Achieving a Sub-2 Hour Half Marathon (A Few Tips)

While training for this year’s half marathon season, I did a lot of reading on achieving a sub 2 and I studied the steps that others took to reach that goal. Today, I’m going to share with you a few of the tips I used and what worked for me!

(Please know that I’m not trying to come off as if I’m bragging or praising myself in any way, shape, or form in this blog post.  I debated on writing this post, but I’ve decided to share it anyway, in hopes it will help someone with their half marathon journey! )

Prior to this half marathon season, I was so close to a sub 2 hour half…and it remained that way for three years (my best time was a 2:01). Every year, I tried and tried to reach my goal but it never happened. From IT Band problems to sickness and crazy weather, it just didn’t seem possible for me.

This past fall, I did a lot of reading from a google search and I came across a Jeff Galloway runDisney plan. I noticed that his plans from past rD events utilized a strategy I didn’t think was necessary. (Sounds funny, right?! How silly I was…) On all of his training plans and on the longest training run days, he had runners train at least a mile over the distance they were trying to achieve on race day. For instance, I turned two of my 12 mile training runs into 14 mile training runs last fall. What good did that do? Well, I noticed that my legs weren’t as fatigued during the race and I felt like I was able to run 13.1 faster! 

(Side note here – While participating in the events for the Castaway Challenge, I was able to thank Jeff for his advice and share my accomplishment with him. He was SO excited for me it really made me feel great – he’s such a standup guy and a class act. I respect him even more now than I did before!)

Ok back to the reason for my post…

I also cleaned up a my diet a bit about 2 weeks before the race. Yes, I should have started earlier but it was right around the holidays and lets face it, I wanted to eat all the delicious things!

Mid December (for my mid-January race), I broke in a new pair of running shoes. I always perform better when my shoes are at the front end of their lifespan, not the back end.

I had two half’s on the schedule for January of this year and I knew I wanted to try and sub 2 in one of them. I’d run both courses in the past and the Louisiana Half was the flattest from what I could remember. If the weather decided not to cooperate, I figured I’d try the following weekend at Rock N Roll New Orleans instead. Rock N Roll NOLA became my back-up plan…just incase!

Last but not least, I found a pacer to run with for the half marathon. (Not all races have them, but most do.) I know that all of my efforts prior to race day, plus the assistance of the pacer is what helped me achieve my goal. The pacer kept us right on target and I’m definitely glad I chose to run with him and the 2 hour group because I couldn’t have done it on my own!

So, to recap….

• On two occasions, I ran a mile longer than my planned race distance.  (These were not back to back weekends, they were about six weeks apart with the last one being three weeks before my half marathon.)
• Cleaned up my diet – no processed bad garbage, I tried to “eat clean” for two weeks and reduce sugar intake.
• New-ish shoes (but still broken in)
• Picked a race and had a back-up plan
• 2 Hour pacer to run with during the race – he was essential!

Want to read a recap of my version of the Louisiana Half Marathon? Click here. This is such a great race – if you’re debating on running a race in the Louisiana area, it’s a fantastic one to choose! :)

*Please note, I’m not a coach nor a training expert, I’m just sharing a few of the things I did to help myself achieve my goal of a sub 2 hour half marathon.

What is/was the best tip you ever received on obtaining a running/race related goal?