Key workouts for 1/2 marathon?

So if you want run

you have two type of work: fundamental (to improve your general endurance)

and special - directly connected with HM,

FUNDAMENTAL ARE:

a)80-90 min progressive run: (pace: 5:00/km - 4:10/km) +

(optional) diagonals, example: 6X150-200m

b)70' progressive run (5:00/km -> 4:20/km) + 6X80m uphill sprint

with FULL REC. the goal is recruiting the higher number of fibres of a muscle and, of course, improving your speed

c)50-60 min EASY (slower than 4:40/km) + 10X80-100m uphill sprint

there is difference between b) and c):

b - you should run uphill with MAX SPEED and c) - you should at

HIGH SPEED, but not about MAX (I think 95 % will be ok )

but in both this type of sprint recovery is FULL

d)warm up + 50-60 min fartlek. Yes, fartlek, no track....

e)40' EASY + drills example:

4-6X60m skipping (high knee, 4-6X40m bounding, 4-6X 30m butt kicking,

4-6X30m straight leg bounds , after all go for 6X100-150m diagonals

f)40' EASY + 10X50-80m A-skip (high knee) + diagonals

g) long run 90-120 min at personal sensation.

h) 20-30' EASY + (for improv. your legs strenght):

example:

20-25' steady, uphill run,

10X1min run uphill fast, rec. 3min

6-8X1:30min - hard (uphill), rec. 4/5min

There are ONLY EXAMPLES, you can use other type of similar workouts..

i)long run (90-120 min) at MEDIUM PACE: 4:13-4:30/km

j) EASY RUN (60-80 min) with short variations....

k) warm up + 12 km steady @ 3:55-4:00/km

There are example of FUNDAMENTAL workout, to prepare yor

body for SPECIFIC workout....

EXAMPLES OF SPECYFIC WORKOUTS:

a)10 km VERY FAST (about HM race PACE)

b)short intervals (400-1000m, @100-105 % 10 km pace,

with global volume about 10 km)

for ex. 5X(1000m/600m/300m) rec. 2min, between set: 4-5 min

you can alternate short intervals with: J.Daniels Repetitons:

ex: 8-12 X400m with WALK recovery...

c)long intervals for example: 6X2km faster than HM pace, rec. 3 min

or with alternate speed: 3X(3km @ HM pace + 1km @ 10 km pace)

and so....

The best training website :

https://www.runnerprogram.com

Agree apart from 23 miler. Will turn you into a plodder and increase injury risk unnecessarily better to add miles elsewhere

I think many different roads can take different runners to the same goal. What it works for somebody , it's not automatically

works for another runners. I think muscolar twitch type can make a lot of difference.

Example : myself in training I find almost impossible to do 15 km HM race pace , I ve tried few times in the past and Pace/km

was at least 5-6 seconds / slower than the pace that I had in the Half two weeks later. ( And I stopped the workout at 13 km

cos I was exausted).

So I dont do it again.

You mention Florence Kiplagat training for HM. Great volume, Lot of alternations working on the specific race pace.

30k at a good pace, track workouts using a lot of 1000m. some speed works using 400 and 200 .

Some interesting workouts that I have used for the Half , as final workout goal type are:

5000 + 1000 + 4000 + 1000 +3000 +1000 +2000 A no stop workout on the road working on the specific HM race pace

Of course here the pace for me is a little slower for the 5000 and 4000, 3000 at HM pace,final 2000 it will be a VERY GOOD

indicator of your shape, if you are able to do the final 2000 faster than your HM pace with good sensations ,thats a very good

sign for the upcoming Half. While if you end this workout struggling is not a good sign. The 1000 recovery at easy pace.The workout is hard but not impossible ( to me is easier than 15k at race pace) Need a lot of recover before and after the workout (2 or 3 days).

Another workout is 17k alternating 1k at LT pace (5 sec /km slower than 10k pace) and 1k 30"/km slower.

The first KM is Fast.

This one too is very hard maybe to me harder than the first one , but if I do this well, I know the condition is more than good.

Anyway all these workouts is abolutely normal if in training they come 2 or 3 seconds slower than what was planned.

The main factor here is yes of course the PACE but here the VOLUME is very important ( especially for non - elite runners)

so is normal that the pace can be also few seconds slower.

Example : two weeks before an Half I did the first Workouts (5000 etc..) and the 5000 and 4000 I did it at 3'55"/ km

than in the race my pace was 3'49"/km. But the last 2000 of that workout I did it with "easy" at 3'40" /km. That was a sign

that at 3'50"- 3'55" /KM I was confortable.

Too many coaches and runners do believe that running the best possible result must be some kind of complicated matter. Just keep it simple! It works on all kind of runners in my world of coaching.

