinking following a training plan for mileage is a good idea.  Incorporate some speed work and hills will be good.  I've been printing out a few plans (It's currently week 2 of a 12 week training plan) but I'm not sure any of them are just right.  I'll probably modify my own schedule.  But....I'm looking to you guys also!  I know some of you have trained for half marathons.  What training plan did you use?  Do you have a copy of it?  Is it online?  Help an injured but crazy fellow runner out! 

11 comments:

  1. When I ran first sub 2 in Columbus I followed this Hal Higdon plan.

    http://www.halhigdon.com/assets/_legacy/halfmarathon/halfinter.pdf

    I did adjust the schedule if I was sick or just not feeling it but it worked for me. I did run a 10K during my training though.

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    1. Oh and of course I am still happy to be your pacer!!

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    2. Jodi - I did print that one out. That's the one I'm thinking of doing although modifying it slightly. I don't think I need to run 5 days/week! And yes, as long as my runs seem to be ok and relatively unaffected by my shoulder and month off, I would still like you to pace me! Thanks!

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    3. Just let me know!!

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  2. Congrats on coming back after injury; that's tough!

    I'm in the middle of half marathon training now. Basically, I'm trying to take 13 minutes off my half PR before beginning to train for my first marathon in the fall. I've run three halves (halfs?) already without doing too much training for them, but since I'm trying to take a ton of time off, I am doing an 18-week modified marathon plan. I know it sounds crazy, but I love that it's such a long plan -- I felt kind of intimidated by my goal in the beginning, but in 18 weeks, it seems like anything is possible.

    Have you used Smart Coach at Runner's World before? I used it for my second half and got a 9-minute PR with it.

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    1. Thanks for your suggestion! I haven't used it before. I believe it costs money though, right? I was trying to go with something free. I'll check it out though.

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  3. I've never followed any ONE plan for a half marathon. But I have used both Hal Higdon and the Runners World Smart Coach for guidance. There is a free version of the Smart Coach.

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    1. Thanks Maggie! I did print the Hal Higdon. I'll check out Smart Coach.

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  4. I wish I could help you, but I have no clue of distances above 5k! Hope you find the answers and your shoulder feels better.

    I am sick of our snow!!

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  5. A couple pieces of advice. I find running a 14 to 16 miler a couple of weeks before the half, makes the half seem just a little easier/shorter. A little speed work once a week also helps. Good luck! :-)

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    1. Thanks Pete!! I'm running a half before the half but doubt I'll get much more than that mileage in. Gonna start doing speedwork again too!

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