Half Marathon Training Schedules

BEGINNERS’ HALF MARATHON TRAINING SCHEDULE

Week	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
1	Rest	2 mi	Rest	2.5 mi	Rest	3 mi	2 mi EZ
2	Rest	2 miles	Rest	3 mi	CT or Rest	4 mi	2.5 mi EZ
3	Rest	2.5 mi	2 mi	3 mi	CT or Rest	5 mi	2 mi EZ
4	Rest	3 mi	Rest	4 mi	CT or Rest	6 mi	3 mi EZ
5	Rest	3 mi	3 mi	3 mi	CT or Rest	7 mi	3 mi EZ
6	Rest	4 mil	3 mi	4 mi	CT or Rest	8 mi	3 mi EZ
7	Rest	4 mi	Rest	4 mi	CT or Rest	9 mi	3 mi EZ
8	Rest	4 mi	3 mi	3 mi	CT or Rest	10 mi	3 mi EZ
9	Rest	5 mi	3 mi	4 mi	CT or Rest	11 mi	Rest
10	3 mi EZ	4 mi	Rest	3 mi	CT or Rest	12 mi	3 mi EZ
11	Rest	4 mi	Rest	3 mi	CT or Rest	5 mi	2.5 mi EZ
12	Rest	2 mi	20 minutes	Rest	20 minutes	Race Day!	Rest Day!

CT = cross-training activity such as biking, swimming, elliptical trainer, etc.)

You can switch days to accommodate your schedule. So if you’re busy on another day and prefer to workout on a Monday or Friday, it’s fine to swap a rest day for a run day.

HALF MARATHON ADVANCED TRAINING PROGRAM

Week	Run 1 (long run)	Run 2 (fartlek)	Run 3	Run 4	Run 5 (speed)
1	10 mi	5 mi	10 mi	7 mi	5k tempo
2	12 mi	6 mi	10 mi	8 mi	600 x 4
3	13 mi	6 mi	10 mi	9 mi	400 x 4
4	8 mi	4 mi	10 mi	9 mi	400 x 4
5	14 mi	7 mi	10 mi	10 mi	400 x 4
6	15 mi	6 mi	10 mi	10 mi	600 x 4
7	13 mi	7 mi	10 mi	9 mi	10k tempo
8	8 mi	4 mi	10 mi	9 mi	400 x 6
9	15 mi	6 mi	10 mi	8 mi	5k tempo
10	15 mi	9 mi	10 mi	7 mi	600 x 4
11	13 mi	5 mi	10 mi	7 mi	600 x 4
12	race	6 mi	rest	4 mi	rest

Fartlek (which means “speedplay” in Swedish) is a speed training method, in which the speed and intensity varies throughout the run at unplanned intervals. For this program, a 2 mi fartlek would be run by starting out at your normal pace and then speeding up and slowing down at random times throughout the 2 miles. For instance, run to the 1st stop sign and then sprint to the 3rd lamp pole, etc.

A tempo run is sort of like a dress rehearsal for the race. The pace of your tempo run should be maintainable at a constant pace for the whole distance; near the end of your run, it should become increasingly difficult to maintain the pace but you should not slow down.

400 x 4 (and 400 x 6, etc.) means run 400 meters fast (nearly a sprint), walk 400 meters (or jog it slowly), then repeat this process 4 times (or 6, if that’s what it says). 400 meters equals one lap of a 4 lap = 1 mile track. I added this speed work into the program because it will help increase your speed both on the whole and in your finish-line sprints.