Sub 1:10 Half Marathon Training

This, I think, is the best half marathon training post I have ever read. It may actually be the best training post on Letsrun I've read in the past 9 yearsThis is so dead on it's wonderful.I'd add that for me personally when I do a 6 x mile w/ 60 seconds rest workout (like wk 4 above), I start 5-8 seconds slower than HM pace and end 5-8 seconds fast on the last rep. This is probably because I'm older than 30.Great post. I'm savign this gem

Smoove wrote:

I am starting to get the feeling that you are taking some shots at me here. Did I offend you somehow?

We’ve hijacked the OP’s thread.

The way you always bring yourself up in conversation even if it’s in a self-deprecating manner can be really off-putting. Just a trend I’ve noticed from you on these boards.

you should run with Cassidy.....

Fair on the thread hijacking for sure, and maybe on the other point too. I won't do more hijackjng in order to argue the second point.

OP, if you find yourself in Central Florida, shoot me an email and I can either help you in a workout myself or hook you up with a guy who can.

Hey everyone. Sorry for the hiatus, but with the move and new job, I've been super busy. Thanks for all the great responses and advice so far. I've known Ethan for a few years now and spoke with him a few days after posting this. He advised to make sure I'm running long hard runs. He trains most of his runs 6:30-5:50s, so I'm not sure how beneficial it would be for either one of us to train together considering the big training gap. I live about 1.5 miles from Runner's Depot and have raced against some of their guys before, so I'll check them out.

So, this is what I've been up to:

10/02-10/08:

M: 9 miles

T: Fartleks (3 miles easy, 12x1min on (5:15-5:25pace)/1min off (7:00-7:20pace), 3 miles easy). Total: 10 miles (6:46 pace)

W: 10 miles easy

Th: 2-mile w/u, 8x800 on road w/1:30-2mins rest - I can't remember the exact rest (2:30, 2:34, 2:36, 2:36, 2:35,2:35, 2:32, 2:35) 3-mile c/d. Total: 9 miles

F: 7 miles easy

S: 13 miles @ 7:13 (started the run @ 9:00am and had a death march in the hot sun the entire time)

Su: 6 miles easy

Weekly total: 64 miles

10/09-10/15 (went to NYC from Th-S for vacation:

M: 2-mile w/u. 4-mile tempo @ 5:56 pace. 3-mile c/d. Total: 9 miles (I didn't feel it and it was windy, which didn't help).

T: 10 miles

W: 2-mile w/u, 4xmile on dirt road @ 5:19, 5:26, 5:19, 5:19 w/1:30 rest, 3-mile c/d. Total: 9 miles

Th: 9 miles @ high 6:48 pace in Van Cortland Park

F: 7 miles @ mid 6:50 pace in Central Park

S: attempted a race @ Central Park for breast cancer, but I got to the race super late and couldn’t properly warmup. 0.5-mile w/up, 1st mile @ 5:24, then the GPS stopping working and race staff directed me off course while in the lead. I ran about 3.5 more miles afterwards.

Su: Missed day (too busy getting ready for new job)

Weekly total: 39 miles

10/16-10/22

M: 10 miles

T: 5-mile tempo @ 5:44pace

W: 10 miles

Th: ladder workout. 2-mile w/u 400 @ 75 w/1:15 rest, 800: 2: w/ 1:45 rest 1,200 @ 3:55 w/2:15 rest, 1,600 @ 5:15 w/2:45 rest, 1,200 @ 3:53 w/2:15 rest, 800 @ 2:29 w/1:45 rest, 400 @ 71. 3 miles c/d. Total: 9 miles

F: 7 miles

S: 14 miles @ 6:45pace w/the last 7 averaging 6:25pace.

