What's the best way to train for a half-marathon?

Question

I'm quite out of shape - 20 years old, 5'7" around 170 lb. and can barely run a 12 minute mile. I'd like to run a half-marathon in a year, but what's the best workout program to get in shape for it? Ideally, I'd like to lose weight in the process, but I just need to get healthy, fast.

Answer 1

My friend, Stephanie Partridge, wrote an article on training for long distance runners. Her focus was on weight training, but it may help you some if you incorporate it with other advice here.

Distance runners who incorporate weight training into their fitness regime enjoy many benefits. Total body conditioning provides an all around toning of the whole body beyond the sport. By adding free weights or resistance machines (Nautilus and Cybex are two popular ones), or both, to their program, runners enjoy strengthening of not only their legs, but their cardiovascular system as well. Additionally, they increase their strength all over and are less likely to be injured. When they are also spending adequate time practicing their chosen sport, distance running or whatever, their endurance for their sport will be improved with strength training.
Benefits to the Whole Body
The body is broken down into three specific regions, the upper body, abdominals or core and the lower body. Each region has a purpose and supports the total body function. Therefore, each region needs to be conditioned.
Upper Body
When a runner runs, his or her arms swing. This is a natural movement in running and
runners adapt this motion and use it to their advantage as a method of propulsion.
Therefore, a runner with a strong upper body is more likely to run faster and more
efficiently than one who is lacking in upper body strength.

Abdominals or Core
The abdominal area is the core of the body. Strength in this region aids in protecting the
back while it helps the runner maintain his or her proper form. This helps them to
perform more efficiently. This protects the core from injury.

Lower Body
The lower body region is the part that propels the runner. It is also the part of the body
that the runner uses most, but there is some imbalance in the muscle groups that develop.
The runner’s hamstrings and calf muscles develop faster than their quadriceps and shins.
A good weight training program helps to counter this imbalance. As an added bonus,
strong quads and hips help to protect the lower body from injury.

Benefits Beyond Running

By employing total body conditioning, the runner will experience other benefits. A leaner body due to increased fat burning capabilities occurs. The benefits extend beyond improving the runner’s abilities.

More Efficient Fat Burning
The more muscle that a person has, the more efficient the body is at metabolizing
glucose. In short, more muscle means less fat. The body becomes a fat burning machine.


Change in Body Composition
As the body ages, its composition changes. Lean muscle decreases while fat deposits
increase. Weight training and strength training slows this process.

Bone Protection
This benefit is particularly vital to women. Weight training helps to protect bones.
When the muscles tug on the person’s bone structure during weight training, the result is
a facilitation of bone regeneration.

Reduction in Other Health Risks
Weight training is believed to reduce the risk factors for health conditions such as adult
onset diabetes and heart disease.

Weight Training Guidelines
There are a few standard rules that should be followed when establishing a weight training program. For instance, when working out it is best to work the upper body one day and the lower body the next, allowing a full 24 hours for one muscle group to rest before training it again. The abdominals can be trained every day, without any breaks. It is best to use lighter weights with more repetitions as opposed to heavy weights and fewer repetitions.

When using the weights or resistance machines, use slow, controlled movement when executing the motion from the starting and when returning to the starting point. Use light weights with many reps. Doing greater weight with fewer reps adds bulk and strength. While the strength may be good, bulk will slow down a runner. In distance running, this can be a great disadvantage. Running is one sport where extra muscle bulk is not desirable.

Working the major muscle groups and achieving full body conditioning helps the body avoid late race fatigue. It also allows the runner to run faster during the first ninety-eight percent of a distance race. By getting stronger, the runner is better protected from injury and better equipped to handle the stress that a runner puts on his or her body.

Upper Body
•Bench Press
•Push Ups
•Barbell Row
•Back Extension
•Dumbell Military Press
•Front Raises
•Concentration Curls
•Kickbacks
•Dips

Abdominals/Core
•Basic Crunch
•Crunch on Exercise Ball
•Half Curl
•Reverse Crunch
•Crossover Crunch
•Plank
•Side Bends
•Weighted Curls with Medicine Ball
•Cable Crunches

Lower Body
•Barbell Deadlift
•Barbell Squat
•Plie Squat
•Lunge
•Straight Leg Raises
•Straight Leg Hip Flexion
•Hamstring Rolls

Fat vs. Muscle
Fat does not turn into muscle. This is a physical impossibility yet many people erroneously believe it can be done. A fat cell is always a fat cell, no matter what is done. Fat cells do not go away, but they do decrease in size when the body’s energy it expends exceeds its caloric intake. While a runner may take in more calories, he or she will increase muscle mass, especially is weight training. This increased muscle mass does result in a lower body fat percentage. However, the scales may not reflect a reduction in numbers. This is because the lost body fat is replaced with muscle and muscle weighs more than fat.

Don’t Forget to Stretch!
The final element to a successful total body conditioning program is to round out each weight training session with some good stretches for the muscle group that is being worked. Each workout session should be started with some stretching exercises, but after the workout the muscles should be stretched again. Some simple stretches can accomplish this, but for a more rounded program it may be a good idea to incorporate yoga, pilates or ballet into the overall program. This will offer the distance runner a true total body workout with stretching, cardio, sport training and weight training.

Answer 2

swimming, walking, eating healthy, and lots of water. Just keep increasing the length of time with the workouts and you'll be able to do it.

Answer 3

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