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Advanced 14-week half marathon training schedule. You should choose this plan the Advance training plan if you are a regular runner and plan to run 5-6 times per week in your half marathon build up. Monday is always a light day. Tuesday builds speed endurance. Wednesday is a day of active recovery. Thursday develops race pace running. Friday is always a rest day. Saturday is a steady day whilst Sunday is to develop your strength and stamina. Week 1 14 weeks to go Tuesday 45 mins easy Thursday 10 mins easy, 30 mins steady, 10 mins easy Saturday 30 mins easy Sunday 75 mins easy Week 2 13 weeks to go Tuesday 10 mins easy, 4 x 3 mins fast/2mins easy, 10 mins easy Thursday 10 mins easy, 35 mins steady, 10 mins easy Saturday 35 mins easy Sunday 80 mins easy Week 3 12 weeks to go Monday 35 mins easy Tuesday 10 mins easy, 6 x 3 mins fast/2mins easy, 10 mins easy Thursday 5 mins easy, 20 mins tempo, 5 mins easy Saturday 40 mins easy Sunday 80 mins easy 2
Week 4 11 weeks to go Monday 35 mins easy Tuesday 10 mins easy, 6 x 3 mins fast/1 min easy, 10 min easy Thursday 10 mins easy, 30 mins tempo, 10 mins easy Sunday 90 mins easy Week 5 10 weeks to go A recovery week! Monday 35 mins easy Tuesday 45 mins easy Thursday 10 mins easy, 20 mins steady, 10 mins easy Sunday 90 mins (20 mins easy, 50 mins at half marathon pace, 20 mins easy) Week 6 9 weeks to go Monday 40 mins easy Tuesday 10 mins easy, 5 x 4 mins tempo/2mins jog recovery, 10 mins easy Thursday 10 mins easy, 10 mins steady, 10 mins half marathon pace, 10 mins steady, 10 mins easy Saturday 50 mins easy Sunday 1 hour 40 mins easy Week 7 8 weeks to go Monday 40 mins easy Tuesday 10 mins easy, 5 x 5 mins /2mins easy, 10 mins easy Thursday 10 mins easy, 15 mins steady, 15 mins fast, 10 mins steady, 10 mins easy Saturday 50 mins easy Sunday 1 hour 50 mins easy 3
Week 8 7 weeks to go Monday 40 mins easy Tuesday 10 mins easy, 5 x 6 mins fast/2 mins easy, 10 min easy Thursday 5 mins easy, 40 mins tempo, 5 mins easy Sunday 90 mins easy Week 9 6 weeks to go Monday 45 mins easy Tuesday 10 mins easy, Hills: 6 x 90 secs temp uphill/jog down to recover, 10 mins easy Thursday 10 mins easy, 4 x 10 mins half marathon pace, 2 mins jog recovery, 10 mins easy Sunday 2 hours easy Week 10 5 weeks to go Monday 30 mins very easy recovery run Tuesday 10 mins easy, 4 x 3 mins tempo/2mins jog recovery, 10 mins easy Thursday 10 mins easy, 3 x 15 mins half marathon pace, 10 min jog recovery, 10 mins easy Saturday 40 mins easy Sunday 2 hours (30 mins easy, 30 mins steady, 30 mins half marathon pace, 30 mins easy) Week 11 4 weeks to go Run a race! Tuesday 10 mins easy, Hills: 6 x 90 secs tempo uphill/jog down recovery, 10 mins easy Thursday 40 mins easy Friday 30 mins easy Saturday Rest Sunday Run a 10K/5 mile 4
Week 12 3 weeks to go Monday 45 mins easy Tuesday 10 mins jog, 5 x 5 mins fast/1 min easy, 10 mins easy Thursday 45 mins easy Saturday 70 mins (5 mins easy, 20 mins steady, 20 mins fast, 20 mins steady, 5 mins jog) Sunday 1 hour 40 mins easy Week 13 2 weeks to go Tuesday 10 mins jog, 5 x 5 mins fast/1 min easy, 10 mins easy Thursday 10 mins easy, 25 mins half marathon pace, 10 mins easy Saturday 30 mins easy Sunday 65 mins very easy Week 14 1 week to go Taper week Monday Rest Tuesday 5 mins jog. 5 x 5 mins at half marathon pace/5 mins easy, 5 mins easy Wednesday Rest Thursday 20 mins easy Saturday 15 mins easy Sunday Race Day Good Luck! 5
Key Training Terms Easy or recovery runs. During an easy run you should feel relaxed. You should be breathing comfortably and be capable of holding a conversation throughout the run. If you re a new/novice runner then you ll probably be questioning whether any run feels easy. Holding a conversation may feel impossible. But just slow down, walk if necessary and control your effort. Steady runs. These are the bread and butter of your training, the miles in the bank. Steady runs build the aerobic base that acts as the foundation for the rest of your training. Conversations are still possible at this pace but in short sentences rather than long gossip. Threshold or tempo runs. Running at threshold pace is about running under controlled discomfort and is great for improving your running economy. After the long endurance runs threshold runs are probably your most valuable workouts. You will find them slightly uncomfortable and they ll require concentration but they are well worth the effort. You ll only be capable of uttering four or five words as you run. As you get fitter and more experienced you ll learn how to find your own threshold pace, and this will develop as you get fitter, stronger and faster. Long runs. Long runs are vital and should be a key ingredient of your plan. The long runs develop stamina. Concentrate on increasing the time on your feet rather than worrying about distance. So, work in time (hrs and minutes) as opposed to distance (miles/kms) then as the plan progresses begin to relate this to distance. The duration of a long run varies according to your level of fitness, running experience and phase of running training programme. Hill running. Hill running involves running continuously over a hilly circuit or fast up a hill and jogging easily back down again to the start before running hard up again. This is repeated for a specified number of hill reps. The hill can vary in gradient and length depending on the purpose of the training session. 6
Key Training Terms Warming up and cooling down. It s important to ease yourself into your run workouts. Any training session should begin with gentle cardiovascular exercise (light walking/running) to raise your body temperature, get the blood flow moving and the heart and lungs going. Some dynamic stretching and mobilization exercises also help get you ready for your run. Also, don t come to an abrupt stop after your run. Gradually slow it down to a walk and give your body time to calm down with a gentle cool down. This is a good time to stretch out muscles. Half Marathon Pace. This is your target marathon pace (normally expressed in minute miles, e.g., 10-minute miles will give you a half marathon finish time of 2 hrs 11 mins). It helps to know what this is and what it feels like to run at this pace during your training. This pace should feel comfortable and in control, but you ll certainly have to work to maintain it as the miles tick by. It may take a few weeks of regular running before you can estimate your target half marathon pace and this may change throughout your preparations. Contents Yelling Performance. www.yellingperformance.com Oxfam is a registered charity in England and Wales: no 202918 and Scotland: SC039042. Oxfam GB is a member of Oxfam International 7