Prep for running a half marathon in october?

Question

im not a great runner & last time i walked most of it & came in last basically. id like to increase my endurance and stamina. i want to run for longer & walk for shorter without killing myself. i would really appreciate a schedule to help me out with this. i cant work out for at least a week though because i just had my wisdom teeth removed this morning. any advice or tips of any kind are appreciated as well as types of food to bring along. ive tried some promax bars and luna bars. what do you like? im going to try goo as well.

i also have a gym membership to a great variety gym and ill be working out at a gym in college at the end of august.

im just about 18 and weigh 110 so im not overweight but i have very little tone.

thank you!

Answer 1

Like the previous poster said, a running program would be good to follow.

There is no magic food that will help. Just eat a healthy, balanced diet. Once you start jogging on a regular basis, say 4 miles or more a day, you might make sure you are getting plenty of COMPLEX carbohydrates, but don't over do it.

Here's what I posted for a novice jogger in another area:

1. get clearance from your doctor if you've had any problems

2. buy good running shoes that you only wear for running and that fit well

3. STRETCH, especially your hamstrings, quads, calves; have a regular stretching routine

4. start easy or you will burn out

5. do a combination of jogging and walking first; it's more important that you do sustained cardio; so, 30 mins of jogging/walking is better than 10 mins running a mile

6. try to work up to an hour of exercise after a month or so, 3 or 4 times a week

7. drink plenty of water and get potassium

8. make if as fun as possible, with friends, iPod, etc., or you'll lose interest

9. take part in some 5k FUN RUNs when you feel confident about jogging; every ability level will be there; it's a great environment for socializing, etc.

10. rest is as important as workout; take off one or two days a week

11. it's best to run on short grass; soft dirt is good; only do road work when you have to; only run on a track once or twice a week--the rubber is bad for your knees, believe it or not

Have fun.

Answer 2

I take it you've done this half marathon before since you said "last time."  Don't have a lot of time really to prepare about 10 weeks, so once you can workout in a week I'd get busy running/walking at least 4 days a week.  Don't know your exercise/running background ........ so I'll give you general advice.  Do a long run every 7-10 days, each time out try to add about 10%.  Those goo gels work good when needing energy and calories on the go.  Drink plenty of water while training for this (at least 100 ounces on days your going to run).  Use your gym membership by doing plenty of cardio, doesn't have to be running on treadmill .........all will help with your lungs and breathing.  Do some weights with your legs, especially with your calves.  At your weight you can focus on just getting toner and doing plenty of cardio so maybe you can run/jog the whole distance (13.1 Mi.) without walking.  Good luck .....contact if want or need more details.

Answer 3

I would suggest Galloways Half Marathon plan which works in Walking and running. You can find one of his books or go to Half Marathon training on your PC and pull up his program

Answer 4

Use the Runner's world smart coach (link below). It will come up with a training plan just for you. You just enter in how much you run now, if at all, what you're training for, what a previous race time was, etc...and it will formulate the right training schedule for you. I used it for my first half marathon. But, don't take it too seriously like I did. You don't have to follow it exactly. You can change your days and miles around a bit. The best advice I can give for training is to be sure you're having fun! Because if you're not, it's easy to tire out fast. Don't stress about the race and your finish time. Being stressed and anxious really effects your overall performance. So remember...run happy and train smart!

http://www.runnersworld.com/cda/smartcoa...