necessities for half marathon training?

[cathefan73]

hey again,

i thought i'd ask this question too since i got so much help with my last one.

for a half marathon, to really train properly, what do i need to have?

i assume a good new pair of shoes for my foot/gait type (i overpronate)

do i need a heart rate monitor?

should i buy one of those water belt things? how important is that?

is there anything else anyone who runs a lot would recommend?

also, who does walking breaks? i have read a lot about them on a couple of the websites that were recommended in the last thread. i never heard of that before. does it really work?

thanks in advance,
angie

 

[Elaine Keller]

Hi again!

For my long runs I take a water bottle although I have a 10 mile out and back that runs past the pier where there is a water fountain. I stop on my way out and again on my way back and that seems to be enough for me. If there's nothing like that along the way then I definately take a water bottle belt. I like diluted gatorade in mine.

Although I very rarely use it when I'm running 10 miles or less, I take an energy gel just in case.

Of course you're right on about the shoes. I actually wear a size bigger in running shoes than normal shoes. I found out I needed this by losing a toenail when training for a marathon.

For me socks are also a VERY important factor. I think I have sensitive feet as they blister easily unless I wear a certain kind of sock. I like Feetures medium weight.

I have Jeff Galloway's book Marathon! You Can Do It where he lays out a run/walk training plan. I've been told that people have improved their marathon times using it. I've not tried it but it is an excellent book.

Hope this helps.

Elaine

 

[Dutchie42]

running 3K and walking 1 minute helped me a lot when I came back from being injured (three times). And I actually once ran a 12K faster with walkbreaks then without ;-)
Dutchie

 

[cathefan73]

you ran faster WITH walk breaks? wow, that's interesting but i guess if i think about it, it really does make sense. you give your muscles a break and then return to running more efficiently and maybe at a quicker pace. thanks for the info.

ange

 

[amyg]

You really need to have the desire to run the marathon, anything else is extra if you ask me.

A good stability shoe is what you need for running if you overpronate- ask for motion control. You can go to roadrunnersports.com and try their "shoe dog" for recommendations. Go to a real shoe store, late in the day when your feet are swollen, and try some on. Any time I ordern shoes online I regret it.

If your shoes are too small, your toenails will hit the top/end of the shoe with each step and that causes blood blisters beneath the nails and that's black toenails. Ick.

You probably don't need a heart rate monitor, unless you're interested. I like the time function on mine, it's a low-end Polar.

HYDRATION is what's important. Very important. I don't run without a bottle in my hand. I always used just water, then one day tried a half Gatorade half water. WOW. I ran 8 miles and felt like I could run 8 more! Anything more than about 5 miles I'd always mix in Gatorade. (Gatorade also has sodium in it which helps prevent hyponatremia or whatever it's called that is too little sodium in your body- that's a killer.)

Walking breaks are a great idea, but I couldn't ever get myself to do them. I see how they work, I just couldn't deal with walking some of the runs.

Okay, for my last advice in the longest-ever post, and it's a doozy: ice baths. My husband's favorite part of the training because he could sit on the toilet and laugh as I sat in a bathtub half full of cold water and ice after my long runs. It's one of the hardest things I ever did, BUT definitely the most useful. As soon as possible after your long runs, hop into the tub and toss in a tray or two of ice. (You'll need to remind yourself to breathe, like lamaze I guess.) Stay in for at least 10 minutes. Yes, ten. The cooold water stops the inflammation your muscles and joints are enduring, which means you really don't get sore. I started doing them after 10 milers. I did them each long run, not thinking the bath did anything, but then I skipped it once and felt like I couldn't walk for 3 days.

Sorry again for the longest post ever!!!

 

[Dani53]

Great thread! I have never been a runner, hate it in fact, but lately I have been thinking of trying to run at least a few miles. I would love to be able to at least do that. I figure if I can get up to 3-5 miles a few times a week that would round me out a bit.

I guess I will do a thread search on beginner running