rotation to help; with my 1/2 marathon

L

laura35

Cathlete
hi cathe,
I am new to your workouts,which i love by the way.I am trying to think of a 10 week program to follow for my half marathon coming up in may. I dont really know other than my runs how to set up a rotation using your workouts with the runs i need to do to prepare for it. I really need to up my stamina and endurance since the last half i did at the end i felt sluggish and want to be more prepared this yr and of course achieve a better time. last 1/2 was 2hrs 11min. I want to finish in 2hrs this yr. any tips you could give me would greatly appreciated. thanks, you inspire me! laura
 
Hi Laura, I'm not Cathe but maybe I can help with a rotation? I've done a lot of road racing in the last 5 years...about 15 half marathons (my best finish is 1:57...and I'd like to lower mine too!), and currently training for my 10th marathon that's in Feb. What 10 week program are you following....how many days per week and how much mileage are you running? One thing that I find when I start running more mileage in preperation for a half or full marathon is that I have to take out some of Cathe's step work esp a lot of the power step because it becomes too much for my joints...but I'm 43 so that probably explains that :) One thing I find that helps my endurance and stamina is to be sure to include some of Cathe's great endurance leg routines such as Leaner Legs, Legs & Glutes, etc using lighter weights. It's a fine balance though, you have to listen to your body and see how much it can take. Anyway....if you'd like specific help with a rotation like I've used let me know....will need more specifics about your running program.

Cheryl
 
I was following a rotation from runners world before. it had me only running 3xweek with 2 days of cross training. I didnt feel like 3xweek of running was enough, i think that is why i felt sluggish. it had me running 2 during the week at 5miles with the long run on the weekends working up to 11miles. I was going to try another schedule from mcmillian( ithink that is his name) training guides. He suggests running 5-6days a week with tempo runs,hills etc... I really want to feel better this time around. This will be my third 1/2 marathon. I also have done road races and want to decrease my time with those. I cant seem to get my 5ks below 27min. But i have only been running 1yr and a half,plus i have asthma. But i am not letting that get in my way. I couldnt run 1/2miles before and now i have done 1/2marathons.I am determined. I currently am doing bootcamp classes at the ymca also, and one day of spin here and there lately. How long before the marathon would you suggest to start training? runners world was only eight weeks,not enough time for me. That is why I thought at least 10weeks. I have been running currently that is 2-3days a week, anywhere from 3-6miles and then the bootcamp class 2x week. I also have been doing cathe upperbody mostly just once a week except for this past week since there wasnt any classes held because of the holidays. So i ran monday plus did slow and heavy for the bi's and tri's, tuesday i did windsor pilates thighs/buns, wed rest,thursday winsor pilates again, plus upper body pyramid,friday ran 6miles , sat rest, sunday i ran 3.5miles and did slow and heavy for the arms again. i am trying to get more definition in my arms so that has been my focus. but in bootcamp she does total body workouts. i dont do alot of leg work ,except for in my bootcamp class because i figure running is working the legs.maybe i should work my legs more than the two days a week in the bootcamp class,what do you think? sorry to be rambling,i just dont know how much is too much or too little with training the legs for races. but any advice you could give would be appreciated. thanks laura
 
Hi Laura,

Your 1st 1/2 marathon... aren't you excited!?!?! I'd done a lot of 5Ks and one 5-mile race before I did my 1st (and only) 1/2 marathon in October 2005. It was a great feeling to finish it. I'm very excited for you. Make sure you give yourself a few days to recover after the 1/2 marathon. My legs felt like jello right afterward and I hurt in places below my waist that I never knew could hurt from running before. I came in around 2:09, but I hope to break 2:00 next time around.

