Half Marathon?

Question

I am going to be doing the a half marathon in September. I do some excercise classes as well which I don't want to give up to start training so I will be looking at running about 3 times a week. Can you tell me how you think this sounds and what kind of distances I should be looking at for the days I run.

Monday rest

Tuesday - run

Wednesday - Body pump / attack (2 hours)

thursday - run

Friday - rest

Saturday - run + Body combat class (1 hour)

Sunday - body pump/combat (2 hour)

Answer 1

If you are in good shape a half marathon should(!) be easy.

You want to be increasing the distances you run as you get closer to the marathon, with rest just before. Whilst I think you should keep going with your classes I think you are putting too much onto you schedule, try and give yourself one day recovery after running.

Answer 2

Sounds good to me.

I do 3 days of cardio workouts and then have a days rest.

Answer 3

Ya that sounds great although you don't say how much running you are doing. You should increase your distance and vary your speed to condition yourself properly. Good luck!!

Answer 4

its good, I have been running for 8 years now and would recommend the following:

I would strengthen the core: calves, quads, hams, back and abdominal (the "six pack" muscles along with the obleks), chest and arms. But when strengthening these muscles, I would focus more on the muscle endurance not the muscle bulk. For more advice for this, I would consult with a personal trainer. For the running part, I would stay flexible as it helps/contributes to your balance (so do the muscles in your core) but also helps prevent some injuries like pulled muscles and shin splints. Also, I would try to make up a schedule where you can run for X amount of days and try to have a long run. I would start off slowly, running about 2-3 miles per run for the first week and increase my mileage per week. Make sure you have the following: a good diet, hydration, sleep, a good sense on how to take care of your body, and sleep. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Good Luck!!!

Answer 5

Sounds good

Your have varied training - body pump is high intensity so good for stamina and the runing gets your muscles used to running

You have rest days which are important too

So a pretty good regime.

As you get nearer the half marathon, perhaps make your tuesday run a long one - perhaps 8 to 9 miles a month before the run

Answer 6

Your regimen looks pretty good, but you do not indicate how far or how fast you are running on the Tues, Thurs, or Sat.  To increase speed and stamina, you should add hill training and short bursts of speed intervals (fartleks) on each of the days.  This is especially true if you are looking to compete.  

The body pump/attack classes sound like they are good for body conditioning and strength training, though 2 hours seems pretty intense.  

One thing I would definitely add that is crucial to completion of 13 miles and quick recovery after the event is a long slow run (LSR) that progressively increases in distance up to about a week before the race (most do this on Sun, with a rest on the Mon, but you can do this any day of the week as long as there is a rest day afterwards).  

Good luck and enjoy the distance!

Answer 7

s*x all round

Answer 8

sounds good but do you stretch

Answer 9

Training for a ½ marathon in 3 days a week running is doable.  Many of the newer theories suggest that running 3 days a week and cross training on the other days may be more beneficial then running 5 – 6 day a week schedules.

For a 3-day a week running schedule you can use any standard program, basically the 3 most important runs of the week are.  LSD (Long Slow Distance run, this is the run that prepares your body for the long run you are going to make.  Pacing is about 60 – 90 seconds slower then your race pace.

The tempo run, this is a run that is 30 seconds slower then your race pace.  Usually 4 – 6 Km in length.  Lastly the interval/hill training, this is where you build strength and push out the Lactic Acid threshold, this run is a 1 – 2 KM warm up and cool down, with hill or interval repeats in the middle.  You would not do Interval and hill training in the same week.  I would recommend 6 weeks of hill training followed by 4 weeks of interval before the event.

I would be thinking that 16 – 18 weeks is the normal half training schedule.  If you are not at the point where you can run 6 – 7km comfortably without stopping your base may not be sufficient enough.  

There was a recent article in the runner’s world magazine with a 3 day a week schedule so you may want to check www.runnersworld.com for articles.

Harry