Surviving a Half Marathon

You Finished a 5K. Now What?

There's a specific feeling that happens about a week after your first 5K finish. The medal is on the wall, the soreness is gone, and something inside you starts asking: what if I did something bigger? That question is what this book is for.

A half marathon is 13.1 miles. It sounds insane the first time you say it out loud. But here's the thing I learned on a Sunday morning somewhere around mile 10 of a long run: the body adapts to whatever you ask of it, if you ask slowly and consistently. The 12-week plan in this book builds on whatever running base you already have — 5K shape is enough to start — and takes you there one long run at a time.

Around mile 8, something shifts. It's hard to describe until you've felt it — a kind of quiet settles in, and you realize you've been running for an hour and a half and the world hasn't ended. That mental shift is what this book is really about. The miles are just the mechanism. I'm not fast. I'm not graceful. But I finish. And with this plan, so will you.

Note: A yoga recovery routine that pairs well with this training plan is available at runbikehike.us/yoga — recommended on rest days.