Half-Marathon Training Week 7: Quick Workouts for Maximum Results

If your Thanksgiving break went anything like ours, it was filled with a lot of eating and subsequent napping.   At the same time, the great intentions of running and getting caught up on homework went by the wayside.  Now, as the rush towards the end of the semester heats up, the conflict of time management comes to light.   Should you give up your gym time to study or work on your papers?
The answer is a resounding no!  If things start to get crazy, and skipping a workout comes into question, avoid skipping at all costs.  If you must skip, one day won’t hurt.  However, a series of missed days will start to affect the training that you have already put in.  However, if the option is feasible, just cut your workout down to the essentials. Just do your run instead of the lifting, or vice versa.  Do what you have time for, but definitely try to do something!
Keeping exercise in your daily routine has a mountain of benefits.

• You will think more clearly.  If you take thirty minutes to go for a run, and get away from the piles of paperwork in front of you, the topics will seem a lot more appealing.
• If you maintain a normal exercise regime, you will have more energy, and better sleeping habits throughout your studying. 
• Finally, exercising gives your metabolism a nice boost, which will help process all of the extra “caf snacks” that will be coming up during finals week, and all of the Holiday parties. Doing thirty minutes will help keep off the extra weight so you look super sexy for New Year’s Eve.    

Week 7
Note: This is extremely similar to last week since most people didn’t get all the workouts in with the massive turkey consumption.
Beginner:

• Keep up the hard work, and run six days again this week.  Three of the days, you should vary your runs between 4 and 5 miles. Pick out one day to do a track workout.  Run easy for 10 minutes to let your body warm up.  After the warm up, run an 800 (two laps) hard around the track.  Take a two minute break.  During this break you may want to walk or jog to keep your body temperature up.  Repeat this process three to four times.  After the repeats, finish with another 10 minutes to let your body cool down.   The day after the workout, take an easy, 3 mile run to combat the soreness.  The final run of the week will be a longer distance run reaching 8 miles.  Remember, you do not need to set any records with this run.   
• Don’t worry about cross training this week.  You are exerting a lot of energy through the speed workout.  Only cross train if something is hurting and you need to take some pressure off your legs.
• Since it is Thanksgiving week, you most likely won’t have access to the gym.  Instead, try to keep up your fitness with sets of pushups, abdominal exercises.  Some additional home exercises could include prolonged wall squats, lunges without weight, and donkey kicks. 
• More than ever, your body needs a day of complete rest and relaxation.

Intermediate:

• Despite the break from school, keep plugging along with six days this week.  Four of the runs should be easy 5 mile runs.  Similar to the beginner’s workout, you are going to do 800 meter repeats on the track.  After jogging easy for 10 minutes, do 2 laps (800 meters) at a hard pace.  Take two minutes to recover, but be sure to keep your body moving.  However, you are going to repeat this process five times.  Try to keep all of the hard repeats around the same pace.  After the workout, be sure to do a cool down jog for 10 minutes.  The following day, take it easy for a 4 mile run.  Shoot for a longer fifth run around 9 miles.  Keep the pace easy. 
• Like above, only cross train if something is bothering you physically.
• Since access to the gym may be difficult over break, try to include some plyometric exercises.  Draw an imaginary line on the ground.  At 30 second intervals jump forward and back, side to side. Squat down to the ground, touch the ground with your fingers, then explode up with a hop.  A final suggested exercise starts in lunge position, bend both knees, and scissor to land with the opposite foot in front.  Repeat each exercise three times. 
• It is important to let yourself recover with a day off. 

Advanced:

• Try to run 6 times this week.  Two of your days will be easy 5 miles runs, and the third easy day will be 6 miles.  Like the track workouts listed above, you are going to do an 800 meter workout.  Take 15 minutes to jog and let your body warm up.  Once on the track, you will do 6-8 repeats of 800 meters at a 10k pace (refer to the pace calculator).  Actively rest for two minutes between each interval.  After the workout is completed, finish with 15 minutes of cool down jogging.  The day following the workout, take an easy 4 mile run.  The final run for the week will be a long 10 mile run (DOUBLE DIGITS!).  Although this is a mile longer than last week, you should be able to keep a faster pace than last week. 
• Since the gym isn’t a reality this week, try to keep up your strength exercises by doing a mixture of free-weight and plyometric activities.  Perhaps try a circuit starting with 30 seconds of front to back jumping (over an imaginary line).  At the end of 30 seconds, follow with 30 seconds of squats.  Switch to side to side jumping for the interval, and then follow with lunges.  Feel free to integrate upper body exercises (tricep dips, pushups, etc) and other exercises you enjoy.  Try to make your circuit last for 10 minutes.

Be sure to take a day off from physical activity.