Half Marathons

[Andy C]

Anyone done one?

Im on placement at the moment from Uni and since all my close mates and GF are 100 miles away I tend to have a lot of free time in weekday evenings. I spent the first three months getting a car license (passed first time wwwooo!) and being lazy so decided to sign up for half marathon as the lady is doing it.

My plan is 3 runs a week. The 3rd being at the weekend with the GF and hopefully be a long one. Did my first run saturday and managed 1.2m and was shattered but came in just know from my 3rd and managed 3.41m in just under 40 mins which is a good improvement. Then again the half is in 109 days

Anyway, would love to hear how other people have got on and any tips you have!
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99 RS125 --> 02 SV650s --> 03 Speed Four --> 92 RXS100 --> 93 CB400sf --> 01 CB600f Hornet

[Catalyst]

I usually do a short, medium and long distance run each week. So a 3 mile, a 5 mile and an 8 mile run. I found that the best thing to do was just aim for running for a certain amount of time rather than distance, then after about 2 months i started trying to run a certain distance in a time limit. Half marathon is really easy though, try and run where there are lots of hills and get some decent shoes to run in to prevent injury.

I couldn't even run for 2 minutes when i started running in about May, i'm now doing 8 miles in about an hour, 5 miles in 35 minutes and 3 miles in 20 minutes.

Good luck
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|--Previous--|:2007 Aprilia SX50...--Current--|: 2007 Kawasaki ER-6N
SlimRick - I can cook really well - but it's a useless skill, as I'm not a woman and it's their fucking job!

[Skudd]

[jay12329]

Which half are you doing? I'm doing the Bath with the banana army. About 20 of us from work I'm so unfit, i'm going to die!

J

[Skudd]

[Andy C]

[R6jonny]

I started running about 2 weeks ago.... first run 2.5 ish miles...struggled had to stop

been most days since and im now upto 6 miles in 54 minutes tonight

have just about stopped smoking too, all the challenges at once
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Honda NSR125 - Yamaha R6 - Ducati 748 - Suzuki GSXR750K6/GSXR1000K7/GSXR750K8 - Ducati 848 - Honda SP1 - Triumph Daytona 675
"simply because she is a female and is thus her actions largely make no sense whatsoever by default"

[Annabella]

I did the Birmingham half earlier this year after 10 weeks of training. I already did a fair bit of running anyway so the purpose of my training was to increase my comfortable distance from 6miles up to the 13.

I've got a training schedule I can share with you if you like?
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[effit]

If anyone knows how to prevent shin splints...post away!

Im a keen runner but cant do it the now because of them, even after electro therapy.

Horrible pain

[Annabella]

[effit]

Annabella, Im going to go and try the local running shop and I`ll ask them about shin supports. I use elasticated bndages at the moment but there not working too well.
I have seen Paula Radcliffe using some type of shin support as well when shes running long distance, these must be the supports you are talking about.
I also forgot about the ice pack thing. I always thought that a roasting hot bath would help but apparently its the opposite!!

[Alexio]

I did the hardest half in England (apparently Hastings, about half of it is uphill), trained for 6 months before hand and ran 3 times week increasing the time of my runs each week by little bits.

Not sure I have any tips other than to just run for me hill reps (sprinting up hill for a minute, jogging back down to starting point, increment the number of these weekly) was essential trianing, but if you don't have to run any 3 mile hills or anything than I guess that isn't important.

Hydration is relative. It takes on average 40 minutes for water to be absorbed and you need a lot less than you think. Adjust your diet to include a healthy mix of everything but definitely eat enough cabs.

I started out by having a walking break every 10 minutes. I did this all the way up to when I was running about 5 miles in an hour. That was the point at which my body just switched and I was able to start running 6 miles in an hour or faster without stopping. From there on I was just stretching it to 7, then 8, then 9 etc.

It's worth noting that the farthest I had ever run before hand was 10.5 miles, that's where I got up to. I had been doing lots of hill work though. When I finally ran my half marathon my time was 1:53:17. Was definitely dehydrated and had cramp for a third of it. Don't forget to bring a water bottle like me.

It's hard to give advice on how to pace yourself, you kind of learn that from running with others. AND MOST IMPORTANTLY: Get good running shoes from a professional. Hope I've helped
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[the grim reaper]

[Alexio]

[Andy C]

[JonB]

Find a decent rhythm that you find comfortable, don't concentrate on speed, technique is a big part of long distance running, poor technique will cause aches and pains on particular pressure points on the body. I haven't ran a half marathon, but I have ran the distance for pleasure in an hour 50 minutes comfortably. Gutted I didn't get into the London Marathon, reckon it would be a doddle.
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