# December Half Marathon Training Plan

> The second half, 6 Dec 2026, flat course — thirteen weeks day by day with the estimated pace per week, run alongside an arms-and-shoulders lifting block. Target sub 3:00, stretch 2:50.

Race: december half marathon, dec 6 (21.1 km). 86 days out.

Target: sub 3:00 · stretch 2:50 at 8:00/km · flat course.

Progress: 0/72 sessions done · 0 km logged of 281.1 km planned.

## week 1 · sep 7 – sep 13

- [ ] sep 7 mon — upper A. 60–70 min. one warm-up set, then working weight
- [ ] sep 8 tue — easy run 5 km. conversational, ~9:30/km. the base is intact from august; this block starts from it, not from zero
- [ ] sep 9 wed — upper B. 60–70 min. optional: goblet squat 3×8 + calf raise 3×12 at the end — the only leg work of the week
- [ ] sep 10 thu — easy 4 km + 6×20s strides. strides relaxed and quick, full walk back. est. pace 9:30 easy, strides ~7:00
- [ ] sep 11 fri — upper A. 60–70 min. one warm-up set, then working weight
- [ ] sep 12 sat — long run 7 km. easy, ~9:30/km. 4:1 run/walk as in august — the ratio changes in october, not now
- [–] sep 13 sun — rest. or an easy ride. a ride replaces the rest day, never a run

## week 2 · sep 14 – sep 20

- [ ] sep 14 mon — upper B. 60–70 min. one warm-up set, then working weight
- [ ] sep 15 tue — easy run 5 km. conversational, ~9:20/km.
- [ ] sep 16 wed — upper A. 60–70 min. optional: goblet squat 3×8 + calf raise 3×12 at the end — the only leg work of the week
- [ ] sep 17 thu — easy 5 km + 8×20s strides. est. easy 9:20, strides ~6:50
- [ ] sep 18 fri — upper B. 60–70 min. one warm-up set, then working weight
- [ ] sep 19 sat — long run 8 km. ~9:20/km, 4:1 run/walk
- [–] sep 20 sun — rest. or an easy ride. a ride replaces the rest day, never a run

## week 3 · sep 21 – sep 27

- [ ] sep 21 mon — upper A. 60–70 min. one warm-up set, then working weight
- [ ] sep 22 tue — easy run 6 km. conversational, ~9:15/km.
- [ ] sep 23 wed — upper B. 60–70 min. optional: goblet squat 3×8 + calf raise 3×12 at the end — the only leg work of the week
- [ ] sep 24 thu — intervals 3×1 km @ 8:15. 1 km easy in, 3×1 km at 8:15/km with 2 min jog, 1 km easy out. first pace work of the block
- [ ] sep 25 fri — upper A. 60–70 min. one warm-up set, then working weight
- [ ] sep 26 sat — long run 9 km. ~9:15/km, 4:1 run/walk
- [–] sep 27 sun — rest. or an easy ride. a ride replaces the rest day, never a run

## week 4 · sep 28 – oct 4

- [ ] sep 28 mon — upper B. 60–70 min. one warm-up set, then working weight
- [ ] sep 29 tue — easy run 6 km. conversational, ~9:10/km.
- [ ] sep 30 wed — upper A. 60–70 min. optional: goblet squat 3×8 + calf raise 3×12 at the end — the only leg work of the week
- [ ] oct 1 thu — intervals 4×1 km @ 8:10. 1 km in, 4×1 km at 8:10 with 2 min jog, 1 km out
- [ ] oct 2 fri — upper B. 60–70 min. one warm-up set, then working weight
- [ ] oct 3 sat — long run 10 km. ~9:10/km, 4:1. last long run before the deload
- [–] oct 4 sun — rest. or an easy ride. a ride replaces the rest day, never a run

## week 5 · oct 5 – oct 11

- [ ] oct 5 mon — upper A, deload. volume −40%, load held. last lifting session before the blood draw
- [ ] oct 6 tue — easy run 5 km. ~9:10/km. last run before the draw — nothing loaded after today
- [–] oct 7 wed — rest. ALT retest window opens: no lifting, no running, no hard rides through the draw
- [–] oct 8 thu — rest. walks only
- [–] oct 9 fri — rest. walks only
- [–] oct 10 sat — rest. walks only
- [–] oct 11 sun — rest. walks only. draw is tomorrow morning, fasted

