In a sport that can be measured in milliseconds, improving your half marathon time by 1 minute is a lot… and 10 minutes is an eternity.
Most runners only see such huge time improvements when they first begin running and racing.
At that point the body has plenty of room for big leaps and the brain does too.
But it doesn’t have to stop there.
My friend Allie is proof. At 39 years old, and after more then a decade of running and racing, she cut her half marathon PR (personal record) from 1:38 to 1:28. It can be done at any age and at any time during your running life.
Run a Faster Half Marathon Time
Whether you are trying to break the Sub Two Hour half marathon or crank it down to 1:28, here is everything you need to know to run a faster half marathon.
And before we go any farther, just know that a good half marathon time is personal!
It’s about your training, your body, your life and what progress looks like in your running.
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1. Understand it will be hard.
Setting a goal as big as subtracting 10 minutes off your overall half marathon time will at first, make you feel like a badass and likely scare you.
By the middle of training, those โgoodโ scary feelings may be replaced with just plain scared, tired, doubtful and can have you on the verge of quitting.
You’ll be doing more speed work and more mileage than in the past, and every fiber of your being will feel it. You’ll also be adding in more:
If this still sounds like something you want to tackle, you are my kind of people, so read on.
Takeaway:
Be sure of how badly you want to achieve this goal and then remind yourself every single day.
2. Get Outside Help
If you dare to dream this big, you may want to consider hiring a coach.
When Allie was trying to qualify for the Boston Marathon way back in 2006, and had to take a whopping 20 minutes off, she hired a coach for the first time. The result? A 3:30 marathon PR and 10 minutes to spare for a BQ.
Of course there are countless ways to get information and training plans without paying for a one on one coach, just be careful of why you choose a certain plan, and also that it fits into your lifestyle as well as aligns with your ultimate goal.
Once you’ve picked a plan, stick to it!
Hoping around from idea to idea, won’t get you results.
Takeaway:
With a goal this big, consider hiring a coach to keep you on track and injury free. Or checkout our Virtual Run Club for training plans and access to 9 running coaches.
3. Be Smart Enough to Slow Down
This may be the hardest lesson we all must learn.
Think that harder, faster, longer would equals better training?
It’s astonishingly wrong. Elite runners often talk about having the confidence to run slowly on your easy days, and that is truly what it comes down to.
When you think about it, it makes perfect sense.
- Your body needs to run both at top speed and very slowly to achieve your desired pace for race day.
- If you donโt run your easy days as easy as possible, your body will not be able to recover as it should, and that can lead to the most dreaded of all outcomes: common running injuries.
- Slowing down on easy days allows you to run more mileage, which builds endurance.
If you want to know how to run faster and longer, a big part of it is slowing down. Counter intuitive initially, but not long term.
Takeaway:
Run your easy days easy. My half-marathon pace is 6:43 and I run my easy days between 8:30 and 9:00.
4. Listen to Your Body Signals
There is a fine line betweenย discomfort and injury and you need to know the difference.
Just like having the confidence to run slower on your easy days, have the assurance in your training to take some unscheduled rest days or even time off if you feel an injury coming on.
At times Allie learned to trade road miles for elliptical drills and treadmill or track work for spinning.
At first scared that the miles on the elliptical and in the pool would not translate to real running miles. But, she trusted her coach; worked hard, let the body heal and then, ran a 3:28 marathon PR and winning her age group.
Sometimes rest is the best training you can give your body.
Learn how to maximize your training without running yourself in to the ground.
Takeaway:
You donโt always have to run on the road or treadmill to reap the same benefits of running. If you have a manageable injury, rehab it on the elliptical and/or in the water for as long as it takes.
5. Surround Yourself with Support
While half marathon training may not be as time intensive as marathon training, when you’re working hard to hit all your long runs, speed workouts and all those recovery sessions it can mentally add up.
There will be days when your entire body is just saying โno.โ
There will be days when your mind is saying “I can’t”.
It’s key to surround yourself with people who understand why this goal is so important to you and who will help you achieve it, no matter what.
- That could be a coach who helps you work on mindset
- Could be a friend you text during hard moments of a long run
- Could be a spouse or significant other that brings you water on a long run and gives you a little pep talk to keep going
Takeaway:
Know who you can turn to for motivation and support when the going gets tough.
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6. Be Prepared to Change
Running has this fantastically magical way of changing your entire life for the better.
Somewhere in all those miles and in all of that sweat comes a change. It may start slowly at first but everything from your friends to your wardrobe will morph into something better and different from when you started out.
If you could see the intangibles like spirit, determination, confidence and resolve, running โbeforeโ and โafterโ pictures would be more mind blowing then any body transformation.
Takeaway:
Get ready for big changes in every aspect of your life. Thatโs what achieving a big racing goal can do for you.
7. Fix Your Mental Blocks
When Allie first set her sights on breaking the 1:30 mark in the half marathon, she had plenty of people ready to see her fail. A so-called friend, when told the 6:45ish pace, laughed.
That was fuel for the fire.
As hard as it can be, if you put in the work, you have to block out what everyone else around you has to say about your goal. Especially if you spend much time on Instgram you can fall into the comparison trap.
Stay focused on your goal and your training.
Forget the rest and get past your own internal negative thoughts!
Takeaway:
On race day you need to have nothing but confidence. Remind yourself of all the hard work you put in to make it to the start line and then let nothing stop you from achieving your goal.
