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.