How NOT to train for a half marathon

First up – before I even begin telling you about my woeful excuse for half marathon training, I need to let you know that I have not yet run said half marathon. I could crush it! I could PR! It could be the best race I’ve ever run! (Probably not, but you never know!)

So, a more accurate title for this post might end up being something like, “How to run the best half marathon of your life with minimal training”. You’ll have to check back in after I run the Brooklyn Half Marathon May 18 and see which title fits!

The last time I ran a half marathon was 4 months after giving birth to my son, so I was not looking to break any records, or even shoot for any particular time goal. I signed up for that race just to have a goal on the post-partum horizon to kick my butt into shape. And how did I train for that? Minimally, as you can imagine. I was figuring out feeding/pumping schedules, working out how to take care of a newborn, all while trying to get out for a solo run as often as possible. I got my long runs done, with the exception of one or two. My time wasn’t close to my best, but it was much better than I expected. (I credit staying fit and exercising throughout pregnancy for that!)

My last half marathon, 4 months postpartum.

So, by this time I thought I’d have a training schedule totally sorted out, meaning I’d be more than prepared and well trained leading up to the race. Well…kind of. I think I’ll do better than the last time, but that’s not really reaching for the stars.

Here is my guide on How NOT to train for a half marathon in all its glory:

Go for two stroller runs a week. One is usually 2.5 miles, while Roman naps. I try to keep it short because when he wakes up in the stroller with me running at a good clip, he is not usually the happiest baby bear in the world. The second is longer and more fun – I meet a friend once a week to do a 3.5 mile run with walking breaks, for which Roman is usually awake and just chilling out. He then falls asleep and I sneak an extra 2-3 miles in alone after leaving my friend. I never used to think of this as even counting as a run until I read this post on how running with your toddler can help you PR.

Strength train 2 – 3 times per week. I have just enough time after my last client 3 days a week to get in a workout before relieving my nanny. It’s not quite enough time for a quality run, so I stick to lifting weights instead. I DO try to do circuit workouts to keep my heart rate up, even when lifting heavy.

Walk everywhere and a LOT. This, I think, may be my cardio saving grace. I walk to and from clients in Brooklyn, which adds up to a minimum of 3.5 hours of walking per week (usually briskly since I leave it to the last minute to leave), as well as lots of walking around as a mama and just running errands.

One long run a week. This is the one part of training for a longer-distance race that I would never skip. I make sure I get that long run in, occasionally as an early morning run when I don’t have early clients, but more often on a weekend afternoon when my husband Fran is watching our son (translation: they are napping together). It isn’t fast, but long training runs aren’t meant to be.

Here’s the thing – after this half marathon is done, I should be starting down the training road to the NYC Marathon at the beginning of November. What I need to do is sit down and really plan and schedule my marathon training so I know I’m going into that race 100%. You can’t fake the marathon. I can get away with running a half marathon with the above lack luster training, but the marathon will laugh at me and kick me when I’m down at about mile 20 if I don’t train appropriately.