Last Sunday, I ran a half marathon personal best of 1:38:28. I was the 15th woman and 9th in my age group. This was a big PB, knocking almost 15 minutes off my previous half marathon attempt, and the result of a 16 week training block. I’m by no means an expert but this is what worked for me and these are my tips to run a sub-1:40 half marathon.
Up the volume (sensibly!)
Your weekly mileage makes a big difference to your anaerobic fitness, endurance and ability to run for longer. I significantly increased the volume I was running in this block, clocking in at 35 miles a week at the peak. But I also did this gradually and took deload weeks – dropping my Sunday long run distance every four weeks – to allow myself to recover. Don’t over do it though. My plan had me running 14 miles a few weeks out and I decided to dial this back to 12 as I knew that it would be better for me. For some people, running further than the half marathon distance helps them on the day, so it’s about knowing your own training preferences too.
My training was very structured this time around with a couple of easy runs, a speed session, a tempo and a longer run each week. Although I enjoy running alone as my time to switch off, having company makes the world of difference – plan easy runs around run club, Parkrun or runs with friends or convince someone to bike alongside you if they’re not a runner – doing all of these things helped me to break the week up from grinding out solo miles. I didn’t manage to do every run, every week and that’s okay. You have to have a life outside of training too!
Focus on strength and conditioning
I’ve said before I’m rubbish at going to the gym but in this block I was going consistently once a week, which I’m proud of! I focussed on single leg work to target imbalances and prevent injuries but also core strength and conditioning exercises. Find a routine that works and focus on the stuff that’s hard (AKA the bits you know you’re weakest at and want to avoid). This will help you to be a stronger runner and one that’s less likely to get injured.
Schedule a tune-up race
I ran the Olympic Park 10k midway through this block as a tune-up race, to test myself at pace and also in a race environment. If, like me, you get race day nerves this helps and it’s also a good time to test your shoes and kit. Ideally, it’s time to try out your pre-run breakfast and hydration too but this was an evening race. I managed to PB my 10k time during this race, coming in at 45:26!
Trust the process
Up until the night before my race I kept changing my mind about my race pace and goal time, wondering if my target of 1.39 was too ambitious. If you’ve done the training, trust it’ll be enough to be on the day. It’s normal to feel fatigued at the end of a long block and for doubts to creep in (marathon runners call it maranoia). The taper and rest days before the race will help you to feel fresh so don’t scrimp on them.
Break it down
For my half marathon I split the race into four mile chunks. The plan was to take the first four easy, if that feels good turn it up for the next four, then when I had only four miles left I knew I could push to the finish. I’d really recommend breaking your race down into manageable chunks like this as it allows you to take the pressure off and tune in to how you’re feeling.
Doing all of these things meant that race day felt like just another long run and I really enjoyed it, whereas normally I find nerves difficult in the first couple of miles. Throw in a good playlist and lots of support on the course and you’ll be flying to a sub-1.40 time.
I’m looking forward to some time off, or at least some lower volume training because I can’t not run, while I decide what’s next… (Did someone say sub-90?!). I’d love to know what you’re training for?
