Key sessions for 1/2 Marathon Training

Hi everyone, given that we just had a large gatherig type 1/2 marathon, I was hoping people could give some ideas for some key sessions for 1/2 marathon training. I read RW, Daniels, Glover, Pftzinger & Douglas, and they all recomend slightly different things.
Forumites, 3 questions,

1.What do you deem you key 3 sessions/workouts

2. Long run pacing & length

3. Tempo run pacing & length

Answers on the back of a post
(Drew, Achilles, MM, etc)

Cheers, KK

Comments

  • HillyHilly ✭✭✭
    My key sessions for marathon training are:

    long run of 15/16miles

    tempo run building up from 5 miles to 10 at 1/2 marathon pace

    Shorter speed session of 800's @5k pace or mile reps @ 10k pace

    I achieved my pb this Autumn off this training.
  • HillyHilly ✭✭✭
    Sorry that should say half marathon training.
  • KK,
    my 3 key sessions are:
    Tuesday: 9-10 mile club fartlek run (in summer this is usually 4-6 efforts of 400-1200m @ 1 mile - 5K race pace, respectively or in winter 3 x 1.5-1.8 mile efforts @ 5K-10K race pace), jog recoveries in either case

    Thursday: track session, rotating the following 3 workouts:
    1.Horwill Alternating Pace 10K (400m @ 5K race pace/400m @ marathon race pace, continuous)
    2. 4x1 mile @ 5K race pace (2 min recoveries)
    3. 10-15K @ 1/2M race pace (continuous)

    Sat/Sun: long run 15-22 mile (45sec - 1 min slower per mile than marathon pace), depending on whether building up for marathon or not.

    So, remarkably similar to Hilly's routine.

    Well done on your X-country race on Saturday BTW.
  • I have been using the timeoutdoors training sessions (have a look on their web page) which are exclusively based on heart rate and time rather than distance. Useful for me as training here in Turkey distance is difficult to measure and training on my own HRM offers a distraction and some interest.

    Worked a treat for me at Amsterdam last year with 1hour 25 and 44 secs for my first ever half (target had been 1 hour 35). Now using this for my marathon training programme.

    Key sessions tend to be tempo at 10 secs off race pace and pace sessions at race pace. Generally two speed sessions (tempo, hill or pace) per week and two or three steady runs (one long up to 2 hours 15 mins) with one or 2 recovery plans.

    Very happy with this and do not feel that tired and have impression that all fits together well.

    Also got some good general training articles on this site.

    Link below

    http://www.timeoutdoors.com/Run/default.asp

    Simon
  • Just spotted this after posting on the other KK½M thread.

    In preparing for Helsby, broadly I tried to follow the same pattern as above of 3 key sessions per week:

    1) Long run. In my case the complicating factor was not having done anything over about 7-8 miles for years and years - so had to build up the mileage and only got to about 13½ at its longest - albeit over mixed terrain and taking a good 15 mins longer than I intended to spend running the race!

    2) Tempo run. When I asked for advice about ½ marathon training back in October/November, at least 2 people (MM and MartinH I think) stressed the importance of this one - so I set great store on building up towards doing 10 mile tempo runs. I have to say this became very difficult mentally as well as physically - probably because I was trying to do these sessions on a road course (in several laps) on my own in the dark. As a result, I never did nail down 10 miles in 65 mins - a benchmark which, given my race target of 84 mins - would have been a nice psychological boost.
    Definitely a session to attempt in company if possible - if not, then in daylight at any rate! And NickJ would probably say not to attempt it at all.

    3) Varied - this was the Tuesday session I did get to do in company - not specifically geared to ½ marathon training, but included (on separate weeks!) hill reps, mile reps, shorter tempo runs, pyramids....

    Again, not too dissimilar to MM and Hilly.

    As I mentioned on the other thread, the issue would try to address is how to keep pushing on in the second half of the race. Not sure what sort of session would address this....
  • Should've mentioned that my 3 key sessions are basically identical regardless of whether training for 10K, 10 mile, 1/2M or marathon, only difference is the length of Sunday's long run.
  • This is training I used for HM in Nov, aim was to run negative split in race.

