The Power of Strategy and Strength: My Journey with a Half Marathon Training Plan

When it comes to setting ambitious race goals, having a structured marathon or half marathon training plan is essential for success. A well-designed plan not only helps build the necessary endurance but also gives you the flexibility to adapt when life throws challenges your way. In my recent experience training for the Greenville Half Marathon, I was reminded of just how crucial strategic planning is. With a specific goal in mind and the right training approach, I was able to push my limits, even after battling sickness in the final weeks. Let’s dive into the details of how comprehensive race training, especially a marathon or half marathon training plan, can help you tackle your goals, whether you're chasing a personal best or simply aiming to finish strong.

But before I get a little more into my personal running journey than usual, I want to share a punchline:

It's fun to be able to approach training with strategy on the tail end as the race day approaches!

BUT what really allows that to be possible is approaching your training with that much strategy on the front end.

If you have a big fall goal NOW is the time to start putting that stuff in place.

My Half Marathon Training Plan: The Result

On Saturday I ran the Greenville Half Marathon, touted as the “fastest half marathon in the south.” While it did not disappoint, it left me hungry for more!

I set a pretty ambitious goal for finishing in under 1:45 for this training block. It was the right amount of ambition. Based on my past performances and the base I had going into the 12 week training block, I knew it was in reach and it felt just enough at the edge of my reach that I didn’t speak that goal out loud to too many people.

The course had a rolling hill start for the first 3.5, then from mile 5 to 10 was a long steady downhill, to finish  mostly flat with a few small ups and downs in the final 5k. Because I was sick for 2 of the last 3 weeks of my training, and therefore missed my peak weeks, I wanted to start off conservatively so I didn’t bonk. My strategy was to start off at 8:20 pace for the first 3, settle into 8:00 pace for the next two, run the long downhill based on consistent effort following the 8:00 (hoping to click off closer to 7:45 to 7:50 because of the decline), and then finish that last 5k strong.

Everything went *mostly* according to plan. Instead of clicking off 7:45s on that downhill, each mile rolled at just around that 8:00 mark despite the decline. By mile 8 I knew I didn’t have the 1:45 but I could still PR. My previous PR, set when I was 27 (I’m now 42 by the way), was 1:47:19.

I finished strong. I know I gave it all I had that day. My fueling was on point (gels at 3, 6.5, 9.5, sipped water from my flask throughout, took sports drinks at most aid stations). And I came in with a PR at 1:46:15!!

I got to ring the PR gong for the first time ever. It’s honestly been 15 years since I’ve personally trained to really race these distances and I’m not sure this was a thing back then!

I’m proud of how I race, but hungry for more. I’m excited to be stepping into the reality that, at 42, my best racing days are still ahead of me.

Having been sick for 2 of the last 3 weeks of my training and missing my peak weeks because of that, the race left me thinking “what if”? I’m pretty sure if I hadn’t missed that training and went into those peak weeks fully healthy, that 1:45 would have been in the bag! 

So I decided to find a “redemption race,” using the following constraints:

• Before the southern summer heat: I like to use summer as my base maintenance and strength building season. With the summer heat, kids out of school and home all day, and lots of fun travel, this makes the most sense as my “off season.”
• At least 6 weeks out from this race: I like 6 weeks as a cut off to go from racing one half marathon to racing another. 

I really wanted to do the Flying Pig in Cincinnati on May 4. It's been on my bucket list for a long time now but now, with pigs being my daughter in heaven’s spirit animal, even more so. However, logistically, it doesn’t make sense due to a few different factors this year. I went with the Mountains to Mainstreet Half Marathon on May 16. The starting line is walking distance from my house and the course, from mile 4 on, is almost the same as this past weekend's race. A true redemption race!

By the way, if you haven’t yet, please take 60 seconds to fill this survey out about your experience with training during this cold and flu season. I’ll plan to share the data with you next week. BONUS, share it with as many of your running friends as possible… and tell them to share too!

As I said above, I’m excited to be stepping into the reality that, at 42, my best racing days are still ahead of me. AND the reality that it’s taken me so long to get back here because real progress takes TIME. It took me a good year of solid training to get to this point. I would say I started the training that led me to this race about a year ago and consisted of 4 phases:

My Half Marathon Training Plan: The Breakdown

Phase 1: Build One

Coming off an ankle sprain in December of 2023, I started off 2024 building up my volume to an 8 mile long run and no more than 15 miles per week. Anything more and my ankle would swell up. I could get in just enough to make it to my late April relay, but then I decided to make summer more of an “off season.” This is typical practice for me living in the south, but even more important because it was clear that my ankle needed a strong strength base before building up.

Phase 2: Base Maintenance & Strength Building (aka A Step Back to Go Forward)

During the summer of 2024, I focused on the 5k race, keeping my longest long runs around 6 miles and worked on building strength, volume with plyometrics, and foot/ankle health. It also was the time I put together The Foot Fix. 

Phase 3: Build Two

In the fall of 2024, I started building the volume again, but very conservatively. A huge focus of this phase was getting my nutrition nailed down. I know this is a point of struggle for me and absolutely necessary to get on lock before starting my official half marathon training block. I set a goal for this phase to get to a point where 8 mile long runs and 20 mile training weeks were no-brainers. I also increased my weekly runs from 3 to 4 sessions.

Phase 4: The Official Training Block (aka The Icing on The Cake)

Finally, the official 12 week training block started on December 2, 2024, At this point, this was all icing on the cake. I knew going into the block I could finish 13 miles. I had the habits down. Four runs per week, 3 strength sessions, fueling on lock, a really strong base of both run volume and strength…this all made that training block FUN. It allowed me to be super strategic over those 12 weeks. I focused on listening to how my body was responding to the training, optimizing by pushing the throttle or pumping the brakes when needed, with tons of space to do so.   

My Half Marathon Training Plan: Realistic Timing

This was a long story to tell you, simply to say that training takes time! What happens before the official training block is just as, if not more, important than the training block itself. This is true for all races, but especially the longer endurance efforts.

Let’s taking a marathon for an example:

Marathon training blocks are usually completed in 16 - 20 weeks.

That 16-20 week training block is your “official” race training but training ideally begins long before then! I would argue that true marathon training takes closer to 9 months or more. In those 12-16 weeks before the official training block you:

• Build your base volume (ideally you start that official training block from a base of 8 - 10 miles as your long run)
• Work on strength building so that you can flip to maintenance mode when you start to push the run volume more aggressively.

This second point is most significantly overlooked. Runners end up scrambling to fit it in later, when really it benefits you more as a base to build on top of.

Once you have a base, then you can be more strategic. As my own coach says, “you can’t optimize a habit that doesn't exist.”

For example, last week I posted this on IG about adapting strength training for race week based on my training through the seasons approach to balancing strength training and running.

It's fun to be able to approach training with that much strategy on the tail end! BUT, what really allows that to be possible is approaching that much strategy on the front end.

If you have a big fall goal, now is the time to start putting that stuff in place!

One - on - one coaching can help you do just that. You can learn more and apply here.

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