Half Marathon Training- the gory details

So as I was saying, I bit the bullet and registered for my first half marathon on January 31st. Date of the race was May 21st, so I was hoping and praying that I would have enough time to transform myself from cardiovascularly inferior, lead stump-like legs into some type of running machine. I knew this would be a huge undertaking.

If I was going to do this, I wasn't going to suffer alone. Oh no, I wanted others to suffer alongside me. My friend Michele was actually the person who kept encouraging me to register for the half, so I encouraged (bullied) some other friends who were on the fence too. Soon, there were a large handful of us who began training. YAY!

The training program many of us were going to use was a 12 week beginners program that was modified to a 14 week program. Basically the first couple of weeks were just repeats of weeks 1 and 2 of the 12 week program. Many of us were beginners and felt we could benefit from a couple extra weeks of training.

The thing I liked about the training program we used was that it was simple. Some of the programs I found online seemed either a) too complicated with lots of jargon, pacing, etc or b) too many days of running in the week. When training began, baby was not even 3 months old and life was a little frazzly in our household. Oh, and did I mention that my husband also decided to train for the half? This would require some creative scheduling as we couldn't run at the same time.

The training program we used mostly consisted of 3-4 days of running a week and a day of crosstraining. Tuesday and Thursdays averaged 3-4 miles, Saturdays were long runs (the first long run was 4 miles and the last long run was 12), and Sundays were an easy recovery run (about 3 miles). Wednesdays were the CT day.

Confession: I didn't usually do my cross-training. I know, I know, it's important to incorporate other kinds of workouts when doing a training program. There is no excuse really. We have an elliptical at home, so it wouldn't have been difficult. Life was busy, kids were high maintenance, and something had to give.

The first 6 weeks or so I did all of my running on our treadmill, because it was way too cold for this rookie to venture outdoors. Did I mention that where I live (Fargo, ND) won The Weather Channel's Worst Weather contest? Or I think they called it "Toughest Weather City?" Whatever. We have like 9 months of winter and one month of each of the other seasons (or so it seems).

The first 40+ degree day I headed outside for my first official outdoor run. It was amazing! I ran the whole thing without walk breaks and it actually felt easier than the treadmill.

Amazing. Until the run was over and I felt this terrible sharp, popping pain in my right hip. I stretched, I iced, I took more than the recommended dose of ibuprofen and nothing helped.

Enter my first running injury. I went to the Chiropractor the following morning, hardly able to walk. He did some popping of things back into place and told me that I sprained my S/I joint. He told me I had to lay off the running till it felt better, which could be at least a week. I also became the proud owner of a stability belt to wear around my hips. Trust me, it was HOT.

I.was.pissed. I had been really consistent with following the schedule and was afraid if I took time off, I would lose momentum.

But, 10 days later I was up and running again. It was actually a nice break and a good opportunity for me to learn how to go with the flow.

Other small injuries happened along the way: shin splints, ankle soreness, foot cramps. I sometimes slept with ice packs all over me and my various ailments. I bought an ankle brace. I took lots of ibuprofen.

Long runs scared the crap out of me. Every Saturday morning I would pace around the house with my stomach in knots, worrying about the dreaded long run. But they were usually my best run of the week. It takes me awhile to warm up and get in a groove. The first 2.5-3 miles are generally crappy. I usually feel slow and clunky till I hit 3. After that, things suddenly feel great and every mile after that kind of feels the same to me. I never thought I would be one of those annoying people that would say things like "it all feels the same after 4 miles" But it really does kind of feel the same to me. If I kept a slow, steady pace, my body felt fine. Sometimes I ran long runs alone, sometimes I ran with friends. The week I was supposed to do a 9 mile long run, there was a 10 mile race taking place at one of the local colleges, so a couple of us ran that for our training run. I was glad to have so many friends and my husband training for the half with me- they helped keep me motivated through the process.