## week 6 · oct 12 – oct 18

- [ ] oct 12 mon — upper B. 60–70 min. one warm-up set, then working weight
- [ ] oct 13 tue — easy run 5 km. conversational, ~9:10/km. first run back after five days off. legs will feel flat, that's the deload
- [ ] oct 14 wed — upper A. 60–70 min. optional: goblet squat 3×8 + calf raise 3×12 at the end — the only leg work of the week
- [ ] oct 15 thu — 5 km time trial. 1 km easy in, 5 km as hard as you can hold evenly, 1 km out. this sets race pace: half-marathon pace ≈ 5 km pace + 40–60 s/km (riegel says +40, recreational runners usually land nearer +60)
- [ ] oct 16 fri — upper B. 60–70 min. one warm-up set, then working weight
- [ ] oct 17 sat — long run 10 km. ~9:00/km. new ratio from here: 3:00 run / 0:30 walk. shorter walks, not fewer — walk breaks cost near-zero time and hold off the late fade
- [–] oct 18 sun — rest. or an easy ride. a ride replaces the rest day, never a run

## week 7 · oct 19 – oct 25

- [ ] oct 19 mon — upper A. 60–70 min. one warm-up set, then working weight
- [ ] oct 20 tue — easy run 6 km. conversational, ~9:00/km.
- [ ] oct 21 wed — upper B. 60–70 min. optional: goblet squat 3×8 + calf raise 3×12 at the end — the only leg work of the week
- [ ] oct 22 thu — tempo 15 min @ 8:00. 1.5 km in, 15 min steady at ~8:00/km, 1.5 km out. comfortably hard, not a race
- [ ] oct 23 fri — upper A. 60–70 min. one warm-up set, then working weight
- [ ] oct 24 sat — long run 12 km. ~9:00/km, 3:00/0:30. gel at 45 min
- [–] oct 25 sun — rest. or an easy ride. a ride replaces the rest day, never a run

## week 8 · oct 26 – nov 1

- [ ] oct 26 mon — upper B. 60–70 min. one warm-up set, then working weight
- [ ] oct 27 tue — easy run 6 km. conversational, ~9:00/km.
- [ ] oct 28 wed — upper A. 60–70 min. optional: goblet squat 3×8 + calf raise 3×12 at the end — the only leg work of the week
- [ ] oct 29 thu — tempo 20 min @ 8:00. 1.5 km in, 20 min at ~8:00/km, 1.5 km out
- [ ] oct 30 fri — upper B. 60–70 min. one warm-up set, then working weight
- [ ] oct 31 sat — long run 14 km. ~8:50/km, 3:00/0:30. gels at 40 and 80 min — rehearse the race interval
- [–] nov 1 sun — rest. or an easy ride. a ride replaces the rest day, never a run

## week 9 · nov 2 – nov 8

- [ ] nov 2 mon — upper A, deload. travel week. dumbbells or bodyweight, volume −40%
- [ ] nov 3 tue — easy run 5 km. conversational, ~9:00/km. diwali week. cutback by design, not a missed week
- [–] nov 4 wed — rest. travel
- [ ] nov 5 thu — easy run 5 km. conversational, ~9:00/km. easy only. no quality this week
- [ ] nov 6 fri — upper B, deload. whatever the trip allows
- [ ] nov 7 sat — long run 8 km. ~9:00/km, 3:00/0:30. short on purpose — the deload the block owed
- [–] nov 8 sun — rest. or an easy ride. a ride replaces the rest day, never a run

## week 10 · nov 9 – nov 15

- [ ] nov 9 mon — upper B. 60–70 min. one warm-up set, then working weight
- [ ] nov 10 tue — easy run 6 km. conversational, ~8:50/km.
- [ ] nov 11 wed — upper A. 60–70 min. optional: goblet squat 3×8 + calf raise 3×12 at the end — the only leg work of the week
- [ ] nov 12 thu — tempo 25 min @ 7:55. 1.5 km in, 25 min at ~7:55/km, 1.5 km out. longest tempo of the block
- [ ] nov 13 fri — upper B. 60–70 min. one warm-up set, then working weight
- [ ] nov 14 sat — long run 16 km. ~8:45/km, 3:00/0:30, last 4 km at race pace (8:00). gels at 40 / 80 / 120 min
- [–] nov 15 sun — rest. or an easy ride. a ride replaces the rest day, never a run

