Speed Work sessions for Half Marathon

Murraythree

I am eight weeks away from A race which is a half marathon. I have been doing speed work on the track, mainly 8x800m, 4x 1 miles, 5x1km and would like to try different sessions. Basically am sick of these 3 sessions :P
All advise and suggestions would be greatly appreciated please.

KielyUnusual

Murraythree wrote: »

I am eight weeks away from A race which is a half marathon. I have been doing speed work on the track, mainly 8x800m, 4x 1 miles, 5x1km and would like to try different sessions. Basically am sick of these 3 sessions :P
All advise and suggestions would be greatly appreciated please.

To be honest, those all sound like 5k sessions so I'd be trying something a little different if you are running a half marathon. You want to certainly be trying some sessions at your target half marathon pace. I would be looking at something like 3 X 3 miles at your target half marathon pace with 2 minutes recovery in between. Even just 7 miles straight at your half marathon pace would be a good session. You should be able to hit these on target pace 3-4 weeks out if you want to have a realistic chance of hitting your target. If you are sticking to the track then maybe some longer sessions would be in order. Pyramid/trapezoid type sessions are always fun to vary up the pace a little and also get good distance i. 400/800/1200/1600/2000/1600/1200/800/400 wouldn't be a bad one for half marathon. Up the recoveries too as you up the distance. Start with 30s and give yourself 15 extra seconds for every additional 400 you run. Like 30/45/60/75/90/75/60/45.

Just some suggestions.

Myles Splitz

What sort of miles are you running per week?

What other sort of sessions are you doing around the speedwork?

KU's pyramid (400/800/1200/1600/2000/1600/1200/800/400 ) would be a very solid one to do at 10k pace however only if you were doing moderate to high mileage. If not I would suggest adapting paces to 400/800 @ 10k pace with the longer reps closer to HM pace.

Other options would be Cruise intervals (high number of longer reps with short recovery at HM pace)

I have used this sort of approach myself in the past over similar time frame aiming for HM target races

Depending on mileage you could do one of the two following progressions

(low mileage)

8x1km @ HM off 90 sec recovery
4x2km @ HM off 2.30 recovery
3x3km @ HM off 3.30 recovery

If higher mileage would change to miles instead of KM with roughly equal recovery

Alternate these every second week with a longer MP tempo (45-60 min) or a shorter Traditional Tempo (25-30 min)

For the sharper stuff I would aim to do sessions of higher volume with lower intensity

12-20 x 400m @5k-10k pace with 30-60 sec rec (depending on level)
8-12 x 600 @5k-10k pace with 60-90 sec rec

Running economy can be developed with solid hills sprints and can be of good benefit also

8x1 min hills w/ 2 min jog back down recovery (moderate to steep hill)

Another type of session that can be benficial is what is known as "alternations"

Half Marathon Alternations Progression

In the 10 weeks leading up to a half marathon, do this series of workouts to improve your ability to clear lactate at race pace.
HM = half marathon goal pace per mile.

10 WEEKS TO GO: 6 miles alternating 400m at HM +5 seconds/mile with 1200m at HM +40 seconds/mile

8 WEEKS TO GO: 7 miles alternating 600m at HM with 1,000m at HM +35 seconds/mile

6 WEEKS TO GO: 7 miles alternating 800m at HM-5 seconds/mile with 800m at HM +35 seconds/mile

4 WEEKS TO GO: 8 miles alternating 1,000m at HM-10 seconds/mile with 600m at HM +30 seconds/mile

2 WEEKS TO GO: 8 miles alternating 1,000m at HM-10 seconds/mile with 600m at HM +20 seconds/mile

http://www.runnersworld.com/workouts/workouts-to-improve-lactate-clearing-rates

spaceylou

Myles Splitz wrote: »

What sort of miles are you running per week?

They look interesting, just wondering what ranges would you have in mind when you mention low, moderate and high millage (for someone training for HM)?

Myles Splitz

spaceylou wrote: »

They look interesting, just wondering what ranges would you have in mind when you mention low, moderate and high millage (for someone training for HM)?

These would be my own interpretations but

Low - 20-40
Moderate - 40-65
High - +70

Again this is subjective based on the average Irish athlete.

If mileage was lower I would probably advocate a steady run once a week of 45-70 min and long run at weekend would be more beneficial than specific sessions

rollout

Sorry to hijack this question. Would full marathon speed work be much different?

Myles Splitz

rollout wrote: »

Sorry to hijack this question. Would full marathon speed work be much different?

Depending on the coach/plan it can be very similar.

