Effective Half Marathon Workouts To Include In Your Training Plan

Once you have completed at least one half marathon you may be looking to improve your time and set a new personal best. This usually means including some half marathon specific workouts in your training. Of course, following a training plan or working with a running coach is helpful, but some runners want to train on their own. You may even just want to create your own half marathon training plan. By choosing effective half marathon workouts to include in your training you will prepare yourself to run a strong race.

For most runners 1-2 workouts per week is enough to help you prepare for a strong half marathon. If you are running 4-5 days per week one of those runs will be a long run. In addition, you can do 1-2 other hard workouts which are usually tempo runs or interval runs. All of your other runs should be easy, although you may want to sprinkle in some strides in some of your runs.

Reminders about half marathon workouts

If you are planning to select your own half marathon workouts, make sure to identify the appropriate training paces based on your current fitness. Use a calculator such as VDOT or McMillan and enter a recent race result. If you don’t have a recent race result, run a time trial to get an idea of your current fitness. This will help you set a realistic goal pace as well as to understand what your current paces should be.

A 2023 review in the Journal of muscle research and cell motility suggests that performance in the half-marathon distance is related to optimized aerobic capacity (VO₂max and anaerobic threshold), weekly running distance, and speed. If you are a newer runner, it’s most important to focus on just getting in the appropriate amount of miles or time on your feet. More advanced runners should focus on not only on volume but also threshold workouts and half marathon paced miles.

Make sure you give yourself enough time to train. Usually 12-14 weeks is sufficient. Runners with a strong running base can train in less time and lower mileage runners may need more time to slowly build their mileage.

Half Marathon Workouts To Include In Your Training Plan

Interval Workouts

For half marathon training, interval workouts can be used earlier in your training cycle. They can focus on 5k-10k pace or threshold pace.

15 minute warm up, 6 x 3 minutes at 10k pace with 90 second jog recoveries, 10 minute cool down

1-2 mile warm up, 5 x 800m at 10k pace with 400m jog recovery, 1 mile cool down

1-2 mile warm up, 3 x 1 mile at threshold pace with 800 m recovery, 1-2 mile cool down

Tempo Runs

These types of runs can be used early in a training cycle and increased throughout training. For example, you may do a 2 x 2 mile workout early on and by the end of your training you do 6 continuous miles at half marathon pace.

1 mile warm up, 2-4 x 2 miles at half marathon pace with .5 miles easy in between, 1 mile cool down

2 mile warm up, continuous 4-6 miles at half marathon pace, 1 mile cool down

1-2 mile warm up, 5 mile alternating tempo (3 x 1 mile at half marathon pace with marathon pace miles in between), 1 mile cool down

1 mile warm up, 5-6 mile progression run (start around easy or marathon pace and run each mile about 10 seconds faster), 1 mile cool down

1 mile warm up, 3 x 2-3 miles at half marathon pace with .5 miles easy in between, 1 mile cool down

Long Run Workouts

Some of the tempo runs above can be incorporated into a long run. You can add on easy miles to adjust the total distance. For example, you can make a 10 mile long run into a half marathon paced workout by running 2 miles easy, 6 miles at half marathon pace, and 2 miles easy.

Runners who are newer to the half marathon distance should just focus on getting in time on their feet for the long run. Don’t worry so much about long run workouts. More experienced runners may benefit from adding in some harder efforts into long runs.

12 mile long run: 8 miles easy followed by a 4 mile progression from easy pace to half marathon pace or slightly faster

10 mile long run: 8 miles easy, last 2 miles at half marathon pace

13 mile long run: 9 miles easy, then add 60-90 second surges around 5k pace every 1/2 mile for the last 4 miles (this not only helps you change up your pace when you are getting tired at the end of a long run, but it also teaches your legs to find some speed at the end of a run.)

Final Thoughts on Half Marathon Workouts

The possibilities are endless when it comes to half marathon workouts because you can really adapt them in many different ways. It’s better to undertrain than overtrain, so if a workout seems like it will be too challenging for your current fitness then you can try doing less intervals/miles, slowing down the pace, or adding in more recovery. However, if many workouts are too challenging you may want to reconsider your training paces.

Also keep in mind that running a fast half marathon is hard. You are running fast for a long time, and these kinds of workouts prepare you for that. It’s important to find the right balance of pushing yourself enough but not too hard that you risk injury or overtraining.

Have fun with these workouts! They will help prepare you for a strong half marathon and can be a fun challenge to include in your training.

What are your favorite kinds of half marathon workouts?

You may also like:
Race Preparation Guide for the 5k to the Marathon
How To Choose The Perfect Beginner Marathon Training Plan
How to Schedule Weekly Runs and Workouts Without a Training Plan

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