Training program Advaced
Here begins your journey towards HOKA Helsingborg Half Marathon
Do you have a dream of achieving a new personal best at HOKA Helsingborg Half Marathon? You’re not alone. Perhaps you have a magical goal time that you want to achieve? Our goal is to help you reach your dream goals with this training program, aiming for a finishing time around 1:25 – 1:45. If you embark on this program, you should already be an experienced runner who currently runs about three to five times a week. It’s important to listen to your body, and if you feel extra tired or fatigued, don’t hesitate to skip a workout and take an extra rest day. Please note that this program is a general guide, and we cannot guarantee any personal records (although we certainly hope you achieve them).
Here begins your journey towards HOKA Helsingborg Half Marathon and your new dream time!
Before we get started…
Your starting point
If you are already training around three to five times a week and feel that running is something you want to focus on and prioritize, then this program is for you. You should already be able to run distances of up to 20 kilometers. It’s beneficial if you have prior experience running a half marathon.
Your training
Over the next 12 weeks, you will be training four to five times a week to take your training to the next level and reach your goal for the marathon. 21,097.5 meters is a long distance, especially if you want to run fast, and the key to success with such an ambitious goal is consistency. To achieve that, it’s important that your easy runs are truly easy, so as not to unnecessarily strain your body and to ensure that you feel fresh for quality sessions and long runs. The focus will be on improving your threshold and working at paces that are fairly close to your target race pace for the HOKA Helsingborg Half Marathon.
Your goal
Your goal for this year’s HOKA Helsingborg Half Marathon is to finish with a time around 1:25 – 1:45. Keep in mind that when you are highly dedicated and perhaps a bit infatuated with your running, it’s easy to push too hard on certain workouts. Run with wisdom and prioritize consistency in your journey towards your new personal record.
Base training
Now we embark on the journey towards the HOKA Helsingborg Half Marathon. During the first four weeks, we will establish a foundation with a lot of variation in the workouts to give you a solid start in your training towards your ultimate goal.
Keep in mind that we are now focusing on building a foundation, so the distance and long runs should be done at a comfortable pace. When we do hill workouts, threshold runs, and intervals, you should increase your pace and run at a higher intensity.
Week 1
Session 1: Easy run for 60 min
Session 2: Hill repeats, 6-10 repetitions of 60 sec uphill with a jog recovery downhill.
Session 3: Easy run 60 min
Session 4: Long run 15 k
Week 2
Session 1: Easy run 60 min
Session 2: Threshold run, 6 repetitions of 3 min at threshold pace (race pace + 10 sec per kilometer) with 90 sec of walking recovery.
Session 3: Easy run for 60 min + 5 strides.
Session 4: Long run 16 k
Week 3
Session 1: Easy run 60 min
Session 2: Threshold workout, 8-10 repetitions of 1000 meters at threshold pace (race pace + 10 seconds per kilometer) with 90 sec of walking recovery.
Session 3: Easy run for 60 min + 5 strides
Session 4: Easy run 60 min
Session 5: Long run 18 k
Week 4
Session 1: Easy run 60 min
Session 2: Hill workout, 3 repetitions of 120 seconds uphill, followed by 3 repetitions of 90 seconds uphill, and finally 3 repetitions of 60 seconds uphill, with a jog recovery downhill.
Session 3: Threshold workout, 10 repetitions of 500 meters at threshold pace (race pace + 10 sec per kilometer) with 60 sec of standing recovery.
Session 4: Long run 18 k
Hills & threshold
In this training block, we will focus on hill workouts and threshold runs. This is the phase where we establish a good level of consistency and aim to improve your running strength and endurance. It is during this period that we lay the foundation for you to reach your dream goal.
