Half Marathon Training Ideas

Suggested Weekly Training Structure - Over 100 min - Half Marathon Training Program

Monday - Day Off
Tuesday - Speed or VO2
Wednesday - Recovery
Thursday - Day Off
Friday - Tempo / Cruise Intervals / Strength
Saturday - Rest or Recovery
Sunday - Long Aerobic

Week 1:
Long Aerobic: 80 min.
Tempo / Strength: 4x3 min. with 2 min. recovery
Speed: 4 x 150m
VO2: -


Week 2:
Long Aerobic: 95 min.
Tempo / Strength: 3x5 min. with 3 min. recovery
Speed: 4 x 200m
VO2: -


Week 3:
Long Aerobic: 105 min.
Tempo / Strength: 4x5 min. with 2 min. recovery
Speed: 4 x 250m
VO2: -


Week 4: (Recovery)
Long Aerobic: 90 min.
Tempo / Strength: 2x8 min. with 3 min. recovery
Speed: 5 x 150m
VO2: -


Week 5:
Long Aerobic: 115 min.
Tempo / Strength: 2x10 min. with 5 min. recovery
Speed: 4 x 250m
VO2: -


Week 6:
Long Aerobic: 130 - 140 min.
Tempo / Strength: 1x12 min.
Speed: 4 x 300m
VO2: -


Week 7:
Long Aerobic: 100 min.
Tempo / Strength: 8 min. tempo, then 4x90sec. strength efforts
Speed: -
VO2: 4x600m with 2 min. recovery


Week 8:
Long Aerobic: 130 - 140 min.
Tempo / Strength: 6 min. tempo, then 3x90sec. strength efforts
Speed: -
VO2: 4x800m with 2 min. recovery


Week 9: (Recovery)
Long Aerobic: 100 min.
Tempo / Strength: 12 min. tempo, then 4x90sec. strength efforts
Speed: -
VO2: 6x400m with 90 sec. recovery


Week 10:
Long Aerobic: 110 min.
Tempo / Strength: 2x12 min. with 5 min. recovery
Speed: -
VO2: 5x600m with 90 sec. recovery


Week 11:
Long Aerobic: 80 min.
Tempo / Strength: 2x12 min. with 6 min. recovery
Speed: -
VO2: 4x1000m with 2.5 min. recovery


Week 12: (Race Week)
Long Aerobic: -
Tempo / Strength: recovery with strides
Speed: -
VO2: -


Key Sessions For This Half Marathon Training Program

Long Aerobic Run
The longer runs are critical to your half marathon performance as they provide you with the aerobic development, strength and endurance necessary for completing your half marathon.

It is best if these runs can be done over slightly undulating terrain as these rolling hills will provide maximum strength gains. If possible it is preferable to run on softer surfaces such as grass, dirt trails or sand. Softer surfaces will minimise the risk of injury, reduce muscular damage and allow you to better recover in time for your next training session.

The intensity of these runs should be moderate, as the objective is to improving your aerobic capacity. As a guide, your pace should be 20-25% slower than your half marathon pace. For those of you looking at a time over 100 minutes then the goal is to develop the strength and endurance to go the distance, therefore long run training pace can be as fast as half marathon goal pace.

Tempo Intervals
Tempo sessions are an important part of the training program for half marathons. These sessions should be run at about anaerobic threshold intensity, which is equivalent to about one hour race pace (ie: the intensity you could hold for 60 minutes).

From these sessions some of the key changes you'll be working towards are; boosting your anaerobic threshold, improving running economy and mentally conditioning yourself to maintain solid intensities for extended periods.

Tempo/Strength Session
The tempo/strength session is an extension of the straight tempo session, with a greather emphasis on strength endurance development. This session begins with a tempo period, as described above, followed immediately by some short hill efforts.

The first hill effort should begin right at the end of the tempo period with no recovery in between. The intensity of the hill efforts should be about the same as 10km race intensity. These efforts should be done on a hill of moderate grade only (5-6%) with your stride length slightly longer than normal when hill running. These slightly longer strides will cause more force to be generated in the active muscles and superior strength endurance gains will result.

