Beginner
We have decided to make this page to give people good honest advice about which programs are the best when training for a half marathon.
We’ve started to see a trend at a lot of the races now where people are pulling up short or getting injured because they’re not properly prepared physically or mentally for the half marathon race. What we discovered when we asked people is that a large proportion of them were using some sort of free half marathon training schedule for beginners that they found on the internet. This is of course a big mistake!
Unless you’re a very experienced runner and understand fully what you’re doing and why, training for a half marathon using only a running plan is disastrous! Our advice is to always use a professionally produced half marathon training schedule for beginners which includes comprehensive information on training theory, equipment, diet, strategy and not to mention a range of training options.
While it’s true that some of the free running plans are actually quite decent, what most people don’t realize is that they’re pitched at people who are already runners. Yes, I’m talking about even the very beginner plans. It’s assumed that you can already run up to 5 miles several times a week.
A running schedule alone is not enough to ensure your safety and success when training for a half marathon.
There’s a lot of information you need to have in regards to training theory and why you’re doing the things that you’re doing. By educating yourself you’ll also be giving your training more meaning because you’ll understand the bigger picture. At the end of the day, it’s about more than just running.
Schedule
Here’s a few of the general terms explained which you’ll need to understand when training for a half marathon.
Rest days are pretty self explanatory. They’re the days when you shouldn’t do any sort of running or physical activity. However, most people don’t understand why they’re important.
In actuality, rest days are actually recovery days for your body and mind. When you exert yourself during training, what you’re actually doing is ripping and damaging your muscles with micro tears in the muscle fibres.
Rest days are designated to give your body time to repair this damage to your muscles by giving them time to stitch back together. The constant ripping and stitching is what makes muscles grow, each process just as important as the other.
When training for a half marathon it’s also important to give your tendons and ligaments time to rest, as running up to 4-
Intervals And Speed Training
Interval training can best be described as short bursts of more intense exercise in between lower intensity periods. For example, once you’re into the guts of your training for a half marathon you can start incorporating short bursts of sprints into your runs.
Interval training and speed training are similar, but speed training involves a wider range of exercises such as stride and cadence drills to help improve your running technique and form.
Finally, it’s strongly recommended that you get one of the marathon training programs from the Top 10 list.
It’s the wise thing to do and will ensure you don’t end up falling short or getting injured.
Once you get that DNF (did not finish) published in the race results you can never take it back.