From your armchair to a half marathon in 12 weeks

By Mike James

For many people who have never run regularly or have been at best only a spo radic jogger. the thought of completing the half marathon distance of 21 km is extremely daunting.

However, with adequate preparation, there is no reason why 21 km should be an insurmountable distance. The following 12 week program aims to help you finish the 21 km comfortably.

By finishing comfortable we mean with no blisters or so re feet, no excruciating chating and no extreme stiffness the next day.

The key to accomplishing this revolves around common sense preparation and a commitment to consistent training. Consistent training means running 5 -6 days per week over the entire 12 week period.

PREPARATION - PRIOR TO TRAINING

All your running gear should be comfortable and not cause chafing or blisters. If you are overweight and chafing is a problem, apply Vaseline to troublesome areas like the inside of the leg, under arms and nipple areas.

Also make sure you have good running shoes. The importance of good running shoes can't be overstated. Even though some running shoes may seem expensive the correct choice here will save you time and money spent at Doctors and Physics recovering from injuries. Good running shoes will support the ankles and whole kg area as they pound the pavement and parklands on route to 21 km.

You may even like to buy two pairs of running shoes, one pair slightly lighter for race day. Don't make the mistake of running in new shoes on race day, you could end up with badly blistered feet. Make sure they have been worn in and road tested first.

If the weather is hot, wear loose, light coloured clothing, a hat and c1on't forget to slip, slop, slap on a protective sunscreen. Drink regularly prior, during and after a training run. You may choose one of the commercial athletic drinks but plain old tap water will usually suffice. In races 500 -750 mls of water per hour is recommended.

Find a friend or training group to run with, but don't try and set unrealistic expectations by competing with better or more experiences runners. Find your own pace and case into it comfortably.

Stretch gently before and after each run, paying special attention to the calves, quads, hamstrings and lower back. Include a rest day in your training. Your body needs time to recover and restore energy.

THE 12 WEEK PROGRAM

WEEK 1-4: CREATING AN AEROBIC BASE

To run 21 km requires a high level of aerobic endurance. In simple terms the ability of the heart and lungs to pump blood to the working muscles over an extended period of time. You will also have to strengthen and toughen the legs and lower back which will be your supporting structures over he distance.

The first four weeks of the program will concentrate on long, slow distance (L.5.D.) running. The purpose of this is to get your legs used to running for longer periods of time. The pace is purposefully slow so that there is less chance of impact injuries. Remember your body is not used tot his kind of activity.

A sample daily program for weeks 1 -4 could be:

      Wkl   Wk2   Wk 3  Wk4 

MON   4km   4km   Rest  4km 

TUES  4km   4km   5km   4km 

WED   5km   5km   5km   5km 

THURS 3km   Rest  6km   Rest 

FRI   4km  4km    6km   5km 

SAT   Rest  4km   Rest  4km 

SUN   6km   9km   10km  12km 

TOTAL 26km  30km  32km  34km

N.B. Rest days are placed at different times of the week to add variety to the program and are usually after 4 -5 days of running.

WEEK 5 -8: AEROBIC BASE, HILLS, SOME OVERDISTANCE TRAINING

Your weekly total km is now 1.5 times the 21 km distance. To further enhance your aerobic base we will concentrate on L.S.D. combined with some hills for developing strength. This will culminate in a long slow run over a course further than 21km. On race day the distance itself shouldn't be a problem. With a good aerobic base you will be confident of covering the distance. This will allow you to seek a better time. The hills will add strength to your legs and provide variety to the program.

A sample daily program for weeks 5 -8 could be:

      Wkl   Wk2   Wk3   Wk4 

MON   Rest  Rest  Rest  Rest 

TUES  5km   6     6     6 

WED   4km   6     6     6 

THURS 7km   5 Hills     7 Hills     10 

FRI   5km   4     4     4-5 

SAT   3or rest    4     4     Rest 

SUN   14    15    18    23

TOTAL 38    40    45    50

N.B. Choose a course with an undulating terrain rather than doing repetitions on one hill. This enables your body to acclimatise to different inclines and avoids boring repetition training. Rest days are now after your longest weekend run.

Don't worry if your km total is not exactly the same as on the table. This is a guideline only.

WEEKS 9 -10: INCORPORATE SOME SPEED PLAY

You are now running approximately 50km per week. This has established a good aerobic base. For the remaining 4 weeks we will not increase total weekly kilometres.

We can now concentrate on some speedplay or fartlek training. There is no need for a systematic stop watch approach to this phase of training. As the term applies it should be a play activity, free of any strict regimentation.

By incorporating spontaneous changes in pace over various distances and terrains you can add variety to training and simulate race conditions where you may like to surge past or drop back.

Be careful nor to overdo this as it could lead to overuse injuries. Run at a slightly faster pace. Don't sprint flat out.

You may choose to do a session on a football oval or athletic track ntixing 400 metre and 200 metre runs. Again, don't overdo it by trying to emulate Darren Clarke. Run at a slightly faster pace and then back off and recover.

      Wk9               Wk10

MON   Rest              Rest

TUES  8                 8 speedplay

WED   7 speedplay       6

THURS 5                 10

FRI   5 Oval session    5

SAT   5                 Rest

SUN   18                23

TOTAL 48km              50km

WEEKS 11 AND 12: TAPERING OFF UNTIL RACE DAY

The hard conditioning work has now been done. You should be confident of running 2lkm. The final 2 weeks will aim to maintain your aerobic base and leave you fresh for the big day.

It is important that you get adequate rest during these last 2 weeks and resist the urge to overtrain. Also as we reduce the distances, avoid substituting too much speed work in the last 2 weeks. Focus your energy on the big day.

A sample tapering program could be:

Wk    11    Wk12  Wk13

MON   Rest  Rest  Rest and Celebrate

TUES  6     7

WED   10    10

THURS 5     5

FRI   5-7   5

SAT   Rest  Rest

SUN   12    21

TOTAL 38-40 48

On the day of your 21 km race, make sure you arrive in plenty of time. Remember to drink during the race even if you are not thirsty. Stick to your own set pace, don't try anything different from what you have done in training.

Plenty of people will be full of adrenalin and surge past you at breakneck speed. Resist the competitive urge to keep up with them. 95% of these people will flounder as the race progresses.

If you follow this 12 week build up and are adequately prepared mentally this will be a most enjoyable run. 21km is a good distance because it is not a short, seemingly all out effort like a 5km or lOkm run nor is it as energy sapping as the 42 km marathon distance. 

Remember to cool down slowly after you finish. Most importantly -celebrate. You have worked hard to achieve this and have laid the foundations for a lifetime of physical fitness.