Behind in half IM training - can I still make it?

[alison]

I am tentatively planning on racing in the Toyota Challenge (aka Pineman) on September 23, but am worried I will not be in good enough shape.
I am way behind on my running miles and still struggling with long rides. Currently my longest ride has been the half course for GCT (at which I will be racing in the half aquabike). My longest run has only been 7 miles! Am I too far behind? Can I get to where I need to be in a month? Does anyone have any suggestions of what I could do to get ready in time?
I am the first to admit that I stink at running and am already planning on the need for taking walk breaks during the run, but I still want to finish in a respectable time and not embarrass myself or the club.

I would appreciate any advice!

Alison

[JenCollister]

If you can do the GCT half course, you will be fine for the Pineman. You still have time to train as the race is not until Sep. 23. Build up your run to 2 hours in length and your bike to 4 hours (with a 30-45 minute brick run after it). Start tapering two weeks out from the race. Better to be undertrained than overtrained.

I'll be there for the half as well and I'm sure you will be way ahead of me (even on the run - you don't stink at running). Good luck!

[michaelfenoff]

I was able to train for my first half in a little less than a month. I am sure that you will be able to do it also. Just buckle down and concentrate on that finish line and I assure you it will come.

[benmiralia]

Could you do it and should you do it are two very different things. Yes, with the training you have put in you could probably finish the HIM. Chances are, however, that you will suffer through 13 very long, very tough miles on the run. Even walking that long at the end of a half an be extraordinarily difficult. So I guess you have to decide whether it is worth it to you. Someone who is looking at walking that distance also has to be very wary of hyponetremia. Because you are walking you are not sweating as much. If you continue to take in fluids at the aid stations you run the risk of taking in to much fluid and diluting your electrolytes. It can be a serious problem. My advice, as always, is to compete in the race you are prepared for and not the one you wish you could do. If your training really improves over the next few weeks you might want to consider the attempt. What you want to avoid is trying to fit in all of the training by not tapering and working out right up to the day of the race. That will doom you faster than anything else you could do. It is better to be 20% under trained than 1% over trained.

[karming]

I think that you are fine at this point. The race is 7 weeks away and you already have about the right distance ridden for the 1/2 IM. Over the next 5 weeks increase your run by 1.5 miles per week and you'll be fine. I have done several HIM and my current distances are about a 3.5 hr ride (about 3 weeks ago) and a 10 mile run. I don't plan on training to the 13.1 miles in my training either. Hope this helps.

A 2nd note re: hyponatremia. Ben is right in that those who are on the course longer have an increased tendency towards hyponatremia. It was based on a New England Journal of Medicine article a couple of years ago looking at marathon runners. Essentially what they noticed was not that walking results in hyponatremia. Rather being on the course longer, people have a tendency to drink more fluids (in particular water) and this is why there is an increase in hyponatremia. I would just try to drink more gatorade than water and you should be okay. Chances of significant hyponatremia are pretty uncommon.

[alison]

Thanks for everyone's advice. It sounds like it is possible, but it is might be rough getting there. I think after this weekend's aquabike race I will have a better idea of where I am physically, but the swim and the bike are not what worry me. I could swim forever, no problem, and have cycled longer races on less training, no problem. The run is my hurdle. With everyone's advice, however, I can now put together a more tangible plan to get me where I need to be in time.

Thanks

[debbie]

<<I am the first to admit that I stink at running and am already planning on the need for taking walk breaks during the run, but I still want to finish in a respectable time and not embarrass myself or the club. >>

Never feel you will embarrass the club or yourself , I too stink at running and is always in the back. Its about finish, time is just a bonus. It sounds like you are on track, Pinman was my first half a few years back and it still takes me almost 3 hours to complete the run for a half.

Just be sure to get some bricks in. Running off the bike is hard, but after the first mile you settle in.