december half marathon training plan.

DECEMBER HALF MARATHON

86 days out.

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

1. missed

   mon 7 upper A

   60–70 min. one warm-up set, then working weight

2. missed

   tue 8 easy run 5 km

   conversational, ~9:30/km. the base is intact from august; this block starts from it, not from zero

3. missed

   wed 9 upper B

   60–70 min. optional: goblet squat 3×8 + calf raise 3×12 at the end — the only leg work of the week

4. missed

   thu 10 easy 4 km + 6×20s strides

   strides relaxed and quick, full walk back. est. pace 9:30 easy, strides ~7:00

5. today, not yet done

   fri 11 upper A

   60–70 min. one warm-up set, then working weight

6. upcoming

   sat 12 long run 7 km

   easy, ~9:30/km. 4:1 run/walk as in august — the ratio changes in october, not now

7. rest day

   sun 13 rest

   or an easy ride. a ride replaces the rest day, never a run

1. upcoming

   mon 14 upper B

   60–70 min. one warm-up set, then working weight

2. upcoming

   tue 15 easy run 5 km

   conversational, ~9:20/km.

3. upcoming

   wed 16 upper A

   60–70 min. optional: goblet squat 3×8 + calf raise 3×12 at the end — the only leg work of the week

4. upcoming

   thu 17 easy 5 km + 8×20s strides

   est. easy 9:20, strides ~6:50

5. upcoming

   fri 18 upper B

   60–70 min. one warm-up set, then working weight

6. upcoming

   sat 19 long run 8 km

   ~9:20/km, 4:1 run/walk

7. rest day

   sun 20 rest

   or an easy ride. a ride replaces the rest day, never a run

1. upcoming

   mon 21 upper A

   60–70 min. one warm-up set, then working weight

2. upcoming

   tue 22 easy run 6 km

   conversational, ~9:15/km.

3. upcoming

   wed 23 upper B

   60–70 min. optional: goblet squat 3×8 + calf raise 3×12 at the end — the only leg work of the week

4. upcoming

   thu 24 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

5. upcoming

   fri 25 upper A

   60–70 min. one warm-up set, then working weight

6. upcoming

   sat 26 long run 9 km

   ~9:15/km, 4:1 run/walk

7. rest day

   sun 27 rest

   or an easy ride. a ride replaces the rest day, never a run

1. upcoming

   mon 28 upper B

   60–70 min. one warm-up set, then working weight

2. upcoming

   tue 29 easy run 6 km

   conversational, ~9:10/km.

3. upcoming

   wed 30 upper A

   60–70 min. optional: goblet squat 3×8 + calf raise 3×12 at the end — the only leg work of the week

4. upcoming

   thu 1 intervals 4×1 km @ 8:10

   1 km in, 4×1 km at 8:10 with 2 min jog, 1 km out

5. upcoming

   fri 2 upper B

   60–70 min. one warm-up set, then working weight

6. upcoming

   sat 3 long run 10 km

   ~9:10/km, 4:1. last long run before the deload

7. rest day

   sun 4 rest

   or an easy ride. a ride replaces the rest day, never a run

1. upcoming

   mon 5 upper A, deload

   volume −40%, load held. last lifting session before the blood draw

2. upcoming

   tue 6 easy run 5 km

   ~9:10/km. last run before the draw — nothing loaded after today

3. rest day

   wed 7 restCHECKPOINT

   ALT retest window opens: no lifting, no running, no hard rides through the draw

4. rest day

   thu 8 rest

   walks only

5. rest day

   fri 9 rest

   walks only

6. rest day

   sat 10 rest

   walks only

7. rest day

   sun 11 rest

   walks only. draw is tomorrow morning, fasted

1. upcoming

   mon 12 upper BDECISION

   60–70 min. one warm-up set, then working weight

2. upcoming

   tue 13 easy run 5 km

   conversational, ~9:10/km. first run back after five days off. legs will feel flat, that's the deload

3. upcoming

   wed 14 upper A

   60–70 min. optional: goblet squat 3×8 + calf raise 3×12 at the end — the only leg work of the week

4. upcoming

   thu 15 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)

5. upcoming

   fri 16 upper B

   60–70 min. one warm-up set, then working weight

6. upcoming

   sat 17 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

7. rest day

   sun 18 rest

   or an easy ride. a ride replaces the rest day, never a run

1. upcoming

   mon 19 upper A

   60–70 min. one warm-up set, then working weight

2. upcoming

   tue 20 easy run 6 km

   conversational, ~9:00/km.

