Training Plans

There are so many half-marathon training plans out there that you can definitely get confused about which one will work the best for you. But most of them have very similar elements- two or three shorter runs, some type of cross training or strength training, and a long run on the weekend. They all include at least one rest day a week, which is actually probably one of the most important parts of training.

Here are some of my favorite training guides I've found. They vary in length but have all of the elements above.

• Hal Higdon's 12 week half-marathon training plan: novice, intermediate, advanced, and walk. I used the novice training plan for my first two half-marathons, and it worked well.
  
• Runners World 9 week ultimate half marathon training plan
• Jeff Galloway's 17 week half-marathon training
• Josh Clark's 12 week half-marathon training (includes beginner, intermediate, advanced, and competitive.)
  

After looking at these four different plans, I've decided to try Jeff Galloway's 17 week plan and just skip the first two weeks. I really like the setup with cross training and running because I get bored with only running, but I am going to shoot for actual distances rather than time so it'll really be a mixture of Hal Higdon and Jeff Galloway's programs. Also, I'll probably add in strength training on the days with cardio cross train and switch the long runs from Sunday to Saturday.

So my schedule will be short runs on Monday and Wednesday, cross and strength train on Tuesday/Thursday, stretch on Friday, long runs on Saturday, and off on Sunday. I'll keep track of my weekly training plan on my sidebar for anyone that wants to train with me.