The training plan we will discuss in this article has been developed for beginner runners.

Specifically, this plan is appropriate for athletes who already know how to run and, ideally, are able to run continuously for 45 minutes. If you’ve been running for a while and fall into one of the following categories, this is the best training plan for you:

• You’ve never done a running race and want to start with a half marathon
• You’ve done a running race before, like a 5k or 10k, but it’s been a while
• You’ve done some races but have never trained with any sort of structure

If you’re a brand new runner or still building up your endurance enough to run 20 minutes, we suggest starting with our Couch to 5k / Learn to Run plan. The Couch to 5k program carefully builds your endurance through a combination of jogging and walking breaks and provides enough training to get you to the finish line of a 5k.

Similarly, if you’re a more experienced runner looking to improve your finish time, we also have half marathon training plans available for intermediate and advanced runners.

This Beginner Half Marathon training program is adapted from the training plans in our app that are written by coaches who know what it takes for amateur age group runners to overcome challenges and reach their endurance race goals.

Before describing the plan, let’s go through a few basic questions, which we’ll address in this article:

• How long is a half marathon?
• What’s an average finish time for a half marathon?
• How do you train for a half marathon?
• What’s a good half marathon finish time?
• How long should you train for a half marathon?
• What is your half marathon pace?
• What is a beginner half marathon training program?

Also, keep in mind that while the training plan below is absolutely sufficient to prepare you to finish a half marathon race, if you really want a personalized training program that’s designed for your abilities, your goals, and your schedule, you should check out our MOTTIV Training App. You can use the app for free, and it includes much more detailed and personalized plans than we can include in a blog post.

TRAINING PLAN OVERVIEW

• Plan length: 24 weeks
• Hours per week: 2:40 – 5:15
• Longest workout: 2:15
• Gear required: Heart rate monitor

Tips to Successfully Train for a Half Marathon

Before diving into the training plan, we’ll provide some basic information about the half marathon running distance, as well as a few training tips. These will help you prepare for your marathon race successfully while avoiding some of the pitfalls that many runners encounter.

How Long is a Half Marathon?

Before starting a half marathon training program, make sure you understand what you’re preparing for. A half marathon is 21 kilometers. For non-metric folks, that’s equal to 13.1 miles.

What is an Average Half Marathon Finish Time?

Enter your age and gender into the calculator below to find out good and average finish times in the half marathon for your age group.

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How Much Do You Need to Train for a Half Marathon?

Knowing your weekly mileage (how many miles per week you should run in training) depends on your race distance, your athletic background, and your goals.

For example, say you’re a newer athlete without an endurance sports background but aim to be very competitive in a marathon race. To do this, you’ll need to build up your training for much longer and run many more miles per week than, for example, an elite endurance athlete from another sport who just wants to finish a 5k.

Use the calculator below to get a sense of our recommended training time and miles a week required to meet your goals.

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What Gear Do You Need to Train for a Half Marathon?

We recommend two items for all runners to prepare for a half marathon: proper running shoes and a strap-based heart rate monitor. Here’s a video about what to look for in running shoes, and here’s an article on everything you need to know about heart rate training zones and why we use them.

While not required, a running watch with GPS is a great investment if you’d like to dial in your training and racing even more.

Heart Rate Training Zones for Running

One of the first steps in training using our Beginner Half Marathon Plan is determining your heart rate zones. Heart rate zones provide ranges of heart rate for different levels of running intensity. The lowest heart rate zones—Zones 1 and 2—are the proper zones for easy running.

You can use this calculator to determine your heart rate training zones:

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In any run training plan, you’ll find that a lot of the running you’ll be doing is easy, low-intensity running. Low-intensity running should always be guided by heart rate, not pace.

When you follow your heart rate, you’ll likely find that your easy run training is quite slow. This is okay! Low-intensity, easy running allows you to build endurance without as much physical stress. Here is a complete guide for low-heart-rate training.

Half Marathon Training Paces

Interval running workouts, also known as “speed work,” should be done using pace as opposed to heart rate. Pace is better than heart rate for intense runs because heart rate will lag by 60-120 seconds - which means you’ll often be done with the interval before your heart rate stabilizes. On the other hand, your running pace, which you can track using a GPS watch, is instant.

