Hal Higdon's Half Marathon Training by Hal Higdon

Author:Hal Higdon [Hal Higdon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781492517245
Publisher: Human Kinetics
Published: 2016-03-19T16:00:00+00:00

Make it through the first four weeks of phase 1, and you are ready to move to phase 2: four more weeks of gradually increased amounts of training.

Base Training: Phase 2

Rest

Do you need a day’s rest after your weekend workouts? You may not feel that fatigued, but yes, you do. The most important day in any beginning running program (intermediate and advanced, too) continues to be the rest day. Rest days can be as vital as training days. They give your muscles time to recover so you can run again. Actually, your muscles will build in strength as you rest. Without recovery days, you will not improve.

Strength

Here’s something new for phase 2. Earlier I suggested that you not worry about strength training, at least not for the first four weeks of base training. But now, consider adding strength training to your fitness routine, and the best days on which to do so are Tuesdays and Thursdays, immediately after your run. When my wife and I are in Florida during the winter, I often run on the beach then stop off at the gym before heading home. In Indiana during the summer, I pause at a gym toward the end of a morning bike ride. Yes, fitness can be fun. This is not usually part of a planned program. I combine running or biking with strength training, because I enjoy those activities. And it contributes to my fitness. Should you be a little cautious about adding strength training to your weekly routine? Yes, you should. So doing so now is an option that can be postponed until a later training phase.

The Ramp

While working on this book, I reviewed the writings of several dozen running gurus and fellow authors, among them Tim Noakes, David E. Martin, Kevin Hanson, Pete Pfitzinger, and Jack Daniels. Check the bibliography at the back of the book for references. Despite small differences in each author’s approach to training, we agree on one item: The Ramp. At its simplest level, effective training involves gradually ramping your miles upward. You begin on a sunny Sunday at the end of week 1 with a 1.25-mile (2 km) run, and by week 12 you run 4 miles (6.4 km) and suddenly realize that, hey, I’m getting in shape. It’s what my fellow gurus call progressive adaption. You don’t need a PhD behind your name to figure out how it works. Add a little bit more to your training formula each week, week after week, and you will improve as a runner. Trust the ramp: It will get you to the finish line of a half marathon. The ramp continues its relentless drive upward as we shift from phase 2 to phase 3.

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