Half Marathon Training Program Begginer

The half is about 12 weeks away, isn't it?

Pretty much just add a mile every other week or so on your long runs to build the stamina.
I do recommend to run your longest, which will be 12 miles no later than 2 weeks prior to the half. Give your body a bit of rest before the big day.
I've run that event for several years now, both the half and full.
Not sure the course for next year, they seem to tweak it every year, but largely it will have some hills.
Be prepared for these.

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What is your current mileage?

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Currently, I'm road running 5 miles 2x a week at a 9 min pace with 160ft of elevation change. I do 2 miles 2x a week at an 8 min pace on the treadmill followed by a short HIIT and weight session. Sat/Sun I run a race (usually a 5K) or train on hills.

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How long until your race?

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Half marathon is 83 days away.

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Is this your first race?

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Half, yes.

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Have you been doing any speed work, hill work, or threshold training?

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One of my 5 mile courses has over 300 ft of elevation change in it. I run it on weekends where I don't race. My pacing drops to 9:30 running this.

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Currently, I'm road running 5 miles 2x a week at a 9 min pace with 160ft of elevation change. I do 2 miles 2x a week at an 8 min pace on the treadmill followed by a short HIIT and weight session. Sat/Sun I run a race (usually a 5K) or train on hills.

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It sounds like you are currently running about 20 miles per week. Is that right?

Based off your responses, it sounds like you have some experience with running and racing but are ready to advance. I will make some general suggestions for you here. As suggested, a plan such as those Hal Higdon, Kieth Hanson, or Pete Pfitzinger provide in their books are great for first time half or full marathoners. I think you can find some sample plans by those guys online too. I used Pfitzinger's book before my first Half. I can provide you with some general suggestions as well. If you have questions about them, I'd be happy to elaborate for you or provide additional information.

Most 1/2 M plans are at least 16 weeks long, because most runners need that amount of time to safely build the volume they need to race (not just run) 13.1 miles. 20 weeks is better, but if you have a decent fitness base it can be done with 12-16 weeks.

I tend to break my training cycles up into 3 phases when creating my plans. There is overlap between these phases, but the focus of training changes somewhat. The first phase might be referred to as "Introductory," where the focus is on building aerobic fitness and endurance with a little neuroamuscular and aerobic support training dabbled in. The second phase is "Fundamental," meaning that the focus will change to building on that aerobic base by doing more neuromuscular and aerobic support training while still maintaining the aerobic fitness developed in the intro phase. In the final "sharpening" period, aerobic training reduces somewhat while the focus shifts further to speed work and race specific endurance.

These are the essentials for a solid beginner to intermediate 1/2 marathon plan.

1) Shoot for peak mileage of AT LEAST 35 miles per week.
2) Shoot for longest run of AT LEAST 13 miles
3) Incorporate some speed and specific endurance work
4) Run AT LEAST 3 days per week

If you believe that your current fitness is not conducive to that level of training and/or you will not be able to realistically and safely build to 30-35 total miles and a 10-13 mile long run in an 8 week period, then I would seriously consider training for a 10K or a 1/2 that is later in the year, say in March or April. You might be able to finish a 1/2 with less volume, but you could struggle to run the entire distance and would likely not be happy with your time.

Aubie,

You found it already brother!

Once I switched to Hal Higdon vs generic halfmarathons.net I've went from 2:28 to 1:52:23.

I've worked up the chain of difficulty with his plans, bought the book, and paid for a slight customization from his website. They added ( in half and full training ) heart rate runs on Monday to improve that aspect of my running.

I'm still new , and carry too much bodyfat (183 ish), so I'll stick with him until I plateau and/or get down to 169-175 @ 6 foot tall.

After that I'll take some recs from the runners in the other thread and try something new.

I was running about 4 miles 3x per week at 9:00 or less pace and throw in an occasional 10k. Did a modified Hal Higdon because I tend to get nagging pains when I up my mileage too much.

Did 2-3 runs of 4-5mi per week then one longer run starting at 7-8 miles adding one more each week until up to 11-12 the week before. Finished two halfs around 1:55ish both times no problems. You can do it with less weekly mileage just make sure you get that long run in weekly.