Use this calculator to calculate your run training pace per mile and kilometer.

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Low Intensity Running

Our training plans are based on the pyramidal model (similar to polarized training, 80/20 running, and the Maffetone Method, but with improvements) of training where 70-80% of the training is done at low intensity, or in Zones 1 and 2.

Studies have shown that all athletes will perform better when completing the bulk of their training at a low intensity. If you are a newer runner, you may initially find it tough to keep your heart rate in Zone 2. Stick with it! You’ll perform much better in the long run if you do the bulk of your training at a low intensity.

What To Eat When Training for a Half Marathon

Making good decisions as to what you eat and drink before running, during your training runs, and during your half marathon race can have a major impact on your performance. In fact, physiologists we’ve worked with believe that proper nutrition and hydration can generate the same race results with half the training!

This article discusses what to eat before your runs, and this article explains what you should eat during running workouts and races.

BONUS: Check out the example workout below from one of our marathon training plans. You can see that every workout in our app comes with personalized nutrition guidance for before and during the workout to maximize its effectiveness.

Rest & Recovery

Your half marathon training plan will include complete rest days. Also, every third or fourth week will be a rest week with reduced training hours. It’s critical that you take these days to truly rest and recover. If you do a bunch of heavy yard work or spend the recovery days on your feet walking around a mall, your body won’t have the chance to recover and improve from the training.

Remember this formula:

WORKOUTS + REST = PROGRESS

Take your rest days seriously to make sure you avoid overtraining and actually progress in your training.

Taper Week

The Beginner Half Marathon training plan will have a taper period in the week before race day, during which training volumes will be reduced by roughly 50-60% while some intense bursts of speed will be maintained. This process will allow your body to flush out all the training fatigue and have lots of energy in the race. Take the taper process seriously, resting and sleeping as much as possible during taper week.

Half Marathon Race Pace

Workouts in a good training plan will have race pace intervals where you’ll develop the ability to run fast without getting tired. You can use the calculator below to calculate your approximate half marathon race pace for these intervals.

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The Best Half Marathon Training Plan for Every Runner

The run training plans in our app are written by the excellent coaches at Run Free Training, who know what it takes to help amateur athletes reach their goals. While the coaches are elite runners themselves, they have a great understanding of how to create training plans that are time efficient and overcome the obstacles most age group runners face in their training.

Beginner Half Marathon Training Plan Workouts

The Beginner Half Marathon plan has runs on three days a week and maxes out at just over five hours of training per week.

Here are the types of runs you’ll find in the Beginner Half Marathon program:

Long Run (50 Minutes to 2 Hours, 15 minutes)

The most important run in a run training plan is the weekly long run that most runners do on the weekend when they have more time available. The long run is low intensity, building up gradually to eventually reach two hours and 15 minutes for the Beginner Half Marathon training program.

This run will build endurance and teach your body to produce the energy necessary to complete the distance of your race. You can learn all about the long run, how to execute it well, and what to eat before and during the long run in this article.

Here is an example of what a long run looks like from our Beginner Half Marathon Training Plan:

Long Run (105-115mins)

Easy jogging at Zone 2 heart rate or effort

Interval Run (30 to 80 minutes)

In the Beginner Half Marathon plan, you’ll see a weekly interval run, which we call the “Intense Run.” The interval run will build your top end speed and be based on your goal run pace determined in the calculator above.

You can learn all about how to execute an interval run and what to eat before and during the workout to get the most out of it in this article.

Here is an example of what an interval run looks like from our Beginner Half Marathon Training Plan:

Intense Run (55 to 75 minutes)

Warm Up: 10 to 20 minutes of easy jogging in Zone 2, including running drills and 5x15 seconds strides at Zone 4 effort

Main Set: Repeat 6 to 8 times: 3 minutes at 10k race pace, with 2 to 3 minutes of easy jog recovery between intervals

Cool Down: 10 to 20 minutes of easy jogging at Zone 2 effort

Tempo Run (40 to 120 minutes)

The weekly tempo run (which we call the steady run) bridges the gap between the endurance you’ll build in your long runs and the speed you build in the interval runs. It teaches you how to maintain a strong speed over increasingly longer distances.

Tempo runs have been proven to be a key component of a successful run training plan. You can learn all about tempo runs in this article.

