Hi,

I'm planning on attempting my first 1/2IM distance race this December (Shepparton), and am wondering about the running volume of training I should be performing in the lead up.

From what I can tell, a typical training plan for a 1/2 mara is about 50km/week, should I be aiming for around that mark and fitting the cycling/swimming around this? Or, which I think is more likely, the running volume will suffer a little to allow training in other areas. If this is the case, what would you think is an acceptable volume to have me running the final leg well rather than just getting through it?

I understand there a plenty of other factors involved like cycling volume etc, so my assumptions at the moment are that I'll be riding 3 times a week for a total of around 5-6hours and I should be fitting in 4 runs per week, one in conjunction with a ride.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

If you are only doing 5-6hrs of bike work then you will suffer on the run. You need to get good quality bike work done year round and should b riding at least 4-5hrs as your long ride.

How much runnung are you currently doing and what type of pace as this is important to recommend mileage to you.

Your long run off the bike needs to be a quality session as well.
Let us know some more details and we can all help you more

Ok, well you asked for it…

I’m currently running about 30-40km/week (when not injured

Any hints on how I can fit it all in are greatly appreciated!

My suggestion would be that you should run off the long bike at your goal race pace for the half. Start at 30min run off the bike and build this by 10 min each week for 4 weeks then have a recovery week where you just ride with no run offthe bike. Then start again at 50 min and increase again. The trick is to try and maintain race pace during the whole run. This gets tricky later in the run but it will pay off if you stick to it.
I don't feel you need traditional speed work session when training for these types of races as you are running fatigued and won't be pulling out 200m surges during the race. Speed work type sessions are better done as 5k efforts or 2k repeats and other longr interval efforts as part of a overall steady run.
30-40k a week is plenty and only increase this if you really feel that you are on top of your running. Having said that you need to ensure that you are going well on the bike a weakness here will bring even really good runners unstuck. So don't neglect the bike. Make sure the short sessions are the right quality and remeber this.... when training for a 1/2or full ironman your long ride IS your quality ride so this is the key session for the week each week.
Don't try to fit the bike and swim around your run work give all three due respect as if you don't you will not have as good a race.
Good luck

It all depends on what you have done in the past and what you can handle without getting injured and overtrained.
Try to count in time spent in each activity rather than Kms
You need a long bike max of 4 hours and a long run max 90 min. this is conservative times but better to be underdone rather than toasted!
Make sure you have 1 recovery day per week and a brick session per week.

Yeah Dante - it's great to be conscious of your total running work during HIM training, but don't neglect the rest, especially the bike. I would have suggested that 3-4 hour Saturday rides were perhaps the cornerstone of the training week, as well as a long run of 90-100 minutes on the Sunday.

While I also do them, I wouldn't necessarily say a "long" run off the bike is mandatory, and there are many varied training regimes which conflict over the importance of this. I can't recall if it was Pete Jacobs or Mitch Anderson, but one of them (backed up by others) suggested that running off the bike need only be up to 5km or so - it's the "action" of running off the bike that's important, rather than trying to combine your long run with a long ride. Their theory was you are basically compromising both disciplines during that 1 session. i.e. a long ride + short run, or a short ride + long run would be good. But a 3 hour ride + 90 minute run wouldn't achieve as good a result. Not sure if I agree myself - I still try and get at least 2 of these big combined sessions in during a lead-up to a HIM.

As the other guys have mentioned, it's hard to truly suggest how you should balance the 3 disciplines' volumes without knowing your abilities really well (despite what I've discovered from following your blog for a while). For example, I can get away with a lot less swim kms than most programs suggest - but really should put a LOT more effort into my soft bike leg instead.

Another interesting point was that when training for the IM recently, one of my training partners and myself (understandably) started producing some great results in the sprint races and HIMs we competed in. We remarked to each other that the volumes (20-25 hours a week) we were doing at the time were probably just enough to get us through an IM, but perfect for the shorter distances (such as the HIM). If you can remember back to what I was doing earlier this year, then that would likely be ideal - assuming you can afford to find a new family afterwards

I would agree with Miners. A short run no longer than 25mins after a long bike is a good brick. But the run should have some intensity to it not just a dodle.
I wouldnt promote long bricks at all as recovery time is too long, just like doing a HIM without the swim.
Dont forget the family!

Thanks guys, my training program has been constantly changing for quite a while now in an effort to get me to a Half IM without neglecting the family, and the good news is that based upon your advice, only one change (moving my run off the bike from a shorter session to the long ride) has been needed.

Perhaps I'm getting the hang of this after all.

Thanks again.