How do you get from here to there?

So, you have decided to take up the challenge I proposed in last week's article and "go beyond" anything you have ever done before.

In your case, this means taking part in, and completing next year's Land Rover Malta Half Marathon (HM). I am going to presume you have never run a HM before and have laid out a weekly training plan aimed at getting you to the Mdina startline with complete confidence that you can complete the full 13.1-mile distance and arrive at The Ferries in good shape.

But I'm getting ahead of myself, talking about the finish-line and you have not yet run a mile of training!

Okay, there are only 13 weeks to go, so there is not enough time to take a complete beginner who has never run a step in their life and get them in enough shape to run a HM by March. (Actually, there probably is enough time, but it would require a tremendous commitment to do so).

So, I'm going to assume you can jog (today) for at least 30 minutes without having to stop and walk.

How fast you jog is of absolutely no importance. You can be the slowest, most relaxed jogger on earth, content to just zone out from life and cruise along on the pavement listening to your mp3.

Let's face it, you are not in training to win the race, just to have enough fitness to enjoy the run and finish without walking or undue stress. So, ignore pace and focus simply on length of time spent running. Go as easy as you like, the fitness will still come.

The table outlines how much jogging you would need to do to achieve your target. It begins from next Tuesday. The values are in minutes of running, and the plan calls for a minimum of four days jogging each week. Less than this (say, three days per week) would be cutting it really fine, and you would risk taking part without enough fitness and find yourself walking the last five miles.

As you can see, each week you have to build up one particular day to get to the kind of length of time you will take to complete the HM. I have made this long run day happen on Sundays, since most of us have most free time on that day. Plus, after the training (assuming a morning jog) we do not have to go to work, but can laze around eating and recovering for the rest of the day.

The longest day (Sunday) is followed by a day off (Monday) and then the training continues on Tuesday with a shorter run. Thursday is the second-longest run of the week since by that time you will have recovered from the Sunday.

Once again, it is followed by a day off. Saturday is again a short run and because we put Sat and Sun as back-to-back training days the Sunday run becomes a little bit more difficult than it would be if it was preceded by a rest day.

By doing so, we can be confident that if you get to a state where you can run 30 mins on Sat and 1hr 40 mins on the Sunday (as you do in week 11), then on race day you will be able to run for longer than 1hr 40, since

a) the day before will be a rest day (unlike normal training weeks), and

b) your excitement level will be at a peak, as opposed to how you would feel on a normal training day. That heightened excitement will release a slew of hormones into your system which will reduce pain and effort levels during the race, thereby allowing you to run further and perhaps even a little faster than you have ever done before.

Take up this challenge and the last voice you hear on the start-line will probably be mine.

My last words are usually the 10-9-8... countdown to the start-pistol.

Follow this simple training plan, and I can already look forward to seeing you at the finish-line. Enjoy your running.

johnwalsh42195@yahoo.it