Half marathon training

When I did the Disney Princess Half this year, I followed the Galloway training plan. You run 3 times per week - 2 short (30 minutes), and 1 long run. Good luck!

I followed the Green Bay 1/2 marathon training program and it worked really well! I tried to find the link, but you now have to sign in to get to it and I didn't run the Green Bay. So, here is the training plan for the last 7 weeks: Week 1: 5,6,8 and 30 minutes cross training Week 2: 4,7,9.5 and 30 minutes CT, Week 3: 4,7,11 and 30 min CT, Week 4: 5,7,8 and 30 min CT, Week 5: 4,3,6.5 and 30 min CT, and Week 7, 6 and 2 with 30 min CT. Then the big day! Have fun- it was SO worth it!

I'm training for my first half (the Akron marathon) right now with seven weeks left to go as well! I've been running at least thirty minutes (around 3ish miles) Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, and then cross training or walking on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Then on Saturdays I do my long run (this week I ran 8.5 miles with 2 minute walk breaks every 20 minutes, this Saturday I'll be running 8.5 miles with three walk breaks, and then basically the mileage increases and breaks decrease until you peak at 12 miles. The long run the week before the race only run 6 miles.)

Good luck with your training and happy running!

Training for my first half as well. My longest run was 7 miles & it was tough. The heat/humidity is really messing up my training schedule.
I am doing 3 short runs on Monday, Wednesday & Thursday (each run varies from 3-5 miles each). Friday is my rest day & my long runs are on Saturdays.
On Sundays I do some other kind of cardio or DVD workout

you are definitely on track! just keep up what you are doing. good luck with your half marathon...where is it? I'm doing two--Milwaukee and Savannah.

I have used this free app for my last couple of half marathons and am using it for a full marathon that I am training for in Oct. It's free from itunes. Its probably on the android market as well. It's Runner's World Smart Coach. Good luck!

Wow... if you are relatively new to running, I would NOT recommend running "6 or 7 times a week, twice a day on most of those" as in the previous post. That sounds like a recipe for instant injury to me, unless you are already very fit and under professional coaching supervision (in that instance it's probably great, but if you are just aiming to finish your first half and haven't been running for a long time - very risky).

If you are a relatively new runner - you need to be getting some long runs in there to build up strength and endurance in your legs.

Even more importantly, you really need to get off the treadmill and run outside - it is such a different activity, I don't think that treadmill training really prepares you for outside running at all.
It's a good place to get your fitness level up but if you want to run a LONG race outside - you have to train outside.
Don't let the weather stop you - I trained all through an Australian summer last year - it just means getting up good and early and running before it's too hot, and making sure you have water with you on your long runs. If you aren't prepared to take a little bit of discomfort in training, I'd question whether you are ready for such a long race outside.

Last year I trained for a half marathon, but didn't manage to run it as I injured my hip flexors a few weeks before the race. I ran 10k and did OK with that, but I just wasn't up to the half. I was running 5 times a week last year and really focusing on increasing my speed as well as my distance. With hindsight, I think it was too much too soon for me - I'm 45 and only started running 18 months ago after a lifetime of inactivity.

This year I have been running 3-4 times a week - usually
1 x hill run (my race course is pretty hilly) 5 - 6km
1 x interval run 5 - 6 km
1 x tempo run 6 - 10 km
1 x long run (building up gradually from 8km - 20km - this weekend!)

This is roughly based on the marathon rookie guide, adapted into km.

Good luck!

Ditto Rubybelle. 3-4 times per week will get the job done. Long run is indispensable. I trained up to 14.5 miles before my first half last year, just to make the actual event seem less intimidating. But overdistance training like that is not necessary.

Like Rubybelle I'm a fan of hill training and tempo runs too. :devil: Even if you are not trying to beat any speed records, they really help improve form, strength, and leg turnover. I would never have guessed I could do it but I finished in less than 2 hours!

Good luck sweettart! 10 miles is a huge achievement.

I did a half back in 2003 and over did it running 5 days a week and taking 2 kickboxing classes per week plus yoga here and there. I finished in 2:08:02 but I ended up with such awfully sore IT bands that I didn't run for months after the race.

I'm running another on on Saturday and am aiming for sub-2hr finish. This time I've been running 4 days a week and cross-training 2 days a week with one rest day.

1 long run - sometimes steady, sometimes progressively faster; I've done full race distance twice
1 speed work (either fartleks, hill sprints or just a hilly route, 7-8km OR a 10km tempo run
1 easy mid distance run 10-13km
1 easy shorter run 5-8km

That has worked for me.

If you want to maximize your running potential you need to run 6 or 7 days a week and twice a day on most of those days. Total training time during a wek should be 10 to 12 hours.

For a half marathon? I routinely run fulls and 50ks (and a couple of 50 milers snuck in there too) on 10 to 12 hours per week.