I'm bummed...

[ROW]

I won't beable to do the half marathon. The club I belong thinks I won't be ready on time to do 21 km in a comfortable pace with getting injured. I am up to 14km and have no trouble with that. Oh well here comes tri a triathlon! But i'm still bummed. Maybe in teh spring then...

[Sir Crashalot]

When is the race? If you can get to 14km, what's another 7?
I say throw caution into the wind & go for it!

[Iron-North]

euh listening to Sircrashalot is not always advisable ... He has history of doing crazy things like ... crashing a lot

But hey you are just starting so do your stuff gradually and build strong. You do not want injury to make you stop what you have accomplished so far.

Listen to experienced runners who tell you what they think you can do at this moment.

Yes you could run it for sure, but you don't know if you are putting yourself at risk.

I haven't run all summer and paying for an injury i put myself into. And i hate every minute of it that i can't run.

..............

[ROW]

okay I guess I will just do maybe a triathalon this summer and wait till spring. It will be fun anyways since I do lots of swimming and biking.

[Tri_K]

When is the race? If you can get to 14km, what's another 7?
I say throw caution into the wind & go for it!

Sorry, this person is 13. I don't think it's fair to give him advice that goes against what his coach his saying.

It's fair to be bummed out, but you totally have the right attitude - do something else. These races and distances will be around forever so you will definitely get your chance. Could you maybe volunteer at the race? It's always nice to be a part of a race, even if you can't run.

[eme]

Sorry to hear that, but it sounds like you have a wise coach who is looking out for you.

Have some fun with the Tri - it is really good cross training for your running.

Pick out a spring Half (in consultation with your coach), train over the winger and giver on race day!

[ROW]

Well there not exactly my coaches I just run with a club. I don't have nay coaches. (only for swimming)

[Robbie-T]

You are only 13, Don't sweat the long stuff for a few more years, stick to the 5k and 10k max. Master the 5k and run Cross Country and in 5 years you'll hammer a Half.

Don't take a risk messing your body up.

[AirForceRunner]

Blanken,
I've run about 30 races in the last 2 or so yrs, and still haven't thrown my hat into a 1/2 yet. The advice you were given is sound, despite your abilities. The 1/2 will always be there..and hey, 5 kms can be VERY intense. Don't think because its shorter its easy.

[Tri_K]

Well there not exactly my coaches I just run with a club. I don't have nay coaches. (only for swimming)

So who thinks you're not ready?

[Dstew]

Just to echo above, the shorter races are where you learn and test out strategies that you can later apply. 5 k are especially good to experiment - go out fast, even pace or fast finish and find out what works best for you. Then try that at the 10 K distance and then a half marathon.


Now I would normally agree with Crash and say who cares what a bunch of people who are not coaches have to say, BUT, at 13 better to be safe than sorry. The one thing about running injuries is that if you suffer one that this tends to increase your odds of incurring another injury. It may even be because you are favoring your right leg that you hurt so the left leg gets injured, etc, etc. So at 13 you do not want to go down that road.

You will have plenty of time to hurt yourself in your later years.

[JSmitty]

From what I have read in the past, alot of people have trouble figuring out the 5 and 10K distances. If you master that, we will be asking you for pointers.
BTW, its alright to get caught up in the bug and I am sure that you tire of people telling you that you are only 13 but you have alot of time ahead of you. I didn't start running until 40, although I have always been active.
Don't risk getting hurt, you'll be upset.

Good luck with your training and keep posting.

[ROW]

Well there not exactly my coaches I just run with a club. I don't have nay coaches. (only for swimming)

So who thinks you're not ready?

The people that started a ckub(luckily its a free runnign club ) There experts at running,

[Tri_K]

Well there not exactly my coaches I just run with a club. I don't have nay coaches. (only for swimming)

So who thinks you're not ready?

The people that started a ckub(luckily its a free runnign club ) There experts at running,

Experts? Are they doctors? Do they have a university degree or a coaching certificate?

Unfortunately for you, running and exercise through childhood and adolescence is higly debated and not very well studied. I have read lots of magazine articles written by dr.s etc. that state children under 10 shouldn't run more than 1km, yet my son has completed 4 5km events by the time he was 7 and has not shown any injuries or ill effects. I think the medical community is very leery of younger people running long distances but you can't find any scientific proof on what the actual effects are. At one time we had a member of this forum run a half marathon with his son (anyone remember how old Arrow was? 11 I think.) If Moe is arond, maybe he can talk about that experience and what Arrow went through training and racing that distance.

My advice for you is to see if you can access a sports dr. that can check your health and give you advice on what you should or shouldn't do. If my friends can run 14km, I would most certainly push them to do a half as long as they had long enough to properly increase their distance before race day. As with everything, you'll get a million different opinions though.

