let's start a thread then. I am aiming for a half in April- same one as Cottonwood Trail!

i've never trained specifically for a half before so would be good to see what others are doing

Kris,

Like I said, 2006 was up and down for me. I've started 2007 by trying to get in 30:00 runs on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. 45:00 on Wed. and 60:00 on Sunday. Get's me to +/-25 for the week. I'm gonna add to the Wed. run with some type harder running (fartlek, mile repeats, hills) and Sat. runs trying to get to 90:00 Wed. and 2 hours on Sat.

My goal may be too ambitious but I think if all goes well I'll have a shot.

I assume you'll start the thread on Sundays? I'll look forward to joining in each week. My race is 4/14.

quote:<HR>Originally posted by kris104:
I have to show my ignorance here. I am happy to start the thread, but how would I do that? This is great, I love to hear from others and their training patterns.

Cottonwood Trail- that sounds like a great running week. Do you run the mornings,afternoons or evenings? You have me thinking that I would like to start getting in a 30 min run in on Sun. But, it is so nice to have that day off. Maybe I can sneak in a few on Tues. or Thurs. My kids would have to go to the Day Care at the gym, which they would love!

Mainers- What other distances have you gone? I was curious if you've done a 10 miler and how you are going to change your training for the HM. Mike- Thanks again for the encouragement on my pace. What does your running week look like?<HR>

kris - I actually think you've got a 1:45 in you too, depending (a lot) on how your 8:20-8:40 training pace feels to you (ie: is it at 75% MHR or 82% MHR - big difference). I would have said so in my first post, but I find that sometimes on these forums, people tend to be a little too optimistic regarding goal paces. However, now that thereshegoes has said it, I'm more than willing to second the opinion.

My running week looks like this: I am a father of three, including a one-month old. Wherever there is a free hour or two, I go for a run. Sometimes that means commuting by running (the logistics of which are a whole other thread), or running on the TM. If I haven't done a long run, medium long run or tempo in a few days, then I do whichever I have time for. I also ride (commuting, bike trainer), which is actually my #1 sport from April-Oct. I keep track in an increasingly complex Excel workbook. I've averaged 48 mpw for the last 4 weeks, with long runs between 15-17.

kris i've done two halves before, both over the same course. my first was in 1.14.29 at the end of a long season of training for and racing 5/10ks (longest runs would have been 13 miles, weekly mileage around the 40 mark)

my second was in 1.13.21 and was towards the end of the training i was doing for my first marathon (longest runs over 20 miles, weekly mileage between 50-60 miles)

the huge PR I ran was clearly down to the amount of miles I was running and also the change in emphasis of my speed workouts for marathon rather than 10k training.

whereas with 10k training i would have been doing a lot of 400/800 repeats, etc. for the marathon i was doing a lot of lactate threshold/tempo work which just so happens to be the pace you should be able to run a half marathon at!

so the key for me in running a good half was increasing my mileage and doing some really good tempo workouts such as 10k on the track at half marathon pace. on the day of my half I felt really good throughout the race as i was used to the pace i needed to run and had the training done which meant i could maintain that pace for 13.1 miles

after my marathon (in which I hit the wall at 20 miles and got home in 2.43.50) I pledged not to do another marathon for at least a year but didn't want to waste the base I had built in training for it so thought the half would be a good next goal race to aim towards.

so i am currently running just over 50 mpw with a long run between 13-15, a track workout on a Tuesday, something like 4*1600 with 90 seconds recoveries, a Thursday longer run of around 10 miles and another workout on Saturday such as a tempo effort 10k on the track

i would agree with others that 1.45-1.50 would seem to be within range for you based on the info you have given. Good luck!

go on southern man you know you want to do it again!

I'm doing two but Charlotte 4/14 is the goal race (1.13.21)