Congratulations on both the weight loss and the half marathon!
2:06 is a FANTASTIC time.
I guess you got the bug now.
My experience was pretty similar. Ran to lose weight, loved racing, loved running, love the people. My best advice to you is to always keep it this fun, and be sure and try to talk to the runners. There are some amazing stories and amazing people that show up at these races.
My psychological barriers for a HM are: 6 miles and 10 miles. Once you’re in double digits, you’re pretty much there.
As for a full marathon, train at least to twenty-something miles. If you’re smart, train past 26.2 miles at least once, even if it is a slow pace.
Part of the barrier in running a distance event is in running said distance for the first time.
Probably the best single (and most unpleasant) way to quickly build up strength and speed is to build hills into your running diet.
Good training events building up to a half marathon are the 10K and 15K events. A good way to work up to a full marathon is in 5K quanta: 5K, 10K, 15K, 20K, 25K, 30K, 35K, 40K. It helps to take the newest 5K bits slowly. Think completion the first time.
Agreed. Having progressed from terrible runner to halfway-decent runner, I now see the virtues of Higdon-like systems. As I see it:
[ul]
[li]Start out slowly. I started by doing roughly 1/2 hour running with 3 minutes “jog” and 1 minute rest.[/li][li]Get to the point where you can run 20 minutes without stopping.[/li][li]Then add 5% time per week.[/li][li]Don’t worry too much about distance at first. Run for time.[/li][li]Start out by running no more than 3 times a week.[/li][li]Work on your technique. My coach taught to me to land weight-forward and use fast, small steps (I will comment on this more, later).[/li][li]Run uphill. Don’t choose anything you can’t run rather than plod/walk.[/li][li]Measure yourself every month. Use a hilly course, run as fast as you can for a mile.[/li][/ul]
You’ll find that before you know it, you’re running for an hour or more with no discomfort until the very end. Even so, I suggest increasing by no more than 10% per week. Do this for an entire season. Get that base of muscle memory, strength, and endurance. The next season you’ll be fit and ready to work on speed, etc.
My coach says that the key to speed is moving your legs faster. With greater strength and endurance, you’ll be able to do longer strides as well, but having fast legs takes lots of practice. It has really paid off for me, particularly on the hills. You will have times when your legs are tired, but with “fast feet” you’ll still be able to move at a respectable speed.
My coach also says that most people make these mistakes:
[ul]
[li]Pushing the leg too far forward, so that your foot falls in front of your body instead of under it. Look at snapshots of elite runners; their feet are always directly underneat their bodies, with the trailing leg up in the air. Then watch beginners; their front foot is way in front, and the rear foot is close to the ground.[/li][li]Too slow foot movement[/li][li]Hesitating going downhill. With fast feet, you can really speed up on the downhills and leave others behind. [/li][/ul]
Your mileage (literally) may vary.
Last point: Train against yourself, not against others. I prefer to run on my own, where I can do exactly the workout I need to do against the clock. Running against others, unless you’re a very well-trained runner, may result in overtraining and injury.