I might be nuts, but I've just registered for the half marathon for next May's Pittsburgh Marathon. 13.1 miles. I don't think I'll ever have time enough to dedicate to preparing for a full one, so I figure this is good enough. I suppose I should add this isn't completely out of the blue, I have a long history of running & was on the track teams in high school & college although never for distance events. Got away from it for a while but in recent years my preparations for hunting out went have put me running on a much more regular basis and currently I’m in about as best a shape as I’ve been in, in over a decade. So this event should be pretty fun.
As good a shape as I'm in right now... I STILL hate running! I'll play tennis all-out at a Division I level for five straight hours in 100-degree heat... no problem -- but the thought of running even two miles makes my stomach turn, and it'd probably only take about 14 minutes or less.
Good luck! I did my first 10K at the end of last summer and thought I was going to die. I can't even imagine a half marathon.
I've ran numerous 5k and 10k races and 2 half marathons within the last year. At the moment I'm training for the Louisiana Trails Marathon in November. It's pretty horrible running 10 miles in 100 degree heat right now, but it's only going to get worse. My long runs will be 15-20 miles in September, which is usually hotter than July. I love running though. Best high in the world IMHO. My ultimate goal is to complete the Leadville 100. Yes...that is a 100 mile race through the Colorado Rockies. I would like to do it within 3-4 years, but I need about 5 marathons under me before I can seriously start to even think about training for that.
But yeah, you should have plenty of time to get ready for a half marathon for next May, especially if you don't really care about your time.
Goodluck Ryan, my best friend has been doing alot of 5K's lately, he is kind of addicted and usually does one every week or two. He has me running a bit now, I will never get as crazy as he is about it, but it is fun. He has a race on Sunday that I might go watch, his last 5K he finished in 20:43 and he is hoping to knock it down to 20 minutes flat.
Oh and don't say that you don't have the time to train for a full marathon. I only run 4 times a week. Some training programs only schedule you to run 3 times a week. Just don't do slow, long runs everyday. My training schedule: Monday - 1/4 or 1/2 mile interval sprints. (right now I'm either doing 8 1/4 mile sprints, or 6 1/2 mile sprints, will build up to 14 or 10) Tuesday - Weights Wednesday - 1 mile interval sprints (right now I'm doing 3 6:30 miles, will build up to 6) Thursday - Weights and tempo run (right now 4 miles, will build up to 10 miles) Friday - Off Saturday - Long run (right now between 10 -12, will build up to 20) Sunday - Off BTW, I could talk about running all day...
Good luck, Ryan, I'm sure you'll do pretty well (even if you're not concerned about your time. I've never ran more than about 11 miles at one time. Lots of 5ks in high school, but no half marathon for me. I may someday.
Thanks for the support guys. Hooker, I may snag some training tips off you. Initially this just started to get in shape for elk hunting. But I had some old friends run the thing and being in the city that weekend it ran was pretty exciting, so I wanted to give it a shot. I'm not real worried about time, I'm not interested in pushing myself the the extent I'd have to to get a good time. I just want to be in good shape as I get older. I'll keep running to prep for elk hunting, but I won't seriously shift over to train until after hunting is done this fall.
Half marathons aren't that bad. Getting over the 10 miles hump was the only hick-up for me, but once I did that the first time it got relatively easy. Time is the hard thing to find, I don't care what anyone says. Running 5 miles - 40 minutes Running 10 miles - 80-85 minutes Figure in cool down, that is over an hour and a half just to do 10 miles. Seriously, if you think that amount of time is so easy to find, buy a house that you have to maintain with a yard you have to maintain, with a kid you have to watch, etc, etc, etc. Take the kid on the run in the stroller you say? HA-HA-HA!!! Good luck keeping this kid in the stroller for 30 minutes, let alone 90, and now he weighs 35 pounds and make no mistake, that slows you down a ton! For me, it is nearly 1 minute per mile slower with the stroller which just complicates the problem. That is why I now run 3 miles 2X a week and 5 miles 1X a week and call it good. Time.