Su: 7 miles

Total: 67 miles

10/23-10/26

M: Fartleks. 3 miles easy, 2mins on (5:40--5:45pace)/1:15min off (7:00-7:20pace), 1min on (5:10-5:15 pace), 0:45secs off (7:00-7:20pace). I did 5 sets of these. 3 miles easy. Total: 10 miles (6:35 pace)

T: 10 miles

W: 2.5-mile w/u. 5xmile @ 5:15, 5:14, 5:14, 5:08, 5:03 w/2mins rest, 2.5-mile c/d

Th: planning on running 9 miles after work

F: 7 miles

S: 14 miles

Su: 7 miles

Weekly total: hoping to be 67 miles again

My regular run pace has been in the 7:0Xs-7:1Xs. I hoping to run a 5K next Friday. Shooting for 16:00ish. I ran this same race last year and ran 15:44. After next week, I'm going to throw in some longer interval workouts like 2x2miles, 3x2miles, 2x3miles, etc. I'll be bumping the long run to 15 miles for 2-3 weeks, then 16 miles for 2-3 more weeks, and then start dropping the it down. I'll like to run mid-70's for 4 weeks in singles, if possible, and then come back down. Looking that the training, sub 1:11 might be a more realistic expectation, but I must see how I respond to racing and harder workouts the next 5-7 weeks. Any thoughts or advice are always appreciated!

I am not running in the sub 1:10 quite yet but I am getting close. But as another post had said. Feel based is definitely the way to go for these workouts. Along with feeling good for tempos I would say feeling relaxed and strong on long runs(16-18 Miles) has defiantly been a large fitness gain 1/2 marathon wise for me. This is the progression of workouts I used for my last build up.

Hudson (Canova inspired) structure/workout progression

(Basic Weekly structure is the same each week)

Milage around high 70s-low90s

7/31

Monday Double 5+5 with Short hill sprints 6-10 (10 Secs up Hill at max effort)

Tues: 8x 1min @ 10k-3k Feel

Wednesday: Mid Long run (11-15)

Thursday: (Recovery 4-6 or off if necessary)

Fri : 4 miles Max effort

Saturday: (Volume double 9+5)

Sun : (14-18 Miles with progressions at end every other week or so )

8/7

Mon:8x1min uphill 5k feel

Fri: 2x15 min @mara/half

8/14

Mon:15x1 min

Fri:6 miles @ half

8/21

Mon:8x1min uphill

Fri:2 x 15min @ Half

8/28

Mon: 1,2,3,2,1,2,3,2,1

Fri: 5 miles @half

9/4

Mon:6x2min hills @5k

Fri:4 miles @ Max Effort

9/11

Mon:8x3min @10k

Fri: 6miles @ half Marathon

9/18

Mon:4x1 mile @ 10k

Fri:3x10min @Half

9/25

Mon:5x1k@5k

Fri:6.2miles/10k @half

10/2

Mon: 5x2k @10k

Fri: 2x15min @half /10k

10/9

Mon: 3xmile @10k

Sunday Half Marathon

I'm torn here. Honestly, those don't look like 1:09:xx workouts. Tempo pace is not consistent with that level of fitnes the mile repeats at around 5:18 are closest, but aren't there.

But Florida has been a swamp, even by Florida standards, very deep into the year. Lots of people here in central Florida have truffles with workouts too. So part of me wonders if you have just been suffering from the climate. The weather here just broke on Tuesday night/Wednesday.

Maybe that's the kickstart you need.

Agree hat you shouldn't be running tempo efforts at the pace that reflects 1:09:xx fitness, but am concerned that 5;4x pace reflects 1:14 fitness.

I'm cheering for you, not against you; but I'd want some decent interim races or a good string of workouts before going out sub 5:20.

@NietzschesDelight and @ Smoove

Thanks for the replies!

Here is how I finished last week:

Th: 9 miles @ 7:09 pace

F: 7 miles @ 7:30 pace

Sa: 14 miles @ 6:37 pace (last 7 @ 6:20 pace)

Su: 7 miles @ 7:09 pace

Weekly total: 67 miles

10/30-11/05 (race on 11/03):

M: 2-mile warm up, 5-mile tempo on treadmill (couldn't get it in outside, unfortunately) @ 5:42 pace. 3 miles cool down. Total: 10 miles

T: planning to run 11 miles today

W: debating on a long interval workout to train through the race or a shorter interval workout to be fresher (9-10 miles total)

Th: easy 9 miles

F: 5K race (2-mile warm-up, 5K, post-race striders, 2-3 miles cool down). Total: 8 miles

Sa: 8 miles

Su: 15 miles

Weekly total: 70-71 miles

I know the training isn't indicative of sub 1:10, but the regular and long runs are slowly getting quicker, which is encouraging, and I'm sure the workouts will start to ratchet down soon with the improved weather. I'm just not sure if I have enough time to see the benefits of the training to dip under 1:10. I'll have 3 races (5K, then a 10K, then another 5K) before the half to get my legs race ready, although, I wish I had time to do a 4th race to be sharper. Like I said above, sub 1:11 is probably a more realistic goal, at least now. I’ll update again after the race. Hopefully I can put together something decent. Thanks for the continued encouragement and advice!