[ultraslacker]

There are kids your age that do half and full marathons... BUT as has been mentioned, it is widely debated... Chances are that you could do the distance and be fine, but at the same time, it may not be worth the risk. You can have a lot of fun with 5k and 10k distances while you are still growing, and then increase your distances in a few years.

Otherwise, talk to a sports doctor and your parents, and see what they say. If a good sports doctor and your parents both say to go for it, their opinion is more important than anyone else's.

From what I understand, the concern with teens running long distances has to do with the fact that your bones and joints are still developing and might be more susceptible to injury and long-term effects of the high impact.

[QuickChick]

There are kids your age that do half and full marathons... BUT as has been mentioned, it is widely debated... Chances are that you could do the distance and be fine, but at the same time, it may not be worth the risk. You can have a lot of fun with 5k and 10k distances while you are still growing, and then increase your distances in a few years.

Otherwise, talk to a sports doctor and your parents, and see what they say. If a good sports doctor and your parents both say to go for it, their opinion is more important than anyone else's.

From what I understand, the concern with teens running long distances has to do with the fact that your bones and joints are still developing and might be more susceptible to injury and long-term effects of the high impact.

This is really good advice. I'd also add this: you're running cross country with school, right? I could see half marathon training messing with your training for those events. I think you could do a half, but at your age and stage in life I'd take advantage of the opportunity to run cross-country. I wish I had run cross-country in school- you're going to have the benefit of coaching, race experience, and likely some fast kids to push you over tough courses at short distances. You'll probably get a lot faster, and you'll have lots of feedback and good training advice. With experience like that, you're going to have a super strong base and a ton of fitness if you decide later on to do longer distances. It'll also help you throughout your running "career". I can understand why you're bummed, but years down the road you're going to take that short distance experience and mad speed and turn it into some great races, whatever the distances you choose.

[Tori]

Listen to your coaches. At your age your focus should be on shorter events and getting your speed up. Once you get the ok to tackle the longer distances you will be lapping the rest of us!

My brother was a competitive distance runner as a teenager. He travelled all over North America competing in races yet never ran farther than a 10k until he was an adult. He was told it was to protect his growth plates in his legs. Since he was growing so much the additional pounding on the growth plates wasn't advised. Once he was given the ok to train for farther distances his times were amazing. All his speedwork paid off.

Maybe see if you can pick a 5k or 10k and work towards an amazing time.

[Jo-Jo]

There are kids your age that do half and full marathons... BUT as has been mentioned, it is widely debated... Chances are that you could do the distance and be fine, but at the same time, it may not be worth the risk. You can have a lot of fun with 5k and 10k distances while you are still growing, and then increase your distances in a few years.

Otherwise, talk to a sports doctor and your parents, and see what they say. If a good sports doctor and your parents both say to go for it, their opinion is more important than anyone else's.

From what I understand, the concern with teens running long distances has to do with the fact that your bones and joints are still developing and might be more susceptible to injury and long-term effects of the high impact.

This is really good advice. I'd also add this: you're running cross country with school, right? I could see half marathon training messing with your training for those events. I think you could do a half, but at your age and stage in life I'd take advantage of the opportunity to run cross-country. I wish I had run cross-country in school- you're going to have the benefit of coaching, race experience, and likely some fast kids to push you over tough courses at short distances. You'll probably get a lot faster, and you'll have lots of feedback and good training advice. With experience like that, you're going to have a super strong base and a ton of fitness if you decide later on to do longer distances. It'll also help you throughout your running "career". I can understand why you're bummed, but years down the road you're going to take that short distance experience and mad speed and turn it into some great races, whatever the distances you choose.

Both these posts strike a chord with me.
I've started running with a group that includes 5 teens (a few years older than you) who will be on the Cross Country Team at college this fall. Their coach has them focusing on 5km as a race distance...and a very speedy 5km. I agree with Tori that the experience you gain running some speedy 5km races will stand you in good stead should you decide that you want to go longer in the future.

[ROW]

All you guys are helping, thanks. I really really want to do the half. I feel if I don't break done my milage every three weeks i'll make the distance. But I don't think I will get injured. But I feel I can do it. I just doubt I could get someone to run with from my club because I don't think that they think that I am ready. They really want me to take one week to back up my milage every three weeks. I don't feel I need that. I just need to find someone to run the half with me. I may have to convince my mom to let me because she is taking advice from the people fom the club that I run with saying I should wait till spring. I just feel I could do it in september.

[BJH]

All you guys are helping, thanks. I really really want to do the half. I feel if I don't break done my milage every three weeks i'll make the distance. But I don't think I will get injured. But I feel I can do it. I just doubt I could get someone to run with from my club because I don't think that they think that I am ready. They really want me to take one week to back up my milage every three weeks. I don't feel I need that. I just need to find someone to run the half with me. I may have to convince my mom to let me because she is taking advice from the people fom the club that I run with saying I should wait till spring. I just feel I could do it in september.

Just so you know, most training programs incorporate a step back week after about three weeks. It give the body time to rest and rest is an important part of training.

