Half Marathon Preparation (in 4 weeks)

So I have taken on the challenge of running a 10 km marathon. Initially I wanted to do half a marathon, but I was discouraged by all the websites pointing out that one needs AT LEAST 3 months of preparation.

Information on Half Marathons

Running Schedule

And I found some information on preparing for a half marathon...:

• 1 long and steady run (increasing from 10 KM to 18 KM) --> Weekend
• 1 well-paced run (10 KM) 
• try to beat your time each week (under an hour would be ideal)
• 1 speed session (around 5-8 KM)
• 1 other form of training (walking, cycling, swimming, fitness class)

One day of rest in between each run !!

Nutrition

Proteins: 10%
- yoghurt
- lean meat

Carbohydrates (complex): 65%
- wholegrain
- fresh and dried fruit
- vegetables
- brown rice

Unsaturated fats: 20-25%

Iron
- green leafy vegetables
- beans
- peas
- beans

Monounsaturated Fat Sources	Omega-6 Polyunsaturated Fat Sources	Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fat Sources
Nuts Vegetable oils Canola oil Olive oil High oleic safflower oil Sunflower oil Avocado	Soybean oil Corn oil Safflower oil	Soybean oilCanola oilWalnutsFlaxseedFish: trout, herring, and salmon

WEEK 1: 

Day 1

March 23rd 

Basically jumped out of bed, threw the shoes on and made it out the door with the intention to run a light 5km. That turned into 9.95 km, which I did in 1:06 hours. I'm starting to think that this Half marathon might not be so out of my league after all. I really need to work on that music playlist though...

Runkeeper
KM: 9.95
Duration: 1:06:50
Avg Pace per Km: 06:43
Cal: 518

Yoga to cool down (Tara Stiles). 

Day 3

March 25th 

Okay, so it's official, I just signed up for the 20 KM half marathon in Lausanne. My self mutilation will take place on 26th of April. 

Runkeeper (ipod ran out of battery half way so this is an estimate)
KM: 7.40
Duration: 40
Avg Pace per Km:
Cal: -

Followed the yoga cooldown video (click on the hyperlink). It's a full body stretch and a great way to cool down the heated muscles.  

Day 5

March 27th 

Did 8KM today, following along the Parcours route in the forest. There are three courses, I did the 5KM one, and  next time I plan to do the 12 KM. 


Runkeeper
KM: 8.78 
Duration: 59:41
Avg Pace per Km: 06:48
Cal: 476

After my yoga stretch cool down and a shower I feel awesome! For lunch I made myself a Strawberry-cranberry- kiwi-coconut water smoothie
.


And to eat a bowl of whole grain rice  with broccoli fried in soy sauce and topped with Apricot chicken concoction (leftover from yesterday) with a fried egg stirred in.

 

Day 7

March 29th 
Ran 11 KM today, and started to feel a slight pain or unease in the right calf (actually I have been feeling that every run I have gone on). I also started to feel some pain the lower arch of the right foot. So a good yoga session is in order before my next run.

Runkeeper
KM: 11.29
Duration: 1:17:49
Avg Pace per Km: 06:53
Cal: 579

Day 9

April 2nd
Shitty 8 KM run :( But it is not uncommon to have a bad run now and again. Was running with what felt like a belly full of jelly. Not cool. Hoping next run will be better.

Runkeeper
KM: 9.54
Duration: ?
Avg Pace per Km: 
Cal: 511

Day 11

April 4th 
Super good run. Beat my distance record ! My fastest pace was on 6KM with 05:38min/km. At 1 hour I had done 12KM (super yay). This time I tried doing a short yoga stretch before starting, which might be what gave me more energy for my run. Will do this from now on.

Runkeeper
KM: 13.95 
Duration: 1:30:53
Avg Pace per Km: 06:31
Cal: 727

Watched a different yoga video for a cooldown stretch but it was too short and not to my liking. Half marathon is in 20 days!!

Day 15

April 8th 
Took an 8 day break! The marathon spirit is starting to wane! No, I'm joking, I have just been very busy finishing our Student Business Project at school. Today's run started out terribly, and the idea that it would be one of those slow paced, lame bad runs started to loom in my thoughts. I stopped several times and felt as heavy as a lump of iron... I think it must have been a combination of my anxiety left over from the fruitless job search morning I had. And then finally I told my self to cut to the crap, and just get on that run with a lame "motivational" chant in my head. It did the trick, and I ended up running the TLT (threshold pace- long run pace- threshold pace) workout I wanted to do all along. I ended up doing it but slower than I would have liked. Will try this out next run!

Runkeeper
KM: 10.87
Duration: 1:15:27
Avg Pace per Km: 06:57
Slowest Pace: 08.12
Fastest Pace: 5.42
Cal: 580

Watched a really short cool down video which I liked, but wouldn't recommend it as a cool down for a 10 KM run.. It's too short! 

Day 18

April 11th 


Runkeeper
KM: 13.83
Duration: 1:27:37
Avg Pace per Km: 06:20
Slowest Pace: 08.20
Fastest Pace: 5.06
Cal: 779

Day 21

April 15th 


Runkeeper
KM: 10.07
Duration: 1:00:11
Avg Pace per Km: 05:59
Slowest Pace: 07.11
Fastest Pace: 4:43
Cal: 552

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lE0U4_2pHOY 

Day 23

April 17th 

One hour swim. Starting to visualize the week leading up to the race.

Day 24

April 18th

Warm-up yoga video. 

