When the gun goes off, Hadfield recommends that new racers control the urge to run fast from the off and start comparatively slowly, aiming for a negative split – running the first half slower than the second. But you can quiet the butterflies in your stomach by focusing on race-day logistics: carefully following both your nutrition and hydration plans, making it on time and properly equipped to the starting area and meeting up with friends. It’s not unusual to be worried about race day. We've tested a whole host of running shoes – from Nike shoes to vegan trainers, beginner-friendly running shoes to trail running shoes – so you can be sure to find something right for you. So we recommend investing in a decent pair – something soft enough to buffer unforgiving pavement, but firm enough to provide adequate push-off mile after mile – to help protect your body from the impact with the ground. Perhaps it goes without saying, but in order to run 13.1 miles, you need to be wearing something that a) fits and b) is comfortable for your feet. This means that you’ll be able to complete a few more reps of your future hill sessions or endure a slightly faster pace on your shorter runs. The aim is to familiarise your body with running for longer periods of time, and will help improve your shorter, faster efforts, too. Our half marathon training plan for beginners starts with a four-mile long run on week one and builds up to 10 miles on weeks nine and 10. If you’re a beginner taking on your first half marathon, it’s crucial to gradually build up your endurance with a weekly long run. On the plan below, when it comes to hill sessions, try and plan a hilly route where you can incorporate climbs, rather than run up and down one hill for miles! Build your endurance with long runs As you train and those 60-second hills become easier, challenge yourself with steeper and/or longer hills. Start by incorporating hills that take 60 seconds to climb, says Hamilton. Basically, the slower you go on your easy runs, the better. ‘If at the end of your run, you’re gasping for air, or in pain, then you’re going too fast,’ says Hamilton. Why? Running fast fatigues the body, which therefore heightens injury risk and requires longer recovery times. The biggest mistake first-timers make is running too many miles, too fast, too soon – and that’s a recipe for injury, loss of motivation and burnout. Taking their example, you want to do the majority of your runs at a comfortable, conversational pace, and finish each run feeling like you have the energy – and desire – to run another mile. ‘From our research, it’s clear that elite athletes train around 80 per cent of the time at what we’d call low intensity, and they spend just 20 per cent of their time training hard,’ says Dr Stephen Seiler of the University of Agder, Norway, one of the world’s foremost exercise physiologists. Running slowly when you’re aiming to run faster does feel a little counter-intuitive, so while it’s tempting to think that all your runs need to be hard, improvement comes from a different approach. ‘For this distance, you have got to put in the work.’ Do your easy runs at a slow pace ‘This is one test you can’t cram for,’ says Janet Hamilton, a running coach and exercise physiologist. The half marathon distance requires weeks, months in fact, of training (our half marathon plan for beginners – outlined below – is 12 weeks long) it’s not something a beginner can jump into at a moment's notice. ‘They never imagined they could go that far.’ Follow a plan and give yourself 12 weeks ‘Many beginners find running a half to be life-changing,’ she says. Luckily, the payoff outweighs the challenges. ‘They’re nervous because many of them have never done 13.1, not even in training,’ says Jenny Hadfield, co-author of Running for Mortals. Given these demands, a lot of beginners come to the distance feeling a little anxious. Half marathon training plans for every runner.
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