Half marathon training without losing muscle

[pablo]

The long title of this thread pretty much says it all.
I've got a place in this years Great North Run (half marathon) in September. Entered it in the new yearas a bit of a challenge to myself and to encourage myself to do a bit more cardio.
I've been weight training seriously on a steady but constant bulk for about 2 years and its still going great. Built up a decent bit of muscle.

So I guess the advice I'm looking for here is, how can I adapt my training (bearing in mind the events not til Sept) and how should my cardio training develop nearer the time without losing any hard earned muscle.

I've seen plenty of guys competing in, for instance, Triathlon who are stacked, but obviously very fit too, so I know its possible. Just don't wanna end up looking like a Kenyan marathon runner!

[ben 21]

ive been to this thread a couple of times now, bit of a catch 22 you have rily, you need a huge calorie intake but that could impair performance for your run. hmmmmmmm im posting realy to bump this up to the top of the pile. hopefully someone like nu or martin m might notice and be able to help.

[Platti]

I may be wrong but if can calc how many cals you burn during your training run, simply replace them on training days ???

[ben 21]

well ive heard that olympians consume 6000 calories a day.

[mattrugbymad]

I actually pussied out of a half marathon with my mates purely because of the muscle loss worry

[davecpfc]

Ensure that you consume enough protein to prevent your muscles from breaking down. Increase your calorie consumption to combat all the extra calories you will be expending doing additional cardio.

To increase you aerobic threshold I would do at least 1 big cycle and 1 big swim a week to get your body used to working aerobically for a long period of time. Also do some interval sessions eg 2mins fast pace/3mins slower pace for 45mins. Concentrate on finding a comfortable tempo that you can get used to.
Im no expert on cardio but I hope this helps a bit. Good luck buddy.

[pablo]

Thanks for the advice guys. I'll keep you updated on my progress. At the moment, its all going well. Cardio fatness increased, with no muscle loss.

[Just a Girl]

I did a half marathon in 2010 and though it's prob not what you want to hear, it totally ruined my physique. Putting in so many hours running during the week didn't leave much time for lifting weights. I couldn't hit my legs as hard as I wanted as it affected my performance whilst running and that then affected my lifting - vicious circle.

Do your best to keep your protein up, carry on lifting as much as you can and make sure you eat enough calories to replace what you burn when running.