a phal curry.

Big chest and massive boobs

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Ok seriously.....I was a bit of a runner in my younger days long distance. The secret to having a fairly relaxed run and for massive stamina was to focus of my breathing technique for the first few minutes. If I got that right that then everything else just fell into place.

Deep ones through the nose, hold for a couple of seconds, exhale through the mouth. About 20-30 times. If you feel are breathing normally at that point then you should be in for a pleasant run.

Not scientific or owt but I suppose my trunkful of winners medals (ok 4) proved I was doing something right.

Big chest and massive boobs

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I am a qualified running coach if that's any good?

Yes, good advice. I coach at a club. Joining a club was the best thing I did. Helped me through ten half marathons and 2 marathons to date. 3rd one next month.

A couple of tips;
Don't ramp up your longest or your total running volume by more than 15% a week (10% is ideal if you have that luxury).

Every 3-4 weeks schedule a drop down week in to let your body recover a bit. For example you might have:
Week A - 7 miles
Week B - 8 miles
Week C - 9 miles
Week D - 6 miles
Week E - 9.5 miles

You're ready to go when you hit 10 miles in training. The jump to 13 miles on race day won't be too much of a shock. I train up to 15 miles for a HM usually, but only as I've done a load. Of course, this isn't to say you MUST stop when you get to 10. Just that you can be confident that you'll complete it if you can bash out 10 in training.

Make sure you have the right shoes.

Make sure on race day you don't eat or wear anything you've never trained with. It could get messy if you eat something you're not used to if you know what I mean. New shoes could give you blisters, so try to race in gear you've tested in training.

Don't train at one pace. Running 4 miles 3 x a week, then 5 miles 3 x a week etc isn't as good for you as a split that involves a short bit of speed work, some strengthening stuff such as hills, variable paced running and one long run per week. This is something you'll learn a lot about with a running club as suggested above.

Find a training buddy with similar ability. This can be crucial to your motivation during training if you do a handful of training runs with a buddy.

Finally, you might want to read up on tapering prior to the half. Google will give you some good tips there, I won't bore you.

Don't listen to music. It's distracting and with a playlist you run to the beat which can be an unnatural way of running in terms of the impact it has on your legs.

I ain't got nuthin' funny to say. Sorry.

You A lot of good points so far. My tuppence

Firstly decide on your goal. To get to the finish line or get a good time then plan your training accordingly

What race are you doing? Your training should also reflect the type of race. Eg trail, hills

People have mentioned shoes, go to a running shop and get your gait analysed, they can then recommend the type of shoe you need you can always go away and buy them of the web if the shop is too expensive.

If you want to go for a quick time you need to work out your paces. Parkrun is excellent for that and General speed sessions. Then use a Pace calculator (McMillan is very good) to calculate your target pace. This should be reviewed every month or so as you improve.

There are some good plans out there, Hal Higdon has some very good race plans. Start to Build up your mileage now, too many people get a 12/16 week plan and do sod all until the plan starts. You have a great opportunity to build a solid base.

Resistance training is important, squats, lunges, deadlift (for posterior chain) and a bit of upper body work

Get a couple of 10ks in if you can. This wlll help you get used to racing. It's quite important as you will probably go off like a bat out of hell and then blow up with nothing in the tank.

Focus on recovery, with your football it's important to have at least one rest day a week. Stretch post run and get yourself a foam roller. If you can afford a sports massage they're worth it. Refuel after a run, carbs and protein to replace glycogen and repair muscle damage.

There are loads of running apps out there. Strava & Runkeeper possibly the two best. Logging your runs and seeing improvement is very motivational. If you can afford a GPS watch then they're always worth getting but probably worth waiting to see how serious you are.

Lastly for all the talk of training plans and pace etc. don't be afraid to just go out for a run just for the sheer hell of it. Otherwise sometimes you can become so focused on a race you stop enjoying it.

Edited by Y Ddraig Goch (07 Mar 2015 9.51am)