Workouts for Your Better Half (Marathon)

In March 2009, Martin Fagan was running shoulder to shoulder with the great Haile Gebrselassie in the Fortis City-Pier-City Half Marathon in the Netherlands. They were racing along at a pace that would bring them to the finish line in just over an hour. For Gebrselassie, with his 58:55 PR, this pace was old hat. For Fagan, however, this was new territory, and his finish time of 1:00:57 not only brought him a personal best but also the Irish national record. Fagan was able to run such a fast time because we focused his training on a few specialized workouts for the half marathon in the last six weeks before the race. Here's what we did that you can do to achieve success in the fastest-growing race distance on the roads.

Physiologically, the half marathon for competitive runners is run at a pace just below the lactate threshold -- the point where the buildup of lactic acid exceeds the ability to remove it. Psychologically, the half marathon requires more restraint than the fast-from-the-gun effort of a 10K but more aggressiveness than the run-easy-until-20- miles strategy of the marathon. It's a delicate balance that needs to be practiced in training to prepare both mind and body.

In Martin's training plan, we focused on key workouts that were slightly slower than lactate threshold pace (steady state runs); were right at lactate threshold pace (tempo runs); and built his lactic acid tolerance and aerobic capacity (hill repeats).

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After warming up for 20-30 minutes, run the workout at a continuous marathon effort. This intensity is somewhere between an easy run and a tempo run. Most runners run the steady state run too hard. It's designed to be an aerobic workout, not a heavy breathing workout, and to fatigue you with the duration of the run, not the speed. Cool down for 20-30 minutes to make the total run last 90 minutes to 2 hours. Start with 3-4 miles at steady state pace and build to 8-10 miles by adding 2 miles to the steady state run each week. Psychologically, the steady state run develops the mental toughness to stay engaged in the half marathon as you reach the later miles.

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Following the same warm-up as for a steady state run, you can run continuously at your half marathon pace (a tempo run) or break the run up into repetitions with a short recovery interval (tempo intervals). As the tempo run progresses, increase the pace to current 10K pace. On tempo intervals, increase the pace to 10K pace as you reach the final few repetitions. Start with 2-3 miles worth of tempo running and build to 5-6 miles. Since you're running most of the workout at half marathon pace, these two workouts help you dial in race pace -- something you will need to do on race day. For Martin, I used a combination of tempo runs and tempo interval workouts. I even combined a steady state run and a tempo run into one workout to match the ever-increasing effort demand that the race requires.

HILL REPEATS

I can't say enough about hill repeats for half marathoners. With all the steady, continuous running in the half marathon training, hill repeats are the best workout for building aerobic capacity and lactic acid tolerance (the ability to clear lactic acid from the blood). These adaptations can come from standard track repetitions but I find that using hill repeats keeps the legs fresher and avoids injury from too much fast running too often. After a thorough warm-up, run either short hill repeats (6-10 percent grade lasting 45-60 seconds) or medium hill repeats (4-6 percent grade lasting 90-120 seconds). Run hard but controlled up the hill, and jog back down as recovery. If there's a flat area at the top and/or bottom of the hill, do a short stride to build in some leg speed training. In Martin's training, hill workouts were a constant, and since these are intense sessions (especially at 7,000 feet of elevation where we train!), they provided him the "gut check" he needed to get ready to go head to head with Gebrselassie.

LONG RUNS

Martin includes a weekly long run of around two to two and a half hours throughout the year. For him, this provides him with 18-20 miles of easy running. As the race neared, however, I had him increase the pace the last few miles of every other long run to add to his stamina training.

PREPARATORY TRAINING

It's important to note that, before his specific half marathon training, Martin completed 13 weeks of the base phase I've described before: building his mileage, aerobic threshold and leg speed. He also prefaced his half marathon block with five weeks of speed-building workouts at 5K to 10K race pace. (These were workouts like mile repeats at 10K race pace and other traditional "speed" workouts.) This preparatory training was essential to allow him to complete his demanding half marathon plan.

Here are the key workouts that Martin Fagan did in the six weeks before setting the Irish half marathon record of 1:00:57.

Greg McMillan

Greg McMillan, M.S,. is an exercise physiologist and USATF-certified coach who helps runners via his website, mcmillanrunning.com.