Training Tuesday: Tips For Training For Your Next Half Marathon

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Sorry for the late post! I've been having issues with my server most of the morning. I think (& hope) it's working for good this time!

It's finally cooling off here. It was in the 70s yesterday afternoon during my run and in the low 50s (with some humidity ahhhh so refreshing!) for my 6.81 miles this morning. I always used to lvoe ending my runs on the .5 or .0 marker, but I've relaxed a bit over the years ; )

Since I decided to make a half marathon my training goal for this Fall I figured it would be helpful to share some of the things that I've learned to help you train smart for your next half (whether it be your first or 50th)! I love running the half distance because training is never crazy-intense and you can still do other fun activities while training for one! I think it's taken me several marathon training cycles to realize that half training isn't as intense as I *once* thought it was!!

  • Know your course & train for it. If your course will be hilly, make sure to throw in atleast one hilly run a week. If it's going to be downhill, maybe do a few longer runs on the treadmill on the decline option. 
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  • Map out your prior commitments and know how you'll still fit in your training that week/day. This is something I DIDN'T do during my first half training cycle and ended up missing a few long runs towards the end of my training cycle. If you know you'll be out of town on the weekend, maybe plan to get your long run (or harder run) in before you leave. 
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  • Have a target pace range for what you want to run the race in and then know what your "easy" pace will be. I didn't start to vary my training paces until the last few years and WOW did it make a difference! My easy paces are typically 2:00-2:30 minutes slower per mile than my target half marathon pace range (7:40-8:00 min/mile). 
  • Try out various gels and chews during your longer runs. Long runs are a great opportunity to test out various gels/ chews/ water/ nutrition before the run and how often you need a gel. I would only typically take a gel after 6 miles, but found that I actually needed one every 4.5 miles to keep me from potentially bonking. 
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  • Wear your race day outfit at least once on a longer run before the race. Maybe your perfect race day outfit works great for a three mile run, but it starts chafing at 8 miles. Knowing that your outfit is still comfortable in those later miles will make all the difference come the big day. 
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  • Train in the climate that your race will be at. Will your race day typically be hot or rainy or at night? Try to get in a few runs to help acclimate and simulate race day temperatures. I know for running Las Vegas Marathon last year (it starts at 4:30pm), I would do one marathon-paced run a week starting anywhere between 3 & 5pm after work. It wasn't the ideal start time for me, but I learned to make it work and practice my nutrition leading up to the start time. 
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  • Don't give up if you have a bad training run (or two). When I was training for my first half marathon I remember getting really frustrated with how many times I had to stop and walk during those 8 miles. I didn't take into account how little sleep I had, how hot (and humid) it was outside, what my nutrition leading up to the run was like, etc. Accept it and move on. Bad runs happen to everyone- don't dwell on it. 
  • Adjust your goals if training isn't going the way you'd like it to. Not able to get in all the mileage on your training plan or something came up that made you miss an entire week of training? Regardless of your circumstances not every training cycle will go perfectly and know (and accept) when maybe this training cycle isn't meant for you to chase down a PR, but have fun or wear a crazy costume or focus on nailing a negative-split. There's a season for everything. 

What else would you add to the list of tips?

Rainy (but slightly humid runs)- love 'em or hate 'em?

Favorite temperature (and time of day) to run in? --> probably 50s/ low 60s cloudy 8am. 

Running back-to-back half marathons

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Thinking back to when I ran back-to-back half marathons (one was on a Saturday & the other one was the following Sunday), the Emerald Bay Half-Marathon and the Rock 'n Roll Denver Half Marathon. This was the first time that I've ever ran two races so close together and I learned several things that worked and a few things that I would recommend not doing! I ended up PRing at both races, beating my first race PR by a minute and then beating that PR by 4 minutes! 

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DO:

  • Fuel properly between races (eat healthy, get a good mix of protein/carbs)
  • Get extra sleep that week
  • Drink extra fluids (with electrolytes, not just water)
  • Limit your travel/ time on your feet
  • Add in a few easy runs between races
  • An easy strength training/ yoga session between races to ease stress (only if you normally do this; try nothing new during this time)
  • Foam roll often!
  • Legs up the wall everyday
  • Keep your race expectations in-check. Maybe utilize one as a training/recovery run and the other as a potential PR/hard-effort. Listen to what your body needs.
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DO NOT:

  • Travel in the car for many hours between races (yeah, we drove back from California after Emerald Bay and then I drove to Denver the next weekend..not the best idea)
  • Eat lots of sugar/ junk food between races
  • Drink excessive coffee
  • Skimp on sleep
  • Run hard between races
  • Not run at all between races
  • Have high expectations for both races! Have FUN!
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Reminiscing on that time when I used to....

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....make my own training plans after coming back from an injury that sidelined me for 3 months! I'm thinking back to the Star Wars 1/2 Marathon that I did in April 2016 after coming back from Achilles Tendonitis and having a PRP injection 8 months prior. This was back when I didn't really follow training plans, ran just for fun (nothing wrong with this!), had no expectations for myself, and really never thought that training for a race would improve my time (ohhh I was SO wrong!).

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This was my first race that I traveled to and really wanted to have a PR, but most importantly have fun! I was really excited to be back at Disney after having not been since I was 11 and was training for my second marathon at the time (I was using the Jeff Galloway's marathon training plan and only running 3 days a week). 

After having been in a boot for 3 weeks after my PRP injection (more on this in a future post), I was OK'd to begin a run-walk method and this kept me busy until late October when I could finally run for 3 miles+ at a time! I thought that the Jeff Galloway training plan really suited me where I was in my training cycle (it's longer than other training plans- maybe 18 or 20 weeks?), so I began training for my June race in January. I had two 45 minute runs a week and one long run. I did cross-training the other days. It was a great plan to get me back into running (and I ended up getting a PR in my marathon in June), however I still had absolutely NO clue that you needed to have 'easy' run days vs 'speedwork' vs 'tempo' run days. So needless to say, I was not in shape to PR in the half in April at Disney and they also had a heat advisory that weekend, so even if I was in great running shape, a PR probably wouldn't have been in the cards anyways. 

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Here are some things I took away from using the Jeff Galloway Training plan:

  • It was a great 'introductory' plan for beginning any race distance or coming back from an injury. I got to the starting line with just one expectation- to finish and stay healthy during training. I did both and got a PR!
  • It's really easy to fit in 3 runs/ run-walks a week. This was so great when I was working 50+ hours a week!
  • If you are just wanting to finish and have fun with a race, this is a great plan for you
  • If you are not new to running or coming back from an injury, I would either adopt this plan with some speedwork/tempo runs or mesh this plan with another training plan to suite your style
  • Do not expect to PR at a half marathon when you are training for another race distance PR OR when there is a heat advisory OR when you are traveling to a race OR when you coming off an injury
  • Adjust your expectations based on your fitness level and current training schedule
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