5-Week Half Marathon Training — Week 4
Follow the journey from 10k runner to marathoner.
The fourth week of my 5-week half marathon training series is now completed. It’s time for the report of the runs during Week 4. It’s great to know during the week that I have to write about it here. It pushes me to stay on my plan and complete the runs.
Also, see Week 1, Week 2, and Week 3 if you haven’t already.
Week 4 Runs
Tuesday — 11 miles ≈ 18 km ( 1h 15 min run easy +30 at brisk pace+40 min walk) + 500m walk
Wednesday — 5 miles ≈ 8 km (easy) + 500m walk
Thursday — 2.5 miles ≈ 4 km + stairs (2 kilometers warm-up then 6 * 180 steps stairs (running up and walking down) 2 kilometers cool down running + walking)
Saturday — 6.8 miles ≈ 11km (3 kilometers off-road, Starting lowly, speeding up and at the end 1-minute strike.) + 500m cool down walk
Sunday — 13 miles ≈ 21 km easy + 500m walk
Total Runs for the Week 4 | 38.5 miles ≈ 62 km
As you can see, I added stairs to my runs. I should have been doing more of that, but I wasn’t around a suitable spot until this week. Uphill running has been a good alternative, while the stairs are more heavy and fun. It depends on the uphill, though. And I’m sorry for the dark photo but there is not much light in Finland at 5 pm. Deal with it.
Did you notice? I added the cooling walk at the end of the runs. I did it because I want to emphasize the importance of walking after each run. I’m no professional, but for me, it’s one of the most important steps to do for faster recovery.
My recovery practice: Cooldown walk (≈500meters), after run foam rolling, 20–30 sec stretching per muscle, and later longer stretches and movement training. It has been working so far. For example, I haven’t felt the hip flexor pain anymore. Even in the long run of 21 kilometers, I didn’t experience any pain even with my speed being around 10km/h. (Not fast for professional but for amateur, I believe so). In the first week, when I ran the half marathon accidentally, I had pain in my hip flexors and a bit on the knees as well. All that has been overcome with practice, stretching, and rolling.
Be sure to read about my adventures during training in Week 1 , Week 2, and Week 3 if you haven’t already. Also Week 5 is live!
