Half Marathon training

Training Advice/Discussion Marathon

7 years ago 03/21/2017 11:09pm EDT

Hi all-

I am training for a half marathon in late May. I am a recent college grad of a DIII program and am looking to run 1:25 or under. I have never trained for a race this long, and even though i've been running competitively for more than eight years, i'm a little intimidated by the distance.

I have been training in earnest since January (but ended my collegiate season in November-- so not too out of shape) and have been doing lots of tempos at or under race pace. Most recently, I did four x two-mile intervals at 6:15 and under, which felt very hard towards the end of the workout.

I have added some speed training to my workouts (I hear 5k races are good supplemental workouts as well) in the form of 800's and 400's.

My mileage is also typically 60 MPW, working up to the 65-70 range.

Am I on the right path to a fast half marathon time, and what tweaks should I be making?

7 years ago 03/22/2017 6:39pm EDT

re: emae25

emae25 wrote:
Hi all-
I am training for a half marathon in late May. I am a recent college grad of a DIII program and am looking to run 1:25 or under. I have never trained for a race this long, and even though i've been running competitively for more than eight years, i'm a little intimidated by the distance.
I have been training in earnest since January (but ended my collegiate season in November-- so not too out of shape) and have been doing lots of tempos at or under race pace. Most recently, I did four x two-mile intervals at 6:15 and under, which felt very hard towards the end of the workout.
I have added some speed training to my workouts (I hear 5k races are good supplemental workouts as well) in the form of 800's and 400's.
My mileage is also typically 60 MPW, working up to the 65-70 range.
Am I on the right path to a fast half marathon time, and what tweaks should I be making?

You're on the right path. I'd be careful with the tempos at or under race pace, though. HM pace + 5% (i.e. marathon pace) or a hair faster would probably be better. You could do those up to 60 minutes, and you will build a lot of strength.

7 years ago 03/22/2017 7:11pm EDT

re: emae25

If you're intimidated by the distance, you should make a point of incorporating a long run of 13-15 miles into your training. Run the first couple easy the whole way; then, in the next few runs, run easy for the first half and experiment with different intensities of high aerobic pace in the second half--marathon pace up to goal half-marathon pace.

Two or three weeks prior to your goal race (and definitely NOT one week before your goal race), run a 14 mile long run in which you run the first 10 miles easy, the next three at marathon pace (brisk but comfortable, and NOT flush against half marathon pace), and the final mile at 10K pace, which will feel like 5K intensity. That's great race prep and gets you ready for what a hard pace in the last 5K of the race feels like, but without the wear and tear of extended fast training. Those fast-finish long runs are fun and quite dramatic; you're basically waiting around for the explosion at the end. Get it right and you'll carry that feeling into the race with you as quiet confidence.

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