Countdown to Connemara

KathleenF

First time runner - training for the 1/2 marathon. Am relatively fit, did some hill running in sec school and have been training properly only for the last couple of weeks. My aim is to finish in under 2.5 hours, and ideally as close to two hours as possible. Ran 5k yesterday in 35 mins, and rest day today. I'm following Hal Higdon's program for intermediates, and am looking forward to April 11th and also dreading it. Here goes nothing!

Krusty_Clown

Best of luck KathleenF. Have you done any other distances, like 10ks? Are you including some hills in your training? I found that having a hill climb at the start and the end of my long runs really helped with the Connemara half.

xebec

Good luck with your goal KathleenF! A bit of commitment and you'll have no problems beating 2.5 hours...

Just one question - without knowing your running background I'm wondering why you're jumping straight to the intermediate Hal Higdon schedule? If you're finding the mileage ok then keep going for it, but equally if you're having any problems the beginner schedule is pretty good too - I used it for my first half last year and clocked 2:04 (and knocked 10 mins off that in my second half later in the year )

asimonov

Hey KathleenF - best of luck with the running and the log.

You picked a great race to start with, the buzz at the start of connemara is like no other. Just remember to bring a binbag with you and an old top to throw away so you are fully prepared for the sunshine / rain / hailstones / wind - or whatever else the weather has in store.

As per krusty's post, find a hill to include late in your long runs (it will stand to you on the day).

KathleenF

To be honest I guess I figured I had a good enough residual level of fitness to tackle intermediate level, but as the training has gone on I'm finding it tougher. I just checked out the Novice program there and I might take on that instead. My running background is limited to secondary school hill running, and the laps covered in football training!
I haven't tackled as much as a 5k race in about 6/7 years, so I may be slightly ambitious in my goal. But I figure I'm young (23), relatively fit, and I'm not going to be out to break any records so I reckon under 2.5 hours is achievable. Famous last words..?

Also I haven't been including any hills yet, but from next week on I'll be rectifying that.

xebec

Goal is definitely realistic! Just be mindful of the fact that doing too much too quickly can leave you hating running - and even worse, injured. If the intermediate gets too tough don't worry about taking a step sideways to the other plan and keep going towards your target.

These logs are a great motivator to keep going as well - one of the main reasons I keep one is to be able to tot up the amount of miles I've done and to guilt myself into getting out on the road when I don't feel like it

KathleenF

Yes I'm starting to find it a little harder to drag myself out training so a little extra motivation is no harm I think! Mileage & timing start tomorrow.

KathleenF

Covered 7.5km today, all on the flat. It was very disrupted, lot of walking breaks. 45 mins in total. Not too bad but not great either.