Monday, July 18, 2011

Sub-2 Half Marathon Plan

Today is the start of my half marathon training plan. My race is the Heels & Hills & Him Half Marathon on September 25th. I'm already registered. This will be my first attempt at a sub-2 half marathon. I expect that it will still be pretty warm so I'm not placing all of my eggs in this basket. I have quite a few more half marathons on my schedule this fall/winter/early spring (at present moment there are 4) and I'm certain I'll be able to get the sub-2 at least once at one of these races. But at the same time, I'm going to use a sub-2 training plan with some modifications. It's a 10 week plan with 4-5 runs each week. The longest run is 13 miles and the highest weekly mileage is 30. The long runs call for a 10:30 pace, which I believe I can do in cooler temperatures, but is really not comfortable in 90 degree (plus) temperatures. So, I'm giving myself the leeway to make those runs a comfortable pace. I will still push my hardest to achieve the paces the plan calls for on the speed workouts and other runs, especially when using the treadmill.

This plan was published in Runner's World  in August 2010. Dimity (co-author of Run Like a Mother) used this plan and ran a 1:52:14. It's easy to find the article by searching online, but for some reason finding the training plan that ran at the end of the article is super difficult. Here's a link to the actual article and plan online if you want to read the entire article or can't see my screenshot of the plan very well:
Sub-2 Half Marathon Article and Training Plan

The days that I complete each run (and also squeeze in core and strength training and yoga) will be different than the plan because I have to fit them into our funky work schedules but I figured nobody really cares what days I do the plan, but they might want to see the bones of a sub-2 plan.


2 comments:

Average Woman Runner said...

Hi! Just saw that you won Mel's onlineshoes giveaway - yeah! Looks like a good plan. Speed work will be a very important component in breaking 2:00. Tempo runs are awesome!

Parlor Girl said...

Hi I stumbled across your blog searching for this sub 2:00 guide!

New follower :)

Keep up the good work!!

XO
The Parlor Girl