Half Marathons For The Rest Of 2016
- 3 minsAll the half marathons [HM] listed below are fairly flat and on an easy terrain. An average HM plan recommends a 12-16 week plan depending upon your fitness level & goals. You can try to get away with zero running and still complete one with a 12 week plan. If you are looking for a target race time, be ready for more commitment.
Races
Half Marathons identified for 2016;
- Newport Liberty Half Marathon - Sunday, 18th September 2016
- Training starts, Sunday, 26th June 2016
- Franklin Lakes Scenic Half Marathon - Sunday, 25th September 2016
- Training starts, Sunday, 3rd July 2016
- Princeton Half Marathon - Sunday, 6th November 2016
- Training starts, Sunday, 14th August 2016
- Anthem Richmond Marathon - Saturday, 12th November 2016
- HM Training starts, Saturday, 20th August 2016
- FM Training starts, Saturday, 9th July 2016
- Big Sur Half Marathon - Sunday, 13th November 2016
- Training starts, Sunday, 21st August 2016
- Philly Half Marathon - Saturday, 19th November 2016
- HM Training starts, Saturday, 27th August 2016
- FM Training starts, Sunday, July 16th 2016
Word of Advice
- Some words of wisdom, I’ve learnt along the way of injuries, DNF (Did not Finish) & races
- Motivation only works for the first week or two, beyond that you need discipline.
- Set a fixed time and day of the week for a run, and try to run at the same time during the week. I would recommend morning, so you have no unexpected changes during the day which can deviate you from your plan.
- Being a weekend warrior is only going to increase your chance of an injury, and push you behind in your schedule.
- If your run asks for an hour of commitment, but you have only 1/2, do the half! Anything greater than 0 is good. A small run if better than no run.
- If you miss a day, it is okay, skip it and move on.
- If you miss a week, it is kind of okay, lose some fitness and move on.
- If you miss more than 2 weeks, you need to reevaluate your commitments.
- Don’t worry if your weight increases a first few weeks of training, it is normal.
- BUT you cannot just hog more food, just cos you are running. Don’t add more than 200-300 calories to your diet on days you run. Junk food/Alcohol will not magically evaporate with running.
- You cannot wring out on race day.
- You can fool a 5K, not a 20K.
Pace
Running “speed” is measured in terms of pace, minutes per mile (min/mile)
What is pace ?
Pace for running is the time (or average time) taken to complete a mile/kilometer. So if you take 10 minutes to complete a mile you are running at a pace of 10:00 min/mile. Pace is easier to comprehend as compared to speed (my personal opinion) when running. Cool Running is the oldest site which helps with pace calculators.
If you do not know your pace yet (new runner) then try to run at least a 5K to get an idea what your average pace is. A mile is too short, as you might push yourself into a sprint. Sprinting is when you run at your full potential, the speed you run at when a dog chases you.
For distance running your pace should be fast enough to call it a run, but also easy enough to hold a conversation with someone. If you cannot talk while running, feel out of breath, you are running too fast! Slow down! You pace has to be kind of consistent (5-10% variation is okay) throughout the whole run.
