Laurence Manchee - Yoga Teacher, Permaculture Consultant and co-founder of Keela Yoga Farm

Sunday 2 November 2014

Beginner Half Marathon Training Program


Laurence at Metman Triathlon 2014
Congratulations for signing up for your first half marathon running event. This program will train you to be able to run a half marathon in 12 weeks and is designed for those of you that cannot or have not completed a half marathon without walking or stopping. If you have not managed a 10km run without walking before, then please follow my 10km training program first.

You can see that this plan is very simple and based on slow increases. This is because you are training your body to run and do not want to get an injury. The key to success is for you to run very slow, slow enough that you find all of the training reasonably easy and can talk comfortably without laboured breath. You should complete all your runs without walking and increase your distance every week. Your aim is to complete your workout without walking, not completing it very fast. Also this slow pace is in your aerobic zone (fat burning zone). You should establish this speed and stick to it, using an app on your smart phone or a stop watch. Once you have completed the program you will then be ready for your next challenge which will either be a longer run or completing the same distance in a faster time (intermediate program).

If you miss a session or a week then just skip it and do not try to make it up.

Week
Run 1 (KM)
Time
Run 2 (KM)
Time
Week 1
7

5

Week 2
8

6

Week 3
9

7

Week 4
10

8

Week 5
11

9

Week 6
12

10

Week 7
15

10

Week 8
16

10

Week 9
17

10

Week 10
18

10

Week 11
10

5

Week 12
5

Your Event



Training and running Tips for your half marathon

1. Follow all the basic running tips found on my 10km running training program

2. Aerobic Training. 
You are training your body to work aerobically, i.e. use fat and oxygen to create energy. You want to train your body to be better at utilizing fat to create energy so you not only burn more fat, but can eventually run faster. Therefore, you must train in your aerobic zone at all times in a beginners program. This will be a speed that you will be able to chat comfortably whilst running (identify and note this pace). This running pace may seem very slow but it is the speed which you must perform all of your training. More posts on aerobic training to come soon. 

3. No food or sports drinks during training. 
You are training your body to get better at using fat to create energy so you can run faster at a low heart rate. If you eat before you work out or drink energy drinks then your body will utilize the food or sugar to create energy. Do you want to burn the food you just ate or burn fat? For hot weather you should replace electrolytes, so make a drink with salt and lemon to drink before or during your longer runs so you do not cramp. Check the electrolytes blog.

4. See a physio. 
See a physio even if you have a slight niggle or you suspect an old injury may return. The physio will identify the root cause of your issue (maybe a tight or weak muscle) and prescribe you exercises to fix this. We all have imbalances in our body and unless you fix them, you will eventually get an injury that will prevent you from training and getting healthier. See recommendations for a physio here. One can usually claim back the costs for a physio through their health insurance.

5. No need to run fast in training. As a beginner, you should follow this simple program to lose fat and finish without walking. There is no need to do interval training or run at your target race pace or faster during any of your training. You are simply trying to run regularly and increase your distance every week but at the same speed. This is to get your body used to running and to minimize the risk of injury. Once you have completed a half marathon race without walking or resting you are ready to move on to my intermediate program. 

For a personalised running and nutrition program and poster please contact me.

References
1. Joe Blogs' Triathlon Science Book - Fantastic book on the science behind endurance sports
2. Triedge triathlon Coaching Singapore - Laurence's coach in Singapore
3. ACE Fitness Exercise: Science for Fitness Professionals (Laurence qualified as a personal trainer with ACE Fitness)
4. Laurence Manchee's personal experience - Laurence has completed 10km runs in 40min, 1/2 marathons in 1h 37 and 1/2 marathon in a half iron man in 1h 50 min on the equator following similar beginner programs. However  when he trained with faster runs, he only ran 1/2 marathons in 1h 50 min and that was in the UK in an easier climate. This proves that training slow will improve your aerobic capacity and make you faster. Thank you Coach Scott Larson at Triedge
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