Edit: Latest post here: healthunlocked.com/marathon...
Hi all!
A bit of housework first:
💥 I'll tag you all this time, but please can you follow me to receive email notifications of these posts? You can always unfollow me again later 😊
💥 I've made a LIST of all the people who expressed an interest in joining the group - it's in Google Drive here:
docs.google.com/spreadsheet...
Have a look to make sure you're there, and check I've got the correct info. Note we've currently got EIGHT runners in the Royal Parks Half - how awesome is that?!
RIGHT, onto the subject of Half Marathon Plans!
First, I apologise that this is a long post 😊
💥 Second, I hope you have all understood that this is NOT the same sort of deal as the Magic Running Plan on B210K! I will not be sharing a set of runs for you to do each week. This is because people are running half marathons on various dates, and what I found out when I did the Spring Half Marathon group is that people had their own ideas about the plans they want to follow. I want to encourage all of you to think for yourselves in this way, because at the end of the day a training plan has to work for YOU!
The purpose of this group is to get together and share your experiences of training for the half marathon, and give support to one another. I will post regular updates to give the group focus, and offer any help I can. There is also a Strava Group we set up last time, which is here (you have to request to join):
I have drawn up a 16 week plan as discussed previously, and which can be found here:
docs.google.com/spreadsheet...
💥 OK, so finally getting to the point 😊
There are loads of half marathon plans available for free on digital media! I did a Google search for plans and have had a browse through them. I've picked a few to discuss on here. I think they're all fine, some of them are more advanced, definitely not for beginners, but the information is very useful for learning about how to train. I'd encourage you just to have a glance at some yourselves just to see what catches your eye, because it's really helpful if you have a plan that's easy for you to understand and follow.
💥 Here's a summary of what plans generally include, and what the main terms mean:
★ Runs, and total weekly mileage/kilometerage: Check this to make sure you'll be able to cope with the total distances noted at the beginning of the plan. Also, can you fit in the number of runs per week suggested? And does the plan go all the way to half marathon distance or not? It doesn't matter from the point of view of getting to a race, but if you just want to get to HM distance in training, this is an important consideration.
★ Rest/recovery: Some plans are less specific about this than others. Basic plans may just say "rest", and may suggest doing some cross-training. More advanced plans will have "recovery runs" built in, and will probably include cross-training days as well. Recovery is as important as working out, because it allows the body time to relax and rebuild before the next heavy session. Have a think about how much time off from running you really need before you can run at your best again - everyone is different!
★ Pace: Some plans will specify pace in min/mile or min/km, some will talk in terms of effort - you'll see words like 'comfortable' 'steady' 'hard' 'half marathon' '10K' '5K'. You may have to spend some time working out what these will mean for you personally. Beginner plans should emphasise a steady/comfortable pace for the majority of runs, as you should have no expectations of a finishing time for your first half marathon! And the majority of running at any level should be at an easy pace - building endurance and a strong aerobic base. But it is worthwhile to include some faster runs because these will help you in other ways than merely making you go faster!
★ Tempo runs: These are often described as 'comfortably hard', which is pretty much what they do - train you to get comfortable with feeling uncomfortable! They often appear within speed intervals workouts, but they also might be standalone runs of up to an hour. Tempo pace is often specified as a bit slower than your current 10K race pace - or in effort terms it's hard work but you feel you can keep it up for about an hour.
★ Intervals: No doubt you've tried these! Short bursts of fast running, paces are usually described as '90% of maximum effort' or '5K race pace' - with slower recovery runs in between. I've also spotted fartleks in some of the plans I looked at - a more freestyle approach where you speed up and slow down as you feel.
★ Cross-training: Low-impact activities you can do on non-running days to help you recover while still building your strength and stamina - and keeping those muscles moving. Cycling, swimming, and yoga are the most popular. I'm a big fan of strength work too - be it bodyweight (yoga covers this to a certain extent) or lifting, but I've noticed some plans give it a miss!
★ Cut-back weeks: It's a pretty good idea to cut back the mileage every few weeks to give yourself a break - also maybe use the time to think about how you're feeling and address any niggles...
💥 NOTES ON PLANS!
💥 RUNNER’S WORLD VARIOUS
Runner’s World tend to be near the top of any running search, and I’ve used a Runner’s World plan (ultramarathon in my case), so I think they’re worth a look! There is quite a long list of half marathon plans here, I’ve only looked at the first three in any detail.
runnersworld.com/uk/trainin...
★ Runner’s World Beginners plan (12 weeks)
Seems pretty solid, three runs per week with rest or cross training on non-running days. Builds up weekly distance from 9 miles up to 22. It only has one cut-back week, but then the mileage is pretty low anyway. I like that it has a hilly run every week (from week 5 onwards) - if you don’t have hills you can substitute with intervals.
