Three workouts to fire up your half marathon training

Sick of the same stale workouts? Whether you’re training for your first half-marathon or aiming for a PB,  it’s time to shake things up with some fresh, effective training sessions. Half-marathon training doesn’t have to be repetitive or dull—mixing in varied sessions can help you stay engaged while building the endurance, strength and mental grit needed to succeed on race day.

These three strategic workouts focus on sharpening different aspects of your performance, helping you boost stamina, dial in your pacing and finish stronger than ever before.

1.-The pyramid push

This pyramid structure gradually builds intensity and then brings you back down, challenging both speed and endurance, while the changing intervals keep things dynamic and fun.

Warm up with 10 minutes of easy running, followed by some dynamic stretches (high knees, leg swings, butt kicks).

Run 1 minute hard (around a 5K effort) followed by a 1 minute recovery jog

Run 2 minutes hard, followed by a 1 minute recovery run.Continue with 3 minutes hard with 1 minute recovery, 4 minutes hard with 1 minute recovery, 3 minutes hard with 1 minute recovery, 2 minutes hard with 1 minute recovery, 1 minute hard with 1 minute recovery.

Cool down with 10 minutes of easy running and mobility exercises.

2.- Threshold + kick combo

This workout builds your stamina for holding your target race pace, then simulates those late-race surges when you need to kick it into high gear.

Warm up with 10 minutes of easy running followed by 5 x 20-second strides (accelerations).

Run 2 x (10 minutes at half-marathon pace followed by a 3-minute easy run recovery).After the second set, finish with 5 x 30-second hard kicks (mile pace) with 30 seconds of easy recovery running in between.

Cool down with 10 minutes of easy running followed by foam rolling or gentle mobility exercises.

3.-Tempo to track burnout

This workout will help you target both speed and endurance, preparing you for the specific demands of a half-marathon; switching it up mid-session also keeps things interesting and challenges your legs (and brain) to adapt.

Warm up with 10 minutes of easy running followed by drills or mobility exercises (think hip circles, lunge variations).

Run 5K at tempo pace (just below race pace), followed by 6 x 400 meters at 5K effort, with a 1-minute walk/jog recovery after each interval.

Cool down with a 10-minute walk/jog.

Remember to always follow a harder training or speedwork day with a recovery day or some very easy running, and to hydrate well, even in cooler temperatures.

posted Thursday October 3rd
by Keeley Milne