## week 11 · nov 16 – nov 22

- [ ] nov 16 mon — upper A. 60–70 min. one warm-up set, then working weight
- [ ] nov 17 tue — easy run 6 km. conversational, ~8:50/km.
- [ ] nov 18 wed — upper B. 60–70 min. optional: goblet squat 3×8 + calf raise 3×12 at the end — the only leg work of the week
- [ ] nov 19 thu — 3×2 km @ race pace 8:00. 1 km in, 3×2 km at 8:00 with 3 min jog, 1 km out. if this feels easy, race pace is 7:55; if it hurts, 8:10
- [ ] nov 20 fri — upper A. 60–70 min. one warm-up set, then working weight
- [ ] nov 21 sat — long run 18 km. peak, and the dress rehearsal: race shoes, race breakfast (banana, orange, 3 dates), 3:00/0:30 throughout, gel every 40 min. ~8:40/km. nothing new on race day after this
- [–] nov 22 sun — rest. or an easy ride. a ride replaces the rest day, never a run

## week 12 · nov 23 – nov 29

- [ ] nov 23 mon — upper B. 60–70 min. one warm-up set, then working weight
- [ ] nov 24 tue — easy run 5 km. conversational, ~8:50/km.
- [ ] nov 25 wed — upper A. 60–70 min. optional: goblet squat 3×8 + calf raise 3×12 at the end — the only leg work of the week
- [ ] nov 26 thu — 4×1 km @ 7:45. 1 km in, 4×1 km at 7:45 with 2 min jog, 1 km out. threshold pace, short. sharpness, not fitness — fitness is banked
- [ ] nov 27 fri — upper B. 60–70 min. one warm-up set, then working weight
- [ ] nov 28 sat — long run 10 km. ~8:40/km, 3:00/0:30. taper week one: volume down ~35%, intensity kept
- [–] nov 29 sun — rest. or an easy ride. a ride replaces the rest day, never a run

## week 13 · nov 30 – dec 6

- [ ] nov 30 mon — upper A, light. half the sets. no legs this week
- [ ] dec 1 tue — taper: easy run 4 km. ~9:00/km. legs should feel springy by thursday
- [–] dec 2 wed — rest
- [ ] dec 3 thu — taper: 3 km + 4 strides. easy 3 km, finish with 4×20s relaxed strides. stay sharp, nothing more
- [–] dec 4 fri — rest. lay out bib, shoes, 5 gels. sleep early — the night before the night before is the one that counts
- [ ] dec 5 sat — shakeout 2 km. optional, very easy. eat well, hydrate, sleep early
- [ ] dec 6 sun — race day — half marathon 21.1 km. flat course. breakfast ~3 h before, nothing new. 3:00/0:30 from the gun, not once tired. 8:05/km for the first 5 km, 8:00 through 18 km, then whatever is left. gels at 40 / 80 / 120 / 160 min, carry 5. even splits → 2:49–2:52

## routines

**upper A** — back, biceps, shoulders. one warm-up set, then every set at working weight · rest 2 min on pulldown, row and press; 60–90 s on raises and curls · when all three working sets hit 12, add 2.5 kg

| exercise | sets × reps | start |
|---|---|---|
| lat pulldown | 3 × 8–12 | 35 kg |
| seated row | 3 × 8–12 | 40 kg |
| shoulder press (dumbbell) | 3 × 8–12 | 10 kg |
| lateral raise (dumbbell) | 4 × 12–15 | 7.5 kg |
| rear-delt fly or face pull | 3 × 12–15 | light, find it |
| hammer curl | 3 × 8–12 | 7.5–10 kg |
| biceps curl | 3 × 8–12 | 7.5 kg |

**upper B** — chest, triceps, shoulders. one warm-up set, then every set at working weight · rest 2 min on bench and incline; 60–90 s on the rest · when all three working sets hit 12, add 2.5 kg

| exercise | sets × reps | start |
|---|---|---|
| barbell bench (log the bar) | 3 × 8–12 | bar + 7.5 kg |
| incline press (dumbbell) | 3 × 8–12 | 12.5 kg |
| lateral raise (dumbbell) | 4 × 12–15 | 7.5 kg |
| triceps pushdown | 3 × 8–12 | 18.75 kg |
| overhead triceps extension | 3 × 8–12 | 10 kg |
| wrist curls, wrist roller | optional | at the end |

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Source: https://www.akshatgoel.com/notes/half-marathon-dec-2026