Half Marathon Training Plans: My Third Half

Warning- this is a text-heavy post! I don't have pretty pictures for this one.

For my first two half marathons (4/2010, 9/2010), I used Runner's World's Smart Coach for my training plan.  It's free and customizable.  For my upcoming third half marathon, I want to try something different, so I looked to Hal Higdon.


I checked out Hal Higdon's Novice Half Marathon plan, which requires running 4-5 days a week, but the long distance run maxes out at 10 miles, and does not involve any speedwork.  A little speedwork is recommended if you want to get faster, and I do!

Looking at the Intermediate Half Marathon plan, the longest run goes up to 12 miles, includes some speedwork, and involves running about 5 days a week.

I also checked out his Advanced Half Marathon plan and like that it incorporates some hill workouts, as my half marathon course will not be flat.  However it involves 6 days of running, which I'm not looking to do. 

So I'm planning on using the Intermediate plan, and will borrow some hill workouts from the Advanced plan.

You can see the intermediate plan here, or if you don't want to look, I will summarize:

Mondays - Stretch and Strengthen
Tuesdays - 3-5 mi Easy Run
Wednesdays - 5-10 x 400 Speed work or 30-45 min Tempo run
Thursdays - 3 mile easy run + Strength training
Fridays - Rest, with an occasional choice to add an easy run
Saturdays - 3-5 mile pace run (half marathon pace)
Sundays - Long Slow runs, increasing from 5 to 12 miles.

According to Hal:

• Crosstraining in place of an easy run (Tues or Thurs), but not in addition to this schedule.
• You should warm up before speedwork and pace runs.
• Cool down should equal half of your warm up distance.
• No distance specified for walking/jogging in between speedwork intervals
• Easy runs at conversational pace, or 65-75% of max heart rate

I plan to cross train and strength train in the form of Spin, Boot Camp and "Crunchtime" abs class:

• Mondays I will do a 1 hour spin class + 1/2 hour ab class and/or stretching.  
• If Sunday's long run has me sore on Monday, I'll skip out on Spin and just stretch and strength train.
• Thursdays I will skip the 3 mi easy run and do my 1 hour Boot Camp class for strength.
• If I can't make it to Bootcamp on a given night, I'll try to do the originally planned 3 mile easy run + some kind of strength training

Here's my version of the Hal Higdon Intermediate plan:

	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thur	Fri	Sat	Sun
1  1/10-1/16	Spin  +abs	3 mi   easy	5 x 400   @5k pace	Boot   Camp	Rest	3 mi  pace	5 mi  long
2  1/17-1/23	Spin  +abs	3 mi   easy	30 min   tempo	Boot   Camp	Rest	3 mi  pace	6 mi  long
3  1/24-1/30	Spin  +abs	3.5 mi  easy	6 x 400   @5k pace	Boot   Camp	Rest	Rest	5k?
4  1/31-2/6	Spin  +abs	3.5 mi  easy	35 min   tempo	Boot   Camp	Rest	3 mi  pace	7 mi  long
5  2/7-2/13	Spin  +abs	4 mi  easy	7 x 400   @5k pace	Boot   Camp	Rest	3 mi  pace	8 mi  long
6  2/14-2/20	Spin  +abs	4 mi  easy	40 min  tempo	Boot   Camp	Rest	Rest	10k?
7  2/21-2/27	Spin  +abs	4.5 mi  easy	8 x 400   @5k pace	Boot   Camp	Rest	4 mi  pace	9 mi  long
8  2/28-3/6	Spin  +abs	4.5 mi  easy	40 min  tempo	Boot   Camp	Rest	5 mi  pace	10 mi  long
9  3/7-3/13	Spin  +abs	5 mi  easy	9 x 400   @5k pace	Boot   Camp	Rest   or easy	Rest	15k?
10  3/14-3/20	Spin  +abs	5 mi  easy	45 min  tempo	Boot   Camp	Rest	5 mi  pace	11 mi  long
11  3/21-3/27	Spin  +abs	5 mi  easy	10 x 400   @5k pace	Boot   Camp	Rest	3 mi  pace	12 mi  long
12  3/28-4/3	Spin  +abs	4 mi  easy	30 min  tempo	Boot   Camp	Rest	Rest	Half!  13.1 mi

Want to run a half marathon?  Check out these sites for some training plans:

• Hal Higdon Novice 12 week Half Marathon plan
• possess basic fitness level, ability to run 3 miles, 3-4 days/wk
• Hal Higdon Intermediate 12 week Half Marathon plan
• looking to improve time, open to speedwork, can run 30-60 min a day, 5-7 days/wk
• Hal Higdon Advanced 12 week Half Marathon plan
• for very experienced, more speedwork, capable of running 30-60 min/day, 5-7 days/wk.
• Cool Running Beginner 12 week Half Marathon
• currently run 15-25 miles per week, expect to finish in about 2 hrs
• Cool Running Intermediate 12 week Half Marathon
• currently run 25-50 mpw, expect to finish under 1:45
• Cool Running Advanced 12 week Half Marathon
• currently run 40-60 mpw, expect to finish in under 1:30
• About.com: 12 weeks to Run/Walk a Half Marathon
• have been run/walking for at least 2 months; currently run 8-10 mpw
• About.com 12 weeks - Beginner Half Marathon
• running for at least 2 months; currently run 8-10 mpw
• About.com 12 weeks - Advanced Beginner Half Marathon
• can run 4 miles easily; can run 4-5 days a week
• About.com 12 weeks - Intermediate Half Marathon
• already running 30-60 minutes/day, about 5 days/week
• Runner's World Smart Coach
• need to create free acount
• provide age, gender, recent race time, training intensity, current weekly training mileage, which day you'd like to do your long run, and the race date.
• For a fee, you can subscribe to SmartCoach Plus and adjust the plan - i.e. change race time or training paces, update plan to account for some missed training runs, etc.
• Jeff Galloway
• Two plans with tips: 1. Run/Walk to finish; 2. Run with a time goal
• Other, more interactive plans are available for a fee through Runner's World and McMillan.

Note:  Check out multiple plans and see what looks right for you.  You should be able to easily run the first week of the training program.  Not all beginner or intermediate programs are equal.  I find Runner's World's plan is more conservative, my previous two plans involved only 3-4 days a week of running. Cool Running's Beginner plan is way more intense than Hal Higdon's Intermediate plan.

Another helpful tool:
McMillan Running Calculator

• Plug in a recent race time or goal time for a certain distance.  
• Provides you with equivalent performance times for other distances
• i.e. if I want to run a half marathon in 2:20 (10:42 pace), I should be able to run a 10k in 1:02:55 (10:07 pace) and a 5k in 30:17 (9:45 pace). 
• Tells you what your training paces should be for speedwork, tempo runs, long runs, etc.
• i.e. based on above 2:20 half marathon, tempo runs should be at 10:15-10:47 pace 

Looking for some Half Marathon Motivation?
Runner's World Half Marathon Challenge
Find a Half Marathon near you
Find a Half Marathon...in the NJ/NY Metropolitan area here and here
Ryan Hall's half marathon tips

Anyone signed up--or planning to sign up--for a spring race??