4 Day Beginner Half Marathon Training Guide

Marathon, New York City, New York Sta... Buy From Art.com

Welcome to our 4 Day Beginner Half Marathon Training Routine. Getting ready to run your first half marathon? Great, and congratulations! Perhaps you?ve already run a 5 or 10K successfully and are looking for a bit more of a challenge but are not ready to run that full marathon yet. Well the half marathon is a great half way point.

This program is a 9 week program and requires 4 days of running. We do have a 3 Day Training Guide if you would like to run one less day a week.

If you have bad knees like me, I always opt for less running and more crossing training.

The following training schedule assumes you are able to run 5 miles without too much distress. If you are not able to do this, you may want to consider a 5K or 10K to start you off.

Training Workouts

The beginner training routine uses a variety of workouts to help you build speed and endurance.

Speed Training You will be using Aerobic Intervals (IA) to work on your speed. You basically run at a much faster pace than you usually would run your race, for a specific amount of time. You want to feel as if your pushing yourself, but not as if you are going to pass out. When you are done with your IA, jog until your breathing returns to normal. Then get back to your regular pace.

You will also be using Gentle Pickups (GP) at the end of your run. You should walk for several minutes and slowly pick up speed over a 100m stretch. When you reach the point where you are breathing hard, stay there for 20m and slow down again to walking. Repeat for as many times as specified.

Beginner Half Marathon Training schedule

Remember to eat a lot of carbs during your training and a high carb breakfast 2 hours before your race. You should bring along an energy bar or race gel to eat around the 7-8 mile mark. This will ensure you have enough energy to finish the race.