Continuing my running training of last semester, I spent the summer training to be able to run half marathon distance (about 21km) without stopping. I really enjoy running, but such a distance is a big challenge for me nonetheless and requires much training. I originally planned to participate in an official half marathon that was being held here in Colombo in October, but the registration was suddenly closed, possibly due to the terrorist attacks and the organizers not wanting a large congregation of people. I decided to train for the same distance nonetheless, and to just run a half marathon distance on my own.

For such a training, it is necessary to half a training schedule to keep track of your progress. I looked online for a few schedule and then made my own, based on the time I have. I didn’t set it up to be able to run the half marathon in a specific time, which is what most schedules are made for, although I would like to be able to run it in 2 hours. Since I can run 10km in under 1 hour, I think this should be possible, even though it will take much training to keep up that average speed. I made three training sessions a week, one of which was a medium length run (starting at 8km), the second a shorter run (starting at 6km) in which I alternated between 1km fast and 1km slow run, and finally a longer run (starting at 1okm). Every 2 weeks I increased the longer run by 2km, while the other two distances where only increased in distance at a slower rate.

As I was not specifically concentrating on running the semi marathon in a specific time, I did not time my training runs either, as I rather focused on the distances. By running so regularly, I clearly saw improvements, and already after few weeks I could run distances easily that I struggled with before. By the end of the summer I was able to run 15km, a 5km improvement from the start of the summer. However, I have 6km more to run for a half marathon, so it will take at least 2 more months of training. During the next semester I will probably not be able to keep up the regularity of training due to many other commitments, but I will still try to train at least once, preferably twice, a week. The first semester I am also especially focusing on volleyball, as it is my favourite sport and maybe my last opportunity to participate in a SAISA tournament, which is always a lot of fun. Volleyball training is twice a week, so I will not be able to do more additional training than once a week.