Here is an example of what a tempo run looks like from our Beginner Half Marathon Training Plan:

Tempo Run (70 to 90 minutes)

Warm Up: 10 to 20 minutes of easy jogging in Zone 2, including running drills and 5x15 seconds strides at Zone 4 effort

Main Set:  3 x 2 miles at the top of your Zone 3 pace, with 1 to 2 minutes walk/ jog between intervals

Cool Down: 10 to 20 minutes of easy jogging at Zone 2 effort

Beginner Half Marathon Training Program

• WEEK 1: Start Half Marathon Training. (2:50-3:30hrs)
•  Monday: Rest Day
•  Tuesday: Interval Run (30mins)
•    10min easy warm up jog
•    8x30sec fast sprint at Zone 5 pace, 90sec easy jog.
•    4min easy run cool down.
•  Wednesday: Mobility Workout
•    30 minutes of light yoga.
•  Thursday: Tempo Run (33mins)
•    25min progressive run increasing intensity throughout and finishing the last 10min towards the top of Zone 4
•    5min easy run cool down.
•  Friday: Rest Day
•  Saturday: Long Run (50-90mins)
•    50-90min easy run in Zone 2 heart rate
•  Sunday: Strength Workout (30mins)
•     30 minutes of moderately intense strength work
• WEEK 2: Baseline Half Marathon Training. (3:30hrs)
•  Monday: Rest Day
•  Tuesday: Interval Run (33mins)
•    10min easy warm up jog.
•    20min Zone 3 tempo pace. At every 5min interval stop and perform 20 bodyweight squats.
•    3min easy run or walk cool down.
•  Wednesday: Mobility Workout
•    30 minutes of light yoga.
•  Thursday: Tempo Run (30mins)
•    10min easy warm up jog.
•    15min Zone 3 tempo pace, ideally do this on trails or hills
•    5min easy jog cool down.
•  Friday: Rest Day
•  Saturday: Long Run (60mins)
•    Warm Up: 10min easy jog warm up
•    5mins of dynamic stretching and 5x50m strides building to Zone 4
•    Running time trial: 3 kilometers (1.86 miles) as fast as possible. Enter this time into our pace calculator to get your training paces. Run the remainder of the run in Zone 2 until you reach a 60min total run.
•  Sunday: Strength Workout (30mins)
•    30 minutes of moderately intense strength work
• WEEK 3: Baseline Half Marathon Training. (2:50-3:30hrs)
•  Monday: Rest Day
•  Tuesday: Interval Run (30mins)
•    10min easy warm up jog
•    Repeat five times: 45sec fast Zone 5 pace, 15 seconds walk recovery.
•    5min easy Zone 2
•    Repeat five times: 45sec fast effort Zone 5 pace, 15 second walk recovery
•    5min easy run cool down.
•  Wednesday: Mobility Workout
•    30 minutes of light yoga.
•  Thursday: Tempo Run (30mins)
•    10min easy warm up jog.
•    6min moderate Zone 3 pace. 6min strong Zone 4 pace6min fast Zone 5 pace.
•    2min easy cool down jog.
•  Friday: Rest Day
•  Saturday: Long Run (50-90mins)
•    50-90min easy run in Zone 2 heart rate
•  Sunday: Strength Workout (30mins)
•    30 minutes of moderately intense strength work
• WEEK 4: Baseline Half Marathon Training. (2:50-3:30hrs)
•  Monday: Rest Day
•  Tuesday: Interval Run (30mins)
•    7min easy warm up jog.
•    5x3mins easy run in Zone 2 heart rate, 1 minute Zone 4 pace
•    3min easy run cool down.
•  Wednesday: Mobility Workout
•    30 minutes of light yoga.
•  Thursday: Tempo Run (30mins)
•    7min easy jog warm up.
•    2x9mins at Zone 3 pace, 2mins easy jog
•    3min easy run cool down.
•  Friday: Rest Day
•  Saturday: Long Run (50-90mins)
•    50-90min easy run in Zone 2 heart rate
•  Sunday: Strength Workout (30mins)
•    30 minutes of moderately intense strength work
• WEEK 5: Rest Focused Week. (2:40-3:00hrs)
•  Monday: Rest Day
