This is a 1:30 half marathon training plan written by Drew Hunter.
This training plan is for anyone looking to run around 90 minutes or slightly under for an upcoming half marathon. Anyone using this plan should have a beginner to intermediate background in distance running but should be capable of at least running 5x a week. Going into this plan, the athlete using it should have at least a month of running under their belt, with a history of some consistent training. However, this plan will still have a 4 week build phase that will allow the athlete to "get into shape" before really tackling harder race specific training. Most importantly, the goal of this program is to keep the athlete healthy and have them best prepared going into their half marathon race at the end of the program. Early on in the program, I will assign a lot of "effort based" intervals. These intervals will be given within a training range. i.e- 10x1minute on/ 1 minute off at threshold effort. Your threshold pace might be between 6:53-6:43 per mile, however, that doesn't necessarily mean that's what you have to hit within that workout. If it is cold out, the course you're running on is hilly, or you're a little under the weather, you can slow the paces down and focus on the effort you're putting out. I don't expect you to be perfect on this, or master it right away, but, I do think that learning how to gauge effort will be crucial for you as an athlete. The athlete using this program should use his/her best judgement when following the plan. If illness, injury, etc... pops up during, please take time off and come back into the plan slowly. When in doubt, do less.
A few important details:
Easy Run Pace- (9:14-8:55)
Tempo Pace- (7:14-7:03)
Threshold Pace- (6:53-6:43)
Race Pace- (6:51)
10k Pace- (6:34-6:26)
Mile Pace- Use your best judgment but keeping these intervals around ~ (5:35-5:50)
Best of luck!!
Hammer & Axe Training was born out of a vision shared by a handful of elite distance runners. We found in our training that we ran our best when we committed to training our speed and strength equally. A focus on strength made us durable, strong, and prepared for the adversity that racing brings. A focus on speed made us confident, efficient, and ready to move when the right moment arrived. We wanted to bring this feeling of speed and strength to as many runners as possible.