Hello NYC Half Marathoners!
How did week #1 feel? Good? Tough? Overwhelming? More of a logistical challenge or a physical one? If you didn’t find your rhythm, no sweat (or shivers). These first couple weeks are all about getting your process down. Make the attempts, learn from the missteps, and get everything clicking so you can LAUNCH into your last 10 weeks of specific training with a good base.
Last week, you tried on two of the most important paces in any Half Marathon program: Aerobic Pace and Tempo Pace. Aerobic Pace develops your body’s ability to quickly and efficiently deliver oxygen to your muscles. Tempo Pace (aka Threshold) develops your body’s ability to cope with and create less muscular byproduct, measured by lactate. While we will use other paces to develop your stride and movement patterns, the only other truly essential pace for Half Marathon training is 🏅Race Pace.🏅 You’ll get to try on that exciting pace in week 4, after you’ve laid a solid foundation and can approach your goals with a clear understanding of your fitness and available pace range.
This week, you’ll shift your focus from pace to feel. In running toward a goal race, it’s important to develop both. Running on pace will develop the skill of pace-precision and ensure that you’re building out well-rounded strength by developing the right systems (ie “zones”) in the right proportions. Running on feel will sharpen your ability to communicate with your own body. It’s always speaking to you, but over-relying on the numbers on your watch can dull your ability to listen. By carving out workouts that let the body lead, you’ll develop a keener ability to listen. You’ll also open up the possibility for break thoughts and revelations around pace. Maybe you can run much faster than you realize? Or, maybe you’ll feel faster and smoother by slowing down just a touch?
This week’s new elements—hills and surges—yank your GPS right out from under you! Your watch is least dependable on hills and very short intervals, which is exactly why we’re using them 😈. You’ll be forced away from the numbers and into your own body. You’ll see the details below in your Speed Run + Long run. Just remember, exploration and curiosity are good. Especially at this point in the season, never fear running the “wrong” pace.
Have fun out there!
LFG
Coach + Coffey
This week you will run 3-6 times, with 1-2 Speed Run(s) + 1 Long Run
These runs may be done on any days, with two caveats: 1) The Speed Run must be run earlier in the week than the Long Run, and 2) follow the hard-easy-hard principle, which means never run back-to-back hard days. Instead, separate hard (speed or long) runs with at least one easy run or rest day.
This week you’ll take a step forward in mileage! Look to the charts on page 7-9 of the Coach + Coffey Half Marathon Plan for help deciding exactly how much to run. Typically, a good rule of thumb is to increase mileage by 10% per week, but when you’re just getting started that number may need to be a closer to 20%.
Speed Run: 10 x 1:00 Hills! with run/walk down recovery
This is a great workout for the start of any season, before you’re committed to a race pace. Because incline grade changes pace, and because your GPS doesn’t reliably factor in hills, anytime you run uphill or downhill you should disregard the number on your watch and move your attention to your body.
A red flag: because hills put extra tension on the achilles tendon, if you have soreness or tightness there you should move this workout to the flat—simply run 10 x 1:00 at 5k effort (don’t get too attached to pace) with equal distance recovery jog.
Method:
1. Run 5-20 minutes of easy warmup running.
2. Do 5-10 optional minutes of dynamic warmups + strides.
3. This workout is simple: Find a hill. Run up the hill hard for 1:00. Turn around. Walk or jog back down. Repeat for a total of 10 hill reps.
Hills are magic. When you run hard up a hill, your body shifts into its most dynamic, powerful posture. You don’t even have to think about it! Just to clear the road ahead, your knees will come up higher, your arms will pump more powerfully, and you will push the earth away with more athletic control. It’s really a beautiful thing to watch an athlete open up into their true (and future) form over the course of a few hill reps.
To run this workout well, start slower than you think you need to, and with :20 to go in each rep, try to *shift* into a faster gear. It doesn’t matter how much speed you get out of this shift; the important thing is honing the impulse toward mind/body communication and connection.
