Website for training for 1/2 Marathon

[Vinland]

Does anybody know of a good website that is a be all and end all for preparing for a 1/2 marathon (13 miles or 21km)?

i.e. it covers training, nutrition, prep the day of, recovery etc??

[Hawk]

I don't believe that it covers nutrition, but look up one of the Hal Higdon programs. His programs seem to be the default recommendation as a place to get started.

If you (or anyone else) are just starting running, you might look at Couch-to-5k (C25K). It worked great for me, a lifelong lazy bastard.

[seven-deuce]

I just ran a 13.3 mile run yesterday lol training for the Dublin marathon on the 29th october thought it was a bit of a coincidence i seen this lol

I don't know any websites though, but in my opinion stretch before and after every run any time you have free try and fit in as much stretching as you can as this aids recovery, and stay hydrated sip water constantly throughout the day. Hydration and stretching i think is key.

[Hawk]

About the stretching, I've read that it's now thought that stretching before hand is not really necessary, and if done while your muscles are cold can cause injury, tearing muscles that aren't ready to stretch yet.

Stretching afterwards is huge though.

That all said, I'm still a noob at the whole "physical activity" thing, so most of what I know is from reading the web and a couple books recently.

I've also been trying out the whole barefoot and minimal shoe thing too. Anyone else? I'm still taking it slow, but I really think I like it so far.

[seven-deuce]

Yes stretching cold isn't recommended although i do it all the time and never any problems. Start with a light jog 800m or so then some ballistic or light static stretches only for 10-15 secs i usually do but after the run i hold the stretch for 2mins and it has to be sore or else its not doing anything. Ballistic stretches are better before the run though i much prefer them, then static after.

[wufwugy]

It's been forever since I've looked at this stuff, but I recall Lyle McDonald's forum always had a lot of endurance athletes and enthusiasts. They have a subforum for it Welcome to Monkey Island

You'll probably have to sign up to see it. I never found a source for diet/exercise related stuff that was nearly as good as that forum. If you're brand new there, you'll get the benefit of the doubt, but if you become an active member, be prepared for anything you say that Lyle and his cronies don't agree with to be attacked vociferously. That was always one of the benefits and negatives of the forum. Fantastic information, but thick skin required

[jyms]

Yea most was mentioned here. Any Couch to __K program works well. Lyle McDonald is a great nutritional guy so just follow whatever programs you would require depending on body type, whether you need to build muscle or burn fat before the big runs and really work on strength and flexibility. Spend a few bucks and talk to someone who has trained runners, look for a running room or a running club and find out what they do.

Look into Barefoot (chi running) and/or Vibram 5 fingers shoes

[Vinland]

This helps....


I have about 10 months to get ready, although I dont know how much I will get to do during the winter esp if its real shitty up here. I can do 5k without stopping or feeling torn apart the next day so I need to build to 10km+. I just want to do it properly.

[daven]

This helps....


I have about 10 months to get ready, although I dont know how much I will get to do during the winter esp if its real shitty up here. I can do 5k without stopping or feeling torn apart the next day so I need to build to 10km+. I just want to do it properly.

10 months and you can already do a comfortable 5km means you're fine if you do the right training

build the ks up, run 4-5 days a week, never increase overall time running in a week by more than 10% in one week, once you get to 6 months out you should be fine running 10km and you'll have a very good idea where you're at re pace => then you can look at the programmes tailored to 6months out from a half and given your start point and/or end goal.

