Tops tips for upping the distance from 10km to HM

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Autumnleaves Jan 2012 5:10pm, 29 Jan 2012 54 posts	0 Autumnleaves I have run 10km races for some years now, but rarely run further in training - I think 8m is my maximum. I am aiming to do my first half marathon in the autumn - what advice would you give for building up the miles? I am comfortable running 6.5m now - though have to admit I'm tired by the end. My steady pace is between 10 and 11 minute miles for that kind of distance. I generally run 3 times a week. Thanks in advance!
Bazoaxe Jan 2012 5:19pm, 29 Jan 2012 3,806 posts	0 Bazoaxe dont make the mistake I did and have 10 as your longest run before your first half....I had a really tough last few miles as a result and was so scarred it was 3 years before I did the distance again.
Oysterboy Jan 2012 5:21pm, 29 Jan 2012 2,042 posts	0 Oysterboy All I did was add 1/2 mile a week to my long run until I was regularly running 10 - 12 miles.
Autumnleaves Jan 2012 5:24pm, 29 Jan 2012 55 posts	0 Autumnleaves Thanks Oysterboy that sounds manageable
Stripes Jan 2012 9:35pm, 29 Jan 2012 72 posts	0 Stripes If you are tired after 6.5m but you want to run further the key thing is to slow down! Try running further but much more slowly in training until you have built up to the distance you want to reach, then you can gradually increase your speed.
Salty Dog Jan 2012 9:52pm, 29 Jan 2012 1,287 posts	0 Salty Dog a sneaky way to introduce extra miles in on your long run is to do a 3m VERY easy warm up, stop, do a few light stetches just to loosen up and then 'start' your usual 6.5. Psychologically not as daunting as thinking you have to do 10, but in no time 10 miles will seem easy anyway!
Autumnleaves Jan 2012 9:15am, 30 Jan 2012 56 posts	0 Autumnleaves Both great ideas - Stripes and SD - many thanks. I like the trick of splitting a warm-up from a run, might give that one a go in due course but think I will take my time to get there.
Devoted2Distance Jan 2012 1:15pm, 30 Jan 2012 157 posts	0 Devoted2Distance I agree, just up it steadily I would personally up the mileage on your long run on Sunday (or whenever you do it) So: 6.2 miles 7.5 miles 9 miles 11 miles 12.5 miles You don't really need to run 13.1 miles in training to be able to do it on the day... Then again, if you want to run a good time, you should be looking at training over the distance (say 15 miles) in my opinion Also, try finding a 10 mile race - that's a nice in-between distance
daviec Jan 2012 1:31pm, 30 Jan 2012 2,135 posts	0 daviec Your 10k Pb is 1:01, but your most recent is 1:03:30, which is 10:13/mile, and that is what you are doing all your runs at. I'd advise slowing down in training by quite a bit. If you're running 3 times a week, do one at about 10:30-10:45/mile and the other two at 11:45-12:00/mile. One of those slower ones would be the one you build your distance up on. A mile extra per week would see you up to 14 in 6 weeks.
HermanBloom Jan 2012 1:43pm, 30 Jan 2012 263 posts	0 HermanBloom Wow, good thread as this is exactly what I doing this year (never done more than 10k, nooked the Stockholm Half in September). Will be keeping a close eye on this