Daughter wants to run 13.1 with mother-help-

1) Not a bad idea if she truly is the one wanting to do it.

2) 16-20 weeks of training seems like overkill. Toss the time goal. Have her stretch out long runs to up to about 11 miles over an 8-10 week period. Let her run to finish and have fun.

Show your daughter this:

I'm a coach and a teacher (I teach primarily 14-16 year olds).

What do we tell them when confronted wtih something harmful:

Just say NO!

notarundad wrote:

1) Not a bad idea if she truly is the one wanting to do it.

2) 16-20 weeks of training seems like overkill. Toss the time goal. Have her stretch out long runs to up to about 11 miles over an 8-10 week period. Let her run to finish and have fun.

I agree with this. It's probably best to treat it like a long run - maybe let her race the last 5k if she's cruising super-easy for 10mi. She certainly could train to race a half, and I'm not convinced it would be harmful, but there's not a lot to be gained. Just have fun and forget the time.

My 13 yo son ran a half with me in January. He had been running 6 months and had just finished his first Cross season. We used a 12 week training plan and peaked our long runs at 11 miles.

He finished the half strong and had a great base going into track season. After the first meet of the year he has dropped his 3k Cross time over 10% from last year's PR.

Our timing was much much better than yours. A half in May would definitely affect her track season. Find one to run in Jan or Feb.

NO TIME GOAL. RUN IT WITHOUT A WATCH.

It is not a bad idea, but, it is a kid's idea, so you have to wait and see if she will do anything to make it happen.

I would tell her to start training now, but leave plenty of room in the schedule for XC and a few weeks here and there with only one run. The goal is to get her to pester you to run with her.

This last summer, my 14 year old son carried a 50+ pound back pack on several consecutive 11+ mile days at 9000+ feet. Lots of boys his age at the Scout camp doing the same. The adult wisdom is that all the kids need is a few weekend shakedown hikes of about 1/2 the daily distance and a few easy and well hydrated days at the beginning of the trek to get used to the altitude.

Thanks

Her passion is XC so she runs track just to hang out with the other kids for fun.

In our climate there are no races in January & February LOL way way too much snow :)

-Mom

I agree on the no watch idea and late fall or early winter are a better time. Finally, all kids mature at different rates. Where is your daughter's physical maturation? If she's done or close to it and has a normal menstrual cycle, I'd feel better than if she's in the middle of a growth spurt. Don't race--just a long fun run with lots of people.

regarding her to "pester" me to run well we already run together 2-4x a week now and quite enjoy it. We do this about 6 months of the year.

She does not run in the winter months.

Also important to note: On days she does not feel like running I do not "make" her run. Teens like their sleep, so morning runs are out of the question LOL

-Mom

She'll just be finishing up her track season when the race is happening, so I'm not sure why a specific training plan would be necessary, nor am I really sure how you'd implement such a plan while she is training with the team.

If her goal is just to complete the half-marathon, track training alone should be sufficient. Maybe up the distance on a couple of the long runs a close to the event. Though she'll really have to decide whether it's worth sacrificing track training for the half. Not sure what state you're in, but usually athletes are tapering for districts and states in May. The mileage necessary to run a good half might be inconsistent with the training strategy necessary to be at her fastest for the 1500m a week prior.

Yes this was never about "racing".

She/we just want to run together.

She can race lots of half marathons in 15 years when her college XC days are done

I ran a half at 14, a full at 15 and 16, a 50 miler and 100 miler at 17. I'm fine

In terms of training, the long run should be most emphasized. It's mostly about getting out and just doing it, no matter the suffering. A day after I decided to sign up for a half, I ran 14 miles. My long runs went as so:

5 miles, 7 miles, 14 miles, 20 miles, 26.2 miles, 31 miles, 50 miles

Progression wasn't really key here

Finishing track season in May???

wow, not us.

Our track season is May to August. (meets)

not that it matters but we do not live in the United States

RunMother wrote:

Finishing track season in May???

wow, not us.

Our track season is May to August. (meets)

not that it matters but we do not live in the United States

Ah, okay. That actually makes things even easier, since she'll be at the peak of base training when the half-marathon takes place. If she follows her teams standard base training plan, she should be more than prepared to complete a half-marathon.

My Dad said it was impossible for me to run a half when I was 15 or 16. One day I went for a 16mi run. I ran the first 7.5 and walked and jogged the rest. I made it and he was impressed so let me try. I managed to run the race in just under 2 hrs and had blast. Now 16 years since then, I've run XC in HS, varsity XC in uni, and continued to a respectable 1:23.

Just encourage her to run, and go with her. Let her have fun and enjoy running together. Though my dad was cautious about my abilities, he and I really enjoyed running together those days and it built my foundation.

RunMother wrote:

Thanks

Her passion is XC so she runs track just to hang out with the other kids for fun.

In our climate there are no races in January & February LOL way way too much snow :)

-Mom

Take a road trip to a Jan/Feb race. It will add to the experience; an adventure.

You need one.

And an in shape 14 yo does not need any special training plan except for maybe a few longish runs in the weeks leading up. 7-8 miles, imo would be fine.

I think 1:45 is a better idea.

I did my 1st half at 14, running around or under 40 MPW (5 days a week, one hour of running each day--no GPS watch so I'm unsure of exact mileage). I had fun, ran a little slower than 1:30. I was sore for 1 or 2 days after, but other than that, it was no biggie. If she wants to do it, and hates track, she will most likely enjoy it. :) 1:40 seems reasonable.