- The Wizard -

there are two tests to be done for the half marathon:

ENGINE RESISTANCE. To control the qualities of organic resistance, above all

for those who are at the beginning of the distance of the marathon or the marathon, the only test really

reliable is to try a month before the race all the distance. It is clear that it is not

will have to race at the pace of the race, but divide the distance to run in two blocks: the first

possibly on hilly terrain, 32 km long for the marathon and 16 km for the

half marathon, to be performed at a pace slightly higher than the speed of one's own

slow bottom and a second of the length of 10 km for the marathon and 5 km for the half

marathon to be performed instead at the race pace logically on a flat and fast route.

ENGINE POWER. The general resistance test must then be filed

program the brilliance to be carried out fifteen days before the race. For the

a classic marathon is represented by 3 x 5000 meters + 1 x 10,000 meters courses at the race pace

of the marathon with a slow bottom km as a recovery between the four races scheduled.

For the half marathon, always with a slow base km as recovery, are good 3 x 4 km

courses at different rates. The first slower than 5/10 seconds per km compared to the pace-race, the

second exactly to the race pace, the third slightly faster than 5 seconds per km of the

race rhythm. But for the newcomers also three tests carried out at the race pace are fine. If both

these two tests are o.k. the positive result is there, really around the corner. Seeing is believing.

Then those works of Canova are defined as repeated short, medium (intensive) or long (estensive) and SPECIFIC because of the 105% value that the intensity of the half marathon compared to the marathon rhythm that is 100%.

They can be carried out at a total value of 105% or slightly below.

For example a 5 x 3000 mt to 106% with recovery of 1 km to 90.8% -92.7%.

The overall calculation must be done in this way:

total km of tests = 15 k

total km of recoveries = 4 km.

total km = 19.

weighing intensity of tests= 106 x (15/19)

weighted intensity of recoveries 92.7 x (4/19).

In this case, two weighed intensity values are added together and a total SPECIFIC rhythm of 102.8% (if 90.8%) or 103.2% (if 92.7) is achieved.

Another example for HM is 3 x 5000 to 104.1% with rec of 1 km to 90.8% a total of 102.5% total SPECIFIC rhythm is obtained.

And so on you can raise the pace of the tests and recoveries to get the exact specific HM rhythm of 105%.

Yes , absolutely I agree with you. To keep it simple the training is great. But everybodys knows that in the same training

group there are some runners with same personal best but with totally different muscolar twitch type.

I have two friends master 50 that have same PB with 35' for 10k and 1:17 for the Half. Same Km/week.

Well one is a fast twitch type and no problem to do 8x1000 at 3'20"/km , while the other slow twitch type one not faster than 8x1000 at 3'30"/km.

But if they go for long run at Marathon pace the guy slow twitch can make with no problem 20 km at 3'50"/4' /km

While for the fast twitch type is very hard to do this type of workout.

Also their pace of easy run is a lot different the slow twitch type dont go slower than 4'30"/km

While the fast twitch guy need a lot of easy run at 5'/km.

1:04:48 PR, which I worked down to from 68 flat over 4 years.

Staple workouts:

4 mile tempo at HM effort - as you get closer to the race, this will naturally get closer to your goal pace

10 mile tempo at marathon pace, on hilly course

6 - 8 x half mile hill repeat - 5k race effort, jog down, go again

5 - 8 x mile repeat, 60-90s rest, at HM effort - as the season progresses, these get faster, rest decreases, and the number increases

3 x 3k on a hilly course at HM effort, 2:30 rest

8-10k x 1k on hilly course, 8-10k race effort, 90s rest

4-5 sets of 4x400 on the track, 100m jog (30-40s) after each 400, and lap jog after each set. Each set gets progressively faster than the last - e.g., first set at 72, then 70, 69, 68 - pace will depend on how much turnover you have, but in general for me the first set would be around 5k pace, and the last one would be around 3k pace

In the last 3 weeks before the race, the last hard efforts that I would use to gauge my readiness were:

3-4 x 2 miles at HM goal pace on flat course, 2:30 rest

10 x 1600 starting at HM goal pace, working down to 10s faster, on track, 60s rest

4 mile tempo at HM goal pace, should feel very controlled

As far as long run, furthest I would work up to was 20 miles. Generally I'd alternate weeks running easy on a hilly course, and running hard (average sub 6 pace) on a flat course. The hard long runs I'd treat like a workout, so no workout on the day before/after.

A good one there Bluesky! I agree with you. I for example coach a former 1.43 800m runner with a

bronze medal at WC 800 m. I haven`t coach him for so long and he still have problems with the longer work as LT-intervals and the specific long run to be "transformed" to a strong longdistance

road runner. But he is coached at the same basic system as all my other runners. He just need more time to reduce the gap between maxVO2- pace and LT-pace and also as you say the normal distance pace . But the thing is that his fast twitch type muscles will be "transformed" over time to work as slow twitch , a thing that is not possible the other way around.