Great half marathon training sessions to suit all types of runners. If you’re looking to run your first or 100th half marathon sprinkle these sessions into your schedule.
These’s a list of 8 sessions below to help take your training to the next level. You want to prepare your body for the challenge ahead. These are all designed to be ran faster than your target pace so you can get used to and adapt.
There are a variety of different sessions that align well when training for a half-marathon. The pace at which I do them (eg @ 5K pace) is dependant on a few factors including training load for that particular week and the length of the session/rep. Some are harder than others but all present significant benefits if done correctly.
One of the most common mistakes from those training for the longer distances such as the half-marathon or marathon distance is totally neglecting speed-work. Obviously with the longer races, it’s your aerobic system you are predominantly using, much more than say a 5K anyway. However, this doesn’t mean speed-work work should be removed completely. Mileage is incredibly important, obviously, but sprinkling in these sessions too at the right time can make a huge difference!
You want to mix up your training, not running at the same pace and routes for every run. It’s also important not to use too many of these and overload your training sensibly to avoid injury.
- 5 x 1 mile
- 8 x 800m
- 4 x 2k
- 8 x 1km
- 3 x 3km
- 20 x 1 minute
- 10 x 2 minutes
- 3 x 5km
Aim to use jog recoveries between the repetitions to keep moving. You can then decrease or increase the difficulty by changing the number of reps and the recovery time. You can then tackle the full session again with confidence. 😎
If you’re looking to specific half-marathon tips, read this post 😎
To make these super simple to do (and if you have a Garmin watch) make sure you use the workout functionality.
