There are some fundamental differences between training plans for beginner runners and training plans for those more seasoned runners. Beginner half marathon training plans tend to focus on building weekly mileage whilst making sure that the athletes sticks to a level of exercise that pushed the aerobic boundaries of their aerobic fitness but also doesn’t push them to the brink of their fitness too often in order to make sure that the risk of injury is minimized. More advanced running plans however tend to focus more on quality sessions that work a specific running system within the body whilst at the same time building some good basic weekly mileage.
There are several key sessions that you can incorporate into your weekly training regime if you are really serious about your half marathon training. One of the best running sessions that you can incorporate into your schedule is some kind of speed session or intervals sessions. A speed session can take many different forms but essentially it involved running at a speed faster than your half marathon pace for an extended amount of time. The reason that you do this is because it teaches your body to run at a speed that is greater than what you are used to running at whilst maintaining good running form. This also causes your lung capacity to increase as well which all adds to your aerobic fitness levels.
If you access to a running track or something similar then you construct a very specific speed session based around laps of the athletics track. One good session is called ‘Yazoo 800s.’ This involves running two laps of a running track at close to your maximum speed and then having a short rest of 30 seconds before doing the same again. Run until you have completed 6 – 10 800m reps if possible. Over time you can then bring down the rest time in-between each of your 800m reps and you can also increase your speed. This is a great session to undertake as it involves a very structured makeup of laps which you can easily compare yourself to and benchmark yourself against over time. You will really see your long weekend runs improve as you become more competent at these speed sessions.
If you have never enrolled in any kind of speed running training session before or are just starting out in your half marathon training plans then you should start off easy before slowly building the amount of reps in your speed session.
