Half marathon | 5 months to go training plan

The following programme is part of a six-month training regime for a half marathon. See the full programme here.

With five months to go you should be used to light exercise and start thinking about upping the intensity incrementally. If you're used to walking for some distance, start to introduce jogging slowly. Don't be discouraged if you have to stop lots during this period, your body is just getting used to the exercise.

At this stage you should look to do three to four days of exercise. This will allow for enough rest between training.

Tip for the month

When starting out jogging use lamp posts to break it up. Jog between two lamp posts and walk between the next two, then jog again, etc. Over time increase the jog to between more lamp posts but keep the walk to only between two lamp posts. This will help to build your endurance.

By the end of this month you should...

Be able to jog at a slow speed for 30-40 mins without stopping.

Programme

WEEK 1

Day 1	Walk 20 mins
Day 2	REST
Day 3	Slow jog 20 mins
Day 4	REST
Day 5	Swim or cycle 20 mins
Day 6	REST
Day 7	Walk 30 mins

WEEK 2

Day 1	Walk 20 mins
Day 2	REST
Day 3	Walk 20 mins
Day 4	REST
Day 5	REST
Day 6	Swim or cycle 20 mins
Day 7	Slow jog 20 mins

WEEK 3

Day 1	Walk 20 mins
Day 2	REST
Day 3	Walk 20 mins
Day 4	REST
Day 5	REST
Day 6	Swim or cycle 20 mins
Day 7	Slow jog 30 mins

WEEK 4

Day 1	Walk 30 mins
Day 2	REST
Day 3	REST
Day 4	Slow jog 20 mins
Day 5	REST
Day 6	Swim or cycle 30 mins
Day 7	Slow jog 30 mins

WEEK 5

Day 1	REST
Day 2	Walk 30 mins
Day 3	REST
Day 4	Slow jog 20 mins
Day 5	REST
Day 6	Swim or cycle 30 mins
Day 7	Slow jog 30 mins

Last updated Wednesday 3 January 2018

First published on Monday 11 April 2016