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8 Running Tips to Improve Your: Training for a Half Marathon

Let's face it — the half marathon hits the sweet spot. Long enough to test your mettle, short enough that you don't have to reorganise your entire life around training for it.

I've coached plenty of runners through their first half marathons, and I've learned that success comes down to training the right way. Train smart, and you'll not only cross that finish line strong — you'll avoid the injuries and burnout that derail so many runners.

Training for a Half Marathon Running Tip #1: Run (At Least) Four Times a Week

You'll want to be running at least four times per week during your half marathon training. Yes, you can finish a half marathon running only three times per week. You could finish it on even less.

But I'd recommend four sessions if you want to put down a good performance. I consistently see that runners who achieve their goals run at least four times per week.

Your body needs consistent training stimulus to adapt properly. Three weekly runs leave too many gaps — your aerobic system doesn't get the regular work it needs to boost your fitness.

Training for a Half Marathon Running Tip #2: Exception to the Rule - Three Times per Week

You can get away with three runs for shorter distances. You can possibly get away with three runs if you compensate with lots and lots of cross training. However, we are talking a lot of additional cross-training to compensate.

Bike riding works especially well. When you're running three times per week, you'd want to be doing three cross-training sessions to give you a solid base for that half marathon. And I am not talking 20-30 minute bike rides. You need to be in the saddle for longer than that.

The key is maintaining aerobic stimulus 5-6 days per week. Your cardiovascular system doesn't care if it's running, cycling, or swimming — it just needs consistent work to build your endurance. However, the half marathon is long enough to test your muscular endurance as well. You will want that mileage in your legs! So, if you want to try to be an exception, just be mindful that it is a tricky proposition!

Training for a Half Marathon Running Tip #3: Take Your Time - 12 Weeks or More

You can certainly finish a half marathon with less training than what I'm proposing here. However, this article aims to get you a good time.

Ideally, you'd have a year or so of running behind you. You've done some 5K and 10K races. Now you're ready to train for a half marathon. You've got the time to prepare — about twelve weeks at least, potentially even more.

I'll assume you're taking 12-16 weeks (3-4 months) to prepare. Although you could break the schedule into three, four, maybe even five phases, I'll keep things simple. I'll separate it into three blocks: a base-building block, a quality block and a taper.

This timeline isn't arbitrary. Your body needs time to adapt to increased training stress. Push too hard, too fast, and you'll either get injured or peak too early.

Training for a Half Marathon Running Tip #4: Build Up the Mileage in the First Six to Eight Weeks

Before you can train for the half marathon, you need to train for your training! This is true even if you're already an athlete or have running experience.

You need to get used to overcoming that wall of aches and pains you'll run into (pun intended). If you're beginning half marathon training, this will likely be one of the longer races you've ever tackled. So even if you're in great shape, even if you're used to some running, you're facing a whole new level.

I recommend allowing yourself six to eight weeks to gradually build up to the weekly mileage you'll need. Remember that you want to be peaking at just the right time, and you don't want to be burned out when race day comes.

Now it is hard to be precise. We all have different starting points. Assuming you are fairly fresh to half marathon training but have got a decent running backround, you'll build up your mileage in this base building phase to a solid 25-30 miles per week with a long run of at least 10 miles. When you're a beginner just wanting to finish, you may not reach a 10-mile long run or 25-30 weekly miles. When you're more experienced you may get to 40-50 miles per week or even more.

While you're gradually building your mileage, do mostly easy runs. Focus on getting mileage into your legs, training your mind and cardiovascular system without burning out. Add one or two tempo runs in the week, but do not do any faster work.

This base building block of six to eight weeks will really help you build endurance. The half marathon is a long way to be running fast, so you really need this phase. Refrain from shorter, faster runs as much as possible.

Training for a Half Marathon Running Tip #5: Do Faster Running In the Second Six to Eight Weeks

Now the second part of your half marathon training schedule can include faster running. Still, long runs shouldn't disappear from your schedule. If possible, you'll want to build them up a bit further. If it is your first marathon ideally you get to an 11 mile long run to finish. In it for a faster time? Then doing some 13-15 mile long runs will be very helpful. It's the sweet spot of long runs, I reckon. Enough to provide serious stimulus. Short enough that you are not left with long lingering fatigue like you get from the 20 milers in marathon training.

