Half Marathon 3 (HM3)

In my latest book, Hal Higdon’s Half Marathon Training (published by Human Kinetics), I created several new training programs. Here is one of them: Half Marathon 3 (HM3). HM3 is designed for experienced runners, those of you who have been running for several years, who enjoy running road races between 5-K and the marathon, but who find it difficult to run more often than three times a week. Perhaps it is because of a lack of time or perhaps it is because too frequent running raises the risk of injury. If you are one of those runners, HM3 is designed for you. (Check also Marathon 3 for marathon runners.) Despite offering only three days of running a week, HM3 boasts somewhat more mileage on each of those days. Here are the workouts you will be asked to do each day.

If you expect to train properly, rest is essential. Mondays (and Fridays) are rest days. This is to allow you to prepare for and recover from the tough training you do on the weekends.

A day of easy running, similar to the sorta-long runs in my other marathon programs. You begin in Week 1 with 4 miles and peak in Week 11 (just before starting your taper) with 6 miles. Run at a comfortable pace, slow enough so that can hold a conversation with a training partner. Make Tuesday the fun running day of the week.

Cross-training could be any aerobic activity: cycling, swimming, walking, cross-country skiing. If you enjoy strength training, this might be a good day to pump some iron. If you want a fourth day of running, do it today. Because of the variability of various exercises, I prescribe this workout in minutes, not miles, starting with 30 minutes, peaking at 60 minutes.

The “hard” workout of the week, because you run somewhat faster. On Thursdays, you alternate pace runs, tempo runs and regular runs. A pace run is one where you run at your half marathon race pace. A tempo run is one that starts easy and builds to a peak midway through the run before finishing easy. And every third week, you do an easy run.

Friday is a day of rest in all my programs. This is because runners train hardest on the weekends when they have more time. Don’t compromise your weekend workouts by thinking you have to do something extra on Friday.

If you’re training for a half marathon, long runs are obviously the most important workout of the week. The progression begins with a 6-mile run in Week 1 and jumps a mile every other week to a peak of 10 miles. Do you need to do the entire 13.1 miles in training? Not really. Long runs should be conducted at a pace 30 to 90 seconds or more slower than you plan to run in the half marathon. Running too long and too fast and too often will simply wear you out and prevent you from achieving your goals.

Pick your aerobic activity. Weather conditions permitting, I love to get out on Sundays for a long bike ride. Similar to Wednesdays, cross-training starts at 30 minutes and peaks at 60 minutes. Given the variety of different exercises, the prescription is in time, not distance. If you want to flipflop workouts (cross-training on Saturdays and running on Sundays), that is okay too.

I strongly endorse strength training for runners: for general fitness as much as for making you a faster runner. If you strength train regularly, continue with your standard lifts. If new to strength training, you may want to wait until after you finish the half marathon before starting something new. I recommend light weights and high repetitions. Tuesdays and Thursdays, after the runs those days, would be good for strength training after the run.

I plugged races at 5-K and 10-K into the schedule in Weeks 6 and 9. Nothing magic about those distances and those days. Feel free to modify the program based on the local racing schedule. Use races to test your fitness allowing you to predict more accurately your half marathon pace. During race weeks, you run slightly different mileage midweek.

A Tempo Run begins easy (jogging pace, warm-up pace), then gradually accelerates to near 10-K pace halfway through the workout. Hold that pace for five minutes or more, then gradually slow down. I prescribe time rather than distance and suggest that you get off the roads and into the woods where you can listen to your body rather than run to the rhythm of a GPS watch. Tempo runs should be intuitive.