12-Week Advanced Half Marathon Training Plan and Schedule

By

Updated on February 13, 2020

Reviewed by

Couple running in urban park — Sam Edwards/Caiaimage/Getty Images

So, you're an experienced runner and you're hoping to take your half marathon (13.1 miles) training to the next level. Use this 12-week training schedule to help you run a personal record (PR) in your next half marathon.

To start this plan, you should already be running about five days a week and can run up to 8 miles comfortably. If you're not up to that, you may want to try the intermediate half-marathon schedule.

Half-Marathon Training Plan for Advanced Runners

Week	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
1	CT	35 min tempo	Rest	5 mi	Rest	7 mi	3 mi EZ
2	CT	6 x 400 IW	Rest or CT	35 min tempo	Rest or CT	9 mi	3 mi EZ
3	CT	35 min tempo	Rest or CT	5 mi	Rest	10 mi	3 mi EZ
4	CT	4 x 800 IW	Rest or CT	40 min tempo	Rest	8 mi	3.5 mi EZ
5	CT	6 hill repeats	CT	35 min tempo	Rest	9 mi	3.5 mi EZ
6	CT	7 hill repeats	CT	40 mi tempo run	Rest	11 mi	3 miles EZ
7	CT	8 x 400 IW	Rest or CT	40 min tempo	Rest	13 mi (last 3 at race pace)	4 mi EZ
8	CT	5 x 800 IW	Rest or CT	35 min tempo run	3 miles EZ	Rest	10K race
9	CT	8 hill repeats	Rest or CT	45 min tempo	Rest	10 mi	4 mi EZ
10	CT	7 x 400 IW	Rest or CT	35 min tempo	Rest	14 mi (last 4 at race pace)	4 mi EZ
11	CT	40 min tempo	Rest	4 mi race pace	Rest	5 mi	3 mi EZ
12	Rest	4 mi	30 minutes 10K pace	3 mi	Rest	20 minutes	Race Day!

Details of the Half Marathon Training Schedule

Crossing-training (CT): Cross-training activities allow you to give your joints and running muscles a break while still working on your cardio. When the schedule calls for CT, do a cardio activity other than running (biking, swimming, elliptical trainer) at a moderate effort for 45 to 60 minutes. You'll also benefit from doing 15 minutes of strength-training two times each week.

Tempo Run: Tempo runs help you develop your anaerobic threshold, which is critical for faster racing. For a 40-minute tempo run, for example, start your run with 5 to 10 minutes of easy running, then continue with 15 to 20 minutes of running at a pace of about 10 seconds slower than your 10K pace. Finish with 5 to 10 minutes of cooling down. If you're not sure what your 10K pace is, run at a pace that feels "comfortably hard."

Interval workouts (IW): After a warm-up, run 400 meters (one lap around most tracks) hard, then recover by jogging or walking for 90 seconds to 2 minutes. For example, 3 x 400 would be three hard 400s, with a 90–120 second recovery in between. For the 800 meter intervals, run 800 meters (two laps around most tracks) at your 5K race pace and then recover for 2 minutes (120 seconds) to 2 1/2 minutes (150 seconds) in between intervals.

Rest: Rest is critical to your recovery and injury prevention efforts, so don't ignore rest days. Your muscles actually build and repair themselves during your rest days. Fridays are a good day for rest, as you'll have run on Thursday and will have your longest run of the week on Saturday.

Saturday long runs: After you warm up, run at a comfortable pace for the designated mileage. Make sure you cool down and stretch after your run. If most of your runs are on the road, and you're not sure how far you run, you can figure out the mileage by using resources such as MapMyRun.com. Or, you can always drive your route in your car ahead of time and measure the mileage using your car odometer.

Sundays: This is an active recovery day. Your run should be at an easy (EZ), comfortable pace, which helps loosen up your muscles and get your body and mind used to run on tired legs.

Tune-up Race: This schedule recommends a 10K tune-up race at Week 8 so you can practice racing and get a sense of your fitness level. If you can't find a 10K race that weekend, you can do a shorter distance race, or do it during Week 9 or 10.

Switching Days: You can switch days to accommodate your schedule. If you're busy one day, it's fine to swap a rest day for a run day.

1 Source

Verywell Fit uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.