A few months ago I agreed to run a half marathon with two friends whom will be running their first half marathons!!! Kind of exciting, right! I’m currently in week 4 of my training and thought i’d share my training plan.
I usually post this prior to starting a round of training but I was two weeks into training before I realised that I should have been following a training plan! Obviously, those two weeks I did not follow my exact training plan below but I was running, cycling and going to yoga anyway so it all worked out just fine.
Event: Bluenose Marathon (5k, 10k, 15k, half, full and team relay)
Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Race: Half Marathon.
Date: Sunday May 20th (kids run May 19th)
Previous Bluenose races: First half in 2006 (different course), 3 – 10k’s, 1 -5k and 4 kids run’s (2k).
New This Year: The course has changed and going in reverse order!
![Picture_20180318_204533642[1]](https://pipersrun.files.wordpress.com/2018/03/picture_20180318_2045336421.jpg?w=450&h=450)
Training Plan
I’ve used Hal Higdon half marathon training plans for the last few years and really like them. I often modify them to fit in other activities such as yoga and soccer, not to mention I change them into kilometres since I run in kilometres not miles. I’m not a fan of doing math while I run so having the plan in kilometres vs miles prior to training is key for me. 
Changes you’ll see each week:
- I don’t plan to run 5 days a week. My life or body doesn’t allow for that – let’s be honest! I’m happy to do other activities such as skiing (last few weeks) to yoga, cycling and soccer.
- I like to run in even numbers like 6 km rather then 3.5 miles which is 5.63 km. Therefore, I might run slightly longer or slightly short then expected when the plan was converted from miles to kilometres.
- I have kids and my husband is a paramedic = shift work!!! I fit in my runs/workouts when I can and sometimes I change up the order of those based on my families needs vs my training plan. Life happens!
Future Races for 2018:
I have not registered for any other races this year and I’m kinda loving it. Don’t get me wrong, I have about 5-7 that I want to run between now and November! I’ll likely sign up late for most of them, some I’ll miss due to family responsibilities and some I want to be a pace bunny for again.
I’m also going back to my weekly posts of “What was planned vs What really happened”. I started this a few years ago and enjoy recapping my weeks this way. So there you have it, my training plan that I’ll attempt to follow with some weekly modifications.
What’s your favourite half marathon training plan? And why?
Have you ever forgot to start your training on week 1 before?
What’s your best tip for half marathon training?
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Like you, I use Hal Higdon as a guide and then modify the crap out of the plans to make them work for me, my life, and my training style. Seems to have worked so far!
Glad I’m not the only one who does this!
Go girl!! You will rock it, I feel it in my bones!
Haha, thanks girl!!
I just looked at Hal’s plans last night. I just joined squad runner instead though so that will have to wait a bit
It’s so exciting when you can run a race with friends, especially when it’s their first half marathon!
Good luck on your training cycle! 🙂
Thanks! I’m looking forward to it!
How fun! I’m sure your friends will appreciate your knowledge and experience from your previous races! It’s funny you mention converting miles to kms, and I’m the opposite LOL I am pretty adept with math, but the conversion km vs. mile is SO odd (at least it is to me anyways). I always have to think in terms of 5 km is roughly equivalent to 3 miles…and go from there (in increments of 5 km or 3 miles). Best of luck with your training 😉
Yes my body does not allow for running 5 days a week either. I wish it did! I would love to do a race in Canada sometime
You totally need to run a race in Canada!!!
This post just got me super pumped up for spring running!
Awesome! Glad I could help get you pumped!
Half Marathon training is my favorite! Sounds like you have solid plan for your race but with plenty of flexibility!
Train for a half marathon? Who does that? :p
My training plan is nothing formal. I like to keep myself half marathon ready so I can jump in at any time!
Best of luck to you on your training! :] I’m signed up for an 8k in a couple weeks that I uh, have yet to start training for. I really need to get on that. ._. I had such grand plans several weeks ago! x_x
You’ve got this!! Never stress the days you can’t get a run in. Life happens (and will continue to happen). This will all add up and you’ll do great.
Sounds like a fun race and your training plan looks great! I am following a coach driven plan right for an Ironman Triathlon!
Sounds like you have a solid plan!
I have yet to really find a plane that works for me, but I hope to one day 🙂
Good luck with your training!
It sounds like this will be an interesting experience to run a race that you’ve previously run, but in reverse. I bet the course experience will be completely different for you, as you’ll see different things that you have when running the course the other direction.
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We are like the same person! I too played competitive soccer right up through University. I am an avid cyclist and love to ski…and am obsessed with running. I have FIVE kids though! I have run Bluenose several times ( half marathon) and love it. I ran it last year 6 months pregnant and felt strong. Have fun!
Half marathon at 6 months pregnant, amazing! Will you be running Bluenose this year?
Minus the 5 kids (we have 2) we are totally the same person, ha!
I only did the 10km when I was pregnant! I felt like I could have done the other 11..2kms though! I am doing the Fredericton marathon May 13th this year, so will sadly miss Bluenose this year.