WEEK 13: HALF MARATHON 2018

WEEK 13 HALF MARATHON 2018 TRAINING PLAN STARTS
Your long run is at the distance that some half marathon plans stop:12 miles. In my first half marathon, called because of terrible weather including downpours of cold rain, thunder, lightening, hail, and high winds, I overheard runners next to me in the starting chute talking about this.
 
On their longest training run they had covered only 12 miles as instructed by thoer trainer.  I don’t know their finish time or in what physical condition they were at the race’s end.  You will be continuing the next week to reach 13 miles and then tapering for several weeks. If you wish to make it 13.1 miles, for mental training, that’s great. You can shorten the taper, as needed, by one week and skip week 15 depending on your race date.
 
Be sure to warm-up and cool-down appropriately on the long runs. You will have the best chance of reaching race day in good shape, ready to compete if you take the time to prepare for and recover from the effort.
 
From the past Friday’s post (4/6/18) on heat therapy, it was learned the pre-treatment before exercise might help with recovery by protecting the muscle and promoting adaptation to training.   You might wish to warm up a bit before long runs, especially since the weather has been unseasonable cold in the northern portions of North America and Europe lately! 
 
As indicated in the post, research has not yet lead to recommendations on heat therapy details. Applying heat for a limited time at a safe temp to insure safety and comfort seems wise, about 16 hours before exercise.
​
RUN & MOVE HAPPY!

---