WEEK 2: HALF MARATHON 2020

Welcome brightness on a January day. Taken by PKSenagore January 16, 2018. All rights reserved.

WITH ‘SAINTS DAYS’ TRAINING PLAN STARTS TODAY.  RUN: This is the week you start to pick up the mileage a bit. Although it seems you are expected to run 10-minute miles ("run 35 min or 3.5 miles" translates mathematically to running 1 mile in 10 minutes), you can run at a slower or faster pace. Be sure to cover the scheduled mile distance, which will then extend over a longer time period if your pace is slower. Of course, if you are able to run comfortably at a faster pace, you will finish in less time. 
 
The mid-week runs in this first month of training are intended to be easy and prepare you to cover the long runs at each week’s end, which will gradually increase in length. The goal is to be physically and mentally prepared to run the entire 13.1-mile race distance at the end of the 18-week duration plan.
 
There are no speed drills scheduled in this plan because it is for beginners, whose goal is to cross the finish line.  The emphasis for beginners is to mentally and physically prepare to complete the entire distance rather than achieve a goal finish time or running a specific pace. 
 
However, there will be an opportunity to work on increasing speed for those interested.  In week 5 the schedule will post an option to add hill repeats added to slightly shorter Tuesday runs. Running hills helps to build leg strength, which translates to greater speed.
 
Another informal option (it won’t appear on the schedule) is to slowly develop a race day strategy by performing a simple progression run each Thursday. The run is roughly divided into two segments of equal distance.  The first half distance is covered at an easy pace.  The second half is covered at a slightly faster pace, such that it is finished in less time.
 
For example, if the initial 1.5 miles of a 3-mile run is run in 15 minutes, the second 1.5 miles distance should be finished in under 15 minutes. 
 
Why use a progression run to train this early in training? A previous blog post discussed this topic..  
 
WALK: This week’s schedule is a repeat of Week 1, in which the long walk on the weekend is performed at an easy pace. Going forward, in Week 3 and the remainder of the training plan the pace will be brisk. Your goal should be to take 100 steps per minute while walking briskly. Work up to that speed if you can’t manage it now.
 
The High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) sessions on Thursdays represent a form of speed drill, to help prepare you for a race day pace.  During the high intensity intervals, aim to increase your pace above a brisk walk (more than 100 steps per minute). A previous blog post discussed faster walking paces in greater detail.
 
RUN & MOVE HAPPY!

Training plans can be downloaded, and are available in the RESOURCES page.
 
https://www.healthcorps.org/what-does-brisk-walking-mean/
 
https://www.runnersworld.com/training/a20630818/hill-running-workouts-for-speed/

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