Training plan derived from www.halhigdon.com.

MOST MAJOR HALF MARATHONS ARE FOR RUNNERS--but walkers can do them too. One advantage of a half marathon over a full marathon is that you won't need to spend as much time on the course. Most reasonably fit individuals should be able to walk 13.1 miles in around four hours. Doing so is fun. It is also exciting to set goals and achieve them. But before starting to train for a race that long, assess your fitness level. Realistically: can you do it? The following walking program assumes you currently have the ability to walk for 30 minutes, three to four times a week. If that seems difficult, consider going a shorter distance--or take more time to develop an endurance base. And if you are over age 35, you probably should see your doctor for a physical examination. But assuming no major problems, most healthy people can train themselves to walk and finish a half marathon.

The secret is consistency. Make walking a regular habit--a daily habit, not just something you do on the weekends or when the weather is nice. Mark Fenton states: "The fitness walker must make a positive commitment to exercise a certain number of days a week over a specific distance or length of time, even if some of those days show fairly modest efforts." Fenton is a former competitive racewalker and member of the US National Team. The following walking program was designed with his assistance.

Pace: Don't worry too much about how fast you walk during most of your regular workouts--at least for the first few weeks. Walk at a comfortable pace. If you're training with a friend, the two of you should be able to hold a conversation. If you can't do that, you're walking too fast. But change of pace can be an important training tool as your fitness begins to increase. You don't need to walk at the same pace day after day. In fact, you should change paces if you want to increase your fitness and improve your ability to go the distance. Here are descriptions of three pace changes prescribed in the program.

Pace	Description	Breathing	How to do it
Stroll	"Window shopping" walking	Normal	Enjoy your walk
Easy	Continuous comfortable walking	Almost normal	Move somewhat faster
Hard	Walking with real purpose	Harder, but still conversational	Quicker-than-normal steps

Distance: Most of the workouts are prescribed in minutes rather than miles. Don't worry how far you walk; just walk for the prescribed length of time. If you know about how fast you walk (see below), you can estimate distance, but during the week, distance is not important. You just want to get out on a regular basis and exercise your legs. On Sundays, however, the training schedule does dictate workouts at distances, from 3 to 10 miles. Don't worry about walking precisely those distances, but you should come close. Pick a course through the neighborhood, or in some scenic area where you think you might enjoy walking. Then measure the course either by car or bicycle. Or you can purchase a GPS watch, which uses satellite technology to accurately measure your pace and distance and record your heart rate. In deciding where to train, talk to other walkers or runners. They probably can point you to some accurately measured courses for your workouts.

Time: Comparing time and distance sometimes can be a trap. If you become fixated on how fast you walk, you can push yourself too hard and increase your risk of injury. But it's handy to know about how fast you are walking, particularly if you are worried about finishing the half marathon in less than four hours. To get a precise measurement of your ability, go to a track for an occasional workout. Outdoor tracks at colleges and high schools are generally 400 meters long. Two laps (800 meters) walked in the inside lane is about a half mile; four laps (1600 meters) is just short of a mile. If you don't want to do a full workout going in circles, schedule a walk near a track and slip in the gate for a few laps to see how fast you're going.

Rest: Rest is as important a part of your training as the workouts. You will be able to do the long walks on the weekends better--and limit your risk of injury--if you rest before, and rest after.

Long Walks: The key to getting ready to finish a half marathon is the long walk, progressively increasing in distance each weekend. Over a period of 12 weeks, your longest walk will increase from 3 to 10 miles. Don't worry about making the final jump from 10 miles in practice to 13.1 miles in the race. Inspiration will carry you to the finish line, particularly if you taper the final week. The schedule below suggests doing your long runs on Sundays, but you can do them Saturdays, or any other convenient day, as long as you are consistent. (See "Juggling," below.)

Cross-Train: As a variation, you may want to substitute some other activities on different days of the week. Runners usually refer to this as "cross-training." What form of cross-training works best for a fitness walker? It could be swimming, cycling, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, or even some combination that could include stretching or strength training in a gym. The type of cross-training you select, should you choose to go that route, depends on your personal preference. Don't make the mistake of cross-training too vigorously.