•  Tuesday: Interval Run (30mins)
•    10min easy warm up jog.
•    Repeat twice: 3mins fast Zone 5 pace, 1min easy, 2mins fast Zone 5 pace, 1min easy, 1min fast Zone 5 pace, 1min easy
•    2min easy run cool down.
• Wednesday: Mobility Workout
•    30 minutes of light yoga.
• Thursday: Tempo Run (33mins)
•    10min easy warm up jog.
•    20min Zone 3 tempo pace. Every 5min stop and perform 20 bodyweight jumps.
•    3min easy run cool down.
•  Friday: Rest Day
•  Saturday: Long Run (40-60mins)
•    40-60min easy run in Zone 2 heart rate
•  Sunday: Strength Workout (30mins)30 minutes of moderately intense strength work
• WEEK 6: Baseline Half Marathon Training. (2:50-3:30hrs)
•  Monday: Rest Day
•  Tuesday: Interval Run (30mins)
•    10min easy warm up jog
•    Repeat seventeen times: 30secs fast Zone 5 pace, 30sec easy.
•    3min easy run cool down.
•  Wednesday: Mobility Workout
•    30 minutes of light yoga.
•  Thursday: Tempo Run (31mins)
•    5min easy jog warm up.
•    Repeat three times: 5min Zone 3 tempo pace, 2min easy jog.
•    5min easy run cool down.
•  Friday: Rest Day
•  Saturday: Long Run (50-90mins)
•    50-90min easy run in Zone 2 heart rate
•  Sunday: Strength Workout (30mins)
•    30 minutes of moderately intense strength work
• WEEK 7: Baseline Half Marathon Training. (2:50-3:30hrs)
•  Monday: Rest Day
•  Tuesday: Interval Run (30mins)
•    8min easy warm up jog.
•    1min fast Zone 5 pace, 1min easy, 2mins fast Zone 5 pace, 1min easy, 3mins fast Zone 5 pace, 1min easy, 4mins fast Zone 5 pace, 1min easy, 5min fast Zone 5 pace.
•    3min easy run cool down.
• Wednesday: Mobility Workout
•    30 minutes of light yoga.
•  Thursday: Tempo Run (30mins)
•    10min easy jog warm up.
•    5min Zone 3 pace, 5min a little faster at Zone 4 pace, 5min everything you've got left in the tank at Zone 5 pace.
•    5min easy cool down.
•  Friday: Rest Day
•  Saturday: Long Run (50-90mins)
•    50-90min easy run in Zone 2 heart rate
•  Sunday: Strength Workout (30mins)
•    30 minutes of moderately intense strength work
• WEEK 8: Rest Focused Week. (2:40-3:00hrs)
•  Monday: Rest Day
•  Tuesday: Interval Run (35mins)
•    10min easy warm up jog.
•    Repeat six times: 2mins fast Zone 5 pace, 2min easy Zone 2.
•    3min easy run cool down.
• Wednesday: Mobility Workout
•    30 minutes of light yoga.
•  Thursday: Tempo Run (32mins)
•    10min easy jog warm up.
•    5min moderate Zone 3 pace, 5min a little faster Zone 4 pace, 5min everything you've got left in the tank Zone 5 pace.
•    5min easy cool down.
•  Friday: Rest Day
•  Saturday: Long Run (40-60mins)
•    40-60min easy run in Zone 2 heart rate
•  Sunday: Strength Workout (30mins)
•    30 minutes of moderately intense strength work
• WEEK 9: Start Building Half Marathon Training. (2:20-3:10hrs)
•  Monday: Rest Day
•  Tuesday: Interval Run (40-60mins)
•    Warmup: 10-20min easy jog Zone 2 pace, include running drills, and 5x15sec strides at Zone 4 RPE.
•    Main Set: 10x1min fast Zone 5 pace, 1min slow.
•    Cooldown: 10-20min easy jogging Zone 2 pace.
•  Wednesday: Rest Day
•  Thursday: Tempo Run (50-70mins)
•    Warmup: 10-20min easy jog Zone 2 pace, include running drills, and 5x15sec strides at Zone 4 RPE.
•    Main Set: 3x8min at Zone 3 pace tempo effort, with 1min walk/jog between intervals.
•    Cooldown: 10-20min easy jogging Zone 2 pace.
•  Friday: Rest Day
•  Saturday: Rest Day
•  Sunday: Long Run (50-60mins)
•    50-60min long run in Zone 2 heart rate
