“The further out you can start, within reason, the longer you’ll have to go through that base phase and get some nice, easy miles under your belt. And you need those easy miles,” says Hancock.
Once training starts, you can expect to run 3–4 times a week. Your long run is where you’ll gradually build up mileage, and it’s the most important run you’ll do. From there, depending on your plan or coach, you should also have one or two running workouts, an easy run, and some strength training. As the weeks go by, you’ll steadily increase your overall mileage while also extending the effort intervals in your workouts, before eventually beginning to taper off about 2–3 weeks before race day.
Come up with a race plan
Long-distance running is about pushing yourself, but it’s also about managing your resources. While you might be able to beast a 5K on vibes, racing more than four times that distance likely means you’ll need to have a handle on your pace.
Part of training is figuring out your ideal race pace—essentially, how fast you should aim to run on the day. (Your pace is also what you’ll use to calculate your projected finish time.) After months of training, staying on pace on the big day is your best shot at finishing strong. That said, it shouldn’t stop you from recognizing an opportunity at the race.
Van Horn tells her clients to start more conservatively and stay on pace until at least the halfway mark. “And if you’re still feeling really good, you can push yourself a little bit more,” she says. This kind of measured start will also help you avoid getting hopped up on race-day adrenaline and coming out too hot. “If you take those first few miles a little more conservatively, that will pay you back in the last few miles,” says Hancock. “You’ll just have that little bit extra left in you to give it that push at the end.”
Take your nutrition to go
The half marathon distance is right around where running coaches start recommending in-race nutrition—gels and other kinds of quick carbs and calories to bolster energy levels and support your performance in the later stages of the race. “For most people, 5Ks are over pretty quickly, whereas a half marathon might take you 2–3 hours. It’s a much more significant demand on the energy reserves,” says Hancock.
It’s another reason why you’ll want to have your pace dialed in by race day. The general recommendation for in-race nutrition is 60 grams of carbs per hour. More often than not, coaches will prescribe this as 30 grams of carbs every 30 minutes. The number of gels you bring with you will depend on your projected finish time, which depends on your pace and overall race strategy.
To get your body used to fueling up mid-run, coaches recommend introducing race nutrition into your early training sessions. “Just like you’re training yourself to be a better runner, cardiovascularly and muscularly, you actually need to train your gut as well,” says Hancock. “A few weeks out from race day, you want to be taking those gels exactly as you would on race day.”
Consider working with a coach
While you’ll have no problem finding a training plan online, it’s worth considering a running coach, particularly if this is your first longer-distance race. I worked with a coach for both my first marathon and triathlon, and many of the principles I learned over that time have carried over and informed my own training in the years since.
For Steven James, UESCA-certified running coach and founder of PFM Coaching, one of the main benefits of working with a trainer is having someone who can make sure you’re hitting your training sessions at the right intensity. “For example, if you’re running too hard, you’re not going to be building your endurance,” he says.
“One of the things I like to work on with newer athletes is developing an understanding of their perceived effort. Like, what does it look like, on a scale of one to 10, to push yourself to a nine or a 10?” says Van Horn. A coach can also help you navigate unforeseen obstacles like injury or illness, she says. “Whereas some athletes will try to keep pushing and stay on their training plan when they’re sick or something, and then end up in a situation where they’re sick for six weeks and have ruined the training cycle, a coach can help you build back up in a smart manner.”
