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I am a novice runner and below is my running plan to achieve Half-marathon distance:

Mon     - Rest 
Tue     - 3km 
Wed     - 5km 
Thur    - 5km 
Friday  - Cross training
Sat.    - Long Run(16km)
Sun.    - Rest /Cross training 

Last week my long run was 15km and the week before it was 14km. I am planning to only increase the long run distance (Saturday) by up to 10% every week till I reach half marathon distance. Is this plan okay to reach half-marathon or do I need to increase my mileage during week days?

Note: I ran my debut Half marathon lately with time 1:40:08(pace is 4.44min/km) .I followed the below plan ,

Monday        - rest 
Tuesday       - Easy-6km
Wednesday.    - Tempo 12km 
Thursday.     -  Easy 6km 
Friday.       - Cross train(cycling + swimming) 
Saturday.     - 22km(increased my distance 10% every week till I reached 22km) 
Sunday.       - Recovery run (2km jogging)

3 Answers 3

6

I'd take a look at the free half marathon training plans from Hal Higdon. Plans are available for all skill levels. The general formula for the beginner plans is as follows:

Monday:    rest
Tuesday:   3 to 6 km run
Wednesday: half of long run distance
Thursday:  3 to 6 km run
Friday:    rest
Saturday:  long run (gradually increasing to 20 km)
Sunday:    cross train

Three elements of this plan are critical:

  • Gradually increase your long run. It looks like you are already including this in your plan. It's important to increase your long runs so that your body adapts to spending that much time running.
  • Run half of your long run distance at least once a week. This accomplishes two goals -- increasing your total weekly mileage, and getting your body used to a longer run on more than just one day a week. Both of these are important for preventing injury.
  • Taper at the end. The week before the race, you'll want to decrease your mileage, and plan for at least two full rest days. This helps make sure you're fully rested on race day.

All that said, it looks like the main change you'd want to make is having one of your runs during the week gradually increase in distance over the course of your training.

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You could also use Nike Running app, it has plans like the distance you want to run, it uses also height, weight, distance to generate the plan according to your needs. No, I don't work at Nike, I'm just a fellow runner. There are other similar running apps you can check as well. Good luck.

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The essential part of training for any marathon runner is endurance. You have to build the stamina required for the run you have selected; it can be a 5K, 10K, half marathon, or a full. For a beginner; I will suggest the following plan,

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Always remember your capability and try to push it to make yourself better every day.

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