Running a Half marathon in a few weeks

I know there are alot of runners here, how was your first half?  The farthest race I've done is a 10k, but a few weeks ago, a buddy of mine and I decided to do a half that's on 9/26/09 in Richmond, VA. 

I just finished p90x, and ran throughout the whole p90x stuff.  I am using Hal Higdon's traning course and started on week 8 (since I didn't have alot of time), should be good to go.  This post has no point, just wanted to share!  Maybe I will be able to do a marathon 1 day, that's my ultimate goal.

Good luck with your half :D I'm just not meant to be a distance runner. I might be able to manage a 5k haha but probably not much more than that.  

Good luck jsattelmaier! I just ran my first 10K last Sunday and with my fastest pace yet 10':20" mile, and... I was one of the last to arrive! ha ha. I need a lot of training for a half marathon, I'm setting this challenge for next year. I'll run a 5mile and a 10K to improve my times. I need it! Let us know how it goes. Good luck!

hayleymajayley, I agree with jsattelmaier, anyone can be a runner. I always hated running but decided to give it a try with the Couch to 5K program. And so I learned to run and enjoy it, it has also been great as a mood booster. Give it a shot, just go slow and listen to your body. 

I've only ever done a 5K (in May) and my half marathon is coming up the weekend after yours. I'm nervous! What about you? How is training? How are you running? What's your plan? Are you sick of running at all yet??:-)

I'm treadmill training and am so nervous about it all. There's a lady on this site who is training for a marathon and just said she ran 20 miles and I'm in awe, and filled with envy!

How are your long runs?

I hope to hear all about your training and how it goes! GOOD LUCK! You should be so proud of yourself!

Original Post by jsattelmaier:

Sure you could, just take it slow!

Haha no, I really couldn't, I get bored after about 5 minutes. I did Couch to 5K and gave it up around week 4 I think

Training is going pretty good, since i only had around 4-5 weeks to get ready, im doing  5 mile runs twice a week and then a long run on the weekend (usually Saturdays).  The first 2 weeks of training, I was finishing up p90x, so now I'm just running 3 times a week to let my body heal a little and not be totally worn out.  I did run the whole time through p90x, so that helped alot.

The first long run was 8 miles, then the next week I did 10.5 for some reason (I was at the beach and weather was perfect!), then I do 9 miles this Saturday and 10 next, then taper off the following which is the race week.

I have mostly been doing treadmill runs due to having kids and baby sitting reasons.  The past couple of weeks, I've been doing random inclines on my runs because I will obvioulsy encounter them.

I'm not sick of running, I really love it, get my headphones on, and just kind of zone out, it's nice from the hustle and bustle.  It is scarey sometimes when my 5 mile runs are harder than my 8 mile runs! haha

I will let you guys know how it goes!  I'm not looking to break any world record, just want to finish it in 1 piece! 

Sounds like you are very well prepared.  My fondest memory of my first half was hitting the last three miles of ING Atlanta HM, all of which were up hill, and wanting to die :-)

Don't get caught up in the rush when you start out, and have a good time!!!

I'm doing my first half October 18th!!  I'm excited as well.  Good Luck!  Let us know how you do.

Well, tomorrow is the race, starts bright and early at 7AM.  Supposed to be in the 60s and raining on and off, so that could be good or bad. 

I think I am ready, had my last long run last weekend, 10 miles, went really well.  I then tapered of, 4 miles Monday and 2 on Wednesday and just been resting and eating alot of carbs since!

I'll let you know how it goes, knees don't fail me now!!!

GOOD LUCK! I hope it goes really well. Let us know, ok? I bet you're going to do great!

Well, I made it!

Official time was 2:06:26 or a 9:39/mile pace.  Couldn't be happier with it.  The course was really nice, got a great view of my city (Richmond, VA). 

Some of the course was even off road going down a rocky dirt path, which I think I injured my ankle on a little!  It was a mixture of hilly and flat.  I am very glad I did it, and I think I could do a marathon 1 day.

I know alot of you guys have half's coming up, good luck, you will do great!

Good job, and that's a great time!

Clint

Congratulations! Doesn't it feel great to set a goal and make it?

congrats! that's beyond impressive!!! what was your long run again? How do you feel today?

Great time, you must be really proud of yourself. Awesome job! Big congrats!

My long run the week before was 10 miles the Saturday before.  Then, the week of, I ran 4 on Monday and 2 on Wednesday and race was Saturday.

I feel good, my knees were a little sore the day of, but seem good now.  The only thing that hurts is my heel which I think got messed up on the rocky terrain part of the course.

Original Post by jsattelmaier:

My long run the week before was 10 miles the Saturday before.  Then, the week of, I ran 4 on Monday and 2 on Wednesday and race was Saturday.

I feel good, my knees were a little sore the day of, but seem good now.  The only thing that hurts is my heel which I think got messed up on the rocky terrain part of the course.

 Congrats.  Nice accomplishment.  And a decent time to boot.

The couple of days after most runners are sore.  There are plenty of videos on youtube that make fun of us  ...  because most are true.  If you are still sore after a week  ...  then it is time to investigate why.

As to your heel, it is likely that you ran too fast downhill.  Yeah, go figure.  Running downhill strains the quads (muscles above the knee)  ...  the achilles tendon  ...  and the heels.  Think about it.  You are striking "heel first".  You are not using the rest of your foot to help absorb the shock.  So your heel and achilles handle the increased pressure from each stride.  You really have to use your quads to control your stride length and slow down.

Very nice!!!  Sooooo....  the real question is... do you want to go again?  :-)

Congrats! I just signed up for my first half marathon and it is in decemeber. I'm so excited! I haven't run more than a 5k before which scares me a little, but i have been researching a lot of training plans and am going to try to follow those. Is it really daunting the first big race you do? I'm nervous already and it's not for months! I'm pretty competitve and really need something to focus on to train for, so I hope that helps me. Any advice? I'm trying to start running outside since it's FINALLY cooling off in LA, so for now I'm stuck on treadmills and cross training.

tnander, I have done 95% of my training for my half marathon - which is on Saturday - on treadmills, so I'll let you know how it goes. In the meantime, take your buildup gradually, get enough sleep, rest your wounds when those wounds come, don't overtrain, eat well, and listen to your body! PLUS if you ARE on a treadmill: get 24 on DVD! Jack Bauer has been good company...