Sometimes a surfer will wait for half an hour, just paddling around, hanging out and waiting for the right wave. When it finally comes, everything feels right, and that's the time to go for it, and ride the wave. Hang in for as long as you can and ride the wave: don't let the wave ride you!

The closest we come to that in running is fartlek. I'm told this means “speed play” in Swedish, and it's the nearest we get to playing when running. But we are playing with a purpose – to improv...

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I believe it is in our nature to over-complicate!

As a runner, I suffer from the desire to go faster, as does every runner I know. Consequently, I read all sorts of advice on how to go faster and put it all into practice. The result?

Generally, I go slower!

So what is the problem? Is the advice bad? Am I misusing it? Or is it something else?

I believe that we are all different, and what works for one person can be disastrous for another. We each have strengths and weaknesses; most of ...

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This week I suddenly found myself totally demotivated. I ran 11 miles last weekend, working up to my half marathon later this month, and found I felt tired and dispirited afterward. Then, when I started off again this week, even the short, easy runs seemed a huge effort, and worst of all I found I was just hating running, rather than enjoying it.

So what happened?

So starts my newsletter due out tomorrow (Friday) for all members of this site.  It will be published soon after midnight tonigh...

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Last week I was suffering from allergies, so between that and the Thanksgiving Holiday I found myself not running from Tuesday until Saturday. I got back to an easy run Saturday, and really enjoyed a long run on Sunday. Today, I did another PACE run as part of my speed training.

On the long run, I found I started off for the warmup with my old slow loping pace. After 10 minutes, I was fully warmed up, but found it was too difficult to adjust to a fast turnover, so I kept a slow stride rat...

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You are probably well into your Half Marathon Training Schedule by now, so it's time to take a look at some of the more detailed stuff that will help you get prepared for the big day.  Here are three tips to help you along that path.

   1. Alternate Easy and Hard Weeks.  With the schedule as written, this is not obvious.  You are already alternating easy and hard days, but your body will thank you for doing the same with the weeks.  This may require a little imagination, but you can tell when ...
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Capitol 10K in Austin, March 29, 2009

Thousands of people have asked me why I have a site called halftrainingschedule.com No, not thousands, a few hundred, maybe. Well, perhaps a few ...

(Actually, I'm almost sure someone asked me once.)

The answer is quite simple. I enjoy running, and wanted to create a site for others who might be interested in starting. I already had two sites (beginning-running.com and gettingstartedrunning.com), but neither one was what I wanted.

Searching for suita...

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Of all sports, running is probably the simplest.  If you ever studied the rule book for baseball, football, basketball or almost any other sport, it's far more complicated than running.  For running, the rules are simple: put one foot in front of the other and keep going until it's time to stop.

Just because it's simple, though, doesn't mean that there is nothing to learn.  I find, as I'm sure you do, that the longer I run the more I learn about running.  Take GPS training, for example.

On my l...
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Today was beautiful -- cool, calm and bright sunshine.  I was due for interval workouts today, so I decided to substitute fartlek training rather than running set intervals.  The beauty of that is that I can just break into speed whenever I feel like it and I do not need to keep checking my watch.

I chose to make all my speed breaks downhill.  This has several benefits:

1. It's easier, if you have hilly conditions like I do
2. I can go faster in my training intervals
   
3. I can concentrate on my form and pr...

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My training schedule is still being held back by hip pain.  I self-diagnosed either a hip flexor strain or an ITB (ileo-tibial band) strain.  Whatever it is, it's been forcing me to run slow and easy all the time for the last couple of months and is driving me crazy!

We runners are a funny bunch.  We hate to miss running because of injuries, but we also hate to spend time in doctors' offices to get treatment.  I finally bit the bullet today and went to see a physical therapist.

I'm glad I did, ...
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Choosing Your Best Athletic Shoes

Beginning runners frequently ask whether heavy running shoes or light running shoes are better.  There is no simple answer to this question, because it depends on three factors:

1. the runner
2. the training schedule and
3. the intended race (if any).
 
Taking the runner first, a heavy runner is likely to need heavier shoes than a lighter runner, simply because lighter shoes tend to break down more easily under the extra pressure.  However, the weight of the shoe i...
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I just found out that there is a huge sale of the best home fitness equipment starting tomorrow!  It only lasts for a week, so if you need equipment, now is definitely a marvelous time to buy.  Here are two great links for you to try:

NordicTrack Incline Trainer X3 Interactive Treadmill on sale $1599.99. Save $900 1/11-1/17!

All Fitness Equipment on sale + 5% Cash Back or No Interest No Payments until Feb 2010 1/11-1/17

It seems like the fitness equipment dealers overstocked for what turned o...

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Yes -- I ran today and felt so good about it!

This morning was bright and sunny and cool here in Huntsville: a perfect day for running.  My upper respiratory infection, which started just after Christmas, has improved enough that I was able to take a 30 minute easy run and enjoy the weather.  Also, I was wearing a new pair of tights, which I had read about in a forum, to support my hip flexor or ITB.

Joy!  I was able to run without pain for the first time in a month or more.

It seems that the s...
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Yes -- I actually ran today.  Slowly, painfully: I'm still not ready to get back to my half training schedule.  Fortunately, I have plenty of time before the end of April, but unless I heal soon I'll be lucky to make it.  My main concern now is whether I'll be OK to run a 5K in a month's time.

I suppose I can always walk it, if need be, but somehow for a 5K that seems pretty pathetic.  If I had not committed to run with my daughter, I'd be inclined to scratch and just prepare for my 10K in Mar...
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More like staggering, really, but at least I got out today!  After the first five minutes or so, I started enjoying it.  At about ten minutes, I began to remember why I do this ;-)
I took it really easy and very slow, and as soon as I started to feel pain (running uphill) I shortened my stride until the pain went away.  It felt really good to be back running again, however slowly.  In fact, I barely even broke a sweat!
Tomorrow Ill rest, then maybe the next day I'll try a long, slow run.  I'll ...
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I'm still not running.

The weather hasn't been kind, which I guess is just as well, because it means I've been taking a good rest break.  Today, however, was a pleasant day, and guess what?

I didn't want to run :-(

The worst thing about laying off for a while is that I get to the stage when I just don't feel like running.  I know I'll get back to it, but I've been working hard on the web site and found excuses not to run.  Then, when I do get back to it, the first few runs will be tough until I ...
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My training has really suffered a setback lately.  A couple of weeks ago I managed to strain a hip flexor due to some pretty intense hill training.  I thought it would be better after a layoff during which all I did was cross train on my bike, but it hasn't worked out that way.  A couple of days ago it seemed to be better, so I went for an easy 30-minute jog.  Felt fine at the time, but a little pain came back the next day.  Then today I went out and was really suffering: not the hip especial...
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