• WEEK 10: Build Half Marathon Training. (2:30-3:25hrs)
•  Monday: Rest Day
•  Tuesday: Interval Run (40-60mins)
•    Warmup: 10-20min easy jog Zone 2 pace, include running drills, and 5x15sec strides at Zone 4 RPE.
•    Main Set: 10-12x400m at 5k race pace, with 1-2min easy walk/jog in between intervals. End when you feel like the next interval is the last one you could possibly do at the same pace.
•    Cooldown: 10-20min easy jogging Zone 2 pace.
•  Wednesday: Rest Day
•  Thursday: Tempo Run (50-70mins)
•    Warmup: 10-20min easy jog Zone 2 pace, include running drills, and 5x15sec strides at Zone 4 RPE.
•    Main Set: 2x12min at Zone 3 pace tempo effort, with 1min walk/jog between intervals.
•    Cooldown: 10-20min easy jogging Zone 2 pace.
•  Friday: Rest Day
•  Saturday: Rest Day
•  Sunday: Long Run (60-75mins)
•    60-75min long run in Zone 2 heart rate
• WEEK 11: Build Half Marathon Training. (2:45-3:35hrs)
•  Monday: Rest Day
•  Tuesday: Interval Run (50-70mins)
•    Warmup: 10-20min easy jog Zone 2 pace, include running drills, and 5x15sec strides at Zone 4 RPE.
•    Main Set: 12-15x1min hills Zone 5 RPE, with an easy jog back down recovery. End when you feel like the next interval is the last one you could possible do the same pace.
•    Cooldown: 10-20min easy jogging Zone 2 pace.
•  Wednesday: Rest Day
•  Thursday: Tempo Run (45-65mins)
•    Warmup: 10-20min easy jog Zone 2 pace, include running drills, and 5x15sec strides at Zone 4 RPE.
•  Main Set: 25min at Zone 3 pace tempo effort.
•    Cooldown: 10-20min easy jogging Zone 2 pace.
•  Friday: Rest Day
•  Saturday: Rest Day
•  Sunday: Long Run (70-80mins)
•    70-80min long run in Zone 2 heart rate
• WEEK 12: Rest Focused Week. (2:40-3:20hrs)
•  Monday: Rest Day
•  Tuesday: Interval Run (45-65mins)
•    Warmup: 10-20min easy jog Zone 2 pace, include running drills, and 5x15sec strides at Zone 4 RPE.
•    Main Set: 5mins, 4mins, 3mins, 2mins, 1min fast Zone 5 pace, with half time recovery jog in between intervals (i.e. 5min fast, 2:30 easy jog, 4min fast, 2min easy jog...)
•    Cooldown: 10-20min easy jogging Zone 2 pace.
•  Wednesday: Rest Day
•  Thursday: Tempo Run (55-75mins)
•    Warmup: 10-20min easy jog Zone 2 pace, include running drills, and 5x15sec strides at Zone 4 RPE.
•    Main Set: 3x10min at Zone 3 pace tempo effort, with 1min walk/jog between intervals.
•    Cooldown: 10-20min easy jogging.
•  Friday: Rest Day
•  Saturday: Rest Day
•  Sunday: Long Run (60mins)
•    Warm Up: 10min easy jog warm up. 5mins of dynamic stretching and 5x50m strides building to Zone 4.
•    Running time trial: 3 kilometers (1.86 miles) as fast as possible. Enter this time into our pace calculator to get your training paces
•    Run the remainder of the run in Zone 2 until you reach a 60min total run.
• WEEK 13: Build Half Marathon Training. (3:00-4:00hrs)
•  Monday: Rest Day
•  Tuesday: Interval Run (50-70mins)
•    Warmup: 10-20min easy jogging Zone 2 pace, include running drills, and 5x15sec strides Zone 4 effort
•    Main Set: 6-8x1k at 10k race pace, with 2-3min easy walk/jog recovery between intervals. End when you feel like the next interval is the last one you could possibly do at the same pace.
•    Cooldown: 10-20min easy jogging at Zone 2 pace
•  Wednesday: Rest Day
•  Thursday: Tempo Run (1:00-1:20hrs)
•    Warmup: 10-20min easy jogging Zone 2 pace, include running drills, and 5x15sec strides Zone 4 effort
•    Main Set: 2x20min at the top of your Zone 3 pace, with 1min walk/jog between intervals.
