Creating your own training program is not as hard as you think. Whether you’re training for your first half marathon or first 5K, the first step is to choose a target race, then work your way backwards to create a program that will help you climb to your peak. You can only maintain peak fitness several times a year depending on your current level. The more peaks you want, as in the case of elite runners, the more complicated training becomes. To keep it simple for intermediate and advanced runners, peak no more than twice a year and just train through other interim races. These training races are great for finding out your fitness level at the time and experimenting on your pacing, race tactics, nutrition, and hydration.

Base Building

Once you’ve picked your target race or races, the next step is to devote at least 8 and as much as 12 weeks of the long, slow distance phase of your training. During this phase, you can still run on hilly courses, and do interval training and fartlek sessions but the priority is to build the foundation of your training, which is your aerobic endurance. Muscle cell adaptation, an increased capacity for your blood cells to deliver oxygen to your muscles, and other physiological improvements occur as a result of focusing on your mileage during this phase. The broader and stronger your base, the higher a peak you will ultimately be able to climb.

Strengthening

Longer intervals, tempo runs, and harder long runs, all help to build your strength. These workouts focus on running economy by improving your lactate threshold and aerobic capacity.

Lactate threshold is the point at which lactic acid, a waste product created during exertion, builds up in your system faster than your muscles can flush them out. Running at a faster pace taps into your anaerobic (“without air”) system, and the build up of lactic acid occurs because your cardiovascular system cannot process enough oxygen to get rid of it. If you’ve ever experienced “spaghetti legs” or “wooden legs,” then you’ve surpassed your lactate threshold. Training slightly below this pace helps extend your threshold so you can run faster, longer, and further.

Aerobic capacity refers to your body’s ability to process oxygen. VO2 max refers to your maximum amount of oxygen uptake or the amount of oxygen your body is able to deliver to your muscles while exercising. Although this figure is partly determined by genetics, training can help maximize your potential aerobic capacity through track workouts that take you close to or slightly faster than your 5K pace.

Sharpening

As you get closer and closer to your race, you want to start focusing on speed by doing faster but shorter intervals with longer recoveries to prevent you from being overly fatigued. Your training mileage drops, speeding up muscle recovery and allowing your body to store reserves in preparation for the main event.

Tapering

A week or two before your target race, you need to reduce your mileage drastically. Experiment on the number of taper days to find what is optimal for you. Elite runners may need less time to taper due to their ability to recover faster while intermediate and advanced runners may need a longer taper week. The focus during this phase is for maximum muscle recovery and for storing the optimal amount of fuel needed on race day.

Recovery

After your target race, it’s a good idea to take a few weeks off to recover physically and mentally from the pressures of racing. Active recovery through cross-training is best for flushing out the lactic acid from your body but leave several days out of the week for rest days to be completely sedentary. And once you’re ready, resume training back to base building.

HALF MARATHON TRAINING PROGRAM

These phases are not mutually exclusive and proper training includes workouts from each phase for variety. The point of creating distinct phases is only to show that overall focus of training shifts over time. Below is the first 4 weeks of an 8-week sample training schedule for a half marathon. Note that the program starts at the strengthening phase so make sure you’ve done enough base building, as well as several 5Ks and 10Ks, before following the schedule.

Week 1

Monday: Off
Tuesday: 60 min fartlek run (12 min warm up 6 x 4 min intervals at 5K race pace with 2 minutes easy jog in between, 12 min cool down)
Wednesday: 45 min easy run
Thursday: Tempo run – 2K warm up, 3K tempo (slightly faster than moderate pace), 2K cool down
Friday: 45 min easy run
Saturday: 30 to 60 min easy run
Sunday: 75 min long run (15 min easy, 45 min slightly faster than easy pace, 15 min easy)

Week 2

Monday: Off
Tuesday: Track – 2K warm up jog, 3 x 1000 m at 5K pace with 400 m jog in between, 2K cool down walk/run
Wednesday: 45 min easy run
Thursday: Tempo run – 1.5K warm up, 4K tempo, 1.5K cool down
Friday: 45 min easy run
Saturday: 30 to 60 min easy run
Sunday: 90 min long run at easy pace with 30- to 60- second surges at 10K race pace.

Week 3

Monday: Off
Tuesday: 60 min fartlek run (10 min warm up, 8 x 3 min intervals at 5K race pace with 2 minutes recovery jog in between, 10 min cool down)
Wednesday: 45 min easy run
Thursday: Tempo run – 1K warm up, 5K tempo, 1K cool down
Friday: 45 min easy run
Saturday: 30 to 60 min easy run
Sunday: 90 min long run at easy pace

Week 4 (Recovery Week)

Monday: Off
Tuesday: 60 min fartlek run – 15 min easy, 30 min easy fartlek (30- to 60-second surges as 5K race pace with at least 3 min recovery jog in between), 15 min easy
Wednesday: 45 min easy run
Thursday: Off
Friday: 45 min easy run
Saturday: 45 min easy run
Sunday: 60 min easy run (or interim 10K race)