Half Marathon: Training At the Distance

June 21, 2013

Here I am the night before my Long Distance Half Marathon Training Run. My goal is to complete the distance at a pace of 11:40 or faster. I plan to start at a 12 minute pace for mile one. Then I will gradually increase the tempo Hopefully, I will be able to finish at a pace faster than 11 minutes per mile. I'll report in tomorrow after my long run!!


Feeling pretty good
following yesterday's long run!

June 23, 2013

Well, I completed the distance yesterday. I did not go at an overall pace of 11:40 or faster, but my overall pace was 12:15. Mile 2 was completed at 11:40 and mile 9 was completed at 10:59. Despite the increased intensity, I found myself slowing significantly for the final 3 miles.



Overall, it was a great run. The weather was almost perfect, and I stayed hydrated. I'm thinking that I slowed because of a lack of nutrition, or perhaps my body just wasn't ready to keep going at the necessary pace. At any rate 12:15 is fairly respectable and my increased speed sessions should help me improve before my first fall half marathon

Training Cycles

Breathing, running, faster, slower, run/walk, heart rate. Runners have so much to think about, but we really only do one thing. Put one foot in front of the other to cover a specified number of miles each week. This week, I will run the half marathon distance for my long run.Then I will begin an advanced training plan for the half marathon distance in the fall/ Of course, if it gets too taxing, I can always go back to what I have been doing.

Feeling good after the 2012 Soldier Marathon

The primary difference between my current plan and the new plan is that I will be adding an additional day of speed work. It looks good on paper and I'm feeling good enough to believe that this will work. So, beginning Monday, it's off to the races!!

Then I will be looking toward the Warner Robins Marathon in January2014. Of coursem that means I'll begin ramping up the distance in September. If that goes well, I will consider a marathon in the spring of 2014, If not, Ill simply cut back and focus my attention on building speed for the Cheerios Challenge in April 2014.

Looking forward to the running challenges ahead and really trying to think things through. I think the key is to listen to your body and have a good plan that you are prepared to adapt.


I Feel Good!!

I ran a training 5k today on one of my favorite routes. My plan was to move along at a quick, but comfortable pace. I was thinking perhaks 10:30 or so per mile. So I set out on this beautiful 68 degree morning with this simple plan: run at a quick, but comfortable pace.

I ran without my heartrate monitor. I just judged how I felt while concentrating on leg speed. Much to my surprise, I ran 3.1 miles at a 9:57 pace!! I'm thinking speedwork is paying some dividends. It certainly felt great to run that fast with minimal stress.

I feel good!!

Toasty Ten

This was probably the warmest run of 2014. When I left the house, it was about 68 degrees. It was 10 degrees warmer when I reached the finish line. I completed, the first 5 miles at a very easy 13 minutes per mile.Then I picked up the pace for my last 5 miles. I was fast enough for the last 5 miles to decrease my overall pace to 12:38 per mile. Mile 10 was my fastest mile with a pace of 11:33. I completed my last quarter mile at a 10:38 pace. Then I enjoyed an easy walk home.

Next week, I plan to run 13.1 miles at planned marathon pace of 12 minutes per mile or faster. I know that weather could be a factor, so I will start at 6:00. This should put me at home by 8:30 with temps in the 60's. If temps are in the 70's, I will make modifications and simply plan to finish based on how I feel.

I have devided to run at least one marathon in the fall or winter. Hopefully that will be the Flying Monkey in Nashville. The field is limited to 300, so my alternate race will either be the Soldier Marathon, Thompson Trail, or Warner Robbins.

My next big thing is the Macon Labor Day 10k, so, I'm keeping a good base for my future Marathon training AND incorporating strong speed sessions to prepare for a reasonably fast 10k in Macon.

Here are a couple of pics from the 2011 Nashville Marathon. That's a wonderful spring race!!

Faithfulness and Consistency

Runners are special people. They are capable of working alone for long periods of time as they develop stronger skills. Train, Rest, Repeat. That's the cycle! Every now and then to keep it interesting, they compete. Essentially, time on your feet is the way to improve!

I was thinking today of the time it takes to train for a marathon. Most training plans take at least 16 weeks. Some plans take as long as 26 weeks. All plans have one long run per week and as the work progresses, they include a moderately long run in the middle of the week.

Runners who are trying to improve their times incorporate at least one speed session or hill training workout in the midst of all of this activity! Week mileage can increase up to 40 or 50 miles. Interestingly, slower runners actually spend more time on the road. Faster runners spend less time out there, but they make up for it with more intense effort. Some speedsters are able to increase mileage and reap benefits from more time on the road.

I have come to understand that it takes time and consistent effort to improve. Recently, I reached a PR that I have been trying to acheive for three years. I was able to break an hour in the Covington, GA Cheerios Challenge 10K with a time of 59:52. It was the result of much effort.

I think the thing that finally did the trick was increased intensity in my speed work and lower weekly mileage. My next real test will be the Macon Labor Day 10K. I'm working toward a 57:?? time. Of course, I'll be happy with anything below 59:52.

My 10X400 workout today went very well. So did my tempo run last week. We shall see how things are looking as Labor Day approaches.