Beginner Half Marathon Training Plan – 20 Weeks
I know starting to train for a half marathon is tough. Most people think they can’t do it, or they don’t know how to train for it. Or worse, they think they don’t have the time for it. The thing is, it is all about prioritizing your fitness over other things.
Here’s what I think – if you are so busy making money that you can’t keep yourself healthy, then that money is going to waste because you won’t be able to enjoy it for long.
Without diving deep into philosophy, I am writing this article to make the marathon training easy for you. So easy that you will enjoy training for it and in fact look forward to it. My goal is to make it so enjoyable that you don’t skip it.
This plan is geared toward beginners who have never done a half marathon in their life. This program will help you get over the finish line. So don’t expect to set a time record at your first race with this program.
Think of it like a “couch to half marathon” training plan. So even if you spend more than 1 hour everyday watching Netflix on your couch, you will be able to do it as long as you stick to the training schedule. I know because I prepared for my first half marathon following this training plan and successfully completed it.
It took me 5 months to prepare but I stuck with it and completed it.
So, as long as you stick to the program and make sure that you are taking every precaution you can to prevent injuries, you will be able to complete your first half marathon as well.
Here’s What I Like About This Plan:
- You’ll only run for 3 days every week. So if you are a busy professional, this is the best thing because you don’t have to commit to running super long distances everyday and feel sluggish at the office. In the last few weeks of your training, you are looking at 50-90 minutes for your two short runs. This time depends on your speed. And for your long runs you can expect to spend around 1.5 to 3 hours. That’s 6 hours a week maximum!
- The training plan is for 20 weeks which means you’ll have enough time to build up your endurance for the marathon. The best part is that you don’t have to push yourself too hard to achieve this. You can go at it at your own pace and not have to go through a phase of frustration where you feel like you aren’t making a lot of progress.
- You will increase your weekly miles by 10-20% and also step back for a week every couple of weeks to avoid having any injuries. Think of it like a graph, it won’t be a straight line going up. There will be small peaks and valleys to make sure you are progressing at a reasonable pace. But when you zoom out, you will see that the line is going up even with all the peaks and valleys.
- This training plan is based on how many miles you can run. This isn’t a time based plan because it is your first marathon. So, even if you are a slow runner, that is okay. The goal here is to build your endurance to the point where you can cover the miles. You can work on your time later.
The Training Plan
Week 1: Goal is to run 5 miles
Day 1: Run 1.5 miles
Day 2: Run 1.5 miles
Day 3: Run 2 miles
Week 2: Goal is to run 6 miles
Day 1: Run 1.5 miles
Day 2: Run 2 miles
Day 3: Run 2.5 miles
Week 3: Goal is to run 7 miles
Day 1: Run 2 miles
Day 2: Run 2 miles
Day 3: Run 3 miles
Week 4: Goal is to run 9 miles
Day 1: Run 2.5 miles
Day 2: Run 2.5 miles
Day 3: Run 4 miles
Week 5: Goal is to run 8.5 miles
Day 1: Run 3 miles
Day 2: Run 2.5 miles
Day 3: Run 3 miles
Week 6: Goal is to run 11 miles
Day 1: Run 3 miles
Day 2: Run 3 miles
Day 3: Run 5 miles
Week 7: Goal is to run 12.5 miles
Day 1: Run 3.5 miles
Day 2: Run 3 miles
Day 3: Run 6 miles
Week 8: Goal is to run 11.5 miles
Day 1: Run 3.5 miles
Day 2: Run 4 miles
Day 3: Run 4 miles
Week 9: Goal is to run 14.5 miles
Day 1: Run 3.5 miles
Day 2: Run 4 miles
Day 3: Run 7 miles
Week 10: Goal is to run 16 miles
Day 1: Run 4 miles
Day 2: Run 4 miles
Day 3: Run 8 miles
Week 11: Goal is to run 14.5 miles
Day 1: Run 4.5 miles
Day 2: Run 4 miles
Day 3: Run 6 miles
Week 12: Goal is to run 17.5 miles
Day 1: Run 4.5 miles
Day 2: Run 4 miles
Day 3: Run 9 miles
Week 13: Goal is to run 16 miles
Day 1: Run 5 miles
Day 2: Run 4 miles
Day 3: Run 7 miles
Week 14: Goal is to run 19 miles
Day 1: Run 5 miles
Day 2: Run 4 miles
Day 3: Run 10 miles
Week 15: Goal is to run 18 miles
Day 1: Run 5 miles
Day 2: Run 5 miles
Day 3: Run 8 miles
Week 16: Goal is to run 21 miles
Day 1: Run 5 miles
Day 2: Run 5 miles
Day 3: Run 11 miles
Week 17: Goal is to run 18 miles
Day 1: Run 5 miles
Day 2: Run 5 miles
Day 3: Run 8 miles
Week 18: Goal is to run 22 miles
Day 1: Run 5 miles
Day 2: Run 5 miles
Day 3: Run 12 miles
Week 19: Goal is to run 17 miles
Day 1: Run 5 miles
Day 2: Run 4 miles
Day 3: Run 8 miles
Week 20: Goal is to run 20 miles
Day 1: Run 4 miles
Day 2: Run 3 miles
Day 3: Run 13.1 miles
Half Marathon Training Tips For Beginners:
Your Pace:
Pacing is important because this will decide how long it takes for you to finish your half marathon. There is no pressure on your to finish it earlier, but you want to have a baseline time that you can start working on reducing later down the line.
