Welcome to our half marathon training plan! If you’ve come this far, then you’re definitely up for the challenge!
The plan starts in week commencing 11 January and takes you right up to completing your half marathon on Friday 2nd April. If you can already run for 20-30 mins, even with a bit of walking mixed in, this plan is for you. If you’re a little more advanced, you can afford to increase the intensity of some of the sessions, and even commence your training a little later in week 3 or 4 of the plan.
If you’ve never run close to a half marathon before, your only aim should be to complete it and enjoy it! However, if you do want to set yourself a target for your finish time, Strava’s running pace calculator will help you work out what pace you need to aim at for your long runs.
Please check out the ‘Training Plan Explained‘ section below the weekly schedule which tells you more about the different types of run and other activities.
| W/C | MON | TUE | WED | THUR | FRI | SAT | SUN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 Jan | Rest or S&C | Easy Run: 30 mins | Easy Run or XT: 30 mins | Rest | Easy Run: 30 mins | Rest or S&C | Long Run: 3.1 miles (5km) |
| 18 Jan | Rest or S&C | Easy Run: 30 mins | Easy Run or XT: 30 mins | Rest | Easy Run: 30 mins | Rest or S&C | Long Run: 40 mins |
| 25 Jan | Rest or S&C | Easy Run: 30 mins | Easy Run or XT: 30 mins | Rest | Tempo Run: 30 mins | Rest or S&C | Long Run: 5 miles (8km) |
| 1 Feb | Rest or S&C | Easy Run: 40 mins | Easy Run or XT: 40 mins | Rest | Tempo Run: 30 mins | Rest or S&C | Long Run: 60 mins |
| 8 Feb | Rest or S&C | Easy Run: 40 mins | Intervals or XT: 40 mins | Rest | Tempo Run: 30 mins | Rest or S&C | Long Run: 7 miles (11.2km) |
| 15 Feb | Rest or S&C | Easy Run: 40 mins | Intervals or XT: 40 mins | Rest | Tempo Run: 30 mins | Rest or S&C | Long Run: 8 miles (13km) |
| 22 Feb | Rest or S&C | Easy Run: 40 mins | Intervals or XT: 40 mins | Rest | Tempo Run: 30 mins | Rest or S&C | Long Run: 60 mins |
| 1 Mar | Rest or S&C | Easy Run: 40 mins | Intervals or XT: 50 mins | Rest | Tempo Run: 30 mins | Rest or S&C | Long Run: 10 miles (16km) |
| 8 Mar | Rest or S&C | Easy Run: 40 mins | Intervals or XT: 50 mins | Rest | Tempo Run: 30 mins | Rest or S&C | Long Run: 5 miles (8km) |
| 15 Mar | Rest or S&C | Easy Run: 40 mins | Intervals or XT: 40 mins | Rest | Tempo Run: 30 mins | Rest or S&C | Long Run: 11.5 miles (18.5km) |
| 22 Mar | Rest or S&C | Easy Run: 40 mins | Intervals or XT: 40 mins | Rest | Tempo Run: 30 mins | Rest or S&C | Long Run: 6.2 miles (10km) |
| 29 Mar | Rest or S&C | Easy Run: 30 mins | Easy Run or XT: 30 mins | Rest | 1/2 MARATHON: 13.1 MILES (21.08KM) |
Training Plan Explained…
Easy Run
Light jogging or walking at pace; breathing is easy & steady. If you can’t talk as you are running, you’re going too fast!
Tempo Run
Designed to improve your pace, a tempo run should feel challenging and breathing should be ‘comfortably hard’. You could try including some hills for a bit of variety!
- Warm up for 5-10 minutes at an easy jog.
- Tempo running for 15-20 mins.
- Cool down with an easy jog for 5 minutes and stretch.
Long Run
These runs should be at a slightly challenging pace but breathing should not feel uncomfortable. You should be able to hold a conversation, but find it difficult. This will become your race pace and be used for your long runs. It will increase your distance and build up your aerobic fitness, efficiency and endurance. If you are planning to run/walk your half marathon, practice this during your long runs.
You can find out what your race pace will mean for your projected finish time by using Strava’s running pace calculator.
Intervals
Training with intervals builds your aerobic fitness, strength and speed. Interval training involves running hard (but not sprinting) for a set time, then recovering for at least as long as the hard run and repeating. You could also incorporate some hill sprints if you’re feeling good! For example:
- Warm up for 10 minutes at an easy jog.
- Run at interval pace (a step up from your usual pace) for one minute.
- Jog for a two-minute recovery interval.
- Repeat steps 2 & 3 as necessary to make up the required total time.
- Cool down with an easy jog for 5 minutes and stretch.
Cross training (XT)
Cross training helps you to keep up your fitness but reduces the strain on the muscles you use for running. You could do anything from swimming and cycling, to using a cross trainer in the gym or training with your sports club! Always substitute running for cross training if you are injured, very sore or it’s not safe to run.
Check out Oriam’s Online Fitness offering to help you cross-train while the gym is closed!
Strength & Conditioning (S&C)
Try to stretch every day for at least 10 minutes and include activity such as pilates or yoga classes once or twice a week if you have time. Check out Oriam’s Online Fitness offering for S&C classes, either live or on demand.