As for a Cathe rotation... I was running about 30 miles a week to train in the end and wasn't doing ANY leg-only workouts (my fav is Legs and Glutes, but that gives me a burn afterward, and I didn't want to burn out before my run). My training consisted mainly of 6-7 mile runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays (8:30-9:00 minute miles), a long run on Saturday (8-10 miles between a 9:00-10:00 minute pace), and 3 mile runs on Monday and Wednesday (7:00-8:00 minute miles) with Cathe weight workouts to supplement (mainly just Pyramid Upper Body). That's the training schedule I followed for about the last month and 1/2 before the race. Before then, I would do Bootcamp/Cardio and Weights/Step Jump and Pump on the weekends and either a full body weight workout or just arms on the lighter running days. If you weren't training for a half-marathon, I'd say you could incorporate leg work, but since you need to teach your body how to run for a long period of time, your muscles need to develop differently than when you perform weight work. Also, just a note... be careful with upper body work too. I noticed that sometimes after weight work (even the next day) my upper body was very tight and would hinder me from relaxing when I ran, creating shoulder cramps. Make sure to stretch your upper body as well as your lower.

All in all, do what's best for you... and believe me, your body will tell you what that is. Decide whether your goal is just to finish the 1/2 marathon or whether you want to go for time. If you can get out there and at least run 8 miles no problem, then I'd say you're ready. Best of luck!
 
actually this will be my third 1/2marathon but i still get excited with each one. Everytime i complete a race i feel as though i have acomplished somthing more. I definately feel like I need to run more than I did for last yrs marathon. Your schedule looks good. Thanks for the advice. Laura
 
Hi Laura, sorry I didn’t answer sooner, I was away from my computer yesterday. Personally I never run more than 4 days per week, and usually 3 because I’m a triathlete and also my joints can’t seem to take running more than that. I think the best weekly running schedule I’ve found was in Runner’s World October 2002 with a 4 day per week schedule. Long run on Saturday, Recovery run on Monday, Tempo run on Tuesday and Speed workout on Thursdays. I would recommend that rather than just go up to 11 for your long run to try about 15. I’ve found it works better for me in the half marathon to overdistance myself a bit. I agree it is harder to work the legs while training for a half or full marathon but perhaps that is because most people run a lot more mileage than I do. I wish I could but I have a joint condition which prohibits me from running that much mileage and have found that doing ‘endurance’ type strength for legs with lighter weights and more reps has enabled me to do well and most of all feel well during all of my marathons. The only time I cut strength work out of my regimen was when I was training for the Ironman triathlon because it was so hard to fit it all in, but in hind sight I would never cut the strength work out again. Anyway, hang in there you will develop more endurance as you continue running. Best not to rush things or push too hard and end up injuring yourself. Your weekly schedule sounds pretty good but you might want to switch away from Bootcamp for awhile to help shake up the muscles. Actually I find power step or workouts like Bootcamp harder on my joints than leg strength work when I’m running a lot, but then that may just be me and my old joints :eek:) Okay, here are 2 suggestions I have: I would suggest is to keep doing the upper body like you are doing but perhaps instead of Bootcamp insert a leg strength workout mid-week (away from your hard or longer runs) and just use lighter weights and use it more as an ‘endurance’ type workout and see if that helps. And also overdistance yourself some on your longest run before the race. As far as knowing how much is too much or too little you will have to experiment with yourself on this because everyone is different. If you are feeling too fatigued or have dead legs then just back off, take a rest day, stretch more, etc. Hope that helps!! Let me know how it goes!

Cheryl
 
so you think my bootcamp class is too much on my legs to continue doing with the training for the 1/2marathon? I was doing my bootcamp class last yr before that marathon. I was doing the bootcamp in the evening and turning around not even 10hrs later and would do my runs. I definately felt the fatigue in my body then. I am currently doing bootcamp in the mornings though and havent noticed alot of fatigue in my running since i changed the amount of r3est time in between them. I am going to definately run farther on the high miler. I only went to the 11 and i will do what you had suggested going to 15. so how many days a week did you workout then, ran how many? wts ?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top