Hi Gang,

I completed my first half marathon!  The course was pretty flat and I was able to maintain 14-16 minute mile without stopping (which was my goal).

On the small inclines (and particularily the declines) i really felt it in my upper thighs. So I thought  "I gotta do more hill work..."

I want to give Blue Ridge half marathon a shot.  It is up and down TWO big mountains. The change in elevation is 3700 feet.  They close the half marathon at 7.5 hours and expect the slowest pace for the half to be around 34 minutes.

http://blueridgemarathon.com/

My questions are:

1) How do I train for this?

2) Is this a half that it is reasonable to run/walk. If so, how does one do that (Only run down the hills and walk up?)

3) What is a reasonable expectation for me?  For example, I finished my first half about 12 minutes before the closed the course but I think I finished in good shape  in that: a) I ran the whole way b) did not puke (saw lots of evidence of that) c) did not have to quit(saw one person with a cop who was crying and holdign her head) d) did not pull anything and e) passed 6 people and one person at the end.  

So would finishing this course at 7 hours , 15 minutes be a reasonable expectation (it is only my second).

Winchester Va in the blue ridge mountains is about 1.5 hours away. I am willing to do my long runs up and down a particular mountain hikign trail there. I have a few big hills here and stairs to run up and down during the week!

I dont need to be the fastest. I want to finish...and I want to finish strong with no bloody elbows [from crawling to the finish line]..

Thanks for your advice in advance!!!

In my unexpert opinion, I would find a mountian and run up it, a bunch.  Do strength training (squats, lunges). Do the stair machine at the gym.  With four months to train, and already having ran a HM, I would think with continued training you would be able to run the whole thing. 

Congratulations on your first HM. I would look into finding a running group to train with. It will help push you and doing track workouts along with hill workouts will boost your speed, stamina and ability. I live in DC and there are a number of hills in the city that you would not expect and they work great for training on (you dont have to travel to the mountains to train). 

Good luck!

Hey..I work in Alexandria and live in Manassas.

Can you tell me where these hills are!  I will use them!

Thanks in advance!

We do hill repeats on Brandywine street at 30th, just off Connecticut. Do 6-7 repeats and you will be crawling home. Not a long hill but it is steep enough that you can run past people on bikes trying to get up it. Another fun run is through the Zoo. If you go first thing in the morning it is very quite with the occasional commuter walking through and you can see some animals in the paddocks.

Congrats on your half!

From Runners World (my favorite site for running advice):

Before You Start You need a solid base before you take on half-marathon training. You should be running at least three times a week: Weekday runs should average about 30 minutes, and your weekend long run should be up to at least three miles.

Target the Long Run Every other week, increase your long run by 1.5 miles until you're run/walking 13 to 14 miles. On alternate weeks, keep your long run to no longer than three miles. Your longest long run should fall two weeks before your half-marathon. Plan to take about 15 weeks to prepare for the big day.

Take it Easy The most common mistake runners make is going out too fast--then crashing and burning. If you've raced a couple of 5-Ks, aim to run three to four minutes per mile slower on your long runs and on race day. Otherwise, just make sure you can talk comfortably, and take plenty of walk breaks. This pacing strategy will give you the endurance you need without wiping you out.

Strike a Balance Keep your weekday runs to no longer than 30 minutes. If your goal race is hilly, do one of those runs on hills. Vary your pace depending on how you feel--but do try to mix in some speed to boost your fitness. Experiment with your run/walk ratio, gradually adding time to the run segment over the course of your training. On nonrunning days, do easy cross-training like walking, swimming, or cycling, or simply rest up.

http://www.runnersworld.com/getting-started/half-marathon-tr aining-for-beginners

I wish I would have trained this way for the first one!

Long runs no longer than 3 miles?

Walk breaks?

Just goes to show that Skinny can find ways to make the hard...even more miserable.

I like this routine.   I think I will do that AND Mix it up with the stairs and hills (i.e. 3 miles worth of stairs and hills).

Thansk

Don't be afraid of mixing in walk breaks with your running.  Read up on the stuff  by Jeff Galloway.  He recommends walk breaks for even top marathoners.  Personally, I have found I can go faster by mixing in walking with running.  I also have been having good runs by doing MAF training which is recommended by Phil Maffetone.

I trained for my first half marathon using Galloway's run/walk method.  We ran 4 minutes then walked 1.  I did that for my second half also and took 20 minutes of my time.  I'm now training for another half in April and am training by skipping intervals.  I want to get to the point where I can run the whole thing, but not increase my time.  I did that at a 10k Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving and it went well.  I think the run/walk interval method is a great training plan.

Congratulations on getting the first one out of the way. 

Training on hills is the way to go if the 1/2 marathon has hills.  It is important to train for the uphill and the down hill. Also work on your core muscles. The stronger our core muscles are the better we run.  Try planks and sit ups etc.

you should pick a day for your long run and calendar out how many weeks you have to train.  You can train by time or mileage. When I was heavier I knew it would take me tHree hours to complete so I would each week add time to my long run.  If there is enough weeks I train 2 weeks in a row long run and on the third week scale back a mile or 20 mins to give the body a break.  You have to figure out what your base mileage is. By base I mean how many miles do you run right now comfortablely.  That is your base.   Once you kno that start adding time each long run creating a new base.  

Cross train when when you can.   Swimming cycle.  Weight train all will make you a better runner. 

Womens running magazine is on line. I love it and has lots of great trifles to help you get ready.  

Good luck