My boring training routine that delivered a 1:34 half marathon
On Sunday I ran the Kettering Half Marathon and finished in 1:34:04. But this post isn’t about my finish time so much as it is about dispelling some myths about training and the sort of running plan it takes to achieve big improvements in times.
There was a time, not that long ago, when running a 1:34 half marathon was in another league from things I thought was capable of. I certainly didn’t think that as I got further into my 40s, my times would still be getting faster.
Two years ago, I ran the Cambridge Half Marathon (which is a much flatter course than Kettering) and finished in 1:50. I wasn’t taking it easy. In fact, I almost dropped out a few miles in because my legs really hurt.
Whatever your half marathon time, hopefully this post will be useful because it discusses what went into the 16+ minute improvement between these two races, but perhaps more importantly what DID’T go into it.
More isn’t always more
You don’t need to always be doing more - more miles, more sessions, more runs - to get faster. I’ve taken 4 minutes off my half marathon time in the past 5 months, (and 17+ minutes in the past two years) by doing the exact same training. Each time I’ve hit a race goal and set a new PB, I’ve returned to the same training routine that got me there.