Half marathon training plans???

bluiz13
bluiz13 Posts: 3,550 Member
edited January 1 in Fitness and Exercise
i'm going to start at the end of october training for the next princess half in disney (late feb 2013) and i would like to run this whole race versus doing run/walk intervals like i have on the last 2 halves that i have completed....

suggestions for running training programs that have worked for any of you please?????

i have done the galloway method and another one i can't remember what it was called.....

my last 1/2 time was 2:54 with 2/1 intervals...

i'd love to improve my time but more than anything i just want to complete the 13.1 miles at a "running" pace.....thanks in advance...denise

Replies

  • CarsonRuns
    CarsonRuns Posts: 3,039 Member
    Hal Higdon's plans are real popular.

    As a matter of fact, if you Google "Half marathon training plan", his site is the third one listed.

    http://www.halhigdon.com/training/51131/Half-Marathon-Novice-1-Training-Program
  • warrenvalley
    warrenvalley Posts: 30 Member
    I'm doing the Columbus Half marathon in 2 weeks. I used Hal Higdon for my first last November and this time I switched to Coach Jenny's intermediate plan.

    I'm finding the Coach Jenny plan (coachjenny.com) is working much better. The intermediate plan is 14 weeks and you run 4 days a week with 2 days of cross training. The key is you run by effort, not pace. So you run X minutes at an easy conversational pace 2 days a week. One day is for speed work and then you have a long run of set miles.

    There are different types of plans based on your experience as a runner - there's even a walk/run plan. My husband switched from a Runner's World plan to mine because it made so much more sense. My goal is to shave a minute off my pace from my first half - looking good so far.

    Hope this helps and Good luck!
  • arc918
    arc918 Posts: 2,037 Member
    another vote for Higdon
  • dsjohndrow
    dsjohndrow Posts: 1,820 Member
    Hal Higdon's 1/2 M Novice or Novice 1. The hard part is always the longs runs. You need to learn to breath deeply if you are not, so that you don't run out of oxygen to keep the muscles working for 2+ hours. Of course you need to adjust your pace as well. I would say if you can run a 5K at 30 minutes, and a 10K at an hour, you'll need to plan on building up to running for 2.5 hours to make sure you finish.

    Most of the plans assume you can add a long run mile every week. But that often breaks the 10% per week additional time for most folks. If you are running 5 miles, you can only add a half mile. If you are doing 10, it will be closer to the formula. You probably need to plan on adding a half mile to your long run each week. Hopefully you are at a solid 5 miles now which gives you time to get there. Then you have the other 3 days in which you'll run 3/5/3 or 4/6/4 plus the cross training.

    Good luck!

    I am doing the Novice 2 right now, and in 22 days I am running a half marathon.
  • andreae13
    andreae13 Posts: 239 Member
    I'm doing Higdon's as well. It's working great so far.
  • bluiz13
    bluiz13 Posts: 3,550 Member
    Andrea which one are you doing?
  • InTheInbetween
    InTheInbetween Posts: 192 Member
    Another vote for Higdon! I had to modify it slightly so it meshed with my schedule (weekly mileage stayed the same I just had to juggle some days around to make it work!) but it kept me on track.
    Runner's World also had a good one although it is pretty similar to Higdon's. The runners world one had a few variations though that I liked a little better when it came time to make the jump from the half marathon to a full.
  • reggie2run
    reggie2run Posts: 477 Member
    Another vote for Hal!
  • bluiz13
    bluiz13 Posts: 3,550 Member
    here's what i came up with for my princess half training plan that i'm starting on 12/2....

    https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B2sRzs_p1FWdZDFMVGFpVEhYY0U

    until then, i'm going to walk, start spin and zumba again and slowly start doing some intervals with walking and running until i can get to running without intervals hopefully closer to the end of november.....

    my 2 cross training days i plan on strength training and/or spin or zumba class.....

    my 2 short run days i will either do early in the am out and back from home or on my lunch breaks at work since it will be dark in the mornings and at night once the time change happens....

    my long runs are going to be on sunday mornings with my friend that is going to run the princess with me....we'll more than likely meet down by the intracoastal and do the A1A route we trained on in 2010...

    my goal for princess 2013 is to run the whole race with no run/walk intervals at all - if we have to "slow" down to a slow jog that is fine but since my friend did it in 2010 with no intervals i want to do it in 2013 with no intervals...

    thoughts, suggestions, comments????
  • CarsonRuns
    CarsonRuns Posts: 3,039 Member
    here's what i came up with for my princess half training plan that i'm starting on 12/2....

    https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B2sRzs_p1FWdZDFMVGFpVEhYY0U

    until then, i'm going to walk, start spin and zumba again and slowly start doing some intervals with walking and running until i can get to running without intervals hopefully closer to the end of november.....

    my 2 cross training days i plan on strength training and/or spin or zumba class.....

    my 2 short run days i will either do early in the am out and back from home or on my lunch breaks at work since it will be dark in the mornings and at night once the time change happens....

    my long runs are going to be on sunday mornings with my friend that is going to run the princess with me....we'll more than likely meet down by the intracoastal and do the A1A route we trained on in 2010...

    my goal for princess 2013 is to run the whole race with no run/walk intervals at all - if we have to "slow" down to a slow jog that is fine but since my friend did it in 2010 with no intervals i want to do it in 2013 with no intervals...

    thoughts, suggestions, comments????

    Only one suggestion. Don't wait until 12/2 to start. The sooner you start, the more mileage you get on your legs, the better off you will be.
  • bluiz13
    bluiz13 Posts: 3,550 Member
    i'm starting walking now for 2 wks and then starting with some running and intervals for 2wks....i had a tummy tuck on 9/21 and have just now been cleared to start working out (delayed due to extra fluid build up after drain removed)....anyway, i'm not waiting until 12/2 to start working out - shooting for 9-12miles a week between walking/running/elliptical plus lifting, zumba and spin - just not starting that particular 12wk plan until 12/2....hope that makes sense....thanks for the input...

    Only one suggestion. Don't wait until 12/2 to start. The sooner you start, the more mileage you get on your legs, the better off you will be.
  • ixap
    ixap Posts: 675 Member
    galloway also has intermediate and advanced plans if you liked his plan the first time and are ready to add some intensity
  • DangerJim71
    DangerJim71 Posts: 361 Member
    http://halhigdon.com/training/51312/Half-Marathon-Novice-2-Training-Program

    I used this Hal Higdon plan and I was more than ready for my first ever half last weekend. I finished in 2:04. Not bad for someone who was smoking 6 months ago and was 70 lbs heavier. I did a lot of additional biking and swimmng that I really believe made me a better runner too.
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