•    Cooldown: 10-20min easy jogging at Zone 2 pace
•  Friday: Rest Day
•  Saturday: Rest Day
•  Sunday: Long Run (70-80mins)
•    70-80min long run in Zone 2 heart rate
• WEEK 14: Adapt to Half Marathon Training. (3:25-4:20hrs)
•  Monday: Rest Day
•  Tuesday: Interval Run (60-80mins)
•    Warmup: 10-20min easy jogging Zone 2 pace, include running drills, and 5x15sec strides Zone 4 effort
•    Main Set: 5-6x1 mile at 10k race pace, with 2-3min easy walk/jog recovery between intervals. End when you feel like the next interval is the last one you could possibly do at the same pace.
•    Cooldown: 10-20min easy jogging at Zone 2 pace
•  Wednesday: Rest Day
•  Thursday: Tempo Run (1:10-1:30hrs)
•    Warmup: 10-20min easy jogging Zone 2 pace, include running drills, and 5x15sec strides Zone 4 effort
•  Main Set: 3 miles, 2 miles, 1 mile at the top of your Zone 3 pace, with 1-2min walk/jog between intervals
•  Cooldown: 10-20min easy jogging at Zone 2 pace
•  Friday: Rest Day
•  Saturday: Rest Day
•  Sunday: Long Run (1:15-1:30hrs)
•    75-90min long run in Zone 2 heart rate
• WEEK 15: Build Your Half Marathon Training. (3:25-4:25hrs)
•  Monday: Rest Day
•  Tuesday: Interval Run (60-80mins)
•    Warmup: 10-20min easy jogging Zone 2 pace, include running drills, and 5x15sec strides Zone 4 effort
•    Main Set: 20x1min at Zone 5 pace, 1min slow jog
•    Cooldown: 10-20min easy jogging at Zone 2 pace
•  Wednesday: Rest Day
•  Thursday: Tempo Run (1:05-1:25hrs)
•    Warmup: 10-20min easy jogging Zone 2 pace, include running drills, and 5x15sec strides Zone 4 effort
•    Main Set: 3x15min at the top of your Zone 3 pace, with 1min walk/jog between intervals
•    Cooldown: 10-20min easy jogging at Zone 2 pace
•  Friday: Rest Day
•  Saturday: Rest Day
•  Sunday: Long Run (1:20-1:40hrs)
•    80-100min long run in Zone 2 heart rate
• WEEK 16: Rest Week. (2:30-3:10hrs)
•  Monday: Rest Day
•  Tuesday: Interval Run (50-60mins)
•    Warmup: 10-20min easy jogging Zone 2 pace, include running drills, and 5x15sec strides Zone 4 effort
•    Main Set: 12-16x200m a little faster than 5k race pace,, with 60-90 sec easy walk/jog recovery between intervals. End when you feel like the next interval is the last one you could possibly do at the same pace
•    Cooldown: 10-20min easy jogging at Zone 2 pace
•  Wednesday: Rest Day
•  Thursday: Tempo Run (50-70mins)
•    Warmup: 10-20min easy jogging Zone 2 pace, include running drills, and 5x15sec strides Zone 4 effort
•    Main Set: 30min at the top of your Zone 3 pace
•    Cooldown: 10-20min easy jogging
•  Friday: Rest Day
•  Saturday: Rest Day
•  Sunday: Long Run (50-60mins)
•    50-60min long run in Zone 2 heart rate
• WEEK 17: Build Half Marathon Training. (3:35-4:25hrs)
•  Monday: Rest Day
•  Tuesday: Interval Run (55-75mins)
•    Warmup: 10-20min easy jogging Zone 2 pace, include running drills, and 5x15sec strides Zone 4 effort
•    Main Set: 6-8x3min at 10k race pace, with 2-3min easy jog recovery between intervals. End when you feel like the next interval is the last one you could possibly do at the same pace.
•    Cooldown: 10-20min easy jogging at Zone 2 pace
•  Wednesday: Rest Day
•  Thursday: Tempo Run (1:10-1:30hrs):
•    Warmup: 10-20min easy jogging Zone 2 pace, include running drills, and 5x15sec strides Zone 4 effort
•    Main Set: 3x2 miles at the top of your Zone 3 pace, with 1-2min walk/jog between intervals
•    Cooldown: 10-20min easy jogging at Zone 2 pace
