Written by My half marathon training group has ended this past weekend because they are all running their races next weekend. However my race is not for another seven weeks. I have been researching half marathon training programs so that I can get myself on track and come up with a good plan for the remaining time.
There are so many half marathon training programs on the internet, geared toward the novice, the intermediate or the expert runner. Some well regarded coaches with websites include Hal Higdon, Jeff Galloway and Jack Daniels. Each plan is different, and I have been trying to compare, contrast and combine them all into something perfect for me.
I also really respect Matt Frazier, who has written an ebook called “The Half Marathon Road Map”. Matt is also a vegan, and his book not only goes into the running part of training, but the eating part as well.
Here is my summary of the training plans that I liked the best:
| Smartcoach (Runner’s World) | Hal Higdon Novice | Hal Higdon Novice 2 | Jeff Galloway | Matt Frazier | |
| # running days per week | 4 | 3 or 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| miles vs time | miles | miles | miles | time | time |
| long run miles | 8/8/8/4 /10/10/11/ race day |
6/3/7/8/ 6/9/10/ race day |
8/3/9/10/ 6/11/12/ race day |
4/11/4/12.5/ 4/14/5/ race day |
7/8/9/4/ 10/11/5/ race day |
| # xtraining days per week | 0 | 1 or 2 | 1 | 1 – easy walk | 1 or 2 |
| total miles per week without long run | 8 – 11 | 10 – 13 | 10 – 11 | 5 – 6 | approx 9 |
| other info | speedwork and tempo runs | one day of stretch and strength | speedwork and easy runs | walk/run, 3 days off |
interval and hill training |
I decided to go with Matt’s plan, I like the progression of his long runs, 1 or 2 cross training days per week which he recommends not be too stressful on the body and the focus should be on relaxation and recovery (ie; yoga, stretching), and the interval and hill training. I enjoy interval training, hills not so much, but on hill days I can just do a regular run if I am not up for a hill.
On the schedule today was a 2 mile run. Now normally I would never do a 2 mile run, it’s not worth getting out of bed, putting on all of the running gear, etc, just for 2 miles. But the plan said 2 miles, so I did 2 miles. I did an easy 2 miles because I hiked 7 miles on Saturday and ran 7 miles yesterday. It was kind of nice, actually, just jogging along, knowing I would be done quickly, but running easy and slow.
I’m going to reread Matt’s ebook, he has a ton of good information about training and nutrition. Also included with the ebook is a series of 6 audio interviews with athletes like Brendon Brazier. I highly recommend the book, you can get it at his website.
You can also get t-shirts and car magnets like these:
I have one of each. I actually met Matt at the DCVegFest in September. He is a great guy, and he has a podcast too.
That is Matt selling t-shirts:
On the schedule for tomorrow – 3 1/2 miles. I’ve also been doing really well with my goal of stretching each morning and night. I’m at about a 90% success rate, pretty good!
Sounds like a great plan Linda! At my race on Sunday someone was wearing a no meat athlete shirt of his
Kalli – cool! I love my No Meat Athlete shirt.
Sounds like you have a great plan. You should do great at your race. I wish I had your drive.
Karin – I don’t think it is drive necessarily, I just love to run. I wish I could run every day, but I get injured too easily, so I have to keep it to 3 or 4 days a week.