3. upcoming

   wed 21 upper B

   60–70 min. optional: goblet squat 3×8 + calf raise 3×12 at the end — the only leg work of the week

4. upcoming

   thu 22 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

5. upcoming

   fri 23 upper A

   60–70 min. one warm-up set, then working weight

6. upcoming

   sat 24 long run 12 km

   ~9:00/km, 3:00/0:30. gel at 45 min

7. rest day

   sun 25 rest

   or an easy ride. a ride replaces the rest day, never a run

1. upcoming

   mon 26 upper B

   60–70 min. one warm-up set, then working weight

2. upcoming

   tue 27 easy run 6 km

   conversational, ~9:00/km.

3. upcoming

   wed 28 upper A

   60–70 min. optional: goblet squat 3×8 + calf raise 3×12 at the end — the only leg work of the week

4. upcoming

   thu 29 tempo 20 min @ 8:00

   1.5 km in, 20 min at ~8:00/km, 1.5 km out

5. upcoming

   fri 30 upper B

   60–70 min. one warm-up set, then working weight

6. upcoming

   sat 31 long run 14 km

   ~8:50/km, 3:00/0:30. gels at 40 and 80 min — rehearse the race interval

7. rest day

   sun 1 rest

   or an easy ride. a ride replaces the rest day, never a run

1. upcoming

   mon 2 upper A, deload

   travel week. dumbbells or bodyweight, volume −40%

2. upcoming

   tue 3 easy run 5 km

   conversational, ~9:00/km. diwali week. cutback by design, not a missed week

3. rest day

   wed 4 rest

   travel

4. upcoming

   thu 5 easy run 5 km

   conversational, ~9:00/km. easy only. no quality this week

5. upcoming

   fri 6 upper B, deload

   whatever the trip allows

6. upcoming

   sat 7 long run 8 km

   ~9:00/km, 3:00/0:30. short on purpose — the deload the block owed

7. rest day

   sun 8 rest

   or an easy ride. a ride replaces the rest day, never a run

1. upcoming

   mon 9 upper B

   60–70 min. one warm-up set, then working weight

2. upcoming

   tue 10 easy run 6 km

   conversational, ~8:50/km.

3. upcoming

   wed 11 upper A

   60–70 min. optional: goblet squat 3×8 + calf raise 3×12 at the end — the only leg work of the week

4. upcoming

   thu 12 tempo 25 min @ 7:55

   1.5 km in, 25 min at ~7:55/km, 1.5 km out. longest tempo of the block

5. upcoming

   fri 13 upper B

   60–70 min. one warm-up set, then working weight

6. upcoming

   sat 14 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

7. rest day

   sun 15 rest

   or an easy ride. a ride replaces the rest day, never a run

1. upcoming

   mon 16 upper A

   60–70 min. one warm-up set, then working weight

2. upcoming

   tue 17 easy run 6 km

   conversational, ~8:50/km.

3. upcoming

   wed 18 upper B

   60–70 min. optional: goblet squat 3×8 + calf raise 3×12 at the end — the only leg work of the week

4. upcoming

   thu 19 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

5. upcoming

   fri 20 upper A

   60–70 min. one warm-up set, then working weight

6. upcoming

   sat 21 long run 18 kmREHEARSAL

   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

7. rest day

   sun 22 rest

   or an easy ride. a ride replaces the rest day, never a run

1. upcoming

   mon 23 upper B

   60–70 min. one warm-up set, then working weight

2. upcoming

   tue 24 easy run 5 km

   conversational, ~8:50/km.

3. upcoming

   wed 25 upper A

   60–70 min. optional: goblet squat 3×8 + calf raise 3×12 at the end — the only leg work of the week

4. upcoming

   thu 26 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

5. upcoming

   fri 27 upper B

   60–70 min. one warm-up set, then working weight

6. upcoming

   sat 28 long run 10 km

   ~8:40/km, 3:00/0:30. taper week one: volume down ~35%, intensity kept

7. rest day

   sun 29 rest

   or an easy ride. a ride replaces the rest day, never a run

1. upcoming

   mon 30 upper A, light

   half the sets. no legs this week

2. upcoming

   tue 1 taper: easy run 4 km

   ~9:00/km. legs should feel springy by thursday

3. rest day

   wed 2 rest

4. upcoming

   thu 3 taper: 3 km + 4 strides

   easy 3 km, finish with 4×20s relaxed strides. stay sharp, nothing more

5. rest day

   fri 4 rest

   lay out bib, shoes, 5 gels. sleep early — the night before the night before is the one that counts

6. upcoming

   sat 5 shakeout 2 km

   optional, very easy. eat well, hydrate, sleep early

7. upcoming

   sun 6 race day — half marathon 21.1 kmRACE

   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

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

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

upper B

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

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