Today begins my 12-week training for the American River Parkway Half Marathon. It seemed like a good idea a few weeks ago to sign up for it. It’s on May 1, just about 2.5 weeks after my 30th birthday. The last time I ran a race it was a 5k and I’m pretty sure I was in 5th grade. I remember doing pretty well – but…that was about 20 years ago, so…
As I was writing this post, Sarah asked me, “So, 3 weeks would be the 28th, right?” That’s the joke (err, I don’t know if it’s actually a joke, per se) around our house. 3 weeks is about the amount of time that I commit to doing something. I ran for a couple weeks back in August (you can see my stats here) but again, it only lasted a couple weeks. I used my Moleskine PDA for about 3 weeks. And I’m sure Sarah could give you other examples as well.
So, this is 12 weeks. I’m using a variation of Hal Higdon’s half-marathon training: it involves running, cross-training, strength and stretching and…rest. It looks slightly intimidating – but also doable. I think I’ll be running the Diablo Trails Challenge 5k on March 20 and I’m trying to find a 10k on April 10th that I can run locally. Hopefully between the training and getting some actual racing experience in, I’ll be ready to drive up to Sacramento on April 30 and run the half-marathon the next morning.
The #runrevrun hashtag used in the title is something that a few folks in ministry started using a few weeks ago. I think part of it is to help with accountability, which is definitely something that I need. I taped up a few of my training schedules around the house for reminders (which is good, because Sarah can see them and remind me of what I need to do each day!) and am going to try and schedule in my runs to help me make sure that I actually do this.
For any of you who have trained for marathons or half-marathons, I’d love to know any tips or helpful advice that you might have. And feel free to check in with me on Facebook and Twitter and see if I’m keeping up with my training.
i trained for a marathon in 2000. Do 2 to 3 5k runs during the week which is 3.1 miles. Dreive a rounte and do the mileage. See if you can find a running group to do your long runs either every Saturday or Sunday. Build up each week adding a half mile out. Run and walk as you use different muscles from running and walking. i ran a 3:1 ratio where i ran 3 minutes and walked 1 minute. Drink lots of water and eat goo.
I've been running 3 times a week for almost a year. The only advice I would give is to stick with a schedule. Whether it is something that an expert put together or something that works with your schedule, if you aren't consistent with the schedule you will fail. I run on the same days at the same times every week. It is the only way I can stick with it.
Check in your area for a running club. Aside from their own training programs, most have groups runs that aren't program related, often at different distances. If you get in with a group, it'll help you stay motivated. You can also get good advice from experienced runners in the clubs. http://www.rrca.org/ is a good place to start looking for one.