Hello all, let me firstly just say, i'm not completely a couch potato. I can jog/run 5km (3.1 miles), but not in a very quick or competitive time - say 27 minutes i.e. 9 minutes a mile jog at marathon pace, not normal pace, or quicker if I ran but no way I could keep up a run for 13.1 miles, so a jog all the way it is. I'm 20 years of age, about 84-85kg (and slowly on the decline with regular gyming and now running); 5 foot 11.5, fairly muscular, so not overweight/obese, but not an athlete either.
My aim, should I enter is to -
very slowly jog and just complete the Half Marathon, not win it. It's a personal goal of just jogging the entire distance without stopping (something I thought I could never do) - in 2 hours would be great, but time is irrelevant.But is it realistic, or even possible? I ask the latter because apart from a 5k, which doesn't really count, this would be my first official run - perhaps it is recommended to start with a 10k? The HM will be about early to mid-October, so I have roughly 4 months, or 16 weeks.
Lets say I can run 5k now. If I eat the right things, prepare well, and mix up my exercise being consistent with diet and training, could I cover the entire distance in say 2 hours? I don't mind even if it's just over, 2:15, or even 2:30, but I really just want to able to finish it.
My training plan would be something like (all twice a week) increasing only 1k a week, which seems quite realistic:
Week 1: 5km marathon-pace jog
Week 2: 6km m-p jog
Week 3: 7km m-p jog
Week 4: 8km m-p jog
and so on, until...
Week 16 (i.e. week before Marathon): 21.1km jog
I would be working out 4-5 times a week, the other 2-3 times would involve conditioning training, boxing, cycling, HIIT, rowing, etc, just to increase general fitness, increase strength/endurance, lower BF% and help me slowly increase the distance I can jog until I reach my goal.
One month earlier there is also a 10km. My main question is, shall I push myself and go for the half-marathon 21lm, or play it safe, go for the 10km, and then when i'm slightly fitter, more experienced in running, go for the HM?
Advice from fitness-gurus and previous/current runners would be greatly appreciated!