Personally I would lean towards the following types of sessions however for most people not coming from a few years of aerobic base under their belt

Progressions runs - 20 min easy/20 min steady*/20 min MP and build to 90 min total
Steady Runs - 70-90 min @steady pace
Easy Long Runs - 2-2.45 hrs total (can occasionally finish with MP miles)
MP Tempos - 40-60 min

The odd 10k/HM session like the ones above can be used but the closer to target marathon the less likely I would be to add these sort of sessions.

Focus should be on making your sessions big sessions with the rest of the miles around them very easy to allow for recovery (you should be running atleast 5 times a week though and roughly 6-8 hours a week as consistency is where you will make the big gains rather than isolated sessions

* Steady refers to approximately half way between MP and your easy pace in this incidence

demfad

Murraythree wrote: »

I am eight weeks away from A race which is a half marathon. I have been doing speed work on the track, mainly 8x800m, 4x 1 miles, 5x1km and would like to try different sessions. Basically am sick of these 3 sessions :P
All advise and suggestions would be greatly appreciated please.

Another session on the endurance side would be a run over 20-21k (or predicted race duration) at a steady pace (faster than easy: last 4-5k should feel challenging).
For the HM you have to run 21k.... fastish. This session ticks both those boxes.

Also it gives a great base for the other steady and threshold runs.
I would do this run soon. If you are not able to carry out this run now then you need to switch your training more towards endurance to address this weakness. Otherwise the 3 speed sessions you are doing now wont get close to compensating for the time you'll lose after 7-8 miles.

average_runner

Would it be worthwhile putting these as a sticky, as they are common enough questions?

Jmcmen

Great Info Folks, many thanks

Murraythree

Myles Splitz wrote: »

What sort of miles are you running per week?

What other sort of sessions are you doing around the speedwork?

I run 35 miles per week.

Tempo run, long run (11/12miles, inc some at half marathon pace), hill/trail session every ten days. Remainder are easy runs.
I also cycle (100 miles per week). Go to the gym twice per week.

Thank you for suggestions.

Murraythree

demfad wrote: »

Another session on the endurance side would be a run over 20-21k (or predicted race duration) at a steady pace (faster than easy: last 4-5k should feel challenging).
For the HM you have to run 21k.... fastish. This session ticks both those boxes.

Also it gives a great base for the other steady and threshold runs.
I would do this run soon. If you are not able to carry out this run now then you need to switch your training more towards endurance to address this weakness. Otherwise the 3 speed sessions you are doing now wont get close to compensating for the time you'll lose after 7-8 miles.

So you think this session would be more beneficial than 6 weeks of speed sessions? I do have a pretty good endurance base. Half marathon pb 1:40:06 so aiming for sub 1:40. Thanks for reply. Interesting discussion.

demfad

Murraythree wrote: »

So you think this session would be more beneficial than 6 weeks of speed sessions? I do have a pretty good endurance base. Half marathon pb 1:40:06 so aiming for sub 1:40. Thanks for reply. Interesting discussion.

Not that session alone. But 6 weeks of speed work won't give you the endurance necessary for a solid half. With the time your aiming for, endurance will have a greater affect on your average pace.

Look at it this way: To run a good half marathon you need to run for 100 minutes Duration at HM Pace.

The only time you'll get to do this is is in the actual race. To prepare for these two requirements you need to
1: Work on extending your fast runs (you've already done 4 x 1mile, good starting point)
2: Work on being able to run for 100 mins as fast as possible within reason in a training run. The steady marathon type run suggested might be the best progression e.g 70m, 80m, 90m 100m.

The two session compliment eachother. Particularly session 2: gives you a base for session 1:

Here's some of your training info from this site:
McMillan pace calculator

This estimates your 10k, LT, HM, M, 50k, E paces to be 7:13, 7:24, 7:38, 8:02, 8:13, +

In these range of paces you need to give at least equal priority to the paces slower (probably more) than HM to those faster in order to work on both pace and endurance.

Can you supply the time you did your last 4 x mile session (or estimate what you could do it in now in a session) and also your current long run distance and pace? Also do you take any easy weeks? After how long?

Edit: You also need a base of speed. Controlled speedwork will help all your other running and will help your running efficiency. If you havent been doing it you will get big gains from this.
Here's a suggestion: 3 x 5 x 15-30s relaxed and fast. Run 3-6 mins hard after. Start at 15s for the short reps and add 5s each session. Start at 3 mins for the long rep and add a min per session. Do a session every 2 weeks. Supplementary speed work might be 10 x 100m relaxed and fast at the end of an easy run.

Murraythree

demfad wrote: »

Can you supply the time you did your last 4 x mile session (or estimate what you could do it in now in a session) and also your current long run distance and pace? Also do you take any easy weeks? After how long?

