Half Marathon Training Schedule
I did something crazy. I registered for my first half marathon. In February I will be participating in the Walt Disney World Princess Marathon Weekend in partnership with Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Those of you who know me well know that CMN Hospitals are very close to my heart. My senior year of college I was apart of UW-Platteville’s Dance Marathon executive board. It was by far one of my favorite college memories, and the most eye opening. I’m thrilled to be running #ForTheKids come February!
While a half marathon sounds daunting and unrealistic to me, I’m hoping that my training schedule, as well as my strict nutrition plan, will prepare me for the 13.1 miles. I’m not going into this saying I have to run the whole thing, or that I have to get the best time. However, I do want to take training seriously and try my best!
Below you’ll find my training schedule, which lasts 13 weeks! Thankfully, it starts after Thanksgiving so I can pig out and not feel guilty. I’ll be doing a different workout every day to build endurance and muscle, as well as helping my muscles recover. I found the base of this training schedule on Tone It Up, and added workouts into the running off days. I’ll break it down.
Easy Pace
This basically means you run the whole time. Find a comfortable pace that you think you can maintain for the entire time. Each week this time will increase. I like to think of this as your chance to find you “marathon pace.” During this run you should be able to keep a conversation. To finish this workout, I’ll be doing abs and stretching.
Running Off Days
This may come as a shock, but you don’t just run during marathon training. You need to incorporate other aerobic activities to really get a good training experience. I’m going to be incorporating some strength exercises in throughout the week. On Tuesday’s and Thursday’s, AKA running off days, I’ll be doing low impact workouts such as yoga or barre. I’m also going to do a 30 minute walk on those days. (Preferably outside!)
Speed Interval Training
It literally means what it sounds like. You’re going to be intervals of sprints. Start with a 5 minute jogging warm up. After this, every 30 seconds run as hard as you can. To recover, do a light jog for 30 seconds. When there are only 5 minutes of your workout left, reduce your speed to a cool down pace. Don’t forget to stretch afterwards!
Hill Training
Start with a 5 minute jogging warm up. Every minute increase your treadmills incline to 4. You do not need to increase your speed. In fact, you want to maintain the same speed as your warm up. Lower your incline to 1 for 1 minute for an easy jog recovery. Repeat this until there are 5 minutes left of your workout. To cool down reduce your speed to a power walk. Follow up with abs and stretching.
Long Run
Try to keep your pace even and run at the same pace as you’re going to run on race day! While the other training days can be done on a treadmill, it’s best to do your long runs outside. This will acclimate you to elements such as wind, hills, and uneven pavement. Take some time after long runs to really stretch and relieve your muscles.
Recovery Day
I’ll set aside about 20-30 minutes on these days to stretch and roll out my muscles. Some of my favorite stretches are pigeon pose, yoga squats, and forward fold. If I’m feeling up for a more active rest day, I might go for a walk or do some laps in my pool. Listen to your body on these days, if you feel like stretching and being inactive the rest of the day it’s okay. Make sure you’re rested up for your long run on Sunday.
Since this is my first half marathon, I’d love some tips and tricks for training or meal planning! Let me know what worked for you in the comments below! Also, let me know if there are any other blog posts you’d like about my half marathon experience! Feel free to keep up with my workouts on my Instagram @oliviajoehl.