•    Friday: Rest Day
•    Saturday: Rest Day
•    Sunday: Long Run (1:30-1:40hrs)
•    90-100min long run in Zone 2 heart rate
• WEEK 18: Build Half Marathon Training. (3:40-4:40hrs)
•  Monday: Rest Day
•  Tuesday: Interval Run (50-70mins)
•    Warmup: 10-20min easy jogging Zone 2 pace, include running drills, and 5x15sec strides Zone 4 effort
•    Main Set: 6-8x800m at 5k race pace, with 2-3min easy walk/jog recovery between intervals. End when you feel like the next interval is the last one you could possibly do at the same pace
•    Cooldown: 10-20min easy jogging
•  Wednesday: Rest Day
•  Thursday: Tempo Run (1:20-1:40hrs)
•    Warmup: 10-20min easy jogging Zone 2 pace, include running drills, and 5x15sec strides Zone 4 effort
•    Main Set: 4x15min at the top of your Zone 3 pace, with 1min walk/jog between intervals
•    Cooldown: 10-20min easy jogging
•  Friday: Rest Day
•  Saturday: Rest Day
•  Sunday: Long Run (1:30-1:50hrs)
•    90-110min long run in Zone 2 heart rate
• WEEK 19: Build Half Marathon Training. (3:50-4:50hrs)
•  Monday: Rest Day
•  Tuesday: Interval Run (60-80mins)
•    Warmup: 10-20min easy jogging Zone 2 pace, include running drills, and 5x15sec strides Zone 4 effort
•    Main Set: 10-12x1k at 10k race pace, with 2-3min easy walk/jog recovery between intervals. End when you feel like the next interval is the last one you could possibly do at the same pace
•    Cooldown: 10-20min easy jogging
•  Wednesday: Rest Day
•  Thursday: Tempo Run (70-90mins)
•    Warmup: 10-20min easy jogging Zone 2 pace, include running drills, and 5x15sec strides Zone 4 effort
•    Main Set: 3x3 miles at the top of your Zone 3 pace, with 1-2min walk/jog between intervals
•    Cooldown: 10-20min easy jogging
•  Friday: Rest Day
•  Saturday: Rest Day
•  Sunday: Long Run (1:40-2:00hrs)
•    100-120min long run with your heart rate in Zone 2
• WEEK 20: Rest Focused Week. (2:35-3:25hrs)
•  Monday: Rest Day
•  Tuesday: Interval Run (50-60mins)
•    Warmup: 10-20min easy jogging Zone 2 pace, include running drills, and 5x15sec strides Zone 4 effort
•    Main Set: 12-16x200m a little faster than 5k race pace, with 60-90 sec easy walk/jog recovery between intervals
•    Cooldown: 10-20min easy jogging
•  Wednesday: Rest Day
•  Thursday: Tempo Run (45-65mins)
•    Warmup: 10-20min easy jogging Zone 2 pace, include running drills, and 5x15sec strides Zone 4 effort
•    Main Set: 25min at the top of your Zone 3 pace
•    Cooldown: 10-20min easy jogging
•  Friday: Rest Day
•  Saturday: Rest Day
•  Sunday: Long Run (1:00-1:20hrs)
•    60-80min long run with your heart rate in Zone 2
• WEEK 21: Start Larger Half Marathon Workouts. (3:55-4:45hrs)
•  Monday: Rest Day
•  Tuesday: Interval Run (55-75mins)
•    Warmup: 10-20min easy jogging Zone 2 pace, include running drills, and 5x15sec strides Zone 4 effort
•    Main Set: 10-12x2min at 10k race pace, with 1 minute easy jog recovery between intervals. End when you feel like the next interval is the last one you could possibly do at the same pace
•    Cooldown: 10-20min easy jogging.
•  Wednesday: Rest Day
•  Thursday: Tempo Run (1:20-1:40hrs)
•    Warmup: 10-20min easy jogging Zone 2 pace, include running drills, and 5x15sec strides Zone 4 effort
•    Main Set: 7-8x1 mile (1600m) the bottom of your Zone 4 pace, with 1min walk/jog between intervals. End when you feel like the next interval is the last one you could possibly do at the same pace
•    Cooldown: 10-20min easy jogging.
•  Friday: Rest Day