Confession: a friend and I came in last place in that 10 mile run. We were doing our slow, steady, long run pace... but the other people running I think were actually running for time. Not to mention there were maybe just 100 people doing the 10 mile. And when I say last place, I mean LAST PLACE. By a lot. Like, a lot a lot. But I was happy that I finished it, in spite of the cold weather and the slushy snow on the ground (did I mention that this was the middle of APRIL??).

The last few weeks of our 14 week training started to feel burdensome. I was sick of running all the time and was starting to burn out. I had just done an 11 mile long run and felt confident that if I was going to be able to finish the half. But it was still 3 long weeks away.

Confession: I skipped several runs during those last few weeks of training. My body hurt. My brain was fighting me. So I rested. And for me that was okay. My running partners were all in a similar mindset, which told us that maybe 12 weeks would have been sufficient for training.

So, I survived training and was ready (and terrified) for my first half marathon!

Posted below is the training schedule I used!

Beginners' Half-Marathon Training Schedule

Week	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Jan 31-Feb 6	Rest	2 mi	Rest	2.5 mi	Rest	3 mi	2 mi EZ
Feb 7-Feb13	Rest	2 mi	Rest	2.5 mi	Rest	3 mi	2 mi EZ
Feb 14-Feb 20	Rest	2 miles	Rest	3 mi	CT or Rest	4 mi	2.5 mi EZ
Feb 21-Feb 27	Rest	2 miles	Rest	3 mi	CT or Rest	4 mi	2.5 mi EZ
Feb 28-Mar 6	Rest	2.5 mi	CT	3 mi	Rest	5 mi	2 mi EZ
Mar 7-Mar 13	Rest	3 mi	CT	4 mi	Rest	6 mi	3 mi EZ
Mar 14-Mar 20	Rest	3 mi	CT	4 mi	Rest	6 mi	3 mi EZ
Mar 21-Mar 27	Rest	3 mi	CT	3 mi	Rest	7 mi	3 mi EZ
Mar 28-Apr 3	Rest	3 mi	CT	3 mi	Rest	7 mi	3 mi EZ
Apr 4-Apr 10	Rest	4 mi	CT	4 mi	Rest	8 mi	3 mi EZ
Apr 11-Apr 17	Rest	4 mi	Rest	4 mi	CT	9 mi	3 mi EZ
Apr 18-Apr 24	Rest	4 mi	CT	3 mi	Rest	10 mi	3 mi EZ
Apr 25-May 1	Rest	5 mi	CT	4 mi	Rest	11 mi	Rest
May 2-May 8	3 mi EZ	4 mi	Rest	3 mi	CT	12 mi	3 mi EZ
May 9-May 15	Rest	CT	Rest	3 mi	CT	5 mi	2.5 mi EZ
May 16-May 22	Rest	2 mi	20 minutes	Rest	20 minutes	Race Day!	Rest Day!

Note: You can switch days to accommodate your schedule. So if you're busy on another day and prefer to workout on a Monday or Friday, it's fine to swap a rest day for a run day.

Notes about the schedule:

· Mondays: Most Mondays are rest days. Rest is critical to your recovery and injury prevention efforts, so don't ignore rest days.

· Tuesdays and Thursdays: After your warm up, run at a moderate pace (slightly faster than your long run pace) for the designated mileage. Cool down and stretch after your run.

· Wednesdays: Some Wednesdays are designated rest days. Others are cross-training (CT) days, when you should do a cross-training activity (biking, swimming, elliptical trainer, etc.) at easy-to-moderate effort for 30 to 45 minutes.

· Fridays: Do a cross-training (CT) activity (biking, swimming, elliptical trainer, etc.) at easy-to-moderate effort for 30 to 45 minutes. If you're feeling very sluggish or sore on Friday, take a rest day. It's important that you're feeling strong for your Saturday long run.

· Saturdays: This is the day for your long, slow, distance run. Run the designated mileage at an easy, conversational pace. Use your breathing as your guide. You should be able to breathe easily and talk in complete sentences comfortably during your run.

· Sundays: This is an active recovery day. Your short run should be at a very easy (EZ), comfortable pace, which helps loosen up your muscles.