Between each hill effort jog slowly back down the hill as recovery before immediately starting the next effort.

Speed
Speed sessions are very important and often overlooked in the construction of a training program for half marathons. They provide neuromuscular adaptations that help to improve efficiency and technique. These sessions are often also used as a gentle introduction to intense intervals.

Ideally these sessions should be done on a track or flat grass oval. The efforts should be run at about 1500m race pace, or a pace that is fast but controlled. If you feel that you cannot hold your speed or technique for the entire distance of the effort then you are running too hard.

As neuromuscular gains are the focus, you should aim at maintaining speed and technique throughout the session. All efforts should be completed in approximately the same time. In order to achieve this have a full recovery between each effort, which generally means 2 to 3 minutes of easy jogging.

Whilst the intensity of these efforts is quite high, their short duration with the long recovery between intervals makes them relatively low stress.

VO2
These sessions are your key "top end" intensity sessions and will be the hardest sessions you will complete as far as running intensity goes.

The aim of these sessions is to improve your sustainable running speed, anaerobic threshold and VO2 max (a measure of the maximum (max) volume (V) of oxygen (O2) you can consume during physical activity. Generally, the higher your VO2 max, the higher your aerobic fitness and the greater your endurance potential).

Ideally these efforts should be done on a track or flat grass oval. Efforts should be done at 3km race pace for those aiming for a sub 100 minute half marathon and at 5km race pace for those aiming for over 100 minutes. Each effort should be of a consistent pace with no surging. The recovery between each effort is relatively short and is specified in the training program below. It should be noted that this recovery period does not allow for full recovery.

This is the session that many runners get carried away with and try to push too hard. If these efforts are pushed too hard then the appropriate adaptations will not occur. Instead the session's focus will become lactate tolerance, resulting in much slower recovery afterwards. Not achieving the key adaptations at the desired intensities will result in an inferior half marathon performance, so be sure not to push these intervals too hard.

Recovery
If you are able to fit in extra runs during the week then they should be easy recovery runs. These runs are aimed at providing you with some additional aerobic benefits on top of your usual training load, but more importantly are used as active recovery between the key weekly sessions. These runs should be of very low intensity - an intensity that is simply an easy jog. There should be no stress associated with these runs and you should generally finish the run feeling better than when you began.

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You now have your key training sessions for each week leading into the half marathon. Your next important step is structuring the program so that each week you can achieve your weekly goals by completing the scheduled sessions, but also allowing enough recovery at appropriate times to ensure you get the maximum adaptations from all key training sessions.

To make this a little easier some suggested weekly structures are outlined above, one for each training program. You will note that all intense sessions need to have a day off or an easy day prior to the interval training day. It also highlights the importance of allowing adequate recovery prior to and after your weekly long run.

Your minimum training frequency should allow for all key sessions to be fitted in. On top of this, other runs should be short and easy recovery runs, as described in the training session section. It is suggested that most runners have at least one day off per week, which should ideally be after the weekly long run.

It is important to plan your weekly training schedule so that it fits in with your other commitments, such as work, family and study. A marathon training program that is not structured around outside commitments will commonly get interrupted and sessions will end up being missed. Do not aim too high by trying to squeeze too much half marathon training into a busy lifestyle. Be realistic when setting your half marathon training goals and your weekly training structure.

Half Marathon Pacing

The best pacing strategy for a runner aiming for less that 100 minutes in the half marathon is to run as close to even splits as possible throughout the event. Most people make the mistake of going out too hard. Choose your goal speed and aim for this from the very first kilometre. For those running over 100 minutes it is best to start out slightly slower than your average pace. This will minimise the severity of fatigue later in the event. Do a self-assessment at the 5, 10 and 15km mark to see how you are feeling. If all is going ok and you are feeling strong build the pace a little as the event unfolds.

The half marathon is a 21 km or 13.1 mile road running race. The men's world record is 58:33 and the women's world record is 66:25

Set your goals before deciding on your training plan then go for it.