Jogging: One way to get to the finish line faster is to do some jogging. If you were a competitive racewalker, you could get disqualified for starting to run, but since you are not competing for a prize, feel free to jog occasionally, either in training or in the half marathon itself. Jog in small segments: Fifty to 100 meters every 10 minutes or so might be enough at first. Eventually you might want to expand your jogging segments, or even run the entire way, but don't do too much at first. Running is more a high-impact exercise than walking, so be cautious. Your goal should be to finish the half marathon, not finish it fast. (If you do plan to do some jog/walking in a race that offers prizes in a "walking" category, you need to enter in the "running" division. It's unfair to those who walk the whole way for you to finish faster because you ran.)

Juggling: It's also possible to juggle the workouts from day to day and week to week. If you have an important business meeting on Thursday, do the Thursday workout on Wednesday instead. If your family is going to be on vacation one week when you will have more or less time to train, adjust the schedule accordingly. Be consistent with your training, and the overall details won't matter.

Books on Walking: For more information on walking, check out Mark Fenton's The Complete Guide to Walking for Health, Weight Loss and Fitness, recently published by Lyons Press. Fenton also collaborated with me to produce a chapter on walking for Hal Higdon's How To Train. The schedule that follows is based partly on material from that chapter. Another book you might want to consider is my best-selling Marathon: The Ultimate Training Guide. Although written with runners in mind, a lot of the tips and information on being an endurance athlete make sense for walkers too.

 

SOLEMATES WALKING PROGRAM

15 WEEKS TO THE OTHER HALF – HALF MARATHON

GIRLS ON THE RUN OF WESTERN COLORADO

WEEK	MON	TUES	WED	THUR	FRI	SAT	SUN
7/6	Rest	35 min easy	25 min stroll	35 min hard	Rest	35 min stroll	3 mile easy
7/13	Rest	35 min easy	30 min hard	30 min stroll	Rest	35 min hard – SOLEMATES at Taberguache Trail 6:30 a.m. (Monument Rd)	3 mile easy
7/20	Rest	40 min easy	25 min stroll	40 min hard	Rest	45 min stroll	4 mile easy
7/27	Rest	30 min easy	20 min stroll	30 min hard	Rest	30 min stroll – SOLEMATES in Montrose	3 mile easy
8/3	Rest	35 min easy	20 min stroll	30 min hard	Rest	30 min stroll	2 mile easy
8/10	Rest	35 min easy	20 min stroll	35 min stroll	Rest	4 mile hard – or try the Peach Fest 5 mile race – free to Solemates participants	20 min. stroll
8/17	Rest	35 min easy	25 min stroll	35 min hard	Rest	40 min stroll	5 mile easy
8/24	Rest	40 min easy	25 min stroll	35 min hard	Rest	40 min stroll Solemates in Montrose Location TBA	6 mile easy
8/31	Track @ 5:30 p.m.	40 min eady	25 min stroll	40 min hard	Rest	35 min stroll	5 mile easy
9/7	Track @ 5:30 p.m.	40 min easy	25 min stroll	40 min hard	Rest	6 miles hard – Solemates at River Trail 6:30 a.m. with coffee q & a to follow	4 mile easy
9/13	Track @ 5:30 p.m.	40 min easy	25 min stroll	40 min hard	Rest	50 min stroll	8 mile hard or join Solemates at Lead King Loop
9/20	Track @ 5:30 p.m.	45 min easy	25 min stroll	40 min hard	Rest	5 mile hard or try the Anna Banana 5k (www.annaleefoundation.org)	Rest
9/27	Track @ 5:30 p.m.	45 min easy	30 min stroll	45 min hard	Rest	30 min stroll – Solemates group in Montrose	9 mile easy
10/5	Track @ 5:30 p.m.	40 min easy	30 min stroll	45 min hard	Rest	60 min stroll	6 mile easy
10/12	Track @ 5:30 p.m.	30 min easy	20 min stroll	30 min hard	Rest	Rest	RACE!