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Runs for Cookies’
First Timer’s Half-Marathon Training Plan By Katie Foster, RRCA-certified running coach and blogger at RunsforCookies.com This training plan assumes that you: 1) Are currently capable of running four times per week, from 2-4 miles at a time. 2) Can dedicate four days per week to train, including a long run once per week, for 13 weeks. 3) Are uninjured and have your doctor’s clearance to run per the schedule. This half-marathon training plan is for beginner runners who perhaps just ran their first 5K and are looking for a new ambitious goal. The majority of this plan is run at an easy pace. Running at an easy pace is CRUCIAL to building up endurance to be able to complete a half-marathon. Just because you’re running at a leisurely pace doesn’t mean that it’s not conditioning your body. Please read my blog post titled, “The Importance of the Easy Run” (http://www.runsforcookies.com/2016/04/the-importance-of-easy-run.html) There is one day per week of speed work. The workouts on these days are simple—intervals one week, alternating with a tempo run the next—throughout the schedule. It’s a way to introduce you to doing speed workouts without making speed the focus of your training. If you truly don’t care about improving your speed, you could change these to easy runs instead (about 30-45 minutes each). I will explain the speed work below. Weeks 4, 8, and 12 are “step back” weeks, which means they are a little easier due to decreased mileage. These are important for recovery. They allow your body to rest and repair before picking it up again the following week. Don’t be tempted to add mileage out of fear of regressing. I’ve used abbreviations on the plan itself, so here is the key: E = Easy Pace. This should be a VERY easy, “conversational” pace (in which you could carry on a conversation with a running partner). If you use a heart rate monitor, I would subtract your age from 180, and use that as the MAXIMUM heart rate that you should reach during an easy run. (For example, if you are 34, then you don’t want your heart rate to go over 146 during an easy run—even if it means you have to take walk breaks). The most important thing to remember is not to run your easy runs too fast! (Again, please read the blog post I wrote about easy runs) H = Hard Pace. This can be interpreted in different ways, depending on each plan as well as your goal. For this plan, “hard” pace is considered about as hard as you can hold that pace for each interval without slowing—so it may take some time to find the right pace. Just run faster than the easy pace, but not an all-out sprint. The shorter intervals may be a little faster, and the longer intervals may be
slower. Your exact pace isn’t important, as long as your effort level is high on these runs. This should feel hard enough that if you were running with a partner, you wouldn’t be able to talk at all. T = Tempo. In this particular plan, Tempo just means to run slightly faster than easy, but not quite “hard”. It should feel a little uncomfortable, like you want to slow down, but you know that you can continue for the duration needed. If you were running with a partner, you wouldn’t be able to say more than 1 or 2 words at a time. W = Walk. Yes, there is walking in this half-marathon training plan. The important part of the speed work intervals is the hard part of the interval. You want this to be your best effort. If you wear yourself out too much on the recovery, you won’t be able to run your best effort during the hard part. So, take the recovery seriously! Walk for the specified time, and then give your best effort on the run segment. How to Read the Interval Workouts Here is an example of an interval workout: 10 min E 4 x (4 min H, 2 min W) 10 min E -The top line, 10 min E, is the warm-up. VERY easy paced jog for 10 minutes. -In the second line, the “4 x” is the number of times you are going to repeat what is in parentheses. -In parentheses, the first number is the fast part of the interval—“4 min H” means to run 4 minutes at your hard pace. The second number (2 min W) is the recovery—walk for 2 minutes. -The last line is the cool down (10 min E). Again, easy walking for 10 minutes. Note: Because a half-marathon distance requires you to run slower and steadier than a 5K or 10K, it’s not always necessary to do a warm-up or cool down. It depends on each individual workout. If the workout requires a warm-up or cool down, I’ve written it on the plan. Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays are rest days (unless you would like to do easy cross training— other forms of cardiovascular exercise, such as swimming, cycling, etc.— on 1-2 of those days). Tuesdays are for speed work. Wednesdays and Fridays are for easy runs. And finally, Sundays are for long runs. The long runs are crucial for half marathon training to be successful. I am not including pace recommendations on this plan, because the entire goal is to prepare your body to run 13.1 miles without getting injured along the way. Once you are more experienced and you are hoping to reach a time goal, you can check out my “Finish Strong” Half Marathon Plan, which can be found on the Training Plans page on my blog: http://www.runsforcookies.com/p/trainingplans.html. A half-marathon is a fantastic and ambitious goal, and you will feel so proud when you cross the finish line after all this training! I tried to keep this plan neat and organized, while being easy to understand, but please feel free to ask questions if you don’t understand something. My contact information can be found on my blog here: http://www.runsforcookies.com/p/contact.html. Best wishes on your half!
Runs for Cookies’
Effort/Pace Key
First Timer’s Half-Marathon Training Plan
By Katie Foster, RRCA Certified Running Coach & Blogger at RunsforCookies.com
E - Easy T - Tempo
A very easy pace. Can hold conversation. Comfortably hard. Can say 1-2 words at a time.
H - Hard
Hard; want to slow down, but can finish each interval.
W - Walk
Walk at an easy pace to lower your heart rate
MON
TUE
WED
THU
FRI
SAT
SUN
REST
Speed Work
Easy Run
REST
Easy Run
REST
Long Run
Week 1
REST
10 min E 5 x (1 min H; 2 min W) 5 min E
3 miles E
REST
2 miles E
REST
4 miles E
Week 2
REST
10 min E 10 min T 10 min E
3 miles E
REST
2.5 miles E
REST
5 miles E
Week 3
REST
10 min E 6 x (1 min H; 2 min W) 5 min E
3 miles E
REST
3 miles E
REST
6 miles E
Week 4
REST
30 min E
3 miles E
REST
2 miles E
REST
4 miles E
Week 5
REST
10 min E 15 min T 10 min E
3 miles E
REST
3 miles E
REST
7 miles E
Week 6
REST
5 min E 6 x (2 min H; 3 min W) 5 min E
3 miles E
REST
3.5 miles E
REST
8 miles E
Week 7
REST
5 min E 20 min T 5 min E
3 miles E
REST
4 miles E
REST
9 miles E
Week 8
REST
35 min E
3 miles E
REST
3 miles E
REST
6 miles E
Week 9
REST
5 min E 5 x (3 min H; 3 min W) 5 min E
3 miles E
REST
4 miles E
REST
10 miles E
Week 10
REST
5 min E 25 min T 5 min E
3 miles E
REST
4.5 miles E
REST
11 miles E
Week 11
REST
5 min E 5 x (4 min H; 3 min W) 5 min E
3 miles E
REST
5 miles E
REST
12 miles E
Week 12
REST
40 min E
3 miles E
REST
3 miles E
REST
8 miles E
Week 13
REST
5 min E 30 min T 5 min E
3 miles E
REST
3 miles E
REST
Half-Marathon Race!
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