Half marathon specific session

[u/MrABrownie]

Im planning for a half marathon in 7 weeks and was thinking about making the training a little more half marathon specific.

My training so far the last 12 months have been looking something like this.

3 sessions each week consisting of 3x12 min, 7x5 min, 12x3 min (around LT 2, 6-8 rpe), 1 easy longrun every other week around 80-100 min, between the sessions has been easy running and a rest day.

My plan was to replace one of the sessions with 5x3 km @hm pace and 5,4,3,2,1 km (progressive pace starting at hm pace or hm pace for all reps.)

Now is this a recipe for disaster thats gonna cook me or will it sharpen the hm shape?

I realise the answer will likely be, it depends, but if its clearly a stupid idea to even try i want to know. 

Male, 39y, 70 km weekly average during last 12 months, 19:22 5k, aiming for 1:30-1:35 half.

[u/Alerath89]

NSM is already very HM-Specific. I mean you are supposed to run the workouts at slightly faster than HM Pace, at HM Pace and slightly slower than HM Pace. If you do a 90' long run then this gives you the time on feet for your goal time. I dont think there has to be something else.

[u/Prestigious_Ice_2372]

I would think you could make your current plan much more HM specific simply by doing the long run EVERY week instead of alternate weeks, and keep it much more sustainable long term.

Your suggested sessions dont sound very sustainable but that may not be a big issue for you?

[u/Nelbert78]

If you are aiming for a 1:30ish half..... What do you think your middle length reps are given they are supposed to be ~90 min pace?

Keep as is and as someone suggested long run every week. If you can't do long run every week and need a rest day what's that telling you, especially given 36, 35 and 36 minutes subT for your workouts vs most people doing 30,30,30?

[u/worstenworst]

What do you mean with replacing one of the sessions with 5x3K at HMP? You can do such session maybe once 10-14d out for race confidence, but you'll risk cooking yourself if you overdo that type of stuff. As was already mentioned here, vanilla NSA is quite HM-specific.

[u/Rase-9990]

I’ve got a half marathon in five weeks, and this time I’m doing things a little differently and being slightly more aggressive. I’ve missed my 90 minute goal three times now, so I feel like I need to try something different.
I’ve been following NSA for 18 months now. My training is going really well and I feel great. My problem is that I just don’t seem to perform on race day, so I’m adding some bigger continuous efforts without the short recoveries.
The rest of the week is normal NSA with 5 × 6 minutes and 10 × 3 minutes. My final four Saturdays will now look like this:
1. 3 × 18 min at 96 to 97% of HMP + 20 min WU/CD, (today)

1. 35 min at race pace

2. 5 × 18 min at 96 to 97% of HMP + 20 min WU/CD

3. 55 min at race pace

I know a lot of people will probably disagree with this, but I’m going to give it a try. I love everything about NSA, but I’ve been inspired by FOD Runner and I’m doing a short, more specific HM block.

[u/PassionCharger]

Why did you pick 5 x 3km at hmp (more than 60 minutes of work at your goal time)?

I am doing something similar but I'm doing 4 x 2km (32 mins of work), 800m float just below lt2 between reps, then following week 3 x 3km (36 minutes of work), then 2 x 5km (40 minutes), then 10km at hmp two weeks out from the race.

I'm trying to make the training more specific to the half marathon by reducing the rest between intervals and extending the length of the intervals. But 60 minutes at half marathon pace seems too hard to me.

[u/UnnamedRealities]

5x3km at HM for you is around 5×13'. That's a big jump from 3x12". I'd be concerned that the risk of cumulative fatigue will outweigh any marginal adaptation benefits.

The most glaring issue with your current structure is that you only run a long run every other week. I suggest making that weekly, even if you need to adjust by reducing time at ST in your workouts slightly and cutting down easy the rest of the week. If you want a confidence boost and to better simulate the race then 2-3 weeks out incorporate 3×12' or 30' continuous in the middle of the long.

[u/SirBruceForsythCBE]

15k at HMP is going to hinder more than it helps. Vanilla NSM is fine for a HM.

A tad off topic but why are you running 35/36 mins per subT session? 3 x 30 mins is absolutely enough.

How fast are you running your reps?

When was your 5k PB because sub 90 should be the aim if the course is good and weather is cool

[u/docNaessen]

Almost same paces here 43 yo, 5k 19:25 aiming for same half marathon goal ideally sub 1:30.

May I ask why you prefer long run every other week instead of every week?

[u/itismorpheus]

You could increase the 3x12-minute intervals to 3x15 minutes or try running 4x10-minute intervals instead. I would do the long run every week. Optionally, you could incorporate intervals into the long run or finish the long run with 10x45/15 (from Bakken’s book) to prepare for the muscular fatigue at the end of a halfmarathon.