some tips:
1 - recovery food of kings = chocolate milk and a banana. There's something about the carbs-protein mix that makes it gold standard according to heaps of sports nutritionists, plus it hits dehydration and the low fat content means that you won't have issues around absorption. Get this in you pretty much within a minute or two of finishing your run (i.e. before the shower), ideally with a glass of water as well.
2 - ordering of runs. You'll be mixing up long and fast runs. Don't go for a fast run at your limit the day after a long run that challenges you. Recipe for injury.
3 - aches and pains. Take a rest day. Read about the symptoms of ITB so that you can hit it before it becomes a problem if your body is liable to that sort of issue.
4 - decent shoes. Wear them. Two pairs are a good idea if you're punching out the ks, alternate them and you'll get more distance out of them than you usually would.
5 - distance is king. So long as you're monitoring diet/nutrition and avoiding injuries then the more kms you can get in the better
6 - stretching and warm-up/warm-down. If you are inflexible then do some stretching. Don't stretch cold, it's stupid, the risks are high and the gains negligible. Don't start runs at race-pace cos getting blood flowing and muscles working before max exertion is good for your body.
7 - a lot of your running should be at a pace where you can comfortably hold a conversation, but only barely
8 - if you don't have leg issues then don't bother with 5-finger/body form shoes. There are heaps of pros and cons on this one, but if it ain't broke don't fix it
9 - find some people to run with. Doesn't matter where they are relative to you. My four main running buddies run halfs in a range from 1hr10 through 2hr45. My hour runs with a fast 6km interval are the recovery run for one of them, my 1hr slow recovery are the hardcore ones for another.
10 - routine and getting out the door. Once you hit the pavement it doesn't really matter how long you go for, just starting the run means you'll stay on track.

i'm more running geek than anything-else geek at the moment. I'll stop the list now. Get it done~

paging vi

edit: re prep the day of the race. Research carbo loading and realise it starts earlier than the night before. As for race day, try a few things for runs beforehand and see which work. Then repeat this a few times. For me it's a couple of glasses of water then porridge/fruit/seeds/nuts about 3hrs before the race, followed by coffee and more water over the next hour, and then sometimes a coffee 35mins before start time - still experimenting with this, but that's about it. Oats are good slow release energy, water is generally pretty good for you, etc.

[seven-deuce]

1 - recovery food of kings = chocolate milk and a banana.

Never heard of this before must give it a try!!

[Vi-Zer0Skill]

daven's list is very solid. and if you can run 5k without feeling dead afterwards you are well on your way to being able to run a half marathon!

when I ran this year I found having someone run alongside me was extremely beneficial for maintaining a good pace. also cross training is extremely underrated for prospective marathon runners in their twenties.. I worked on a farm for a couple months leading up to the marathon and I know that improved my endurance a ton. you only need to run 2-3 times a week; just make sure you are doing other stuff to improve your fitness if you don't want to run more often than that!

[Vinland]

Next question:

I keep hearing that I should eat a carb based meal about 3 hrs before the race. The race is at 7am and I have to be there about 6:30am, does that mean I'm waking up at 3am to make a meal and go back to sleep?

[daven]

Next question:

I keep hearing that I should eat a carb based meal about 3 hrs before the race. The race is at 7am and I have to be there about 6:30am, does that mean I'm waking up at 3am to make a meal and go back to sleep?

finish eating 2hrs before is fine. Get up around 4:15-4:30am. Have breakfast, make sure you've finished eating it by 5am. Don't go back to sleep. I mean, you have to get to the race start point by 6:30ish anyway, so you're not getting any more meaningful sleep in. By the time ten months from now rolls around you will have done a bunch of runs starting about 2 hrs after you've finished breakfast, so you'll know how your body deals with it.

the other main school of thought is big carb rich meal about 12hrs before, then very light breakfast on the day. I don't like this so much, but that's mostly cos i'm fine with running relatively soon after eating.
read this too
:: Running Room Online ::

[kiwiMark]

Yeah a boatload of pasta the night before and then simple breakfast is how I've done it for the two half marathons I've run, fits with me better because I've never really been a breakfast person and am always paranoid about food jiggling around in my tummy while I run. I've since heard that carbo-loading is falling out of fashion, but I can't remember where I heard that so bow to people on here who clearly have more of an idea than I.

Without wanting to sound demotivating, 10 months is a fuuuuuuucking long time, don't go stressing or anything; you've got this for sure

[Hawk]

Whatever eating plan you decide on for the race, test it out on some training run to make sure it works for you.

On another note, any runners that haven't yet read Born to Run are failing. It's a must read. It makes me feel like I could head out the door for an easy 20 miles at the drop of a hat. There are ebook versions floating around, but it's easily worth the $10 to pick up a copy.

[swiggidy]

Purely anecdotal:
You've got plenty of time, but when you get to longer runs try to start them at 6:30a, maybe with an early breakfast (start small?)

I pseudo trained for a 9 mi in the spring and I found running Saturday morning felt completely different than running after work. A handful of runs the month leading up really helped me.