The Most Common Questions You’re Asking About Your First Half Marathon
Hi there!
Hope you enjoyed the video about how you can get a mental edge that’ll keep pulling you in the direction of your goal (and judging from the comments on it, it seems like a lot of you did).
During the past few weeks, a lot of you have asked some really great questions about half marathon training. That’s cool, because I’m the same way — I just hate jumping into something without first knowing what to expect, and I’m glad to see you’re being smart about it.
So here goes. If you’ve got more questions than what’s here, feel free to post them in the comments section below, and I’ll do my best to get them answered for you!
“How much time is this going to take me?”
Probably not as much as you think. On my half marathon plan and most others, you’ll run between about 10 and 20 miles per week, with the early weeks being near the lower end of that, and the mileage gradually increasing until it peaks a week or two before the half marathon.
So let’s just say, for the sake of example, that you’re running most of your miles at a 10-minute pace. Then with the mileage numbers above, a little multiplication tells us that for most of your 12-week training program, you can expect about two to three hours per week of actual running.
Not so bad a deal when you consider the reward, is it? And don’t forget that this running can (and probably should) replace some of the time you currently spend exercising, so you’re really talking about a pretty small additional time investment for a pretty huge reward when you cross that finish line with your friends, family, and a bunch of strangers cheering for you.
Of course, there are some non-running activities you might want to do too, like optional cross training, stretching, and foam rolling, all of which I recommend from time to time during your training. But even if you choose to do these extracurriculars, you’re probably only looking at an additional hour or so each week on top of the running. And you can do a lot of this while you watch TV at night.
“Can I really run a half marathon as a vegetarian (or vegan)?”
Absolutely. The belief that vegetarians are weak or can’t get enough protein to excel at sports is being proven wrong, over and over, every single day.
Do you know who holds the American record for miles run in a 24-hour period? Scott Jurek, with 165 miles. Vegan.
And there are other elite athletes doing it all on plants. Former pro Ironman triathlete Brendan Brazier, Ultraman competitor Rich Roll, bodybuilder Robert Cheeke, mixed martial artist Mac Danzig. All vegan.
And there are thousands of other incredible people, all over the world, who might not be in the class of these athletes but who are doing amazing things with their bodies on nothing but plants. Running 5K’s, half marathons, marathons, and beyond, and kicking ass at them.
Without a doubt, you can do this as a vegetarian or vegan. The elite vegan athletes I mentioned will tell you that a plant-based diet is a big advantage, especially when it comes to recovery. I know that’s been my experience too, and countless others have told me the same thing when they’ve shared their success stories with me.
“How can I lose weight while I train for my half marathon?”
I’m sure I’ll turn off a couple people by saying this, but I couldn’t sleep at night if I weren’t completely honest about this: If you’re going to train for a half marathon, it should be because you want to run a half marathon, not because you want to lose weight.
Don’t get me wrong — it’s very possible that you will lose weight when you train for your half, especially if you’re doing it on a plant-based diet. Running long distances and eating whole, unprocessed foods are activities our bodies are designed to do, so when we start doing them, our bodies tend to adapt, moving toward a strong, healthy state and weight.
But quick weight loss shouldn’t be the point here.
This goes back to the idea of having a single goal that’s your focus, like I talked about in the video a couple days ago. Weight loss plans usually involve calorie restriction, even after workouts. But the principles of workout recovery dictate that you need to replace lost calories as quickly as possible after a workout, so that your muscles can start rebuilding right away. See how already we’re pulled in two different directions when we think about weight loss and endurance training?
Train for a half because you want to train for a half. When you’re at Mile 9 of a 10-mile run and you really want to stop, the image of yourself crossing that finish line or running that final “.1” after 13 miles is what will get you through it. So make sure that’s what you want most, not something else.
“What kind of shape do I need to be in to start?”
Most 12-week half marathon plans will assume you can run three miles a few times a week from the start.
If you can’t yet do this, that’s okay — it just means you’ll need more than 12 weeks, because you need to spend some time building up your aerobic base with shorter runs, until you’re comfortable with about 10 total miles a week. In the Half Marathon Roadmap, I actually provide a sample six-week base-building schedule for those who are in this boat, and you can extend this period as needed until you’re comfortable starting the main 12-week program.
If you can’t yet run three miles, you should probably train for a 5K before you seriously start thinking about a half, although you can view that as the first step in a very long half marathon training program. There are several good programs for running your first 5K, and in Half Marathon Roadmap, I provide links to those.
Beyond that, you definitely don’t need any sort of superhuman athletic ability or insane fitness level to run a half marathon. But as with any endurance activity, you should talk to your doctor before you start training for a half marathon, just to be safe.
The next step
If you want to be really confident that you’re doing this right — eating the right foods around your workouts and throughout the day, running with the proper form to minimize the chance of injury, tackling the long run the smartest way, and about a thousand other things — then you need more than just a training plan with some numbers on it.
You need a map.
As you know, I’ve been working hard on the Half Marathon Roadmap, the followup to the Marathon Roadmap, which has helped tons of people take on their first marathon as vegetarians.
Well, I’m super excited to announce that the No Meat Athlete Half Marathon Roadmap is finally ready, and it’ll be available later this week.
The 144-page guide to running your first half marathon on a plant-based diet contains much of the same great information that was in the popular Marathon Roadmap, but adapted to fit the needs of the soon-to-be half marathoner. One big change that I’m really excited about is that in the Half Marathon Roadmap, I’ve included not one, but two half-marathon training programs:
- A “to finish” plan, if you’re really just looking to get across the finish line on race day and minimize the chance of injury and time commitment
- A “fitness” plan, with tougher workouts and slightly more mileage, if you’re a time-goal runner or perhaps you’ve even done a half before but want to get in better shape and improve on your previous time.
And of course, there’s much more than just a training plan. The Half Marathon Roadmap includes lots of stuff about running form, the long run mindset and planning, what equipment you need and what you don’t, and plenty more to help the new runner get a handle on all of this.
For diet, there’s a sample two-week meal plan, 17 healthy, substantial, and easy vegan recipes for athletes, and plenty on how to fuel before, during, and after your workouts to take them to the next level.
And of course, there’s a big section about the race itself — what to eat in the days leading up to it, what you need to bring with you, a “run-through” with what you can expect and what you should focus on at each part of the race, and way more.
And several other people who I’m proud to call my friends — including some of the elite vegan athletes I mentioned earlier — have contributed their own advice to this book, so that you can learn from those at the very top of the plant-based athlete world.
Check out the Half Marathon Roadmap now!