Oh dear, What have a let myself in for!

[aces_up1504]

Have deceided to run a 1/2 Marathon next March with my B-I-L.

First up, at the moment my level of fitness is quite low and have never been a runner having preferred competitve sports in my younger days.

So can any one point me in the direction of a good website for a training schedule? At the moment the target is just to finish it in one piece, so time not that important.

and since i am a tek nerd, anyone recommend a good app for adroid for running, ideally something that will pace me out.

and lastly any other general advice

[euros]

Simple advice from me; go hard and go often; when you think you have reached your limit then push harder (you will surpass it in the end).

Loads of sports GPS trackers out there for android phones
I think I have sportstracker to track bike rides etc.

[3 Putts + A Snap Hook]

For a training planner, try this link. You can play about with it and devise a schedule to suit. I've run 10k's and 10 mile runs and have always found this useful to make a training plan

http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/racing/runners-world-smartcoach/3057.html

Runkeeper is a fantastic running app. In fact it's one of the most impressive app's I've ever used to be honest.

http://runkeeper.com/android

It GPS tracks you and gives pace updates.....you can have music playing on your phone and then every 5 mins it dips the volume of the track and a voice tells you your current pace eg. 10 min per mile or whatever. You can also see a breakdown of each 1 minute split so you can see how your pace changes over the run. It also shows your route on a map and gives the total distance covered. Once you've finished you then save the run stats and you can go back and view and compare them, either on the phone or on their website. It gives you little messages too like "this is your longest recorded run" or "this is the greatest distance you've covered in a week" etc which can be quite useful and possibly motivating. It's a really excellent app.

The only other bit of advice I'd give is to invest in some proper running trainers and ideally see if there's somewhere local you can get a gait analysis so you get the right type. If you run in any old trainers or even decent ones but the wrong type, you'll soon pick up injuries. Most people over-pronate (myself included) and so a trainer that helps correct this could really help you stay injury free and ultimately be more comfortable. If you don't, then obviously it won't and will put you at risk of injury too.

Like golf, best to get fitted for the right gear from the start. To save a few quid, you could get fitted somewhere, make a note of the shoes you're recommended, and then look out for their previous versions and see if you can get them cheaper online somewhere. Like golf clubs, the manufacturers bring new one's out regularly and you can pick up previous models much cheaper that are just as good. This is what I did and got a good pair for about £35 so you don't have to spend a fortune if you don't want to.

[euros]

Oh, forgot, good luck!

[ShagBag]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/oct/05/how-to-train-for-marathon

Good luck.

[Yanner]

I wouldn't worry about your pace, get a cheap heart rate monitor and train against a specific heart rate zone.

If you are looking to get round run for the vast majority of your training at under 70% of working heart rate with one speed/fartlek/hills session a week.  As soon as you can run 3-4 miles in one go aim to add one mile to your long slow run (LSR) per week until you are up to 10-12 miles.

Half marathon's are very do-able with commitment.  It's far enough to need commitment but not so far that you'll ever hit "the wall" so are pretty safe.

Good luck!

[ijmorgan]

Proper trainers and get an analysis done also invest in a foam roller. It will be a leg saver. Good luck.

Ian

[aces_up1504]

Cheers guys,

Going to spend up until christmas building up a basic level of fitness i think, from what i have seen, most of the programs to built up to the 1/2 marthon expect a basic level of 10-15 miles per week already and then a 12 week program.

[Longshot]

Good luck. Do more than you think you need to!

[Fieldsy]

Are you planning on making it over the line? Or getting a decent time?

[aces_up1504]

At the moment, the line is the target,

But i think eventually once i have worked up a basic fitness, a competitive edge will set in and want to set a good time.

I have never really enjoyed running, so i need to break that first and foremost.

[sally]

I have done 2 1/2 marathons this year and will be doing another before the end of the year.

I started running again this year after a 4 year break due to a nasty break to my ankle.

Those that have met me will know that I am not the ideal build for running  

The best advice I can give you is to gradually build up the distance.  Trying to up it to quickly is the best way to get injured as I have found out myself    I am sure I have ready somewhere that you should not really increase the distance by more than 10% a week.

[Ritchie]

Only just seen this thread, (sorry).

Well done, half marathon is a good distance, I did the Great South Run last weekend and got the Marathon again in 2012.

Best advice has already been given, get a proper pair of running shoes, I got stress fractures when I started running a few years back from not doing this and it's a big mistake.

Other bit of advice, make your training part of your week, don't think of it as a chore, enjoy it, it's doing you good after all. Get some decent cold running gear as well, you soon warm up once you've started.
Personally, when I train, I never do training runs as far as the run itself, but that's because I go gym every day (mostly twice) and don't want to overtrain. When I did the marathon i only ran as far as 15 miles and still managed to complete it, it's mostly mental anyway, just dig in.

Anyway, good luck, stick with it, don't be downhearted, we all have off days when sometimes the body just doesn't want to run, think positively and you'll do it no sweat.

PS If you can't beat 2 hours you're a girl 

[aces_up1504]

Cheers Richie,

Just started on seeing where my basic fitness it and suprised myself, running 4K straight out. Given that my only fitness has been golf for the past 3 or so years. Not to bad i thought.

Did not set the world alight pace work around (5mph), so i best run the 1/2 Marthon in skirt unless i can built up some pace.
 

[ecclesrec]

Cheers Richie,

Just started on seeing where my basic fitness it and suprised myself, running 4K straight out. Given that my only fitness has been golf for the past 3 or so years. Not to bad i thought.

Did not set the world alight pace work around (5mph), so i best run the 1/2 Marthon in skirt unless i can built up some pace.
 

Did you look at the link I put on FB for you?