Half Marathon 5 weeks training

Cape Clear

A little advice please:

On Sunday last I completed my first ever 10k race in just under 58 minutes. Despite feeling pretty tired and stiff after it I am happy to have done it. The longest I had run in training in the 5/6 weeks leading up to it was 6.5k. Would it be stupid of me to consider doing the half marathon in Waterford on December 1st? Any comments would be much appreciated thanks

ThePiedPiper

It wouldn't be totally out of the question to do this, but you would need to:
1. make the commitment to it now,
2. train properly for the distance,
3. you'll need to get your long run up to over 10 miles in order to feel comfortable on the day,
4. be prepared for it to be a struggle in the last couple of miles.

If you can honestly commit yourself to getting out in the lousy weather 4 or 5 days a week over the next few weeks, then you should go for it.

Cape Clear

Thanks for the reply! Yes I am committed to this but my main concern is the risk of injury/illness. Any idea about what sort of training programme I should be looking at? Most of the ones on the web are 12 weeks long. Is it an option to jump in at week 8 or should I be a little more conservative?

ThePiedPiper

It's sort of hard to judge what you should or shouldn't do. Every person is different; some can take to distance like a duck to water while for others, getting up to half-marathon distance is a serious challenge.

Without looking at any plans in particular, take a look at where you are now. Maybe try and set out your next few weeks like this

w/e 28/10 Weds 5, Thurs - 3, Fri - off, Sat - 7, Sun - off

w/e 4/11 Mon - 4 easy, Tues - 3 with tempo, Weds - off, Thurs - 6, Fri - off, Sat - 8 easy, Sun - off

w/e 11/11 Mon - 5 easy, Tues - 5 x 400 metres with 1m warm up and down, Weds - 2 easy, Thurs - 6, Fri - off, Sat - 9 easy, Sun - off

w/e 18/11 Mon - 5 easy, Tues - 3 x 800 metres with warm up and down, Weds - 3 easy, Thurs - 6, Fri - off, Sat - 10/11 easy, Sun - off

w/e 25/11 Mon - 5 easy, Tues - 3 x 800 metres, Weds - 4 easy, Thurs - 6, Fri - off, Sat - 7 at goal race pace, Sun - off

w/e 2/12 Mon - 3 easy, Tues - off, Weds - 3 easy, Thurs - 2 easy, Fri - off, Sat/Sun - race

It'd be a very rough plan, but it should be achievable, building things up slowly. Weekly mileage isn't going over 30, so the injury risk should be low enough.

Cape Clear

Forest thanks for this I will give this a lash and let you know how I get on.