The great thing about achieving a big bad scary goal is the confidence you gain to do it again and again, and in every aspect of your life, not just running.Dream big. Achieve. Repeat.
Thanks toAllie for so many personal insights, to help you see that training is about so much more than what is on the plan.
Additional faster half marathon tips:
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Gah! So excited to be in this space. Thank you for letting me share and I hope this helps!
My recent post The Rundown – A Month of Crazy Starts Now
My biggest training mistake is not taking it easy on my easy days. Definitely something I need to work on! Great tips, Allie! :)
My recent post DVRT: Sometimes Size Has Nothing To Do With Strength
It can be SO hard but I guarantee you will see improvement once you really take those days easy! Good luck.
This is a great post. I especially like the part about believing you can do it. It's so important. If you don't think you can, you won't, regardless of the training. It's true to about the "big bad scary goal" but what a feeling when you make it come true.
YES! It's very scary but it's so amazing when you get over that fear, face it head on, and blow it out of the water.
My recent post The Rundown – A Month of Crazy Starts Now
I don't have a half on my plan, I would like to get faster to take on a 10k next year. These tips will help. Thanks!
Excellent! So glad you found it helpful.
My recent post The Rundown – A Month of Crazy Starts Now
It's so amazing you took 10 minutes off your half PR, especially when your half time was already really fast! These are great tips and I like the workouts. I'm running a half on Saturday and haven't trained as I would like, just because it's been so hot where I live (a little too risky to do more than one speed workout a week, for me anyway). For my next race, I'm definitely going to work on tempo runs and faster finish long runs.
Thank you! It sounds like you're going into this race very smartly. Use that same intelligence and common sense to take it up a notch when you're ready…and when the weather cooperates. Good luck!
My recent post The Rundown – A Month of Crazy Starts Now
I would love a 2:30 half! But I can also die happily with my 2:40:)
My recent post What Should I Wear To Pure Barre?
I know you meant 1:40 but YES you need to define your own goals and then attack them :-)
My recent post The Rundown – A Month of Crazy Starts Now
Right now my goal is just to finish a half marathon! I definitely need to work on my pacing so I don’t start out too fast.
You are not alone in that. I just made that mistake this past weekend and I know better. It takes a lot of discipline but you can do it. GOOD LUCK completing your first half. That is so very exciting!
My recent post The Rundown – A Month of Crazy Starts Now
Awesome! I would LOVE to run a sub 2 hour half marathon. But, I'm not sure if I'm ready for the hard work.
Best part of the article: "Running has this fantastically magical way of changing your entire life for the better." Indeed it does. Great read! You really have me contemplating that BHAG!
Fantastic!! And yes, you need to really want to do the work so, if it's not for you, that's fine. Sounds like you already get the best part of running :-) Thank you!
My recent post The Rundown – A Month of Crazy Starts Now
Yay, Allie, congrats on such an awesome guest post! A sub-1:30 half is my eventual goal, which means over time whittling 14 minutes off my half marathon PR, but your post definitely made me feel inspired! I love the workouts you shared – they sound both fun to do and super, super effective.
My recent post 2015 Portland Marathon Race Recap
You can do it! I have no doubt. So glad you found this helpful and feedback on the workouts is always welcome. Good luck…but you don't need it :-)
My recent post The Rundown – A Month of Crazy Starts Now
My goal is to someday break a 2:00 half. I'm well off from that now, I just PR'd at 2:22, which was 6 minutes faster than my first half. So, I have some work to do but I think I can do it. These are great tips and workouts to help me get there.
that was my goal for a long time and boy does it feel good to make it happen!!! Here's a post specifically about that in case you're fired up right now!! https://runtothefinish.com/2015/06/how-to-run-…
Allie is one of my favorite runners and people. LOVE HER! Such a strong and talented runner. Love her tips and insights. xo
My recent post What Running is About: Reflections from Rise.Run.Retreat.
Right back at YOU! Thank you, as always, for all your support Jesica! xo
My recent post The Rundown – A Month of Crazy Starts Now
Thanks for posting these! I think the specific workout breakdown is especially helpful. So much of training is mental anyway, I like having posts like this to reference when I am needing mental fuel.
My recent post This Day Two Years Ago
You are exactly right – so much of it is mental. I hope the workouts are helpful! Thank you.
My recent post The Rundown – A Month of Crazy Starts Now
I love these tips! The mental confidence is one of the areas that really challenges me the most. I spent a lot of years saying that I was a slow runner. I'm no elite, but I can run faster than I ever thought I could!
My recent post Taper Weirdness and We Have Walls!
YES! We all struggle with that one, believe me. But, what you tell yourself is what you become!
My recent post The Rundown – A Month of Crazy Starts Now
Thanks so much for sharing. I am super interested in this I have a goal of a 330 marathon.
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I trained for my first half in 2015 and the race was rolling hills and i included hills into my training and ran a time of 2:02:18. I wanted to run my sub2 in second and considered a flat course but ended running 30 seconds slower than my first. Had my muscle pulled in last couple of miles of the race and ended at 2:02:47. I will be running my first full marathon this year and it is same course as my first half(actually its the same race but the full). I haven’t run tempo and intervals before and not sure if including those into my full would take a toll on the body.
Thanks for sharing such a great article!!! It was really helpful and keep sharing such a great blog that can be helpful to everyone.