Archived: The training for the Cincinnati Half Marathon Oct. 23, 2010
Woohoo!
So, I am by no means a coach, but would like to share everything I've learned over the years – from things I've read to training for 3 half marathons and one full marathon – in hopes of making this training smooth and fun.
The main thing to accomplish while training for a first half marathon is getting your body used to running longer distance. Pretty simple. And of course this is done by slowly increasing the weekend long runs. The rest of the week is also important to keep your body strong. But the key to the training is the long runs and good recovery after them.
And now for a couple of main points about running long. Most of this stuff is probably already known, but I just want to collect some of the most important things that have the power to make long runs miserable vs. pleasant. Forgive me if I'm writing something that is obvious.
Pace. Long runs (for mortals like us) are done at an easy, comfortable pace. It should feel too easy and like you are holding back. Ideally, at the end of the run, it should feel like you can run more. That doesn't always happen, but that is the pace to go by. Anything more risks breaking down the body too much to recover and gain from the next week. Race day you can break your body down all you want :)
Hydration = key. It helps not only with not overheating while running but also makes a big difference in how you recover afterwords, believe it or not. Going into the run hydrated is also key.
Diet. You'll figure out fast what you should and shouldn't consume the night before a long run. In general, you want to just eat well and balanced, making sure to have some good carbs, but you don't have to go crazy over it as people tend to do. I can't drink more than 1 beer the night before, and definitely stay away from hard alcohol, but that's me. Also too many sweets have made long runs miserable.
Calories Before and During. Before going, you need calories. I like to have something like applesauce or toast - somewhere around 150-200 calories is good for me. Treat it like whatever you eat before a 5K. When runs become a bit longer than an hour, you might want calories during. And you'll definitely need calories when running an hour and half or more. Some of it could be liquid calories and others could be in the form of chews or gels. Trial and error awaits. No calories = bonking.
Calories After. The most important thing to do afterwords is eat some calories of sugar and protein. Chocolate milk is touted as one of the best recovery drinks. It is also said it should be done within 15 minutes of stopping. Again something you'll learn about your own body. My case is that I definitely need something to eat or I'll get low blood sugar and then recovery sucks and takes 3 - 4 hours.
That's it I think! Just some pre-game info that is hopefully helpful!!
**A general guide to the next 12 weeks! It's flexible, can be modified as needed.**
This is a minimum weekly mileage kind of schedule, but the spinning cross training is excellent.
I'll probably replace Thursday's bike with a run because I just might not have
time to always mess with a bike ride.
:S: disc golf :M: spin/bike :T: run/track :W: run 4 - 6 mi :Th: spin/bike/run :F: lift :S: long run
Week 1 (Aug 1 - 7)
Wed: 4 (9:40 pace), LR: 6 (10:00 pace)
Week 2 (Aug 8 - 14)
Wed: 4 (9:45 pace), LR: 8 (8.25 miles bike trail, 10:25 pace)
Week 3 (Aug 15 - 21)
Wed: 4 (9:52 pace by my GPS), LR 8 - 9 (8 at 10:33 pace, Mason)
Week 4 (Aug 22 - 28)
Wed: 4 - 5 (3 at 9:27 pace), LR: 6 (Did Powder Keg Trail Race for 6 mile effort...fun!!)
Week 5 (Aug 29 - Sept 4)
Wed: 4 - 5 (3 painful miles at 10:06 pace...Steph not feeling it), LR: 9 - 10 (only did about 8 very slowly due to me not feeling it again...slight cold + allergies kicked my ass)
Week 6 (Sept 5 - 11)
Wed: 4 (3 miles, sick Steph), LR: 10 (10:17 pace!)
Week 7 (Sept 12 - 18)
Wed: 4 - 5 (4 miles at 9:35 pace), LR: 6 (9:50 pace)
Week 8 (Sept 19 - 25)
Wed: 4 (0. walked, stomach issues), LR: 10 - 11 (11 at 10:09 pace, negative split!!!!)
Week 9 (Sept 26 - Oct 2)
Wed: 6 (3 miles, 9:20 pace), LR: 6 (9:39 pace! Just Steph though. Casey and Steph had a running weekend apart...and Casey's location was 47ยบ and raining - bleh!)
Week 10 (Oct 3 - 9)
Wed: 4 (9:17 pace!!!!), LR: 12 (10:30 pace, first 6 were 10:00 pace...)
Week 11 (Oct 10 - 16)
Wed: 5 easy (3 at 9:20 pace...good pace, shorter distance due to Max!), LR: 6 easy (10:00 pace)
Week 12 taper week (Oct 17 - 23 Race Day!)
Wed: 2-3 easy... RACE: 13.1
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