I Never Skip This Workout in a Half Marathon Build. Here’s How It Builds the Speed Endurance Race Day Demands.
Over the years, I’ve had good and bad training cycles, as we all do. But I often reminisce about one build in particular: my second half marathon. I loved this cycle so much because it introduced me to one specific workout that made me feel strong and capable of handling longer distances—and running them at a faster clip.
When I signed up for the 2024 Philadelphia Half Marathon to conquer 13.1 again, I was eager to see what I was capable of. I followed a Runner’s World plan to get ready.
I wasn’t sure how well I would handle the weekend long runs and workouts, because I hadn’t officially trained for a race in more than four years, and this 10-week training cycle would have me reach up to 40 miles in a week. But as training progressed, one particular workout helped me go from a just-getting-back-out-there mindset to thinking, “I could actually race this thing well.”
If you’re looking for that one workout to take your half marathon to the next level, here’s what helped me clock a nine-minute PR, finishing in 1:46:16.
The Half Marathon Workout I Keep Coming Back To
Long Run With Tempo Miles
I followed the Runner’s World break 1:45 plan, which had me run eight-, 10-, and 12-mile long slow distance runs before doing my first tempo long run during the fourth week of training. This included three miles at tempo (7:42 pace, listed on the plan) in between a warmup and cooldown. Throughout the rest of the plan, I also did a 10-miler with four miles at tempo and a 10-miler with six miles at tempo.
Why it works: Tempo effort lies just below an effort that’s too hard. It teaches you to get comfortable with the uncomfortable and run faster for longer. This pace should hit about a 6 or 7 on a scale of 1 to 10 for rate of perceived exertion (RPE) or an effort you can sustain for an hour-long race. You should finish the workout feeling like you could do another mile if you had to.
How to do it:
- 3 miles easy pace to warm up
- 3 miles at tempo pace
- 2 miles easy pace to cool down
Total mileage: 8
Get Your Half Marathon Training Plan Here
3 Ways This Workout Helped Me Run a Faster Half
1. It Pushed Me to Deal With Discomfort
As a (sort of) newbie half-marathoner, I took my current fitness level into account and gave myself permission to stick to a pace range—7:40 to 8:00—for my tempo efforts. That way, if I ran into some elevation, felt dehydrated, or just felt off, I could still feel like my workout was a success even if my paces weren’t right on.
My first attempt at this type of workout went really smoothly; I stayed within 10 seconds of the high end of my goal pace and felt amazing during the tempo miles. The second time I did this workout (a 10-miler with four miles at tempo), my splits were: 7:46, 8:15, 7:48, and 7:23. During the second tempo mile, I dealt with a small uphill stretch, so I took this into account and felt like these paces still matched my effort, as I had kept my rate of perceived exertion level around a 6/7—I was breathing heavy but could still get out some words.
I also ran this workout five miles out and back on one of my favorite trails, which is mostly flat, with the exception of that one hill. Each time I ticked off another tempo mile, I wasn’t stressed about navigating directions or the terrain; I was more fixated on holding my sub-8:00 average pace. It didn’t exactly feel comfortable, but I pushed through by glancing down at my watch and counting down every quarter mile, imagining how many minutes I’d have left of the tempo.
This helped me break the workout down into chunks so I could focus on one stride at a time, rather than feeling daunted by the whole workout or letting the discomfort drag me down. In the end, I realized I could have held that pace for another mile if I had to, but I definitely put in work.
2. It Gave Me the Biggest Confidence Boost
I really surprised myself with each of my three tempo long runs. Each time my watch beeped at a mile marker and it showed my average pace, I felt strong and confident that I was maintaining my goal speed.
This felt like a workout that would simulate race day the most out of all the runs on my plan because I ran double-digit miles, and even ran some of them faster than my half marathon pace. I figured if I could complete those miles feeling strong and pacing right where I was supposed to, then surely I could handle my goal race pace.
On race day, I stepped up to the line feeling strong in every step. I remembered how I felt during those tempo workouts: in control of my speed, trusting myself, maintaining a tall posture, and with my eyes locked on a point ahead of me. I smiled giddily to myself when every mile beeped on my watch because I felt so proud that I could log eight-minute miles.
3. It Helped Me Hold Onto My Speed
Running at a tempo pace improves your efficiency, as Runner’s World previously reported. Running at this faster pace sharpens your form and running economy, so you can use less energy to cover the same distance.
I knew these runs were helping me get faster because as I worked my way up to six-mile tempo workouts, they felt challenging, but not so challenging that I wasn’t capable of completing them. Even when I went from the four-mile to the six-mile tempo run, I still averaged sub-8:00 pace across those miles, and even logged a few faster splits than in the previous workout (7:24 and 7:42).
There’s also the benefit of tempo runs helping you learn how to control your pace, which is especially important for running 13.1 miles. “The more control that you have over a tempo session, the fuller that tank is going to be to really ramp it up and be competitive at the end of a race,” Elliott Heath, former professional runner and current community program head coach of the Bowerman Track Club, previously told Runner’s World.
The more time I spent locking in on tempo pace, the more in control I felt of subtle changes in my speed on race day. I was surprised by how strong and capable I felt through all 13.1 miles and I crossed the line feeling proud of my splits.
Kristine Kearns, a writer and avid runner, joined Runner’s World and Bicycling in July 2024. She previously coached high school girls cross country and currently competes in seasonal races, with more than six years of distance training and an affinity for weightlifting. You can find her wearing purple, baking cupcakes, and visiting her local farmers market.