Half Marathon Training: Speed vs. Distance?

[gnomad]

So I was going about my business when my local running club's weekly email popped into my mailbox and announced that it was starting to take registrations for its 2011 half and full marathon training programs. I am curious about the half distance (it no longer feels so far!) but I am also still a slow runner and would like to work on getting my speed up.

I was wondering if you folks have experience with half-marathon programs and what I could expect out of one. Specifically, would training for a half be beneficial for increasing speed or would I just be working on plodding along for 13.1 miles without much focus on how long it was taking me to get there?

Comments

[afrikate]

So, um, maybe you could forward this to me as well? Because I am literally waking up in the night thinking, what comes next, as I am worried that after the 10K I will totally descend into slothiness (it's a word now) and end up unable to run ever again. A half seems like a good possibility for training...