Ladder Your Way to a Faster Half Marathon: A Treadmill Workout
This ladder treadmill workout is designed to improve your speed and endurance, helping you shave precious minutes off your half marathon time. It utilizes a ladder format, progressively increasing and decreasing effort throughout the workout.
Warm-up (10 minutes):
Begin with a light jog at an easy conversational pace for 5 minutes.
Gradually increase your pace to a light run for the last 5 minutes.
The Ladder (3 sets):
This workout consists of 3 sets of "ladders." Each set will have increasing effort intervals followed by decreasing recovery intervals. Here's the breakdown:
Set 1:
Interval 1: Run at Half Marathon Pace (HMP) for 1 minute.
Recovery 1: Jog at an easy pace for 2 minutes.
Interval 2: Run at 10k Pace (around 10-15 seconds per mile faster than HMP) for 2 minutes.
Recovery 2: Jog at an easy pace for 1 minute.
Interval 3: Run at 5k Pace (around 15-20 seconds per mile faster than HMP) for 3 minutes.
Recovery 3: Jog at an easy pace for 30 seconds.
Set 2:
Increase the effort for each interval by 5-10 seconds per mile pace.
Maintain the same recovery intervals as Set 1.
So, Interval 1 would be at HMP + 5 seconds per mile pace, Interval 2 would be at 10k Pace + 5 seconds per mile pace, and Interval 3 would be at 5k Pace + 5 seconds per mile pace.
Set 3:
Increase the effort for each interval by another 5-10 seconds per mile pace from Set 2.
Maintain the same recovery intervals as Set 1 and 2.
Cool-down (5 minutes):
Gradually decrease your pace to a light jog for 3 minutes.
Finish with a slow walk for 2 minutes for a complete cool-down.
Important Notes:
Half Marathon Pace (HMP): This is the pace you aim to run your half marathon at. If you haven't recently raced a half marathon or a similar distance, you can estimate your HMP using online calculators or pace charts.
Adjust the Paces: Feel free to adjust the paces in this workout based on your current fitness level. The goal is to challenge yourself but not push yourself to complete exhaustion.
Listen to Your Body: Take rest days when needed and adjust the intensity of the workout if you're feeling fatigued.
Progression: As your fitness improves, you can gradually increase the length of the intervals or decrease the recovery time.
This ladder workout can be a valuable tool in your half marathon training arsenal. Remember, consistency is key! Include similar workouts in your training plan alongside easy runs, long runs, and tempo runs to see well-rounded improvement for your race.
