Training Advice for Disneyland Half Marathon 2024

[DLFun]

I am very excited that I was able to register for the Disneyland Half 2024! I am also a bit overwhelmed. I am a fairly active person and usually do intervals (walk/jog) three days a week for about 3 miles each run. I have also pushed myself further and have done up to 8 miles about 4 months ago. I need to increase my pace. There are several weeks between now and the race in Jan 2024. I am wondering what would be a good training program and what other people may have done or sugges? Do I start with a 5K program and work on my pace, then do a 10K program, then 15K program, etc... I am thinking that would allow me to taper up and then down several times during the training season so that I decrease my chance of injury. I GREATLY appreciate any feedback or advice. Thank you in advance.

 

[AZMermaid]

I am no expert… so following along. But I’m currently working on couch to 5K. Then I hope to maintain 3-4 runs a week of 3-4 miles each through the summer mostly because I live in Phoenix and it gets super hot. At 12-13 weeks out I’ll start some sort of official training program. I did a version of Hal Higdon before which I liked…. So I’ll probably look at that again and adjust as needed.

 

[Popo]

Over the years various posters have reminded us we are all an experiment of one. What works for me might not work for you. There are many different plans available by Googling "half marathon training plans". You will see Nike, Runnersworld, Hal Higden, and many others. Don't forget RunDisney's own Jeff Galloway. His plan was developed with the run/walk system in mind. Before looking at hem though have your goal in mind. Do you want to finish in 2 hours? Or perhaps, like me, survive. Look over those plans and find one or two that you think would work for you. Once you have found a plan you think will work, the best advice, IMHO, is have fun, don't become a slave to the plan so that training becomes work and is no longer fun.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Here are some old posts of mine that cover a variety of topics around training plans, their design, and use.

Advice for Newbies #1
Advice for Newbies #2
Advice for Newbies #3
Advice for Newbies #4
Advice for Newbies #5

How do I get faster?

Train slow to race fast: Why running more slowly and capping the long run at 2.5 hours may dramatically improve your performance

Why should your average training pace be much much slower than your goal half marathon pace?

Why am I doing this run? The question every runner should be asking themselves.

I only run 3 days a week and never as slow as marathon pace. How can I apply slowing down into my schedule and benefit? With only 3 days, I've gone with quality over quantity on my runs.

Some science for run/walk methodology

How I write a custom training plan

 

[sandam1]

I'm a huge fan in Jeff Galloway's Customized Training Program (CTP) https://www.jeffgalloway.com/training/customized-training/. It is a paid program (although it is super cheap for what you get IMHO), but it is 100% customized for your goals and your needs. CTP gives you access to personal run coaching and a very supportive community. The best thing about CTP is that it places a great deal of emphasis on getting results while managing injury risks. I could see it being a very good fit for you, particularly since you are already doing run/walk.

As far as what distance to train for, one thing that I would recommend is finding a very large local race over the next year and train for that. The distance isn't as important as the size of the field. Disney races are pretty crazy with the number of participants and learning how to run in a crowd is a skill that shouldn't be overlooked. That would also give you something more immediate to work towards.

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

I am very excited that I was able to register for the Disneyland Half 2024! I am also a bit overwhelmed. I am a fairly active person and usually do intervals (walk/jog) three days a week for about 3 miles each run. I have also pushed myself further and have done up to 8 miles about 4 months ago. I need to increase my pace. There are several weeks between now and the race in Jan 2024. I am wondering what would be a good training program and what other people may have done or sugges? Do I start with a 5K program and work on my pace, then do a 10K program, then 15K program, etc... I am thinking that would allow me to taper up and then down several times during the training season so that I decrease my chance of injury. I GREATLY appreciate any feedback or advice. Thank you in advance.

Here is how I train. Think of it as the George Costanza of training methods. I say that a bit tongue in cheek but it does work and is going to get me though the half this coming weekend.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/harm-training-and-running.3869032/

YMMV
Good luck with the DL Half.

 

[DLFun]

Here are some old posts of mine that cover a variety of topics around training plans, their design, and use.