The one thing I don’t think you should worry about is the stipulation that you need to be running 15-20 miles per week for at least 4 weeks before starting the plan, doesn’t make much sense since the plan starts with a 9 mile week. I’d say that if you were regularly running a 10k and a couple of shorter runs per week you’d be golden. Perhaps Runner’s World are getting kms and miles mixed up?
They talk about “half marathon pace” in this plan, but as a beginner you wouldn’t be aware of this I think.
★ Runner’s World sub-2 hr plan (for those who have already done a half marathon) (10 weeks)
This is more advanced, with 4 runs per week, and requiring knowledge of your current 10k and half marathon race paces. They’ve included some bodyweight core strength exercises which is useful. This one necessarily specifies pace (in min/mile). There are some mile repeat sessions at around 5 min/km, and some tempo runs at about 5:30 min/km. These types of runs are fabulous for getting you fit, but they are of course pretty hard work!
★ Runner’s World Hilly Half plan (12 weeks)
I’ve included this one because it has some great strength moves with dumbbells. There are also strides in this plan, which are excellent workouts, and there are some useful ideas about hill running.
But this is definitely an advanced plan! It has 5 runs per week, so it’s for experienced and dedicated half marathoners 
The plans in this list get more specific and difficult after those. Have a browse through them for ideas and for future reference.
💥
JANE TOMLINSON’S RUN FOR ALL (12 week plans)
runforall.com/our-training-...
The Run for All charity is the legacy of the late athlete Jane Tomlinson, and associated with ASDA who sponsor various events. Quite a few of the websites of the bigger events include training plans. This one has a list of training plans (developed by a personal trainer called Graeme Hilditch) covering all the main distances, and I’ve looked at a couple of the half marathon ones.
★ Run For All Beginner Plan
This has a mixture of 4-run and 3-run weeks, which is a nice touch I think! I also like the way they have incorporated fartleks to emphasise the fun part of running while providing some solid interval work. There are also tempo runs most weeks which is good to see.
★ Run For All Intermediate Plan
This one is mostly 4 runs per week, but has some cut-back weeks with 3 runs. It has tempo and fartlek sessions, and also intervals - presumably to help the runner improve their speed and endurance for a faster finishing time - gotta get that PB!
Cross training is a little more subtle than with the RW plans, in that these suggest that cross-training is done “if you feel your body and legs need a break from running”. Cross training is brought into the advanced plan, but there is no mention at all made of strength training. They have included a printable “training diary” in these plans, which I think is an excellent idea. I recommend everyone writes down a few words about how they felt before, during, and after each training session, and how they are getting on generally - it is such useful information!! Pace is all by feel.
💥 NIKE+ RUN CLUB (14 weeks, or up to 24 weeks)
nike.com/gb/en_gb/c/running...
A couple of options here. I found a set half marathon plan online, and also had a quick look at the training plan on the Nike Run Club app.
★ NRC 14 Week Half Marathon Plan
Pace chart, 5 runs per week, lots of track sessions, fartleks that are not fartleks, active use of the word ‘recovery’ with many options available for this aspect - the other two plans talk only in terms of ‘rest’. LOTS of information - this is definitely the geekiest plan! You can adjust your speeds as you go along. I admit I like the look of this plan, because it has a lot of information in it, but I don’t think it's really for beginners.
★ NRC app
With the app you build your own plan based upon how many runs per week you can fit in, how far you currently run, the speed you ran your most recent race (within 4 weeks), and your height and weight. There are regular ‘benchmark’ runs which may prompt the app to recalculate your suggested pace for runs. I noticed that if I went for the 2-3 runs per week option, there were no tempo runs included, and all of the speed runs seemed to be track-type distances - not very practical if you don’t have access to a track, but could be approximated with a bit of planning work. If I opted for more runs p/w I saw some tempo runs in there. The app also has a GPS tracking facility, so you get the complete package - although I spotted a few complaints about the GPS in Google Play!
💥 SIMPLYHEALTH GREAT RUN PLANS
greatrun.org/training-simpl...
This is another set of plans that are attached to a popular running event - in this case the Great Runs series.
I've included this because they have a RUN-WALK OPTION, and I'm afraid I don't know anything about run-walk plans! I have heard interviews with Jeff Galloway, and he seems like an amazing bloke, and I will try and have a read of his book at some point 😊 The run-walk plan lasts for 16 weeks.
★ Beginner and Improver Plans (12 weeks)
These are different from the other plans in that they have time-based runs. Three or four runs per week, including an intervals session, and the longest run in the Improver Plan is 80 minutes. They are gentle plans with a strong emphasis on recovery - talking about incorporating a physio visit, and massage - and starting off with gait analysis! This is no doubt partly because they are sponsored by a private healthcare company, but I am impressed with the ideas because the Great Runs do tend to attract a lot of novice runners who need to be extra careful about their recovery work.
💥💥 And if you've made it all the way to the end of this, bless you 😄 And feel free to ask any questions!
roseabi xxx
Previous post: healthunlocked.com/marathon...
