Tops tips for upping the distance from 10km to HM

11 watchers

Mave May 2012 4:11pm, 16 May 2012 44 posts	0 Mave I was going to echo all the advice given here, when I realised that the thread was a couple of months old already. When I upped my distance I massively slowed down my LSR and added in a mile extra every week: walking that extra mile in the middle of the run if necessary but kept my shorter mid week runs at my normal pace. As each week went on, I was covering further distances and needing to walk less. I would really recommend doing a 13 mile run before doing a HM as it massively boosts your confidence on race day, knowing that you CAN do it (and within the race cut off time). When you come back from your taper, you might want to start at a lower mileage again to get back into it (Maybe 6 or 7 miles?).
HermanBloom May 2012 4:20pm, 16 May 2012 832 posts	0 HermanBloom I suspect I will be at the back for my first Hm in September. As you say Liz, as long as you enjoy it then the time/position isn't an issue unless you want it to be.
Autumnleaves May 2012 4:33pm, 16 May 2012 186 posts	0 Autumnleaves Cheers Mave, I will build up again from about 7 (I've run 6.5 a few times) and I might try the walk in the middle plan - I've found running slowly enough a struggle at times. I feel better about running at the back already
Mave May 2012 4:40pm, 16 May 2012 45 posts	0 Mave Its the running that counts, not the speed or your position in the race. That's always my mantra! I think I'm pretty competitive, but I know that I run very slowly, so I have to channel that competitiveness towards myself. Like beating PBs or running the whole way and not walking, even if its up a massive hill etc. When you've beaten your own goal, its amazing how little it matters that you ran at the back!
fetcheveryone May 2012 4:46pm, 16 May 2012 11,159 posts	0 fetcheveryone Another psychological tip for building up your mileage... run the same route each week, but add the extra mileage in as early as possible along the route. I found this useful when trying to get up to 20 for marathon training. When you're tiring later on, and going past the landmarks that you'll recall from the previous week, you won't have to contemplate going "further" because you'll have already done it whilst fresh. See?
Autumnleaves May 2012 4:50pm, 16 May 2012 188 posts	0 Autumnleaves Cunning!!! Like that plan a lot.
Mave May 2012 4:51pm, 16 May 2012 46 posts	0 Mave That's a great idea fetch. I'm going to start doing this as I build my LSRs up for my upcoming HM.
The Scribbler May 2012 4:53pm, 16 May 2012 1,671 posts	0 The Scribbler I'm only just running 10k now after a bit of time out with PF. So I'll be adopting those psychological tactics to build up my long run from June onwards in preparation for a September half. At the moment a half looks like a daunting distance!
SherryB May 2012 8:38pm, 16 May 2012 2,493 posts	0 SherryB great thread with some very useful tips - perfect timing for me as I'm doing the same as AL though I did do a couple of HMs a couple of years ago but injury etc has meant I haven't run further than 10k for many months