How about just doing easy distance Wednesday and Thursday, race Friday, easy recovery distance on Saturday, and then combine some long intervals with your long run on Sunday? I don't know what your timing limitations are on the weekends, or how much it would set you back for next week's training, but it is an option that would allow you an honest race without skimping on the overall workload.

I like combined long run/tempo workouts like: 2 miles easy, 4-6 x 1 mile at tempo pace w/1:00 passive rest or 2-3 x 2 miles at tempo pace with 2:00 passive rest, 8 miles easy. You can also do the longer segment before the tempo intervals. Sometimes I even go something like 2 miles up, 3-4 x 1 mile at tempo with 1:00 rest, 3-4 miles easy, 3-4 x 1 mile at tempo w/1:00 rest, cool down. In fact, my scheduled long run for this week is 2 up, 2 x 2 miles at tempo, 2 easy, 2 x 2 miles at temp, 2 down (I too am focusing on a half marathon this winter).

My biggest concern about this approach is whether one day of recovery on Saturday is enough to recover in time for this kind of workout on Sunday.

@Smoove, I like that idea. If I'm up to it on Sunday, I'll probably adopt one of those workouts for the long run. I ran 11 miles yesterday @ 7:06 pace and felt relaxed. The cooler temperatures lately have helped the runs tremendously. I'm going to run easy the next couple of days and have the harder efforts at the end of the week.

Stay tuned for after the race...

I am gearing up for a December half and my training looks very similar to "ish".

Notable differences, ish has 2 "hard" days. If his long run is hard then there is one other hard workout. I do two hard workouts, and my long run might become a third hard day based on how I feel. I can usually tell when I wake up how it'll go and just wing it. Winging it usually means I either do a steady hard effort or a progression rather than something structured like 2x2 mid run. Doing it this way I tend to get 3 hard days every other week.

Your 5k indicates you have the tools to do it. But your timeline is aggressive. You're weak on the endurance component to be able to hit 5:20 for 13. How you respond to those longer interval sessions will be the determining factor I think. A couple long workouts that have seemed to help me were 4x2mile at a little slower than HM, and 8 miles with 3@M + 1@10k x 2. Note: those are tough and should be used sparingly, don't wreck yourself to finish if you're having a bad day.

The weather is the wild card. We started getting some cooler temps here in TX about a month ago, and everything seems to have magically gotten 10sec/mi faster. If you get a nice cool day with little humidity you never know.

Here is the how last week went:

10/30-11/05 (race on 11/03):

M: 2-mile warm up, 5-mile tempo on treadmill (couldn't get it in outside, unfortunately) @ 5:42 pace. 3 miles cool down. Total: 10 miles

T: 11 miles @ 7:06 pace

W: 10 miles @ 7:13 pace

Th: 9 miles @ 7:15 pace

F: 5K race: I ran 15:49 for 1st place (5:04, 5:07, 5:05, 0:33). 1-mile warm-up followed by 3-mile cool-down. No post-race striders, as I had planned. I was by myself the entire way. The course changed a bit from last year and they added another hairpin turn (4 overall). Overall, considering it was my first race of the training block, I'm happy with this result. Total: 7 miles

Sa: 8 miles @ 7:14 pace

Su: 15 miles @ 6:31 pace (longest and fastest run to date). I adopted a version of Smoove's workout. I ran 4 miles at about 7:07 pace, followed by 3x2 miles @ 5:40 pace attempt with 2:30-3:00mins rest between, then 4.25miles-ish @ 6:58. 2 mile splits were - 5:46, 5:44 (11:30), can't remember the splits on this one (11:41), 5:47, 5:44 (11:31). My legs still weren't fully recovered from the race Friday, but the effort was there.

