How to Create your Own Half Marathon Training Schedule

Completing a half marathon is a great way to build fitness and have fun at the same time. It also is a good stepping stone to completing a full marathon. But you need to have a correct half marathon training schedule in place. The type of training is different to that of a full marathon which is why you really need to develop a sound half marathon training program that is going to provide you with the right training so that you will be prepared when it comes to race day.

But it is very important to take your half marathon training schedule seriously. You need to hold the highest priority for your training and not let things get in the way. The ideal half marathon training schedule is a schedule that you can easily complete each week, that doesn’t interfere with other things in your life and gets you in the right physical condition to run a half marathon. So that means you have to organise yourself to make sure your half marathon training schedule fits in with your daily routine.

The best way to do this is to organise what you do on a daily basis. You need to work out the times of the day when you are most busy and the times when you aren’t. Once you do that you will be able to work out the perfect time for your half marathon training schedule to fit in. But once you find a time you must commit to it. You can’t afford to skip sessions or put it off because you will get behind in your training. Don’t let things get in the way of your half marathon training schedule and don’t compromise your time. If something conflicts with your half marathon training schedule you must give top priority to your training and find another time for whatever is causing the conflict. If you organise your lifestyle fitting in your training is a breeze.

Your half marathon training schedule will be different than a normal marathon training schedule because you are not running the same distance. So you wont have to run as much mileage during your training. The same principles still apply for a half marathon training schedule though. You will need to slowly increase the amount of mileage you do each week. It is important to start off small when you are just beginning because it can be easy to get too excited and run too far too soon and end up injuring yourself. So a correct half marathon training schedule will have you slowly building up the miles until you are in the right physical shape to complete a half marathon.

Your half marathon training schedule will consist of training sessions five days a week with two rest days. These rest days are going to be on a Monday and Friday while the rest of the days will be when you complete your marathon training. A half marathon training schedule like this will have you doing your short to medium runs on week days and your long run on the Saturday.

On Sundays you will do some form of cross training. Cross training is a very important part in any half marathon training schedule because it helps to prevent over use injury and helps with recovery. Some good cross training exercises are walking, swimming or riding a bike. It is a good idea to have a half marathon training schedule that has the cross training session the day after your long run because it gives the body a break from running and helps to quicken recovery.
If you plan your half marathon training schedule carefully and stick to it you will increase your fitness and overall well being and be in perfect mental and physical shape to complete your first half marathon.