Firstly, wow. Thank you so much demfad for such a detailed and insightful response. It is very much appreciated.
You have given me lots to consider in particular 100m idea. This is something I have not been doing or even aiming for.

I did 4 x 1 miles last week - 7:14, 7:09, 7:02, 7:11.
Last long run was last Sunday, 10 miles AvP 8:46 (too slow)? Entered a 10 mile RR two weeks ago and did it in 1:19. Found it very comfortable.
Current 5k time 22:30 but feel I can improve on this as it was end of 2015.
Do 3 weeks on and one week off. I train very consistently but beginning to realise I do the same things over and over again and you know the rest.

Many thanks.

hot buttered scones

Great info above. I'm running the half marathon in Cork on June 6th. I've just finished up the plan on the DCM 2015 Graduates. I raced a 25k on Sunday 17th, going through the half marathon in 1:32:xx. With Cork only 6 weeks away, what can I do to get a bit faster? My current weakness is endurance I reckon. I'll be racing in between (4 miles next week, 6 miles 2 weeks later, both midweek races) - so these will do as sort of tempo sessions. Will probably do a 5 mile race on May 23rd, but take it easy. Looking at the sessions in this thread, my head starts spinning a bit. I'm leaning toward jumping into the alternation progressions at week 6 that Myles posted above, and maybe doing the 3x3km @10k every other week. Maybe a couple of fast finish long runs as well. Currently running about 45 miles per week, with some weeks closer to 50. Any feedback on this idea?

Casey78

Murraythree wrote: »

Firstly, wow. Thank you so much demfad for such a detailed and insightful response. It is very much appreciated.
You have given me lots to consider in particular 100m idea. This is something I have not been doing or even aiming for.

I did 4 x 1 miles last week - 7:14, 7:09, 7:02, 7:11.
Last long run was last Sunday, 10 miles AvP 8:46 (too slow)? Entered a 10 mile RR two weeks ago and did it in 1:19. Found it very comfortable.
Current 5k time 22:30 but feel I can improve on this as it was end of 2015.
Do 3 weeks on and one week off. I train very consistently but beginning to realise I do the same things over and over again and you know the rest.

Many thanks.

Your half time is 1:40 and your 5k time is 22:30..
I dunno where I'm going wrong so.
My 5k time is the same as yours (22:27) but i would struggle to break 2 hrs in the half.
Even my 10k is poor which saw me failing to break 50mins at the Great Ireland run a few weeks ago.
I do my long runs on a sunday, usually 10miles at between 9:45.and 10:00 min/mile pace which I find very comfortable and I try to do some faster stuff during the week. For example Wednesday morning this week I did a 5x1mile intervals with all intervals coming in around 7:44/mile. If I can ill try and get out for another run during the week but with 2 kids and running a business its not always easy get out. I do have a turbo trainner and a treadmill and use both every now and then, maybe doing some incline intervals on the treadmill.
I did the 5x1 this week as i am adapting the Mcmillian 10k workout to prepare for the Irish Runner 5mile in a few months. I was hoping to get a time of 39mins.
I'm also hoping to run DCM again this year and break 4hrs but I know my times are very poor compared to my 5k time(which I realise isnt that fast either )
To be honest when I saw we had more or less the same 5k time but a huge gap in the difference in half time it made me think I must be doing something seriously wrong!
Anyone any suggestions? Oh and sorry for hijacking the thread.

Itziger

I cherry picked a few sessions from the Garmin Advanced programme. Found the ones where they mix Tempo and 10k pace were good. Just one of those sessions that you feel bring you on and give you confidence. Must start some quality soon for end of June Half.

Singer

Casey78 wrote: »

Your half time is 1:40 and your 5k time is 22:30..
I dunno where I'm going wrong so.
My 5k time is the same as yours (22:27) but i would struggle to break 2 hrs in the half. Even my 10k is poor which saw me failing to break 50mins at the Great Ireland run a few weeks ago.

What happens to you during the HM/10k races? Do you slow down a lot towards the end?

Chances are it's your endurance that needs work. You'll need to work on this for the marathon. For a start, try and extend your long run - your paces look right, just continue taking it easy but run for longer.

hot buttered scones

Question re: the pyramid session above (400/800/1200/1600/2000/1600/1200/800/400). My 10k pace is around 6:40-6:45.
This gives times for each interval of around 1:40, 3:20, 5:00, 6:40, 8:20 @ 6:40. Without a track would time based intervals be better - something like 2/3/5/7/8/7/5/3/2 mins @6:40? Both ways give about 42 mins @pace