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Half marathon training to reach your goals, run for longer and get ready for race day
Running a half marathon sounds terrifying. I mean, it did… before I trained successfully and completed the race in good time. Any goals we put on ourselves should be a little scary, otherwise, they’re probably too easy. We want to grow, evolve and challenge our lifestyles, no matter the direction.
With running, a half marathon is a great goal to have. You might have seen friends on Instagram or Facebook, posting about their half-marathon victories and top times. This might have given you a little motivation to do one yourself. So I’m glad you’re here, reading this starter post to get a bit of direction.
Maybe you’ve been cross-training already, perhaps you’ve been strength training too. If you have, then you’re already engaging in some of the ways to get your training plan together and reach that fitness goal you always dream of. But beyond just engaging in hill sprints or longer runs, you’ll need a training plan.
Let’s take a wider look at how your training plan could be formed.
The right training plan for you
So, you’ll want to cover the basics in your plan first. Half-marathon training takes time, and a half-marathon training plan should be formed carefully.
What basics? Well, running, obviously. You could run about three to four times a week at a normal running pace, nothing too strenuous. You should increase your distance each week to make sure these are best utilised.
How long should you run for?
Well, it depends on your ability, of course, but for a half marathon, you should be going for 6-8 miles per week. If you run at least one longer run a week, then you should be improving that distance to about 14 to 15 miles ish per week.
To help you get to that finish line, whether you’re an intermediate or advanced runner, you need to make use of non-running tasks. Why? Strength and aerobic capabilities. Your training schedule should have a cross-train routine (workouts like spin bikes or swimming sessions) too. Race pace, goal pace, and general fitness level – they all rely on strength and aerobic efficiency, so make sure to do these. You should have at least one rest day in between all of this, however.
Okay, so you have a good mileage increase, better strength and respiratory stuff, you’re race-ready and pace optimised… but should you just keep pounding it until race day?
No! You need to lay off a little before you get there. About two weeks before, to avoid injury, you’ll want to ease off on the mileage. This is called a tapering phase. It gives longer-term recovery times and helps you to safely wind down before the heaviest of tests.
Conclusion
Is this all you need to know? Not at all. there’s so much you can do with regard to specifics so do the right thing and get ready in the right ways.
FAQs
Are half-marathon training plans good for whole ones too?
The approach can be exactly the same, but often it’s the measurements that are different. i.e. you’ll need to range distances and workout times to accommodate for different growth.
