Jeff Galloway's half marathon training program for time goal runners is a 16 week program with 3 running workouts per week. It requires two 45 minutes runs and one long run every week. To start this program, you should have completed a long run/walk of at least 5 miles within the past 2 weeks.
| Week | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Off | 30 min run | Off | 30 min run | Easy walk | Off | 5 mile run |
| 2 | Off | 35 min run + MM | Off | 35 min run | Easy walk | Off | 6 mile run |
| 3 | Off | 35 min run | Off | 35 min run | Easy walk | Off | 7.5 mile run |
| 4 | Off | 45 min run | Off | 40 min run | Easy walk | Off | 4 x 800 |
| 5 | Off | 45 min run | Off | 40 min run | Easy walk | Off | 9 mile run |
| 6 | Off | 45 min run + MM | Off | 45 min run | Easy walk | Off | 6 x 800 |
| 7 | Off | 45 min run | Off | 45 min run | Easy walk | Off | 11 mile run |
| 8 | Off | 45 min run + MM | Off | 45 min run | Easy walk | Off | 8 x 800 |
| 9 | Off | 45 min run | Off | 45 min run | Easy walk | Off | 13 mile run |
| 10 | Off | 45 min run | Off | 45 min run | Easy walk | Off | 10 x 800 |
| 11 | Off | 45 min run | Off | 45 min run | Easy walk | Off | 15 mile run |
| 12 | Off | 45 min run | Off | 45 min run | Easy walk | Off | 12 x 800 |
| 13 | Off | 45 min run | Off | 45 min run | Easy walk | Off | 17 mile run |
| 14 | Off | 45 min run | Off | 45 min run | Easy walk | Off | Easy 5 miles/MM |
| 15 | Off | 45 min run | Off | 45 min run | Easy walk | Off | Goal race |
| 16 | Off | 45 min run | Off | 45 min run | Easy walk | Off | 4 mile run |
| 17 | Off | 45 min run | Off | 45 min run | Easy walk | Off | 6-12 mile run |
Run: When the workout includes the word "run," such as "3 mile run" or "30 min run" you should run that distance (or time interval) at a comfortable pace for you. A "comfortable pace" means one in which you could hold a conversation with someone running next to you without any difficulty breathing.
MM: This stands for "Magic Mile," which is Jeff Galloway's formula used to predict the pace at which you can comfortably run a half marathon. Think of the Magic Mile workouts as an ongoing calibration mechanism for your training. On a Magic Mile day, you need to run one mile at a good, hard pace for you. Then, take your mile time and multiply it by 1.2 to get your "Magic Mile" time, which is the pace that Jeff Galloway's formula predicts you can run a half marathon comfortably. For example, if you run your mile time trial in 8 minutes, 0 seconds, then your Magic Mile time is (8 min) * 1.2 = 9.6 min = 9 min, 36 sec. You can use your Magic Mile time to adjust the intervals of your walk breaks.
"800": In the time goal half marathon training program, there are weeks where you will be asked to do a speed workout instead of a long distance run. For example, in week 4, the Sunday time slot shows "4 x 800." What this means is that you should run four 800 meter runs around a track. These "speed" workouts allow you to practice running at the pace you would like to run the race.
You can use Jeff Galloway's Magic Mile formula to determine what pace to run your 800 meter workouts. Your training pace can be calculated by dividing your Magic Mile time by 2 and then subtracting 15 seconds. For example, if your mile time is 8 minutes, then your Magic Mile time is (8 min *1.2) = 9 minutes, 36 seconds. Hence, your 800 meter pace is ((9 minutes, 36 seconds) / 2) - 15 sec = 4 minutes, 33 seconds.
When you do your 800 meter workouts, warm up by walking for 5 minutes, then jog very slowly for 5-10 minutes. Then do between 4 and 8 acceleration-gliders. Here is a video with Jeff Galloway demonstrating how to run an acceleration-glider:
