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Absolute
Beginner’s
Guide
to
Half-Marathon
Training
Heather Hedrick, M.S., R.D.
800 East 96th Street,
Indianapolis, Indiana 46240
http://avaxhome.ws/blogs/ChrisRedfield
00 3145 FM.qxd 11/30/04 2:03 PM Page ii
Absolute Beginner’s Guide Executive Editor
to Half-Marathon Training Candace Hall
Copyright ©2005 by Que Publishing Acquisitions Editor
Karen Whitehouse
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00 3145 FM.qxd 11/30/04 2:03 PM Page iii
Contents at a Glance
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
2 Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
3 Choosing Your Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
4 Safety Precautions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
5 Injury Prevention and Treatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53
6 Proper Walking and Running Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69
7 Warm-Up/Cool-Down and Flexibility Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83
8 Strength Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97
9 What Should You Eat to Fuel Your Walking and Running? . . . . . . . .125
10 Training and Competition Nutrition for Runners and Walkers . . . . . .147
11 Mental Training and Motivation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .163
12 Racing Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .173
A Additional Resources and Logs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .185
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .199
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Table of Contents
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
What Are the Benefits of Walking and Running?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Who Can Train and Successfully Complete a 5K, 10K,
or Half-Marathon? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Why Should You Follow the National Institute for Fitness and
Sport’s (NIFS) Training Programs? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
How Did NIFS Originate?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
How Does NIFS Accomplish Its Mission?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
What Is the NIFS Mini Marathon Training Program? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
What Are the Unique Features of This Book?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2 Getting Started. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
What Should You Consider Before Starting Your Training? . . . . . . . . . . . 10
What Is the Importance of Setting Goals?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Specific and Clearly Defined Goals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Measurable Goals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Attainable but Challenging Goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Reward Yourself. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Time-Based Goals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
What Are Your Goals? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
What Are Your Short-Term Goals?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
What Are Your Intermediate Goals?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
What Are Your Long-Term Goals? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
How Are You Going to Accomplish Your Goals?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
How Are You Going to Accomplish Your Short-Term Goals? . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
How Are You Going to Accomplish Your Intermediate Goals?. . . . . . . . . . . 15
How Are You Going to Accomplish Your Long-Term Goals?. . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
What Obstacles Might You Encounter in Your Quest to
Accomplish Your Goals?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
How Can You Track Your Progress? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
How Can You Use the Training Logs in This Book? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
How Can You Use the Nutrition Logs in This Book? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
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vi ABSOLUTE BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO HALF-MARATHON TRAINING
3 Choosing Your Program. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
How Do You Choose the Program That Is Best Suited for You? . . . . . . . . 24
Is a “Fitness Walking” Protocol Right for You? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Is a “Run/Walk” Protocol Right for You? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Is an “Experienced Exerciser” Protocol Right for You?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
How Can You Determine Exercise Intensity?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
How Can You Establish Your Target Heart Rate Ranges?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
How Can You Use the Rating of Perceived Exertion Scale? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Can Pace Be Used in Conjunction with Heart Rate and RPE to
Measure Walking and Running Intensity?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
What Is Cross Training and Why Is It Important? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
4 Safety Precautions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
How Do You Choose the Best Shoe for Running and Walking? . . . . . . . . 40
Clue #1: Fit, Fit, Fit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Clue #2: Walking or Running Shoes? Which Is Best?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Clue #3: Shock Absorbency and Body Weight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Clue #4: Foot Type (Pronation and Supination). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Clue #5: Wear and Tear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Clue #6: Surface Differences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Clue #7: Shoes to Choose Update. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
What Safety Precautions Should Be Taken When Running and
Walking in the Heat? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Stay Well Hydrated. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Proper Clothing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Prevention Is Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
What Safety Precautions Should Be Taken When Running and
Walking in the Cold? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Stay Well Hydrated. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Proper Clothing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Be Aware of the Wind Chill. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
What Is the Key to Dressing for Success? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
What Is the Best Way to Deal with Dog Encounters While Walking
and Running?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Understanding “Dog Talk” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
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CONTENTS vii
5 Injury Prevention and Treatment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
How Can You Prevent the 13 Common Causes of
Walking/Running-Related Injuries? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
#1: Frequency. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
#2: Intensity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
#3: Progression of Exercise Intensity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
#4: Duration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
#5: Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
#6: Stretching. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
#7: Body Fat Percentage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
#8: Exercising Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
#9: Choosing a Shoe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
