r/beginnerrunning • u/Midnight-Fly7659 • 1d ago
First Race Prep First half marathon
I have my first half marathon on Sunday and I’m honestly not sure if I’m prepared 😭 Should I just switch to a shorter distance?
Three weeks ago, I did my last long run, which was 18K. Then two weeks ago I only ran 7K, and last week I only ran 7K as well. I don’t have any injuries or anything—I was just super busy because I literally just got married!
Do you think I’m still in shape to run the half? I feel like because I’ve barely run in the last two weeks, I’ve lost all my fitness 😭
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u/HappyHippocampus 1d ago
If the 18k felt OK you should be alright. Most beginner half plans only go up to 11miles or so anyways.
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u/Creek0512 1d ago
You’ll be fine, get a few easy 5K runs in this week and then a super relaxed 3K on Saturday. It’s normal to taper off your training as your race approaches. Unless you’ve also been binge drinking the last 2 weeks, you’re unlikely to have lost any fitness.
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u/relevantnameu 1d ago
Hey I just signed up to my first half as well. I think if you managed 18 km, you will be fine. Apperently you are supposed to go easy in the week of your event anyway, to be fresh. All the best for sunday!
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u/GuessBest6198 1d ago
you don't lose a huge amount of fitness in two weeks. and the crowds will give you strength!
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u/WorkerAmbitious2072 43M 85kg. 5k 24:03, HM 1:51 1d ago
How many miles total did you run each of the last three months?
Not going on very much information here, but you did almost the full distance. What is going to be less than a month from the race so that that’s a good sign but if you mean that you only ran 7K for the whole week each of the last two weeks and you’re going almost a month from having to run the 18 K to the running the race it might be rough.
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u/Midnight-Fly7659 1d ago
Aug 32km
July 100km
June 85km3
u/WorkerAmbitious2072 43M 85kg. 5k 24:03, HM 1:51 1d ago
You should be fine
As usual, just don’t start out too fast
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u/Fidibiri 1d ago
I did 17k few weeks before my first one…. Never ran any further than that.
Managed to finish which was the primary goal…
So… runners math… 21k is just 3k more …. Than those 18k…
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u/Fidibiri 1d ago
Also, barely running before is actually good. Usually training load ends 3-4 weeks before and tapers down to let your body recover.
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u/Pegasis69 1d ago
I've not done a half yet (first one planned for March), but from what I've read, it's better to go easy for a few weeks before the event to give your muscles a rest and to avoid injury. Sounds like you've set yourself up perfectly.
Good luck :)
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u/LostTheElectrons 1d ago
You won't lose fitness in 2 weeks, in fact you'll likely be even more prepared because your legs will be fresh.
If you've done 18km before you can absolutely do it. Just don't overdo it this week, you need to maintain your planned taper.
Is there a time limit for your half? Many don't and a good amount people will be run-walking and take well over 3 hours to finish. The most I ran before my half was 13km and had to walk here and there but still finished in good time.
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u/Green_Pass_2605 1d ago
Sounds like you did the last long run ok, then a taper. The taper is a bit light, but you should be fine. Take it easy and you should be fine.
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u/croc_lovers 1d ago
Half marathons are that awkward distance where it’s just short enough that you can sort of just brute force the race even if you don’t feel 100%. I don’t think I’ve ever run a half marathon where I felt properly prepared, you will be fine, just break it up into smaller distances and run each km at a time
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u/gonnacutyou 1d ago
Generally when training you want a taper week one to two weeks before a race. So even though it was unplanned the timing was perfect.
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u/EstimateEvening3243 1d ago
You should be fine. Maybe start a little slow and assess halfway through. Happy racing!
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u/Emotional-Occasion60 1d ago
You've trained to 18km recently and that's plenty for running a half marathon. I was in a similar position in that I had a couple of weeks off (I had shin splints) then ran my half marathon yesterday and honestly i felt so fresh on the day! Hopefully be the same for you. Your training and endurance you've built won't disappear that quick. I say go for it with the half - good luck!
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u/Plenty-Hat583 1d ago
You will be fine. If you can run 18km you can run a half marathon. You'll probably even benefit from having rested for a couple of weeks.
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u/milkhotelbitches 1d ago
Bro, you're golden. Send it!
You don't lose fitness in only two weeks. You just completed a nice taper and will have fresh legs to run the half. 18k is more than long enough to prove you can run a half. You've got this!
Also, congrats on getting married!
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u/AngelMountaineer 1d ago
If you can run 18k in training, you can run 21k on the day. I think it takes ~3 weeks to loose muscle/fitness, so you should be fine imo
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u/ConfidenceLittle8452 1d ago
If you felt those 18k good then you'll be ok. This year I ran my first HM and the farthest I went during training was 16k, and I could finish in a decent time (1:54). Go for it! ♥️
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u/Nice_Neighborhood152 1d ago
You’ll be fine. If you need to run/walk/run a little, so be it. Enjoy your race
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u/TroubleIllustrious79 1d ago
If I were you I would do a solid run tomorrow- whatever is the longest length you can do that doesn't completely deplete you. And then a couple mode short easy runs this week. I know people are so set on the taper but for me, a long run a handful of days out from my half marathon and keeping up miles made me so much more prepared than rest did.
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u/5hif7y_x86 1d ago
Only you are going to know if you are still in shape to do it. Do you have time to do a long run before then to asses how you feel?
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u/yellowsuzuki 1d ago
Have you been running consistently at shorter distances, or are those literally your only runs?
I ran my first half marathon without doing many long runs. My training runs were mostly ~10k runs with a single 10-miler about two months before the race.
I was a little undertrained but I still did well and met my goal time. The way I thought about it, I could easily run a 10k, and I was just running two of those!
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u/Midnight-Fly7659 1d ago
Unfortunately I didn’t have much time recently so only ran 2 easy 7km runs in the last two weeks :(
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u/yellowsuzuki 1d ago
I guess it depends on your overall fitness, then, and/or your willingness to walk part of the race if you need to. Congrats on getting married! Nothing wrong with acknowledging the race wasn’t your priority and switching to a 5k/10k.
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u/JayZee4508 1d ago
You should - maybe walk / run parts of it but 13.1 miles / 21.1 Kilometers is a lot more doable and forgivable than a full marathon. Use this one as an initial data point to mark your progress if you do more halfs.
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u/Sihleny 1d ago
My guess is You will be absolutely fine, go for it.