    3 key weekly sessions:

    1. long run ranging from 12 - 18 miles

    2. speed sessions
    (alternating weekly between):
    - 6 * 1 mile steadily increasing pace
    (1st rep @ 10k pace, 6th rep < 5k pace)
    - 10 * half mile,
    (5 @ 5k pace, 5 @ increasing pace)

    3. varied session, one from:
    - tempo run @ HM pace
    - longish hill reps @ HM pace
    - 4 * 2 mile @ 10k pace (tough!)

    Long runs:
    tried to run negative split, ie. 1 hour easy,increase gradually over second half,
    last 15 mins or so - hard as possible! This is a good way of imatating the tough later stages of the actual race.

    Tempo runs:
    not many of these, max dist was about 7 miles

    Result:
    pb by 9 minutes, second half one minute quicker than first half
  • I'm pretty much the same as you guys.
    Tuesday tempo run done on heart rate - 5,6 or 7 miles at about 80%
    Thursday is my speedwork of fartlek/reps/hills or whatever the Club are doing, if i don't get up the club i do a speed session on my own on Friday mornings.
    Sunday is long run - up to 17 miles at 70-75% on HR.

  • I'm a fairly simple soul, all these interval and speed seesions are far too complicated for me. I did two half marathons last within 2 months of each other, both around 1.37. I ran three times a week:

    1. Long run of 10 miles at just below race pace.

    2. Two tempo runs, both 5 miles at about 20-30 seconds faster than race pace (ie striving for 7 minute miles)

    I had been doing this for a few weeks when I discovered Hal Higdon's training schedules which were pretty much what I was doing, so I entered the two races (East Kilbride and the Great Scottish Run).

  • Mike,

    I think the only way you can train to push on in the second half is to get accustomed to running negative splits. What I generally try and do on my long runs which even for the half marathon were invariably ovr distanc was to run the second half of them at ca 15 to 30 secs per mile faster than the first half. But still not approaching race pace. I found this helped me enormously and was also cnducive to running a negative split.

    Simon
  • Cheers for the input guys, all data recieved. Thanks for the congrats MM! I wonder where Belfast Phil is?...
  • The nice thing about training for a half-marathon is that your half-marathon pace should also be roughly your Lactate Threshold pace ('tempo' pace). I find it virtually impossible to hold more than 40mins at this pace in training (and even that is stretching it). However, this can be misleading... Lactate Threshold pace, if you're a 1H30 Half-marathon runner or slower, is actually closer to your 10 miles pace (and I suspect that it is close to 8M pace for a 2 hours half-marathon runner). Thus, a lot of runners end up doing their tempo runs at a pace that is too slow, not optimal & will bring about minimal physiological benefits...
    Here's a session I like to do, as a variation from the standard 40 mins tempo run: 3x3K (with 3 mins jog recovery in between) at half-marathon pace or very slightly faster, followed by 1K at 10K pace. This was a standard session run by Ingris Kristiansen in her Half-M/ Marathon preparations. And it certainly feels quite hard to me.
    The session from which I feel I benefit most is a track session ran at VO2max consisting of 6x1K (400m jog recovery) at 3K pace. I've often seen it recommended that this is ran at 5K pace, but I find it too slow then (and in my experience, most runners do these reps at a pace that is actually even faster then their best 3K time). That said, a friend of mine never seems able to hit even her 5K pace on these, and she is a 34'50" 10K runner!
    My longest run when preparing for a half is usually no longer than 1H30mins; and I tend to do 3 speed sessions a week: one tempo run, 1K intervals on the track or road, and hill reps or a fartlek.
  • My partner is aiming at 2 hours for wilmslow - this is going to be challenging for her - she's been running for 6 months but off the back of no aerobic exercise and 3 kids during the last 6 years.

    I've written a little schedule out for her which generally is a long run of 9-12 miles steady, a 5 mile run at target pace, another 5 mile run at target pace OR her club track interval session (alternate fortnightly), and her club Friday night 3 miler. Have I done right!

    My own schedule is rather up and down but typically might be track session of 800s, 400s,200s. Long run of 10-16 miles pace depending on how I feel!, hours tough cross country/hill run - 3 laps - first one easy, next one faster and last one at XC race pace. Then probably a 6 miler at half mara pace with a faster finish. Hoping that will get me closer to 1.25
  • Popsider,

    a 12 miles steady long run sounds awful long to me! It'll take her well over 2 hours... The rest sounds fine.
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