Now, in this second phase, quality workouts become more important. You can start to apply some speed.

When I say "apply speed" this means either:

Fartlek Workouts
This is also known as speedplay. You do longer and shorter speed bursts with some rest in between — whatever feels right.

Fartlek is excellent for half marathon training because it teaches you to change pace naturally. It is also very easy to incorporate into a long run.

Interval Running
Interval running workouts are more structured than fartlek. They usually consist of a fixed set of repeats of fixed length — 6 x 800m, 5 x 1000m, 3 x 1 mile, etc.

Tempo Running
Tempo running should be a core staple of this phase. I already referred to it before in the base building phase. Tempo pace and half marathon pace are almost one and the same. Many of us can do very successful tempo running workouts in the 15k pace to 30k / marathon pace range. When you train at paces a little faster than your goal pace and at paces a little bit slower, magic happens. Suddenly your running becomes very specific to the race.

Are you a beginning runner? Then you'll want to focus mostly on tempo running. A bit more experienced? Then still focus mostly on tempo running!

A mistake often made is that people only know two speeds: slow or very fast. However, if the long run and good aerobic base are the most important factors in your half marathon training, then tempo running should be a very close second.

It helps build that physical and mental strength you'll need during the half marathon. Doing plenty of good tempo workouts is a terrific confidence booster going into a half marathon.

Interval running is useful as well. However, keep in mind that it should be the addition to your running schedule, not the main feature. Don't neglect your long runs, easy runs and tempo runs in favour of intervals. Add a few interval sessions here and there, but don't schedule them in too often.

Training for a Half Marathon Running Tip #6: Cross-Training

As I mentioned before, doing some cross-training can be helpful. Your heart doesn't mind how it gets its workout. Your legs do.

So if you can run more, run more. But if you've hit your limit in terms of running mileage, then do cross-training to build up your fitness further. And to keep variety in your half marathon training schedule and give the legs a bit of rest, cross-training is really useful.

A few people will stop reading this article right now. They'll refer to the specificity principle: to become a better runner, you need to run more. There's a lot of truth in that statement.

However, what's also true is that ninety percent of runners deal with some type of injury during any given year. That's right — a whole lot. Running a whole lot isn't going to be very useful when you can't run your race due to injury.

You can decrease your risk of injury by doing cross-training. It will help strengthen other muscles in your body. This in turn can make you a faster runner.

Good examples of cross-training are bike riding and rowing, but aerobics, pilates, yoga etc can be good as well. Some runners benefit from bike riding sessions and also some weight lifting. There's a lot of benefit in lifting heavy and making your muscles stronger.

Strictly speaking, I'd like to differentiate between aerobic cross-training and strength training. They do different things for you. But they can both be helpful. Strength training can involve things like exercises with kettle bells or dumbbells, exercises with a medicine ball, doing push-ups, doing Hindu squats, and doing plyometrics. You can find more on this in my strength training for runners guide.

Training for a Half Marathon Running Tip #7: Short Taper

The final piece of your half marathon training puzzle is the taper. This is where you gradually reduce your training volume in the 1-2 weeks before race day.

Too many runners think they need to cram in last-minute fitness. You can't. Your fitness is built over months, not days. What you can do in the final weeks is rest up, stay sharp, and arrive at the start line healthy.

For a half marathon, I recommend a 7-10 day taper. Cut your weekly mileage by about 40% in the final week. Keep some speed work — maybe one or two short tempo runs or some strides — but make everything shorter and with more recovery.

The goal is to maintain your fitness while allowing your muscles to recover and glycogen stores to top off. You should feel slightly restless by race day — that's perfect.

Putting It All Together

Your half marathon running program doesn't have to be complicated, but it does need to be consistent and progressive. Build your base first, add quality work gradually, include some cross-training for injury prevention, and practice your race pace regularly.

Remember that every runner is different. Use these eight tips as your foundation, but listen to your body and adjust as needed. Some weeks you'll feel great and can push harder. Other weeks you'll need extra recovery.

The half marathon is a beautiful distance — long enough to require real endurance training, short enough that you can recover quickly and race several times per year. Train smart, stay healthy, and you'll surprise yourself with what you can achieve.

If you're just starting out, this is covered in a lot more detail in the beginner half marathon training article.

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