Hal Higdon: Half Marathon Intermediate 1: With the publication of my recent book, Hal Higdon's Half Marathon Training, I created three new programs not only for the book, but interactive here through TrainingPeaks. Previously, there was only one, titled simply "Intermediate." Now there are two: "Intermediate 1" and "Intermediate 2." The difference is that Intermediate 1 is an endurance-based program; Intermediate 2 is a speed-based program. These two intermediate schedules exist in a parallel universe, the same level of difficulty, just slightly different approaches to training. They are part of the logical progression upward from Novice through Intermediate to Advanced for the half marathon distance.

Half Intermediate 1 features steady running, long and short. Mondays are for cross-training serving as recovery from the weekend workouts. Tuesdays and Thursdays offer short and easy runs, bracketing the sorta-long runs on Wednesdays, the middle of the week. Fridays are rest days leading to the weekend workouts. Some Saturdays are easy; some feature pace runs. Long runs, from 4 miles in Week 1 to 12 miles in Week 11, are scheduled for Sundays, although you can flipflop days if you want. There is a taper period of 10-11 days.

Before you buy, take a look at Intermediate 2 and also look back at Novice 2. Make sure you pick the correct program for your level of ability. If you have any doubt, err on the side of easy. I don't want you to overtrain, or to undertrain. Find the correct program to get you to the finish line of your half marathon with a smile on your place.

For more information, check out my Web site, www.halhigdon for information on all my programs.