Help me break a 1:40 half mary

Do you like writing your own plans/doing your own thing, or following a plan?


If you want to follow one, take a look here, higdon, runners world, etc, and pick one that best fits your goals/time available to train, and hop to it.

If you like setting things up on your own, i'd recommend slowly building mileage up first, through frequency and then time per run. You've not put in a ton of volume over the last year on the run, and simply upping it may get you to your goal. I personally would not worry a huge amount about the length of the long run right now (if you are already at 8 you are well on your way there), but rather focus on overall weekly volume.


On the pre-built plan side, there are a lot of good full marathon plans that IMO are light on the mileage for a marathon but would fit the bill for this right with a bit of modification (namely cutting the long run shorter). one of the higdon ones comes to mind here, i think the intermediate (not 100% sure) has 4-5 days a week of running, and would make a good plan if you worked those long runs a bit shorter (or it would at least give you a good idea of a starting place and how you could structure it)


At this point i would not put too much stock on what paces your runs are at, but simply run them at a pace/effort that allows you to not impact the next workout.

Edited by newbz 2011-01-24 6:09 PM

You don't seem too far away at all.  I think we are roughly in the same place, and I am expecting to run a 1:45 in 3 weeks.  In 20 weeks, you can definitely do it no prob.  It's amazing, the weight I've lost has made me feel so much faster.  Was about 6'2 200lbs with 9%BF now am 190lbs with like 7 and just feel so fast. Im sure the same will happen with you.

When you are inside on the treadmill, run with it at 1% incline to account for wind resistance, and certainly mix in more hills.  Happy running

The only doubts I have is how you're going to incorporate your swimming and biking goals in as well.

Your logs show that your average training week is about 4-6 hours for the past 5 months or so.  And your goal is to work your bike up to 5.5 hours and swim to 2.5 hours per week.  That's 8 hours alone.  I assume you'd be putting in a minimum of 6 hours of run training as well...so you're looking at 14 hour training weeks...maybe more.  I'm not saying it's not doable.  But if you want to do really well in a running race, you should focus on running.  The added fatigue from biking and swimming will likely take away from the quality of your running workouts.

I'm no expert but I will still share some advice if I may. Cool Running Intermediate 1/2 plan. I am currently on week 10 of a 20 week Cool Running Intermediate Full marathon plan and my speed progression since being on it has increased dramatically. I work a swing shift at a steel mill so I make sure that I get at least 3 of the runs every week regardless, and I will substitute a trainer ride or a swim on ocassion. Always get my long runs and always my Tuesday speedwork. I was truly amazed at how putting in a good hard, hold nothing back speedwork run in once a week made me a much faster and stronger runner. Youve got 20 weeks and you look strong already. Put in the work and youll be walkin all over 1:40 !

Truthfully, on four runs plus whatever swim/bike you want to do, if you patiently build mileage so that you get your long run up over HM distance, with the times you're already hitting, there's no reason you can't get to 1:40 in 20 weeks.  With a 46 min. 10K TT already in hand, you can definitely be devoting one run a week to tempo, hill or interval training.  When I was 5' 10 1/2", 165 lbs and had a 45:59 10K PR (so probably about your current fitness level) a few years back, I went 1:42 for my first HM, 1:36 three months after that.  Hit those times off three runs a week, 18-32 mpw, while doing full-on swim and bike training as well.

It sounds like you're already heading in the right direction, and the other posts contain a lot of good suggestions. One thing that I'd add is that if you are really able to lose those 10lbs, then that could buy you a bunch of time, in addition to the effects of the run training. Based on the common 2 secs/pound/mile figure, that would buy you over 4 minutes in the HIM. But if you want to combine weight loss with training 10+ times per week across the three sports, then you'll need to carefully balance getting enough intake to recover from one session to the next, while still maintaining a small deficit (e.g., 500 cal/day would get rid of the 10lbs before you start running outside again in April). If you significantly hurt your body's ability to recover, then you'll risk injury. So I'd recommend to include the use of a calorie counter in your training plan. 

