Training for my first 21K

I'm running my first half-marathon on Run Rio Leg 2 : Nature Valley Run which is about 4 weeks from now. I intend to closely follow the 4-week plan from Runner's World Philippines Premiere Issue. [Grab your copy now! I believe it's still available somewhere if you get the April 2010 issue of Men's Health or Women's Health].

I think it's a good plan and you can customize it to fit your needs and current fitness level. For me, I'll do it this way.

Mondays and Saturdays are already reserved for short easy runs or rest days. Tuesdays are for 12-K runs, usually broken down into 2-K easy / 8-K @10K or half-marathon pace / 2-K easy. On Wednesdays, I'll do easy runs. Thursdays are for hill sprints while Fridays are also for 12-K runs. And on Sundays of course I'll do long runs, ranging from 16-K to 22-K @ marathon pace.

Sounds like a plan. Hopefully with this training, I get to perform good enough for my first half-mary. My target time? I'm training for a 7 min/km pace so I'm aiming to get a sub-2:30.

But first, I pray for strength and the will to complete this training. :P

You want the 4-week plan for other distances (5K, 10K, 42K)? Get a copy of Runner's World now! Hehe. :))

Basic Speedwork Training

If you have completed a couple of races and you want to improve your personal record (like I do!), here's a basic training you can include in your routine.

It's quite simple. Just do alternating fast and slow runs, incrementing your time by 1 minute, from 1 to 5 minutes.

1 min fast / 1 min slow
2 mins fast / 2 mins slow
3 mins fast / 3 mins slow
4 mins fast / 4 mins slow
5 mins fast

As with other exercises, remember to include a warm-up jog and stretch before you start and a cool down jog and gentle stretch after.

For my fellow beginners, you may want to try this on a fairly flat surface (do your hill work separately).

I tried this yesterday with my teammate/coach/timekeeper at Ayala Triangle and we reached 5.93 km in 28 minutes! [25 mins plus 3 mins cool down]. And to think we were even walking the slow parts!

I believe this is a good training to develop your ability to run above your normal race pace and to hold that pace for an increasing amount of time. Mix this up with your long runs / endurance training and you're bound to give the pros a run for their money!

Is this too easy for you? Try this: When you reach 5, go back down to 1!
Good luck! Run for your lives!