Week 5
Session 1: Distance 60 min
Session 2: Threshold 6 x 5 min (marathon pace + 10 seconds/km) with 60 sec standing rest
Session 3: Threshold 10 x 3 min (marathon pace + 10 seconds/km) with 60 sec standing rest
Session 4: Distance 60 min + 10 strides
Session 5: Long run 20 k (last 5 km at half-marathon pace + 10 seconds/km)
Week 6
Session 1: Distance 60 min with as many hills as you can find
Session 2: Hill repeats 10 x 2 min with jogging recovery downhill
Session 3: Distance 60 min + 10 strides
Session 4: Long run 20 k
Week 7
Session 1: Distance 60 min
Session 2: Threshold 3 x 10 min (half-marathon pace + 10 seconds/km) with 2 min jogging rest
Session 3: Threshold 15 + 10 + 5 min (half-marathon pace + 10 seconds/km) with 2 min jogging rest
Session 4: Distance 60 min + 10 strides
Session 5: Long run 20 k
Week 8
Session 1: Distance 60 min
Session 2: Intervals 2000 m + 3 x 1000 m + 2 x 500 m + 5 x 200 m (start at half-marathon pace, increase pace by 5 seconds/km for each set) with 90-60 seconds standing rest
Session 3: Intervals 8 x 800 m + 200 m with 60 seconds standing rest. Run 800 m at marathon pace followed directly by 200 m slightly faster.
Session 4: Long run 22 k
Different training sessions in the journey towards HOKA Helsingborg Half Marathon
Distance Runs
The distance run is a training session where you simply run and enjoy, clearing your mind. Here, you shouldn’t push too hard, and your heart rate should be low while feeling good. The purpose of this session is to acclimate your body’s muscles, joints, and ligaments to running.
Hill Repeats
Hill training is one of our favorite sessions in running as it builds both strength and speed while improving your recovery. The hills you run can be long, short, steep, or gentle. You choose the hill based on the purpose of the session, whether it’s to build endurance, speed, or strength and running technique.
Intervals
Intervals are sessions where we focus on getting faster and improving oxygen uptake. Intervals are usually shorter than threshold runs and have longer rest periods, often with a slow jog or standing recovery.
Threshold Runs
Threshold runs are performed at a controlled high pace, and it’s easier to determine them if you have undergone a lactate test at a clinic, for example. Otherwise, you can start with the pace you can maintain for approximately 60 minutes. These sessions are meant to improve your endurance.
Long Runs
Every runner’s sacred routine on the weekend. The session lasts from 90 minutes up to over 3 hours, aiming to acclimate your body to prolonged stress. The longer the race you’re training for, the more important this session becomes in preparing your body for enduring long distances.
Speed & peaking
With only four weeks left until the big goal, the focus is on threshold training and then preparing for peak performance. The major work has been done, so it’s important to train wisely to avoid any injuries in the final weeks.
This is the crucial moment – on September 7th, you will set a new personal record at the HOKA Helsingborg Half Marathon!
Week 9
Session 1: Distance 75 min
Session 2: Threshold 6 x 2 k (race pace + 10 sec/km) with 1 k jog recovery
Session 3: Distance 60 min + 10 strides
Session 4: Hill Repeats 10 x 2 min + 10 x 1 min with jog recovery downhill
Session 5: Long Run 22 k
Week 10
Session 1: Distance 60 min
Session 2: Threshold 4 + 3 + 2 + 1 km (race pace + 10 sec/km) with 1 km jog recovery
Session 3: Distance 50 min + 5 strides
Session 4: 12 x 1000 m (race pace + 10 sec/km) with 60 seconds standing recovery
Session 5: Long Run 25 k
Week 11
Session 1: Distance 60 min + 10 strides
Session 2: Intervals 4 x 4x400m with 50/40/30 seconds rest. (goal race pace)
Session 3: Fartlek 5 km 70 sec fast / 20 sec easy
Session 4: Long Run 15 k
Week 12
Session 1: Distance 50 min
Session 2: Threshold 5 x 1000 m (race pace) with 90 seconds standing recovery
Session 3: Distance 50 min + 5 strides
Session 4: HOKA Helsingborg Half Marathon