training for my first half - need help

[jerzbeachgirl]

I want to do the 2016 Princess half. I am overweight and out of shape, sort of. But I have lost 50 lbs and have been working out pretty regular for the past year and a half but I haven't been challenging myself or pushing it. I was running/walking and up to 3 miles a day of mostly running with an additional 2 miles of walking at some point in the day. During this summer and fall I switched to biking and was biking 12 miles a day. But my run/walk pace is incredibly slow, although I can walk far. If I'm not really forcing myself I am at a 20 minute mile. Jeff Galloway has a training plan for beginners, before half training. I am going to start that but because it is much easier then what I do I am going to jump in about half way. Can I possibly get up to a 15 minute mile? I want to feel pretty sure of myself before I sign up and spend the bucks. So at registration time I'd really like to be able to hold 16 minutes for 7 miles.
Any advice. Is there a particular thread or message board for new half marathon trainees?

[NewDVCowner]

Congratulations!

I was in a very similar situation as you when I started planning on a half marathon - except I hadn't run at all. I had recently joined Weight Watchers and was working on losing weight, but needed something to keep me active. What I ended up doing was starting with the Couch to 5k program, which is a free app, or you can find training schedules online if you do a search. Once I got to the point where I could jog (slowly!) for three miles I switch to the Jeff Galloway method that he has posted on the runDisney website. My sisters and I worked at doing a three minutes of jogging (again, slow jogging) and one minute of walking (slowly) and worked on our distance at that pace. Because we had a base of being able to run for thirty minutes that three and one pace worked for us. We did our first Half Marathon at Disney and had just over a 14 minute pace, and did the Wine and Dine later that year and came in just under three hours. It's very doable. Just don't push yourself too hard and follow the program. It can seem pretty daunting, especially when you start looking at the longer distances, but it does work. Just remember to bring water with you and energy packs (at least I needed those at longer distances) and get good shoes. Go to a sports store and have them work with you to find shoes that work on your feet. I know I ended up spending way more on those shoes than any other shoes I've purchased in my life, but it was worth it because it does make a difference.

I fell out of running, unfortunately, after that Wine and Dine and have been putting weight back on. I need to kick start myself and have now made it my goal to run my first Marathon at WDW in January - the day before my 40th birthday. I'm starting at the beginning, again, doing the couch to 5k program. It worked for me last time so I'll do it again. Once I get through that program I'll start on the marathon training.

Good luck! If you need a cheerleader just get in touch!

[Disney4us2]

Welcome to Intercot....

I am just starting to train for either the 5 k or 10 k next January . I am doing a lot of walking but have not timed myself yet. I don't think I can do a run walk because I use a walker.

Congrats on the wt loss. I hope my walking helps me to shed some as well. I managed to walk 5k a few weeks ago so I know I can do it. If I can, just about anyone can.

Good luck with your training!

[jerzbeachgirl]

New dvc owner - that in fact sounds like a great plan. I didn't think about starting back at c25k but could do it again with the coal to getting up to running 30 minutes . I have plenty of time and I very much want to go slow even though it can get boring. The main reason I was biking so much is I kept irritating my hip. If I don't want to get hurt I need to ease in. When it getsgets nicer out I wil bike on recovery days.

[MushuGrl]

First off, CONGRATS!!!!

I too am training for the Princess Half. I started running in 2013 but I confess, due to stupid excuses, I never finished Couch to 5k and all but quit in the fall. I'm prone to injury so I'm forcing myself to take it slow, redoing the couch to 5K (I'm on week 8!) then moving to 10k and finally Galloway Half.

Can you make that 15 minute mile? I got every faith you CAN! You have plenty of time to make it there. Just make sure you have a good pair of running shoes, and most importantly, be kind to yourself! If you have to repeat a training session 20 times until you are comfy with it, do it!

Something I've noticed with the Galloway though, if you are doing the phone app...I started to 10k back in January (had to drop back to 5k - got too ahead of myself) the phone was saying I was running a 22 minute mile. My Garmin, however, said 14 minute mile. Sometimes the satellite gets wacky so don't live and breathe that number!

Feel free to PM me if you need a pep talk, and see you in February!

[Disoriented]

[QUOTE=MushuGrl;2449355]
Something I've noticed with the Galloway though, if you are doing the phone app...I started to 10k back in January (had to drop back to 5k - got too ahead of myself) the phone was saying I was running a 22 minute mile. My Garmin, however, said 14 minute mile. Sometimes the satellite gets wacky so don't live and breathe that number!

Typically your Garmin will be more accurate than your phone because the Garmin links directly to the DOD gps satellites while your phone is tracked by the satellite through the phone tower.

Don't know which Garmin you have but some have more trouble tracking through trees or the shadows of some very tall buildings, so what might be happening is the when the satellite looses your signal it remembers where you were and when it finds you again it knows you have traveled some distance but it doesn't realize that there was any time involved so so the algorithm assumes you ran faster.

[MushuGrl]

I HAVE noticed that! I have the Forerunner 10. Where I train is blocked in by trees and buildings. There is a significant difference in my mileage running there than when I actually run a race.

(Which during my last race was a very nice surprise!)