If you start to lose focus or default toward negative thoughts mid-interval, bring yourself back to your body with these cues: STRONG ARMS. HIGH KNEES. POP POP POP. Then, listen to the sound of your feet. Hear them respond.
4. 5-20 minutes easy cooldown running + dynamic cooldown, just like at the start.
Aerobic Runs — 1-4 runs @ 3-9 miles
How many times did you run last week? Was that your plan? How did it feel? Remember that these first couple weeks are for getting your ducks in a row, setting your patterns in place, and figuring out what works (and what doesn’t!)
If you’re still figuring out your mileage plan, look to pages 7-9 in the Coach + Coffey plan. There, you’ll see how the mileage will climb over the course of the season, and how to lay out a week. You can also look back to last week’s post for some notes on how to think about your mileage.
This week, get in the rhythm. Stay in your Aerobic pace window for your Aerobic Runs. Keep it simple. Make it totally nbd. Just get out the door.
Optional Tempo — 3-6 mile progression run, starting at Aerobic Pace and finishing at Goal Half Marathon Pace.
Experienced runners running at least five days a week may opt for a second speed workout to complement the week's primary workout. This will typically be a Tempo/Threshold-based workout.
First step: head to the pace charts on page 6 of the Coach + Coffey Half Marathon Training Plan. Note your Aerobic Pace Window and your Half Marathon Pace. If you’re not quite sure of your Half Marathon goal pace yet, don’t worry; that’s totally normal at this point in the season. I bet you can narrow it down to two or three lines in that chart, and that’s just fine for now. Study those numbers and get a rough idea of what paces you should run.
This workout is very similar to last week’s primary workout, only easier! Last week you ran 3-6 miles starting at Aerobic Pace and finishing at Tempo Pace. This week, you’ll run the same distance, finishing at a slightly slower pace.
Why run slower than you know you can? Two reasons: 1) distance running is about finding ease within all paces. To do that, you need to spend time running every pace with control, restraint, and athleticism. To run today’s workout well, run it with as much ease and specificity as possible. In doing so, you’ll begin to cultivate a relationship with Half Marathon pace. 2) Last week you ran one workout and this week you’ll run two! Whenever you move forward with one aspect of training, always give yourself a little slack by taking a baby step backward in another.
Just like last week, pick a distance that feels like a “normal run,” somewhere between 3-6 miles. Start at Aerobic Pace, and spend the whole run smoothly accelerating to Half Marathon pace.
Cool down 5-20 minutes, depending on your mileage goal for the day.
Long Run — 5-11 miles @ Aerobic Pace with 8 x :30 surges
Let’s take a step up! This week you’ll run 1-2 miles more than last week. By keeping this jump small, you’ll give your body time week-to-week to make the physiological adaptations that will support the longer miles to come. By the time you’re nearing peak mileage, you’ll have changed your own anatomy. Your capillaries will be longer and your oxygen carrying capacity will be higher. It can be tempting at the beginning of a season to think, “how will I be able to run that far and that fast?” The fact is, you’ll be running with a changed body. YOU as you sit here today can’t do what YOU will be able to 11 weeks from now.
This week, your long run will include 8 x 30-second “surges.” A surge is a period of faster running within a longer run. There’s no stopping before or after, just a gentle acceleration and deceleration, like a wave. Your surges can be anywhere from Marathon to 10k pace, but I’d advise you to just think, “a little faster.” Specific pace isn’t important today—we’ll do that next week!—what’s important is increasing athleticism within the run. By moving between paces with control and grace, you’ll develop your kinesthetic awareness, tighten the mind/body connection, and develop your stride by waking up all those sleepy supportive muscles. Take anywhere from 1:00-5:00 between surges, and let them be fun! If you’re running with friends, take turns surprising each other! If you’re running alone, get a powerful song in your head and YELL IT (inwardly (: ).