Help

I am doing my first half marathon well actually I am supposed to be doing 2, one on 25th September and 1 on october 17th ion cardiff. The problem is I have not run further than 7miles max, is it achievable to do 13 in this time frame???? I am really scared of it but have to do it as I am 40 in october and this is one of the goals I have set myself. I recently did Tenby 10k in 1hr and 1min and found it really hard as I hadnt been putting the distances in before the race.

Any suggestions for the best and time efficient training will be very welcome as I work 30 hours and have 4 kids, demanding husband etc etc

Thank You

Lisa

Hi Lisa,

Idealy you do need to be running a little further, why not try and 7 mile run then walk for a little then run and so on until you have covered 10 miles. Once you have done that a few times you will probably find that you can run it non stop. Remember to step down your training the week before to maybe two or three 3 mile runs. Dont forget you will not have to run for 13 miles, you can walk/run so dont get scared. The key thing is to enjoy yourself and remember if this is your first Half Marathon, what ever time you finish in will be your Personnal Best. Once you have finished 1 then you can set yourself a goal for the next one. To complete two in 3 weeks will certainly be a test. Remember to drink plenty and eat well.

Are you running the New Forest Half Marathon. I am and i certainly won't be running over 10 miles in my training.

Good Luck

Hi Lisa, I agree with Helen you don't need to complete 13 miles in training but it does help mentally and also establishes a benchmark time for your race. But if the objective is only to finish then up to 11 miles should do and you don't need to do it every week, also remember to cut down on the mileage two week before the race.

More importantly relax and don't push it for the first time.

I am doing my second only half marathon in October but my training is geared to time improvement as I am already up to one long run currently of 14 miles that will increase to 16 miles which will comprise of 1.5 miles easy at the start and end with a paced run for the 13 miles inbetween to be done every other week.

Ok Thanks everyone, gonna start uping the mileage now from this week will let you know how I get on

Lisa

Haha Lisa that sounds like a fab strategy, think I will adopt that one I like the sprint finish idea

Lisa