For the next few months, Tucson is a half-marathoners paradise.
On Oct. 30 is the TMC “A” Mountain Half-Marathon, a 13.1 mile run that starts in downtown Tucson, with runners going up “A” Mountain, then back down and along the Santa Cruz River path, finishing downtown.
On Nov. 12, is the Veteran’s Day Half-Marathon, on the gently rolling foothill roads near Sabino High School. On Dec. 12, the Tucson Marathon includes a half-marathon option, in which runners cruise down Oracle Road, starting at Biosphere Road and ending at the Golder Ranch Fire Station.
Last week, we discussed an easy strategy to combine walking and running: At its simplest, walk for a minute, jog for a minute, walk for a minute, jog for a minute. Today, let’s look today at how you can incorporate some of that lesson into training for one of these great half-marathons.
Each week, see if you can do two or thee “running” efforts that last for between 30-60 minutes. Those of you who are already in running shape can try to run for a full hour, but the rest of us might want to alternate a few minutes of walking followed by a minute or two of jogging. There is no perfect formula, so start with the one-minute walk followed by one-minute jog and see if you can extend the jogging portion.
If you can complete two or three of these sessions in close to an hour, you will get in good shape.
If possible, incorporate hills into one effort each week. If you can go to Sabino Canyon, Tumamoc Hill or “A” Mountain and get 30-60 minutes of steady exercising, the effort of going uphill will help you get in shape and make you that much tougher.
For example, you can attend the free Monday evening Meet Me at Maynard’s, (meet on the north side of Hotel Congress, 311 E. Congress St.) then do the 6-mile round trip along Broadway, up and down “A” Mountain and back.
These strategies will get you in shape for any event — but if you want to do a half-marathon, you’ll probably want to go a bit farther. Once a week you should try to extend your typical 30-60 minute effort all the way to 90 minutes or more. So pick a morning when you have plenty of time . Then do your typical run/walk repeats. Extend it so that you can go for an hour and a half.
If you can do that for a few weekends, I promise that you will be able to accomplish any of our great local half-marathon events.
In the coming weeks, we will discuss locations where you can run and offer some “sports psychology” tips that you can use as you extend your fitness program.
