The Start of My Half Marathon Training

Now that I’m comfortably in week 3 of my half marathon training, I figured now is the perfect time to give you all an update about my current training routine since I started the Couch to 10K five months ago at the start of lockdown.

If you haven’t caught up on my running journey, then you can do so by reading this.

Half marathon training

I’ve always been one for goals, especially when it comes to motivation, so once I completed the Couch to 10K, I slowly realised that if I was going to keep on running, then I’d need another goal to work towards.

Although I love running, I love structure and a few weeks after completing Couch to 10K, I admittedly ended up getting a bit bored running freely.

So on July 24th, I had a call with my (new) running coach, Clean Coach Katie, and we set in stone my new plan to work towards. Hello, half marathon training!

Katie actually reached out to me on social media, but after stalking her channels for a good half hour (mostly because I was gobsmacked at her own running achievements and times), I figured that signing up with a coach would be a brilliant way to help me work towards my next running goal whilst providing me with that much-needed structure.

So far, my half marathon training has been going really well despite the hot summer heat. We’ve slowly been creeping up the miles week by week whilst introducing interval training and just like the Couch to 10K app, I’ve still been running three times a week – which is great because it means I still get to lift weights in the gym too.

What my week looks like training for my first half marathon

To get an insight into my half marathon training, I thought I’d share last week’s training with you all…

Monday

6.30am – Push day at the gym
7.30am – half an hour walk outside the gym

We (my boyfriend and I) always wake up at 6am on a weekday and head straight to the gym to complete an hour’s strength session followed with a half-hour walk outside. Once done, we’ll then head home, shower and sit down with a big bowl of porridge ready for a full down of work.

After work, we’ll then head outside for another 30-40 minute walk (depending on our mood). This kinda acts as our ‘commute’ home which is now our new normal and helps us get outside the house.

Tuesday

6.30am – Pull day at the gym
7.30am – Run intervals

Run intervals:
10 minute warm-up run
5×2 mins steady effort (1 min recovery walk between each interval)
And then…
3×1 at a 5K pace (1 min recovery walk between each)
10 minute cool down run

I really enjoyed this speed session. I did begin to feel my energy dip a little for the last 2 minutes of the 5×2 intervals, but not massively. Although, I do find the 10-minute cool down run the hardest bit – hah!

Wednesday

6:30am – Leg day at the gym
7.30am – Walk on the treadmill for half an hour

Oh, how good it feels to be doing legs back at the gym! I tend to copy Doug’s routine at the moment as he’s training for a competition and it’s a good split of all muscle groups. Today’s session consisted of leg press, leg extension, leg curl, goblet squats, calf raises and some ab work at the end.

Thursday

Rest day

I don’t do much on my rest days apart from a gentle walk in the evening’s for our ‘commute’ home. If I’m feeling extra good, I’ll start my morning with some yoga but right now, sleep has been my number one priority and if I’m honest, I enjoy having a mini lay-in instead of that pesky 6am wake-up call!

Friday

6.30am – Push day at the gym
7.30am – Endurance run

Endurance run:
20 Mins Easy
20 Mins – 8.30 – 9 min mile pace
20 Mins Easy

This was a very hot day which ended up with me getting a little hot and frustrated. While I enjoyed it, I struggled to maintain my increased pace for the middle section of my run, which at times, was frustrating.

Saturday

Saturday’s are usually my pull day at the gym but I missed this session as we had a beach day and I didn’t fancy it in the evening so I gave it a miss. I used to be the girl that felt massively guilty for skipping a workout, but not anymore!

If I had trained, however, then I’d have trained with Doug before grabbing some lunch after. We usually save our walks for an activity on the weekends as we mostly spend our time outdoors after a week cooped up inside!

Sunday

8.30am – 12K easy run.

I’m not usually out of the door this early on a Sunday but as temperatures were expected to hit 30 degrees, an early morning run was the only thing on the cards for me. I’m definitely not a heat kinda girl!

I made the best decision and found a route nestled in the forest so my entire run was sheltered and it made such a refreshing difference to Friday’s run. In fact, this run was probably my most favourite run ever, despite not wanting to run it when I had woken up!

I managed to run 12K at a very easy pace in 1 hour, 16 minutes – the furthest I’ve ever run. I could have definitely increased my pace but Katie always insists Sunday’s are all about taking it easy and actually, it was nice to finish the run feeling as if I had more in the tank.

Running & my hormones

Because I’m still in the middle of re-balancing my hormones (read about that here – I promise to do an update super soon!), Katie and I have agreed to swap my schedule around a little and to now have Monday as my second rest day per-request of my acupuncturist & kinesiology nutritionist. Instead, I’ll be focusing on some light mobility work, stretching and yoga.

To follow my running journey daily, make sure you head on over to my Instagram & Twitter!