How to prepare for your first half marathon

The first spring half marathons will start before you know it and you are wondering whether to take on this distance at all? Perhaps you have even started training, but you have plenty of practical questions coming up during your preparation? Then this article is exactly for you! Take a look with us at how to prepare properly for a half marathon, what to consider and what not to forget, so that you enjoy your first big race.

Training for a half marathon

The basis of everything is of course good training. If you have never run and do not do any endurance sport, do not force the spring race season and aim instead for the autumn one (so give yourself 6-9 months to prepare); this amount of time will be ideal for getting your body into good endurance shape and being able to prepare properly for a half marathon. If you run regularly and have already built up a certain level of fitness, we recommend allowing roughly 12 weeks for your preparation.

You will need a training plan. Ideally a personal coach will put it together for you, as they can respond to your personal needs and also to how your training is progressing. If for some reason you do not want to choose a coach, you can take inspiration from various running apps, but pay attention to your individual needs in training.

In general the plan should contain interval training, long runs, runs at a higher pace and easy runs at a low pace. You can add upper body strength work; shoulder or back pain can also take you by surprise on a long run. If you want to support recovery during training, take a look at how the sauna can help you in training.

An example of a weekly training structure for a half marathon:

Day	Activity
Monday	rest/gym work
Tuesday	interval training
Wednesday	easy run
Thursday	tempo run
Friday	rest/gym work
Saturday	easy run
Sunday	long run

Eating during your preparation

Pre-race (and pre-training) food plays a big role in how you will feel overall while running. Everything you are going to eat before the race itself or during it has to be tested in training. During your training period, find a breakfast that suits you before a run and then do not change it on race day. We also recommend finding a suitable evening meal, which you can test the day before a long training run. On the evening before the race and on race morning you should no longer be thinking about food and should simply follow your previously tested routine.

If you want to use energy gels during the half marathon, you need to get your body used to them, so include them in your long training runs. Start with a smaller amount and increase it gradually. For a half marathon you should manage with one, at most two gels. The same rule applies to isotonic drinks and possibly various energy bars. In training, first test how your body reacts to them and in the race itself do not change what has proven to work.

During your preparation do not forget a sufficient intake of carbohydrates and easily digestible protein, which supports muscle recovery. You should also not underestimate hydration. During the spring, or summer, months you will lose more fluids from your body on long runs as the temperature rises. It is a good idea to properly replace fluids along with the minerals you have lost.

What to wear for a half marathon?

If you are getting ready to run a half marathon, you will certainly also be thinking about what to wear. Good running shoes are the basis. If you are going to your first race and your shoes are still in good condition, there is no need to go straight out and buy special racing shoes and you can happily run the race in your training ones. If, however, you do decide to buy special racing shoes, be sure to include them in some of your training runs and do not save your first run in them for the race. Shoes, like food, have to be tested.

When it comes to clothing during training, follow the principle that it is better to choose more thin layers than fewer thick ones. You also need to watch out for chafing and burns on all the places where there is a lot of friction between clothing and skin (armpits, nipples, waist) or just skin (for example the inner thighs). We recommend rubbing these areas with petroleum jelly or a similar product before a run. We recommend testing the race "outfit" itself during 1-2 long runs.

What if things do not go to plan?

You are sticking to your training plan, but you are caught out by injury or illness - what now? The answer is do not try to push through it. If you start to feel pain that starts to make running unpleasant or impossible, do not under any circumstances try to “run it off”. A few days of rest will not ruin your training and it is better than risking making things worse and giving yourself a serious injury.

By running through pain you also risk your problem becoming chronic and limiting your training far more than a few days off. You can find out what injuries you might come across and how to deal with them in the article the most common runners' injuries. The same rule applies to illness too: stop training, get properly better and only then carry on. A shorter break certainly does not mean that you will not train enough and will not meet your goal. And it is better than dealing with a health problem for months afterwards.

Conclusion

For many runners the half marathon is the gateway into the world of long-distance running, so it is no wonder that it can be a challenge. The important thing before the run itself is to choose food that you have tested and not to experiment with new shoes or other equipment. But even the best food or the best shoes will not run the half marathon for you, so the main thing still comes down to training. And if you put in the training conscientiously, you have nothing to fear in a half marathon.