Dear Coach Adam,

I really want to train for and run the half-marathon, but my husband thinks that it will take up too much of my time and that I won’t have time for him or our family. About how much time per week would you say that training for the half-marathon will take.

Thank you,

Julie

Flagstaff, AZ

Dear Julie,

It looks like I’ll be wearing my coaching hat and my marriage counselor hat for this one. Let’s start with the amount of time that you will need to train. This all depends on your goals for the race. If you are entering the race with the sole purpose of finishing then I would say you could probably get away with 3-4 hours of training per week. This, of course, depends on your current level of fitness. At the minimum you will want to get in one good long run of 9-11 miles and one good tempo run (slightly faster than race pace) per week. Three runs per week are better than two, but two would definitely be the minimum. Now for the marriage aspect. See if you can involve your husband in the entire process. Have him come with you on your runs either on a bike or on foot. Have him stretch with you after your runs. Since you live so close you should DEFINITELY have him come and volunteer at the race while you run. Volunteering at a race can be as fun as running the race (and it doesn’t seem to hurt nearly as much). If you have any children then get a baby jogger and take them with you when you run. There is nothing better for your strength and fitness than pushing an extra body up a hill. Now this is where my expertise in marriage counseling ends…I only learned so much in grad school (and that was in economics!!)

Thanks!!!

Adam