Sister wants to run a 1/2 in 2 months...can she do it?

Sounds like a bad idea.  Pick one later and get her on a Hal Higdon novice plan.  Can the hill and interval workouts.  Just get her out there running and safely building up the mileage.

Why not do a run/walk?  I lost interest in my half training plan after my long 6 mile run (which I ran/walked).  I did the R/W for the half and while I'm completely thrilled with my time (+15 min longer than I planned) - I finished it and felt fine.

And to just throw more fuel on the fire - I did a run-a-thon in Dec, 2 miles a day, and then didn't run in Jan until PF Chang's and did R/W and only finished 10 mins slower than the first (which was downhill).  She can do it, just don't go out and try to RUN 13 miles.

The reason not to at her age is because of injury.  Someone who is 35 and has been running 3-4miles 4x a week for years could probably do this no problem.  A 21 year old running 3x a week with the longest ever being 3 miles does not have a lot of volume to build on.  She'd need a LOT of recovery time to ramp up the mileage that fast, and that time just isn't there.  The last thing I want to happen is for her to go out and get planter fasciitis, ITBS, or anything else at the age of 21, quit running, and then never pick it up again. 

So... find a 10k, walk it, or find a HIM at least 3-4months off.

Depends on if your sister wants to finish or compete.

My orthopaedist told me "if you can do three runs of 6 miles a week, you have the fitness to finish a half-marathon".  He was right.  I did just that after hurting my IT band just as I got my mileage up to 8 miles in training.  I built back up from 2 mile runs.  It wasn't fast and I limped for days afterwards, but I finished and it was great.

As long as she runs slowly and builds up her mileage slowly, she should be OK to finish.  She is 21, so she will recover faster than an older runner.

However, if she's not so committed to working out and only going 3 miles at a time now, why not pick a race you can train for and run together that give her more time to build?  A destination race, even.  There are plenty of great 1/2 marathons in the fall and winter that you could do.

I say she should go for it...she needs to work hard, train hard (and smart), have weekly goals in mind and realize that if she doesn't reach them she'll be in trouble come race day.  But the human body can do amazing things when there is a belief they can be done, and I don't think 13.1 is at all unrealistic in 2 months.

Similar story: my sister and I talked about my tri training during Thanksgiving this past year.  She used to be very athletic, gymnastics and whatnot, and decided she'd like to start running (which she hadn't done since high school, more than a decade and a daughter ago).  Then during Christmas she said she was gonna run the Boston Marathon.  Exactly 16 weeks later she crossed the finish line and while she wasn't one of the fastest (finished in 4:10) and had an all-over pain throughout her body for the next week, she accomplished what she set out to do.

If your sister wants to do 13.1 miles in about 8 weeks then get her training: forget the speed work, hills, intervals, anything like that (unless it's a hilly track, in which case I'd have her run a hilly portion of it the few weeks leading up to it).  Have her run 2-3 miles a few times a week, then a long run every weekend, ramping up the mileage as she goes.  She can easily get to 10+ with time to taper, and the last 2-3 will just be 'gut-it-out' miles.  Granted, you won't be going by the perfect 10% rule, but at 15% she'll get right around there (here are the distances going by about 15% per week):  3.5 on week 1; 4 on week 2; 4.7 on week 3; 5.2 on week 4; 6 on week 5; 6.9 on week 6; 8 on week 7; 9.2 on week 8; and finally 10.5 the week before.

It's doable...she may have to walk a portion of it, she'll probably be dead to the world the week after, but if she wants to do it I don't think there's any reason she can't.

I did something very similar a year and a half ago at age 26..... running 3-4x a week 2-3 miles, longest run was 4 miles, signed up for a half marathon 9 weeks out.  Got up to a 10 mile long run 2 weeks before the race, completed the race (slow, but ran the whole thing).  I did end up with pain in the back of my knee that lasted for several months.  It was already bothering me a bit by race day, and the race just made it worse.

Overall it was a good experience, but I'm lucky I didn't injure myself more seriously and I wouldn't do it again the same way or recommend it.

jmholmes02 - 2009-08-06 11:32 PM I did my first 100 mile bike ride a few weeks ago and I had never ridden a road bike...my bike was three days old on the ride ~!  Granted, I was in good shape/did spin classes...but I had literally never ridden my bike more than a few blocks on my test ride!!!  I guess my point is-sure she can do it...may not have the top notch time but if she wants to do it then go for it...worst case she may have to walk some.  I would start increasing my mileage now for the run though...so she can do her best!  I think she can do it!  I remember when I started running I went from barely being able to puff through an 1/8th of a mile to running six miles within a couple months...

Riding a bike is VERY different than running. Most in-shape people can get on a bike and ride until they drop without much lasting effect. If you were at least conditioned from spin class and the terrain you rode on was pretty flat, i can see how that'd be doable. The issue here is that running can easily cause injury if you do not have a proper base, which this girl really does not. If she had an extra month, I'd say to use the Hal Higdon novice plan, which is 12 weeks long. Otherwise, I'd say no. Or do a run/walk plan a la Galloway - that might be doable.