Running: half-marathon/marathon

Is anyone here a runner?

I've been running 3-4 miles/three times a week and have gotten a little bored with this routine. Over the weekend I had a friend participate in (& finish) his first full marathon. While talking with him last night he challenged me to train for a half-marathon. I'm really considering accepting the challenge by participating in the Mardi gras half-marathon at the end of February, 2008.

I've found a few online training guides to prepare for a race of this distance but want to know if anyone has any tips or experience running 13.1 miles. Also, does anyone know anything about the Mardi gras race in particular?

Lastly, does anyone want to join me on Feb. 24 at the Superdome?

I've never done a marathon, but I use to be a runner and did a number of triathlons. Having young kids makes it hard to train 5-6 days a week, so all my running is on the basketball court right now.

Cool, man!

I ran a marathon and 2 half-marathons in 2000. Would love to do it again but my work schedule these days doesn't allow me to do 12-20 mile training runs on the weekends.

One web site you may have already found is coolrunning.com, which has a lot of general information and recommended training schedules for specific races/time goals.

You might check if there's a running club in your area which offers training programs. I found one sponsored by the American Lung Association, which was great because they had classes with trainers and PTs on injury prevention, etc. Plus they provided waterstops on the extremely long runs, but this is probably not as big of a deal in training for the half.

Two other tips: above 10 miles or so you have to deal with chafing. Best to know before it happens. E.g., no cotton shirts. Also, it's a good idea to start doing situps and pushups and other exercises to build core strength and prevent injury.

Good luck!

I've run 10 marathons. It's quite a challange and there's a lot to learn.
There are lots of good training plans on the web. The basic idea is to build up your endurance over time. At least 2 weeks before the marathon you need to be able to do at least 20 miles in one go- then you'll be confident you'll finish well.
Things to learn about - proper hydration, the right kind of shoes for you, chafing and strategies to avoid it, mental conditioning - especially after mile 15 or so..it's quite a journey.
enjoy.

Thanks for the web link and the encouragement!

I'm trying to talk my 62 year old Dad into joining me for a half-marathon within the next five months or so. He used to run marathons ~15 years ago but hasn't done anything longer than 5 miles in quite a while. Hopefully, I can talk him into our doing this together .

I'm training for a full marathon in January (Houston). I may switch to the half-marathon, but for the moment this is my best last chance as there are changes in store for the upcoming year...

You certainly learn a lot about yourself along the way.

Good Luck Thomas!

Hang in there with your training and January will be here before you know it!

I've started training for a half-marathon in September, 2008. Used to run years ago, but never more than 5-6 miles at a time. I'm planning to cruise (run/walk) the race. I'll probably enter a couple of short races before the big event, but the half-marathon is my main goal. All the details are in my exercise blog:

HeavyHands Cruiser

Good luck with your training!