Runkeeper
KM: 15.61
Duration: 1:52:06
Avg Pace per Km: 07.11
Slowest Pace: 09.06
Fastest Pace: 5.28
Cal: 828

This was by far the worst workout ever. Just one week from the race, and I felt so dizzy in kilometer 15, I nearly passed out. I started feeling weak and brought it down to a walk for less than a minute before continuing jogging. I felt slightly better after drinking a bit of water, but when white spots started to appear in my range of vision, I realized it was time to call it a day. My temperature started dropping slowly, and I started to feel miserably cold. Luckily, I managed to get a ride home, after which I headed straight to the shower, and finally lay in bed trembling with cold and trying to slowly warm up. After a couple of glasses of hot cocoa milk, I started to regain some energy. I realize my iron levels must be quite low, as today I woke up with a swollen tongue, still cold, weak and pale. So I stocked up on some rabbit liver, spinach and salmon =) This will NOT happen on the day of the race !

Day 28

April 23rd

I went to the doctor a couple of days after my minor collapse-freeze-out to find out that I have a mild tonsilitis... Woop-de-doo, one week to go for the race, and trying to follow through with this much thought out one week preparation. The first thing I asked him is whether he thought I'd be capable to run the race, and he said "suuuuuure, no problem" (in french...). And he gave me antibiotics to take, reassuring me that contrary to popular belief, antibiotics is not what causes fatigue, it's the body fighting the virus. I hope he is right because I need to take them for 10 days. 

So I took 4 days to rest and allow my body enough recovery time, but today I was too impatient and nervous of losing practice, so at 18:00 (same time as the start of the race) I was sprinting out of the house. I did not make the 10KM below the 1 hour mark, but that's not a problem, I was only 3 seconds over. The best part is that my body felt absolutely fine :) I stopped after 10KM for a few minutes to drink water and slightly cough my lungs out, and continued on my way home nearing almost 6KM. It felt good to continue running after taking a break, my legs even felt lighter. 

Runkeeper
KM: 10.01
Duration: 1:02:28
Avg Pace per Km: 06:15 
Slowest Pace: 07:09
Fastest Pace: 04:57
Cal: 540

Runkeeper
KM: 5.71
Duration: 37:48
Avg Pace per Km: 06:37
Slowest Pace: 07:35
Fastest Pace: 05:30
Cal:297

I did a longer yoga cool down video, which I found really nice and a great zen  way to slowly cool down...
And for dinner, took out the weird, Swiss version of wholegrain rice and made it with broccoli, onions, garlic, soy sauce, toasted almonds and fried egg. 

1 Week Prior to Race

After researching various sources to find the optimum training schedule the week before the race, I found the following schedule to the best suited. Hopefully I will find the time an effort to actually carry it out ... 

First of all, the most important part is to not over-train, to adapt your diet, and to stay hydrated!

Recovery days: On recovery days, stock the body up on protein to repair muscle tissue (milk, cheese and yoghurt, white meats and eggs.) Start loading up on carbs this final week with low GI foods; wholegrain pasta and rice and porridge. Avoid gassy foods such as broccoli and too many fruits.  

Long run days: On long run days, and a few hours before your run, eat foods with low GI cars, normal in protein and low fat. (Eg. porridge with fruits, chicekn sandwich and fruit, brown bread and peanut butter)

Post Long run: The body restores its carbohydrate stores and muscle reparing proteins thirty minutes after the run, so this is the perfect time to consume these nutrients. Opt for a chocolate milk or a fruit smoothie, or a homemade sports drink (water, OJ, a pinch of salt and a touch of honey)  

Saturday

One week before the start of the race, wake up and envision the race day in your head. Try to carry it out, from the meal you will have, to the hour you will be running. Finally, go for an easy run. 

Sunday

Today is your rest day to recover from the long run the day before. Stay hydrated, go for a short walk if you must, and do a nice yoga session to keep the flexibility. 
Eat the meal you plan to have on the day before the race, as Monday is the final dress rehearsal! Very important; get a good night of rest, at the same hour you plan to go to sleep the day before the race. 

Monday
Today is the dress rehearsal! Again, replay the day of the race; 

• clothes you will wear
• breakfast and lunch 
• wake up time

 and go for that final proper run before the race. Today is a good idea to run the 18 KM race in order to fit in that final long distance run before the 20 KM. If possible, do the actual race course, but don't over train, run at a relaxed pace. 

Tuesday
Rest day and recovery day. If possible, go for an easy run, unless you feel your legs are aching too much. Treat yourself to a nice massage session to stimulate the blood circulation. Review all your past workouts and focus on your progression to boost that confidence! 
Keep your salt levels higher than usual without going overboard (pretzels, nuts, soups).

Wednesday
Do a 10KM run with short and challenging higher intensity intervals. Get your blood pumping but stay beneath the 10 KM mark. 

Thursday
Again, recovery day. Do a short cross training exercise or simply go for a nice walk (30-40 min). 

Friday 
Go for a short run to release the antsiness and pent up excitement the day before the race. Fit this run in early morning and try to stay off your feet for the rest of the day! 
Emphasize breakfast and lunch as your most important meals, eat plentiful without feeling too full. For dinner, eat easily digestible carbs and a small portion of protein. Avoid foods high in fiber and fat. Drink enough water (preferably before or after your meal) before going to sleep. Go for a short walk after dinner and then relax for the rest of the evening before going to bed. Go to bed at your normal time and go to sleep. 

Saturday
Race!!  
Unfortunately, the race starts at 18:15, a little late for my liking, but that's alright. I will go for a short walk, do a long yoga session to get those muscles stretched out and eat light meals, but enough to fill the tank. 

Taken from: source