Weekly total: 70 miles

@1 2 3 Green. I usually run 2 workouts a week (M + W or T + Th) and a long run typically on Saturdays. I know the timeline is aggressive for sub 1:10, but I'm going to go for it and see what happens. Depending on how the rest of the season goes, I might do another half late January before getting ready for track. I need more long-interval training, so a race in late January might give me the extra time I need to be sub 1:10 by then. I have a 10K on 11/19 that I’ll be gearing up for next, so I’ll probably do some 1Ks later this week to get ready. This race had 7 guys sub 31:40 last year. Per McMillan Calculator, my 15:49 5K is good for a 32:51 10K, so I’ll see what I can do. The feedback has been great, keep it coming!

That is a great solo effort on Friday. While you have a way to go still, you are inching closer toward that sub-1:10 goal. Normally you might dismiss that as too far away from a 1:10 equivalent, but being alone and the consistency of your splits is in your favor.

I was giving some thought to coming down to race that 10k, but I think I am all traveled out.

@Smoove, thanks! The racing has finally started, so hopefully that gets me into some decent shape soon. If you know the race I'm talking about, then you should come down, it'll be a fast one!

I do - Renee puts on a good race from what I hear. It's just a little too far and I can't finish in the money, so I'd have to get a hotel. But it would be nice to be part of a high quality race.

@Smoove. I see. I doubt I'll be in the money, either, but it's a good opportunity for fast competition, which is all I care about right now.

11/06-11/12:

M: 10 miles @ 7:15 pace

T: 11 miles @ 7:19 pace

W: 2-mile warm-up, 10x1K with at least 5 @ 3:15 w/1:30 jogging rest. Splits: 3:14, 3:15, 3:15, 3:15, 3:15, 3:14, 3:10, 3:09, 3:10, 3:08. 2-mile cool down. I know the times aren't impressive, but I wanted to hit 10K goal pace (sub 32:30) with minimal rest. Total: 10 miles

Th: 9 miles @ 7:16 pace

F: 7.5 miles @ 6:52 pace (3.75 on hills). 3x200 uphill @ 44, 40, 39 + 1x300 @ 1:01, all w/jog downhill as rest. Total: 8 miles

Sa: 15 miles @ 6:18 pace. I tried to make it fast from the beginning, as per ish's suggestion. This was the fastest and longest I've ever run. I felt comfortable with the effort and I didn't feel like I was overextending.

Su: 8 miles @ 7:06 pace

Weekly total: 71 miles

For this week, I was thinking of a fartlek or long-interval workout (2x800, 1xmile, 1x2mile, 1xmile, 2x800) today or tomorrow and a short-interval workout Wednesday or Thursday, since the 10K race in on Sunday, 11/19. Any thoughts on the previous week or workout ideas for this week?

I would honestly keep plugging away at the long tempo-paced intervals. I like that you are not ignoring running economy altogether, but I might save those shorter workouts for a few weeks from now.

My goal half is in mid-January. My last three workouts have been: 5k/3k/2k at tempo pace with 3:00 and 2:00 rest; 5 x 1000 at 5k pace with 3:00 rest; 3 x 2 miles at tempo pace with 2:00 rest.

This week will be a 20 minute tempo run or some relatively modest cruise intervals (maybe 5 x 1 mile at tempo pace with 1:00 rest, and then a long run tempo combo (2 up, 5 x 1 mile with 1:00 rest, 8-10 easy).

I will go back to some 5k paced intervals about 3 weeks out from the race (a couple of weeks from now for you), but in the meantime, I am focused on maximizing my LT adaptation.

I think your 10k is going to go well as those 1000s seemed like a very solid pace oriented workout with a good strong finish.

@Smoove, I'll continue to plug away at those long tempo-paced intervals then. I figure I have about 3 weeks of hard training and 2 big workouts before I need to start tapering. I'll do a 2-week taper. Thanks for the feedback! Always helpful and encouraging to have others' thoughts and insights.

Out of curiosity, which half are you targeting? I'm trying to do the Jacksonville Half on 12/16, but if I can't make it to that one, for whatever reason, I'll extend the training until the Miami Half on 01/28.

Houston Half on January 14th is my goal race. I will run the OUC Half in Orlando as an interim race.