How not to prepare for a half marathon

There are a few key things to bear in mind when preparing for a half marathon.  Firstly, you need to train.  I knew I'd failed on that one when I logged my miles for August and realised I'd clocked up a grand total of 40.  I considered pulling out of the Glasgow Half Marathon but decided that, with the scarier challenge of the Nokia Coast to Coast just around the corner, it might be a good idea to fit in another 13.1 miles in preparation.

This blog is littered with the mistakes I've made in my own training - as I've said before, I know what to do but sometimes find it difficult to put into practice.  And I'm no natural athlete.  Here are a few of the principles I follow when constructing a training plan, and where I went wrong:

• Specificity - whatever event you're planning for, the training needs to be specific to the demands of your chosen sport.  Cross training is brilliant for building general fitness and preventing injury, but if you don't run in your training, you're unlikely to fare well in a race.  Your body gets stronger through repeated overload followed by periods of adequate recovery and appropriate nutrition.  This leads to 'adaptation', i.e. your body gets used to working harder. I had hoped my regular 2 hour+ bike rides would see me through a similar length of run. But while cycling works your heart and lungs in a similar way to running, the strain it places on your leg muscles is different.  Not to mention the fact that I didn't prepare to run on the road at all.  I spent almost all of those 40 miles running on trail, which didn't get my poor legs ready for the mean streets of Glasgow at all. No wonder I can't walk down the stairs today!
• Volume - the frequency and duration of your training also need to be appropriate.  Obviously if you're running a marathon, you'll need to log more miles than if you're training for a 5k.  Most marathon and half-marathon plans involve 5 days running each week.  However, I really like the 3-day plans from FIRST, which are easier to fit into a busy schedule and allow a bit more variety if you have time to train on another couple of days.  But less than 3 runs a week really isn't enough to prepare for a race above 10k, and an average of 10 miles a week certainly isn't far enough, no matter how much other activity you do.
• Intensity and progression - to avoid putting too much stress on your body, which will hinder your recovery and thus your adaptation, it's important that most of your training is at at an easy pace, slower than you plan to run the race.  But a couple of times a week, harder efforts will really help you to get stronger and faster. During rest periods, your body repairs itself and gets stronger, so hard days should be followed by an easy day or day off.  A weekly tempo run, at around your half marathon pace, is important to prepare your body for the pace you'll be running at in the race.  And another session of short, intense intervals will help you to get progressively faster.  If you increase the intensity and/or volume a little bit every week, you'll see results in no time.  Well, maybe not no time, but over a 12-week period, you'll have plenty of time to get ready to run your best half.  I didn't give myself 12 weeks to train properly, and what I did do was sporadic - a long run here, a tempo session there - so I had to stick to easy run pace to get myself through the race.  

The main event, an adventure race from Nairn to Glencoe, is only two weeks away now. I'm glad that I did the half marathon, even though I finished 18 minutes slower than my personal best, because it will have helped to get my body ready for another race.  It's too late now to ramp up my training for the Coast to Coast, so I'm just going to take it easy and enjoy the scenery.  But this sorry episode has really reminded me of the importance of planning and training consistently.  My focus for the winter is being kind to my body and building general strength but, if I decide to chase any PBs next year, sticking to a proper plan will be my number one priority.

Being behind = big behind

This month was supposed to be my pre-marathon-training-plan build up. But the big freeze, commuting, work and two 5000-word assignments put paid to that.  I've spent most of January sitting: at my computer...behind the wheel of my car...snuggled up by the fire...

A while back, I posted about sedentary behaviour being a risk factor for heart disease, even if you achieve your 30 minutes plus of physical activity a day.  Well, based on January's efforts, I'm not doing my own health any good at all.  Not to mention my previously toned derriere!

Many of us think we're doing ourselves a favour by sweating it out at the gym for an hour a few times a week.  We don't often think about what we're doing during all the other hours.  Of course, running, cycling and weights all have amazing benefits, but what about doing ordinary things the active way?

Luckily I still have 16 weeks to train for the Edinburgh Marathon, and February is a new month.  But, before I get stuck into my formal training plan, I'm going to make the effort just to move around a bit more.  Starting this afternoon, with some vaccuuming lunges, stair step ups (clearing out the spare room) and maybe a few swiss ball crunches in front of the TV!

26 days to 26 miles

The countdown is progressing and I'm starting to feel like I actually will be able to complete the dreaded 26.2 in less than four weeks time. I surprised myself with a better than expected 1 hour and 52 minutes at Sunday's Glasgow Half Marathon. How I managed to knock 9 minutes off last month's effort I'll never know. I didn't even train last week at all. Could that be the secret? Hmm, or maybe it was because it was pouring with rain and the scenery was grey and grim - I just got my head down, my I-pod on and got it over with as quickly as I could!

In complete contrast to the last time I ran a marathon, I'm now doing okay with the weekend long runs but not so well with the mid-week tempo and interval sessions. Work has been a wee bit stressful and the weather has been terrible so, instead of getting out in the evenings, I've been working later than usual and then collapsing in front of the TV. Lunchtime gym sessions have been replaced by eating in front of my computer. This is not good because I know that running de-stresses me better than anything else. When things are getting on top of you it's even more important to make that commitment to yourself. So, this week got off to a good start with a hill reps/circuits session with the girls in the park. Even though my legs are still a bit stiff from Sunday, I feel so much better.

Personal worst

It's not often you hear anyone saying they've achieved a PW. I'm really happy to say that's what I did this morning. The Edinburgh Half Marathon was my first for two years and the first road running race that I've done since I fractured my ankle. Part of me hoped that I'd finish close to the time I'd achieved two years ago but my main focus was just making it to the end.

My whole leg has been bothering me for the last couple of weeks so I went for a much needed massage on Monday (more ££ - eek!). Apparently my ankle ligaments haven't 'forgiven' me yet and it will take a while longer to get back to full fitness.

In the meantime, I plan to train and race as much as I can but listen to my body and take rest when I need to.

So today was very much about just getting round the course, seeing how long it took me, and giving myself a benchmark - a time that my body can currently manage - to work on and improve from.

I found the last few miles really, really difficult. My hamstring was stinging, my achilles ached and I could even feel it in my knee. This wasn't helped by a fairly strong breeze in my face! But I made it to the end in 2 hours and 1 minute and still felt that familiar surge of adrenaline and achievement that you get from crossing a finish line. It was a full 12 minutes slower than my PB but, if I've done that once, I can do it again.

I've reached the end of my training plan too so, after a well-deserved couple of days rest, I'll set myself some new goals and figure out how to work towards getting that time down.

1,2,3...GO!

I'm not feeling particularly motivated today and I haven't done any exercise. Actually, I'm sitting in the warmth with a scarf and fluffy slippers on, drinking a glass of red wine. The weather is supposed to be awful this weekend but I'm definitely going to power through it. Only a few weeks to go 'til my first race of the year! This is what I've entered so far:

1. A triathlon. My first. In March. Am I insane?
2. An adventure run. In March. In the dark. Definitely!
3. A half marathon in April. A jog in the park in comparison.

I've constructed a very vague training plan, based around a few I downloaded from the excellent Runner's World Smart Coach, but I'm not going to take it too seriously. I've had too many injuries in the past and know to take it easy until my fitness is better. I'll just do these for fun and see how I go.

I started with a first training run with my team-mate for race number 2 last night. We jogged, we chatted and we tried not to slip on the ice. It took us about 40 minutes and was apparently only 3.67 miles. I refuelled with a skinny hot chocolate on my way home. The perfect mix of protein and carbohydrate!