[ncuneo]

So I'm going to start training for my first half marathon Monday! I'm super excited to have a new goal!!!! I still want to lose another 10lbs and I know that can be tricky with the nutrition requirements of training. I'd also like to continue strength training twice a week and I know that will be tricky too because my training program requires 4 days of running, which I alread do, but the distances will be more. Does anyone have any tips for me? I plan to just plug along pay very careful attention to my body when it comes to over doing it with the strength training and watch my energy levels and performance when it comes to my calories.

[ennay]

Plan your calories when you need them. i.e. to fuel the important workouts.

The last full size meal before a long run (for me dinner the night before) have maybe a little more carb and a little more overall than you would on "the diet". I'm going to define long run as definitely longer than an hour, probably longer than 90 minutes. If you are going the proper pace, you dont REALLY need extra fuel for any runs under 90 minutes but it may feel like you do at the beginning

Also add extra calories and carbs the last full size meal before a speed workout if you do speed. Regardless of distance, if you are doing intervals you will get more out of them fueled.

Easy runs, recovery runs and basically any non pace specific run under 60-90 minutes can be run hungry and it will not harm your training.


The meal after a long run dont skimp. Get some healthy carbs and protein. I have repeatedly found that skimping this meal just makes me hungrier later that day. Sports specific recovery drinks are unnecessary under 90 minutes. Above 90 minutes splurge on chocolate milk, maybe 8 oz or so and then follow it with a real meal as soon as you can.

So you are talking 3, maybe 4 meals a week to fuel your running. The rest can be normal diet.

As for strength training I have played around both with training on the days I run and on the days I rest. I personally prefer training on the days I run (although not a long run and you wont get much out after speedwork) so that I maximize my rest, but many others prefer to lift on the days they rest. Play around and see.

When in doubt slow down.

[Suzyszoo]

I am actually debating running a half in August. I'm up to 10 miles on my long days, not fast but I can do it.

[mkroyer]

Ncueno-- please dont take this the wrong way PLEASE
You seem to be jumping around between goals and ideas and whatnot lately.... I feel likeyou need to dcide what you really want (hey, theres no right/wrong answer here)..is it to complete a half? Is it to gain strength and muscle (NROLFW)? Is it to lose the last 10 pounds? Is it to maintain your weight and body recomp? All of these are very different goals... i can say that if you want to really properly train for a half, do not expect to lose anymore fat in the process, unless you stop eating Youre going to need proper nutirtin, and especially since you are battling those last pounds, i dont think they are going to come off easily.
NROLFW and half marathon training are pretty much polar opposites, goal wise, especially if you are in a caloric deficit. I think half-marathon training is a great idea, if you are in a caloric maintenace phase, personally..... youll get the most out of it, and your long runs, and threshold runs wont leave you drained and walking around like a zombie.
OTOH, NROL will definitely help in the body recomp area..tightening/toning, developing strength and muscle....
I highly recommend NOT doing an extreme deficit with either of these programs....yes, it can be done, and yes, you will survive, but you wont reap the intended benefits, and you could do a lot of harm (overtraining) that you dont even see that you are doing, till its too late....

Anyway, half marys are tons of fun! Best advice was already given by ennay, especially in terms of pace.. run the half at a pace you can run 13 miles at, ya know? Dont discount speed/tempo work, and for that distance i would focus on 1km/1 mi repeat type work for developing the lactic acid threshold. 200s and 400s and 800s occassionally are great for VO2Max, but since you arent being competive /going for a lofty finishing time(or training for a 5K) i wouldnt focus on them AS much. Look into lactic acid traingin though, this is where, in my opinion, you will reap the most benefit! And of course, your long runs (GO SLOW!...No---SLOWER!) RE: LA Threshold runs...take your basic, midweek 6 or so miler..... run .25 miles at 5k pace, then immediate transition down to 10K pace for .75 mi, and then 1 mi at goal half-marathon pace. Repeat. Or some such combination. Maybe half mi at 5k, 1 mile at 10K and 1 mi at half pace. Repeat. This will do 2 things: teach your body to function/run while processing out lactic acid from your system, and two, will also raise your lactic acid threshold, or the point at which it starts to accumulate. In other words, if you train right, your legs should feel as great at mile 12 as they did at mile 3 (ideally)
Good luck

[ncuneo]

Thanks mkroyer. I'm going to run through your observations to see if I can figure out what my goals are You make a very good point and I think that my main goals are losing the last 10lbs and transitioning to maintenance and completing a half marathon. I hope that it's not too much to do these at the same time.

I have backed off NROLFW a little bit. Only in the sense that I'm not ready to focus on muscle building and body composition right now. I'm still doing the program, but not lifting the amount of weight I need to to complete the program as it was intended. I'm just using it a guide to develop my strength training program and am trying to marry it with my long term maintenance program. I don't know what body type I want right now (in terms of body composition) and I don't think I'll know that until I've lost the last 10 lbs.

As far as maintenance and the last 10 lbs goes I'm still on the fence. Some days I feel like my journey is complete and it's time to start my maintenance program, other days I feel like I will need to be in the low 140s before I'm satisfied. My calories are such that they are just low enough to keep losing, but with a little spurging here or there I maintain. I've been very fortunate to lose at a high calorie range and I'm pretty confident that although I would essentially be training for a half marathon at calorie deficit (I must be since I'm still losing right?) it wouldn't be such a great deficit that it would hender my training.

In terms of my goals for the half marathon I just want the challenge of training for it and I just want to complete it. So I think that my first goal is to train and complete a half marathon and if I lose the last 10 lbs in the process awesome, if I don't and I just maintain I'm ok with that as well. I have found a half marathon training program that incorporates strength training and I hope to incorporate the concepts of NROLFW into that some what.

I hope I don't sound like I'm all over the place and I hope I'm not trying to do too much. On paper it sounds like a lot, but I don't think it's as intense as it sounds...at least I hope not.

[thesame7lbs]

FWIW, when I did my first (and only) half marathon a few years ago, I used a schedule very similar to this one, where we only ran three days a week. However, my longest run before the race was 11 miles, so I think the friend I trained with took the schedule I linked to and modified it. There were no intervals or tempo runs. My goal was to finish, and I did (2:08:32!). So if training and finishing is your goal (rather than a specific speed/time), you might consider a training plan that is not quite as demanding calorically and timewise as one with lots of speed training, leaving you time for strength training and maybe a little more leeway with calories.

However, like I said, I've only done it once and there are others here with much more experience.