This 20 week training plan can be used for both: running and walking.
Running: When using it for running, make sure that you are running at a pace where you are able to have a conversation with someone using full sentences. You are never out of breath. This comfortable pace will allow you to complete your longer runs with ease.
For short runs, you can push yourself a bit more and see how fast you can go. But make sure you aren’t sprinting because that will increase your chance of injury. We want to avoid that. Just go a bit faster than your comfortable speed and see for how long you can maintain that.
For your short runs, if you get to the end of feel like it was easy, then the next time you do a short run you can increase your speed. You want to keep increasing your speed until you hit a point where you feel like you are getting tired very quickly. That’s when you should pull back and get your body used to the new speed.
Another thing you should keep in mind is that you can walk in between these short/long runs. It is completely fine to do that. Even on race day, you will see that many people use a combination of running/walking to complete the race.
Just make sure that you are running more than you are walking. A good rule of thumb is to walk 1 minute for every mile you run.
Walking: This will be easier but you should aim to push yourself. Try to maintain a pace that is challenging but still comfortable.
Your Schedule:
- You should never run every day. The best schedule is to run on non-consecutive days. I like to run on Mon/Wed/Fri. But your schedule might look different. It all depends on when you are available.
- Never skip or stop halfway when on your long runs. It is okay to walk in between those long runs to make sure you feel energized but never stop the running just because you think you cannot finish the run. Keep going. Also, don’t want to walk the entire time. Remember the 1 minute walking rule I mentioned above. Can you walk the entire half marathon? Yes you can, but ideally you want to get yourself in a position where you can run most of the time.
- One exception is if you start to feel pain during a run. If that is the case then you should stop immediately to avoid injuring yourself.
What if I’ve been running consistently?
If that’s the case then you don’t have to start at week 1. Depending on how many miles you run each week, you can jump into the training after week 3. The good part about running consistently is that instead of following this 20 week half marathon training program all the way through, you can jump in between and make this a 12-15 week training program.
Warm Ups and Cool Downs
This is the most important thing besides the training plan. Make sure you are doing proper warm up and cool down exercises to avoid any injuries.
Your warm up can be as simple as brisk walking or slow jogging for a couple minutes before you start to pick up the pace.
Once your run is done, you should leave some energy in the tank to cool down. You can do the same thing you did to warm up. Only this time, couple it with light stretching.
Cross Training:
Like we mentioned in our 52 week training plan, you should include some cross training with this plan on off days to make sure you are working your other muscles as well.
You want to avoid overtraining your leg muscles because that will lead to injuries. When you cross-train, you are building up the strength and endurance of other muscle groups as well and eventually becoming an overall stronger person. Which is better than to just have strong legs and a weak upper body.
Cross training includes swimming, riding a bike, using the elliptical, weight lifting, etc.
You should start doing squats and deadlifts at your gym to strengthen your quads and lower back muscles. Both of these muscles make you a better overall runner.
The goal here is to keep things light and fun. So if cross training on off days make you feel overwhelmed, you can skip them.
Also, if you are feeling great and love cross training, make sure that you give yourself at least 1 day each week for complete rest. No exercises on that day.