#10: Safety Devices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
#11: Orthopedic Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
#12: Inadequate Leadership/Poor Program Design. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
#13: Returning from an Injury. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
What Are Some of the Common Walking and Running Injuries?. . . . . . . 61
If You Do Get Injured, What Should You Do? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
R = Rest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
I = Ice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
C = Compression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
E = Elevation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
When to See a Physician. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Is More Training Always Better? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Misconceptions/Attitudes That Lead to Overtraining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Smart Nutrition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Smart Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
6 Proper Walking and Running Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
What Is the Proper Fitness Walking Form and Technique? . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
What Leads to Improper Fitness Walking Form? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
How Can You Optimize Fitness Walking Form?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
What Is Racewalking? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
What Is the History and Background of Racewalking?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
What Is the Proper Racewalking Form and Technique? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
How Can Racewalking Drills Improve Your Form?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
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viii ABSOLUTE BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO HALF-MARATHON TRAINING
What Is the Proper Running Form and Technique?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
How Can You Optimize Your Stride Length?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
How Can You Prevent Overstriding? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
How Can You Maintain a High Stride Rate?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
What Is the Proper Running Posture and Arm Swing?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
What Is Vertical Oscillation?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
How Should Runners Breathe? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
How Can Running Drills Improve Your Form?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
7 Warm-Up/Cool-Down and Flexibility Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
What Is the Proper Way to Warm-Up and Cool-Down?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Why Is Flexibility Important to Runners and Walkers?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
What Are Some Common Types of Beneficial Stretching Exercises
for Runners and Walkers? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
What Is Traditional Static Stretching?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
What Is Active Isolated Stretching? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
What Is Yoga? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
How Do You Exercise for a Full-Body Stretching Routine? . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
What Are Four Basic Stretches for the Upper Body? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
What Are Six Basic Stretches for the Lower Body? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
8 Strength Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
How Is Strength Training Beneficial for Runners and Walkers? . . . . . . . . 98
What Do You Need to Consider Before Starting a
Strength Training Program?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
What Are Your Objectives? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Do You Have Any Medical or Orthopedic Concerns That May Be
Worsened Through Strength Training?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
How Much Time Do You Have Available Each Week to Strength Train? . . . 100
What Are the Commonly Used Strength Training Terms?. . . . . . . . . . . . 101
What Is a Repetition? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
What Is a Set? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
What Is a Concentric Contraction? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
What Is an Eccentric Contraction?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
What Is Muscle Strength?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
What Is Muscle Endurance?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
What Is Progressive Overload?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
What Are the Eight “Rules to Lift By?” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
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CONTENTS ix
How Can You Tailor a Strength Training Program to Fit Your Needs?. . . 104
What Are Some Basic Strength Training Exercises You Can
Perform at the Gym? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Multi-Hip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Leg Extension. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Chest Press. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Pullover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Rowing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Shoulder Press . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Triceps Press. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Abdominal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Back Extension. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
What Are Some Basic Strength Training Exercises You Can
Perform at Home? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Lunge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Standing Calf Raise. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Modified Push-Up. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Bent Over Row. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Lateral Raise. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Triceps Kickback. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Standing Bicep Curl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Prone Lower Back Extension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Abdominal Crunch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
How Can You Track Your Progress? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Do Yoga and Pilates Count As Strength Training?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
How Can Yoga Improve Strength?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
How Can Pilates Improve Strength?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
What Are the Frequently Asked Questions Related to
Strength Training? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Can muscular strength be maintained without training?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
What is required to maintain muscular strength? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
I am female. Will weight training make me look less feminine?
Will my muscles get the same size as a man’s?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Can muscle turn into fat and fat turn into muscle?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Can I spot reduce? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
I am an avid runner. Will weight training make me bulky and
decrease my running performance?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Will weight training decrease my flexibility?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
