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Aiming to complete your first half-marathon? Or maybe you’re just searching a couch to half marathon 12 weeks and a couch to half marathon training plan. The thought of going from a couch to half marathon and finishing might seem intimidating if you don’t regularly exercise.
Many novice half marathon training programs make the error of moving too soon. They disregard tactics for adaptability, strength, and recuperation, which often results in runner injury or burnout.
It’s difficult to go from a couch to a half marathon. It’s worthwhile, however. Expect to lose weight, have more energy, experience less stress, and generally feel more positive as you begin training for a half marathon.
Would you prefer to have some of these advantages over others?
Then continue reading.
In this post, we’ll provide you with a couch to half marathon 12 weeks training plan and all the way to the finish line!
What Is The Distance Of A Half-Marathon?
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Let’s first discuss the length of a half-marathon before moving on to the practical strategy.
13.1 miles make up a half marathon.
Although 13.1 miles may not seem like much, they cover a considerable distance. Actually, it’s the size of 231 football fields.
Preparing for a half marathon is the best way to prepare for a full marathon since it gives you the fundamental endurance and strength required to increase distance.
What Time Is Best For A Half Marathon?
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Depending on the runner’s age, gender, degree of fitness, racecourse, and other factors, a decent race time may vary greatly for any event.
What else?
Given the length of a half-marathon, conditions like temperature and weather will probably have an effect on you. So there is a lot to think about.
According to a survey, men runners in the US complete a half-marathon on average in 2:05:15, while female runners finish in around 2:23:45.
For males, it is around a 9:30-mile speed, while for women, it is an 11.00-mile pace.
For new runners, surpassing the two-hour mark in a half marathon is generally seen as a decent finish time, particularly for those who have some running experience and want to challenge themselves. So, you should find a couch to half marathon training plan to fit your condition.
Couch to Half Marathon 12 Weeks Training Plan
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Use the Run/Walk Method
Utilizing the run/walk method is the most effective way to increase your endurance when you are a complete beginner.
This approach combines walking pauses with periods of running. You can become fit without getting harmed thanks to this.
In a normal run/walk workout, you warm up with a 10-minute brisk walk before alternating for a predetermined amount of time between jogging and walking.
After that, take a walk to chill off.
How can you be sure you’re doing it correctly?
It should seem difficult yet also enduring.
Avoid over-chewing since doing so might cause injury, something you would not want. For instance, in the first session of week one, jog for one minute at a leisurely speed, followed by one minute of recovery walking. The process is then repeated a total of 10 times. Thats it.
As the weeks pass, you gradually lengthen your running sessions and take fewer recovery stops until you are able to run continuously for 30 to 40 minutes without stopping. (it falls in between weeks 8 and 9). Aim to spend more time running and less time walking as the plan moves along until you are running nonstop.
The Long Runs
You’ll start completing one lengthy session each week, often on the weekend, as part of the couch-to-half marathon training plan schedule around week 10 or 11.
Why is that necessary to do? The cornerstone of endurance training, particularly half marathon preparation, is long runs. These increase strength and endurance while preparing you to stand for extended periods of time.
What else? Use the same approach on your long runs if you want to eat throughout the race so you can determine what kind of food suits you the most.
The key is experimentation. Additionally, now is the perfect time to practice your hydration and diet plans for the race, especially after the few long runs you’ve done recently.
The number of Miles Per Week?
Before the race, gradually increase your long run to at least 10 to 12 miles as part of the couch to half marathon strategy.
Start by running 4 to 5 miles, then increase by a mile every two weeks. It depends on how much your body can take.
To prepare your body for the 13.1-mile journey, you’ll be required to do two 10-mile long runs as the plan moves along. When you successfully complete these, you will be able to run 13.1 miles without stopping midway due to exhaustion.
Pace
Regarding your long-run pace, don’t worry. You’re moving in the correct path as long as you spend time moving about and building your physical and mental stamina.
Cross-Training
While logging miles should make up the majority of any endurance running plan, it’s also crucial to work on increasing your strength and range of motion in order to prevent injuries. You should maintain or improve your aerobic fitness while simultaneously resting your muscles and joints from the strain of running.
Cross-training may be useful in this situation. Cross-training is the practice of practicing workouts that aren’t related to running but may still benefit your running performance.
According to research, engaging in non-running activities like swimming and elliptical training may maintain, and even enhance, a runner’s fitness and performance. The following are a few of the top cross-training activities for runners:
- Elliptical exercise
- Swimming
- Rowing Cycling Swimming
- Yoga and strength training
Give Your Body Time to Recover
You can’t just keep running mile after mile if you want to improve your performance. It’s also important that you become better.
It might even be more crucial than the training itself. Recovery days give your muscles a chance to recover from the heavy effort that comes with rigorous exercise.
Therefore, recovery should be a key component of any comprehensive, successful running plan, especially when adhering to an endurance running plan. Make a day set aside for complete rest. The first several weeks of the base-building phase are extremely important for this. Avoid pushing your body above its capacity.
Take Care of Your Body
It’s important to focus on your physical training. Your body may not have completely healed if you find it difficult to complete a given exercise or have pains and aches.
If this is the case, repeat the current week’s schedule or take extra days off. Alternatively, you might walk for the same amount of time while doing more walking and less running.
Time Management
Have you wondered if successful people are very punctual and follow a strict schedule? Managing your time properly and having a daily schedule can change your life to an extent you won’t even imagine. It will increase your productivity, even improve your health and help you pay attention to things that matter. So when you are following the couch to half marathon 12 weeks training plan you need to have a proper daily schedule and sleeping schedule.
Install Alarmy App to set alarms for important daily tasks and even develop a healthy morning routine. Download the app here.
The Couch to Half Marathon Training Plan
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You will need to exercise three times each week as part of this regimen, but if that sounds difficult, don’t panic. The distance (as well as the effort) you’ll cover during each session steadily increases throughout the first several weeks as you alternate between running and walking.
That is, after all, the essence of the walk/run technique, which is always the best way to get in shape without getting hurt. You’ll spend more time jogging and less time walking as you grow fitter until you can run nonstop for an hour.
From there, endurance will continue to be built. By week 15, you’ll be able to run for around two hours on your long run as each session builds on the one before it. However, don’t attempt to jump forward Start from the bottom and work your way up. The rest are only specifics. Also, keep in mind that you’ll be exercising in addition to running. It’s called cross-training. And if you skip a session, don’t feel bad about it; it happens to the best of us.
Note: You may use the couch to half marathon training plan from week 8 if you can already run steadily for 30 minutes without much gasping for air.
The Couch to Half Marathon 12 Weeks Training Plan can be Customized.
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The most crucial concept to grasp about this strategy is that it is not set in stone. Feel free to modify it to suit your unique demands in terms of fitness and lifestyle. Flexibility is the key to the strategy. If you find that this schedule is going too quickly for you, feel free to alter it to incorporate more walking and less jogging.
The choice is Yours…
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