Patience, grasshopper. Spring will come.

[ROW]

All you guys are helping, thanks. I really really want to do the half. I feel if I don't break done my milage every three weeks i'll make the distance. But I don't think I will get injured. But I feel I can do it. I just doubt I could get someone to run with from my club because I don't think that they think that I am ready. They really want me to take one week to back up my milage every three weeks. I don't feel I need that. I just need to find someone to run the half with me. I may have to convince my mom to let me because she is taking advice from the people fom the club that I run with saying I should wait till spring. I just feel I could do it in september.

Just so you know, most training programs incorporate a step back week after about three weeks. It give the body time to rest and rest is an important part of training.

Patience, grasshopper. Spring will come.

Well I am really stubborn.... I think I can get to 18 km before the end of august then i'll cut back... after I get 18km. Would that work? Since I cut back my long run before this week to 10km.

[Jo-Jo]

All you guys are helping, thanks. I really really want to do the half. I feel if I don't break done my milage every three weeks i'll make the distance. But I don't think I will get injured. But I feel I can do it. I just doubt I could get someone to run with from my club because I don't think that they think that I am ready. They really want me to take one week to back up my milage every three weeks. I don't feel I need that. I just need to find someone to run the half with me. I may have to convince my mom to let me because she is taking advice from the people fom the club that I run with saying I should wait till spring. I just feel I could do it in september.

Just so you know, most training programs incorporate a step back week after about three weeks. It give the body time to rest and rest is an important part of training.

Patience, grasshopper. Spring will come.

Well I am really stubborn.... I think I can get to 18 km before the end of august then i'll cut back... after I get 18km. Would that work? Since I cut back my long run before this week to 10km.

Yes...most programs do have cutback weeks. In my case I do 2 Build Weeks and One Recovery...course I'm over 40 years older than you

I'm curious...what is it about the HalfM distance that appeals to you. I'm not saying it shouldn't appeal. I just want to understand a little better where you're coming from.

[MoeMan]

Hi Blanken,
Congrats on your running and reaching 14 Ks!

I am not sure how long you have been training or what your training regime is. When is the race? Have you seen a doctor/sports doctor?
How do your parents feel about you running 21.1Ks ?

I have a son, Arrow who at 11 years started to run. He ran many 5Ks and slowly increased his (our) distance by 1K a week. It took Arrow about a year running every other day to reach 21Ks.

Arrow ran many halfs and 30K races. At 12 years old he also ran the two Toronto Marathons back-to-back. I am telling you all this because even though Arrow loved running all this burnt him out. After the marathons he has not run again. Not once. I stopped for a while also and am just back to 21Ks now. I believe that it is okay for a gifted young runner to run further then an average fit child, but please listen to a experienced runner a sports doctor and your parents.

If you do run the 21K race ( and I think that you can & will ) do not rush to do a full Marathon, don't burn yourself out.

Maurice

[ROW]

Hi Blanken,
Congrats on your running and reaching 14 Ks!

I am not sure how long you have been training or what your training regime is. When is the race? Have you seen a doctor/sports doctor?
How do your parents feel about you running 21.1Ks ?

I have a son, Arrow who at 11 years started to run. He ran many 5Ks and slowly increased his (our) distance by 1K a week. It took Arrow about a year running every other day to reach 21Ks.

Arrow ran many halfs and 30K races. At 12 years old he also ran the two Toronto Marathons back-to-back. I am telling you all this because even though Arrow loved running all this burnt him out. After the marathons he has not run again. Not once. I stopped for a while also and am just back to 21Ks now. I believe that it is okay for a gifted young runner to run further then an average fit child, but please listen to a experienced runner a sports doctor and your parents.

If you do run the 21K race ( and I think that you can & will ) do not rush to do a full Marathon, don't burn yourself out.

Maurice

I am definality not running a marathon for along time. That kinda sucks that arrow hasn't ran again since then. What do you mean by burnout? I have been running probbaly 8 weeks. I feel 14km is still to easy. I really want to do a half marathon to show that I am good at running. Before I started running I could barely run 1500m and I felt that I wanted to egt faster so I signed up for cross country. I always got pciked everybody aid I sucked at running and it got on my nerves. It didn't help 2 years ago being over weight to weighing 125 lb 4'10 kid. Now I am 5'8 and 127 lbs and I can run so much farther than my friends. Also running gives me a challenge which I enjoy so i thought half marathon I really want to do that! It dicourages you when you say hey I made to the cross country finals and some kid you were sitting beside there says no you didn't your to slow to make that, When there even is a pciture in the year book. Sorry about my rant.......

[JSmitty]

Blanken:

You don't have to "be good" to run a half marathon...you just need to train smartly. Take it from someone who enjoys running, enjoys the distances but doesn't always train smartly. If you feel good now, continue to feel good.
Meaning, take your time. Have you heard of the 10% rule of never increasing your mileage by more than that a week?