Half Marathon Race Sharpener

Workout - Half Marathon Race Sharpener

• 10min @ 6'00''/km
• 4 lots of:
  • 1.0km @ 4'00''/km
  • 2min 30s rest
• 2 lots of:
  • 2.0km @ 4'15''/km
  • 2min rest
• 5min @ 6'30''/km

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Intro

Lee Grantham’s video Sub-90 Half Marathon Training: The Best Way to Train for 1:30 breaks down a practical approach. We’ve summarized the essentials below. Watch the full video for context and depth.

Key points

• Three-phase structure: 2-3 months of 5K-focused speed work, then 10K speed development, then half-marathon training.
• 5K goal: sub-20 min 5K (from around 22 min), which is 4:00/km or 6:26/mi pace.
• 10K goal: 40 min 10K at the same 4:00/km pace, over the longer distance.
• Half-marathon target: 4:15/km (6:50/mi pace) to stay under 90 minutes.
• Racing 5K and 10K events every 3-4 weeks gives regular fitness feedback, builds pacing awareness, and avoids the injury load of constant half-marathon racing.
• The schedule mixes interval repeats, weekday speed work, and weekend long runs that gradually align with race-specific pacing.

Workout example (customisable in the Pacing app)

Weeks 1-8, 5K speed phase:

• Monday: 6 km easy run at 5:30-5:45/km pace.
• Wednesday: 5 × 800 m repeats at 4:00/km pace (5K race speed), 2 min jog recovery.
• Friday: tempo run 5 km at 4:30/km pace.
• Sunday: long run 12-14 km. First 8 km easy, final 4 km at 4:15/km pace.

Weeks 9-16, 10K speed phase:

• Monday: easy run 8 km.
• Wednesday: 6 × 1 km repeats at 4:00/km pace, 2 min jog between.
• Friday: tempo run 8 km at 4:30/km pace.
• Sunday: long run 14-16 km, finishing 6 km at half-marathon pace of 4:15/km.

Weeks 17-32, half-marathon build:

• Monday: easy run 8-10 km.
• Wednesday: mixed intervals (e.g., 4 × 1 km at 4:00/km, then 2 × 2 km at 4:15/km).
• Friday: steady run 10 km at 4:30/km pace.
• Sunday: progressive long run 16-20 km, last 8 km at 4:15/km pace, building toward 22 km fully at race pace.

Paces are in km. Convert if you prefer miles (4:00/km is ~6:26/mi, 4:15/km is ~6:50/mi).

Closing note

Run through these phases at paces suited to your fitness, log sessions in the Pacing app, and adapt as you improve.

References

• Sub-90 Half Marathon Training: The Best Way to Train for 1:30 - YouTube (YouTube Video)