•  Saturday: Rest Day
•  Sunday: Long Run (1:40-1:50hrs)
•    100-110min long run with your heart rate in Zone 2
• WEEK 22: Build Endurance and Speed. (4:20-5:15hrs)
•  Monday: Rest Day
•  Tuesday: Interval Run (55-75mins)
•    Warmup: 10-20min easy jogging Zone 2 pace, include running drills, and 5x15sec strides Zone 4 effort.
•    Main Set: 4-5x1 mile at 10k race pace, with 2-3min easy walk/jog recovery between intervals. End when you feel like the next interval is the last one you could possibly do at the same pace
•    Cooldown: 10-20min easy jogging
•  Wednesday: Rest Day
•  Thursday: Tempo Run (1:40-2:00hrs)
•    Warmup: 10-20min easy jogging Zone 2 pace, include running drills, and 5x15sec strides Zone 4 effort
•  Main Set: 4x3 miles at the top of your Zone 3 pace, with 1-2min walk/jog between intervals
•    Cooldown: 10-20min easy jogging.
•  Friday: Rest Day
•  Saturday: Rest Day
•  Sunday: Long Run (1:45-2:00hrs)
•    105-120min long run with your heart rate in Zone 2
• WEEK 23: Peak Training Week. (4:15-5:10hrs)
•  Monday: Rest Day
•  Tuesday: Interval Run (60-80mins)
•    Warmup: 10-20min easy jogging Zone 2 pace, include running drills, and 5x15sec strides Zone 4 effort. Main Set: 10-12x1k at 10k race pace, with 2-3min easy walk/jog recovery between intervals. End when you feel like the next interval is the last one you could possibly do at the same pace
•    Cooldown: 10-20min easy jogging.
•  Wednesday: Rest Day
•  Thursday: Tempo Run (1:15-1:35hrs)
•    Warmup: 10-20min easy jogging Zone 2 pace, include running drills, and 5x15sec strides Zone 4 effort
•    Main Set: 7-8 miles continuous at the top of your Zone 3 pace
•    Cooldown: 10-20min easy jogging
•  Friday: Rest Day
•  Saturday: Rest Day
•  Sunday: Long Run (2:00-2:15hrs)
•    120-135min long run with your heart rate in Zone 2
• WEEK 24: Taper to Rest up for Race Day. (1:50-2:10hrs)
•  Monday: Rest Day
•    Take a complete day off where all you do is rest.
• Tuesday: Interval Run (25mins)
•    25min easy run with heart rate in Zone 2 with 8x30sec fast pick ups at Zone 4 pace spread throughout.
•  Wednesday: Rest Day
•  Thursday: Tempo Run (60-80mins)
•    Warmup: 10-20min easy jogging Zone 2 pace, include running drills, and 5x15sec strides Zone 4 effort
•    Main Set: 3x1k at the top of your Zone 3 pace, with 2min jog between intervals
•    Cooldown: 10-20min easy jogging.
•  Friday: Run Primer (15mins)
•    15 minute run. Entire run is easy effort besides 3x1min at race effort, take whatever rest you need between efforts to feel totally recovered.
•  Saturday: Easy Run (10mins)
•    Just run easy for 10 minutes
•  Sunday: Long Run
•    Race Day! You’re ready!

Wrap-Up

Once you’ve achieved your half marathon race goal, it might be time to move on and start training for your first marathon. Or, you may want to try another half marathon and see if you can finish in a faster time.

If you’re looking to set big personal goals and you want the best for your body, check out our app with unlimited options for half marathon training. You can choose a training plan setup that’s personalized specifically for you and will get you training as well as you could imagine.

You’re ready to take on that big challenge, and when you train with MOTTIV, you’re ready for race day!Whether you’re aiming for a personal best or hoping to finish your first half marathon, having a good training plan will help you maximize the benefit of your training runs and set you up for success.