Agree with others basically about the running part. In my mind, the key to half-marathon is the long run. You want to work up gradually to where you are running at least the race distance, ideally a few miles further.  Once you have endurance to "go the distance", you can also add a tempo, fartlek, or speedwork session with longer repeats between 10K and HM pace, once a week.  The other runs can be just easy to moderate efforts of 4-8 miles. Four runs a week may be enough if you are also doing intensive swim and/or bike training.  

I do think swimming can have important benefits for running. Last year, after many years of minimal running, I dropped my HM time from 1:48 to 1:38 running only 3-4 times a week (25-30 miles total), plus two to three master's swim sessions per week (2500-3500 meters each).  I think the swim really let me work on aerobic conditioning while not risking injury from upping mileage too much.  This year I dropped my time to 1:33 with similar training, averaging about 30 to 35 miles a week (over 4 days) plus 2-3 swim workouts.  I found it was hard to recover and do speedwork while doing more than one bike ride per week, but everyone's body is different and you'll have to see how much biking you can handle while still getting in the key run sessions. I think it helps to do longer swim sessions of 75-90 minutes and focus on endurance and tempo work with minimal rest rather than all-out speed.

I do have a background in distance running and fast PR's from my youth, but I don't know how much that counts.....four years previously, I only managed 1:48 on a few months of focused run training (beyond the usual 10-15 miles per week) with no swimming.  So don't discount swimming as a means of getting in shape!

Edited by Hot Runner 2011-01-25 7:37 AM

1) Run more often.  Get up to 4/wk
2) Mix up your distances and paces.  Go slower on your long runs and faster on your short ones.
3) Don't worry about your weight.  I am 5'10.5" and 198 and could run a 1:45:xx tomorrow.

c'mon Mike...BS meter going of...weight is a big factor.  I know you are saying that you can still run pretty well despite not being an ideal weight but truth is if you want to run fast, body composition and weight is a huge piece of it.

Here's a recent article in everyone's new favorite magazine:

http://lavamagazine.com/training/a-better-way-to-evaluate-body-composition#axzz1C3zrwxgK

I could point to a ton more just like it....I'm not so sure on the 3sec/mi per lb...it could be a little less than that but whatever it is, losing 10lbs will have a big effect for most people....myself included.

Great information provided by you all.  I really appreciate it.  I feel even better than I did before that I can reach my goal.

My "A" race is a HIM in October.  so I do need to be sure that I get in the proper base work on the bike and swim.  The swim isn't a big deal to me at all as I grew up swimming.  The bike on the other hand....After the 1/2 marathon, I plan on focussing on a more traditional HIM approach.

As for the weight loss, I certainly think it will help, but it is nothing that I will need to stay focused on.  I tend to let my overall diet go over the winter months.  Always have , and always lose about 10 lbs in the spring.  I guess it is the heavy foods and drink.

Based on what you all have said, I will be sure I get at least 4 runs in per week through February and then will add a 5th run.  Each week I will add a bit to my longer run (currently 8 miles) until I get it up over the 13.1.  I probably will keep it to around 10 miles until I can finally get outside and run.  I know, I know HTFU.  Moreso than the cold temps, the darkness is what is the biggest factor.

Thanks again!

From an n=1 perspective last year I ran a 46:20  10k and three months later ran a 1:41 HM.  So you're really not that far off.  Since you ran a very similar 10k I'd say the speed is there, just the endurance has to be developed.  You can look at my logs from last year from November '09 through February to see what I did (probably not the ideal case study!).

I think I would have broken 1:40 if I had done more long runs.  Last year I think my long run was 10 or so, and in the race around mile 10 I died (as in if a beer truck or fire truck had rolled by I'd have jumped on the back of the darn thing and called it a day.  Then again I probably wouldn't have been able to catch it.).  This year I have been doing several in the 11-14 range to try and rectify that.

Depending on how long until your HM, I think it is definitely achievable.