Advice for Newbies #1
Advice for Newbies #2
Advice for Newbies #3
Advice for Newbies #4
Advice for Newbies #5

How do I get faster?

Train slow to race fast: Why running more slowly and capping the long run at 2.5 hours may dramatically improve your performance

Why should your average training pace be much much slower than your goal half marathon pace?

Why am I doing this run? The question every runner should be asking themselves.

I only run 3 days a week and never as slow as marathon pace. How can I apply slowing down into my schedule and benefit? With only 3 days, I've gone with quality over quantity on my runs.

Some science for run/walk methodology

How I write a custom training plan

Thank you so much for all the great resources! I really appreciate the time you have taken to put these together and also for sharing them, very helpful!

 

[DLFun]

I am no expert… so following along. But I’m currently working on couch to 5K. Then I hope to maintain 3-4 runs a week of 3-4 miles each through the summer mostly because I live in Phoenix and it gets super hot. At 12-13 weeks out I’ll start some sort of official training program. I did a version of Hal Higdon before which I liked…. So I’ll probably look at that again and adjust as needed.

I feel for you! I have a relative who also lives in Phoenix and that is some serious heat. Thank you so much for sharing! I am also leaning toward 3-4 miles 3 times a week and a longer weekend run. I appreciate your feedback, thank you!

 

[DLFun]

Over the years various posters have reminded us we are all an experiment of one. What works for me might not work for you. There are many different plans available by Googling "half marathon training plans". You will see Nike, Runnersworld, Hal Higden, and many others. Don't forget RunDisney's own Jeff Galloway. His plan was developed with the run/walk system in mind. Before looking at hem though have your goal in mind. Do you want to finish in 2 hours? Or perhaps, like me, survive. Look over those plans and find one or two that you think would work for you. Once you have found a plan you think will work, the best advice, IMHO, is have fun, don't become a slave to the plan so that training becomes work and is no longer fun.

Thank you for taking time to respond. I will definitely be doing the run/walk method and leaning toward surviving rather than a time goal.

 

[DLFun]

I'm a huge fan in Jeff Galloway's Customized Training Program (CTP) https://www.jeffgalloway.com/training/customized-training/. It is a paid program (although it is super cheap for what you get IMHO), but it is 100% customized for your goals and your needs. CTP gives you access to personal run coaching and a very supportive community. The best thing about CTP is that it places a great deal of emphasis on getting results while managing injury risks. I could see it being a very good fit for you, particularly since you are already doing run/walk.

As far as what distance to train for, one thing that I would recommend is finding a very large local race over the next year and train for that. The distance isn't as important as the size of the field. Disney races are pretty crazy with the number of participants and learning how to run in a crowd is a skill that shouldn't be overlooked. That would also give you something more immediate to work towards.

Thank you for your response, I am going to have to check out CTP, thanks for the resource. You are so right, learning to run in a crowd is going to be important for this one.

 

[DLFun]

Here is how I train. Think of it as the George Costanza of training methods. I say that a bit tongue in cheek but it does work and is going to get me though the half this coming weekend.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/harm-training-and-running.3869032/

YMMV
Good luck with the DL Half.

I checked out the post from the link you provided and that is fantastic information! I like the simplicity of it. I also have the issue of getting in my miles after work and when it gets dark early, it can be hard. 3 miles is doable. There's a lot of really helpful information in the post you linked. Thank you so much for sharing this information.

 

[sandam1]

Thank you for your response, I am going to have to check out CTP, thanks for the resource.

I forgot to put it in my first post, but the Rise and Run podcast did an interview with Chris Twiggs, the CTP director and an all-around great guy, where he talks about the program. If you want to check it out, here are the links: (it is split into two parts)

https://riseandrunpodcast.com/ep-30

https://riseandrunpodcast.com/ep-31

 

[DLFun]

I forgot to put it in my first post, but the Rise and Run podcast did an interview with Chris Twiggs, the CTP director and an all-around great guy, where he talks about the program. If you want to check it out, here are the links: (it is split into two parts)

https://riseandrunpodcast.com/ep-30

https://riseandrunpodcast.com/ep-31

Thank you very much for the links! I will check these out.