HALFWITS 101
What you need to know before you go!
Who?
Club members Teresa Pisula and Sarah Sagmoen are leading the Halfwits group for the 2024 season. You can contact the Halfwits leaders via Facebook or sending an email.
Updates are posted on the Halfwits newsfeed and Facebook page. Make sure you're checking one of them before you head out for the latest news on workouts, routes, and other announcements.
What?
The Halfwits is a training group lead by SRRC volunteers to help you prepare for the Lincoln Presidential Half Marathon on the first Saturday in April. The group meets during the 12 weeks leading up to the half marathon. We welcome runners of all levels and provide two mileage schedules for both less experienced and more seasoned runners. We encourage all runners and walkers to show up for the runs, regardless of your goals, as running with this group is a great way to stay motivated during the winter months. You will get the most out of this half marathon training if you are already running regularly--we strongly recommend that you are running at least three time a week for 3-5 miles each run before joining the group. You can follow the group's weekly updates with the links above.
There is no charge to participate in the program, but it is intended for SRRC members, so make sure you join the club or renew your membership for 2024. Participating in the club's training programs is just one of the many membership benefits.
When? Where?
Group runs will be held Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 5:45 p.m. in Washington Park (unless otherwise stated) starting in January. Long runs on Saturdays will usually start and finish at Cafe Moxo; typical start time will be 8:00 a.m., changing to 7:30 a.m. in March to match with the race start time.
Why?
Because we love running, and we are the Halfwits because we're only half crazy!
Training Plans
You choose your plan based on what amount of mileage you are comfortable running each week. More experienced runners might choose to follow Schedule B, particularly those who recently ran a half-marathon or similar distance race, or ran the Frostbite Festival 10-mile race in December.
Each training plan will consist of easy runs, long runs, hill repeats, interval training, and tempo workouts. For the latter 3 workouts, we will do a 1 mile warm-up and finish with a 1 mile cool down. Below is a brief description of each (some notations from Hal Higdon's training plans).
Easy Run- Designed to be done at a comfortable pace. Don't worry about how fast you run these workouts. Run easy! If training with a friend, you should be able to hold a conversation. For those wearing heart rate monitors, your target zone should be between 65 and 75 percent of your maximum pulse rate.
Long Run- Pace for long runs should be anywhere from 30 to 90 or more seconds per mile slower than their planned half marathon pace. Run at a comfortable pace, one that allows you to converse with your training partners,. The important point is that you cover the prescribed distance; how fast you cover it doesn't matter.
Hill Repeats- Hill training will help strengthen your quads and build speed. Jog an equal distance between each repeat. Start each hill at about 60% effort building to an 80% effort upon completion.
Intervals (Ladder workouts, Boulevard Workouts) - Pace for each interval should be 10K to 10 mile pace. The key to interval work is to not overdo the early intervals. The last interval should be on pace with the first interval. (Ladder workouts/Boulevard specific workouts will be a version of intervals and will be explained prior to the training night)
Tempo- A Tempo Run can be as hard or easy as you want to make it, and it has nothing to do with how long (in time) you run or how far. In fact, the times prescribed for Tempo Runs serve mainly as rough guidelines. Feel free to improvise. Improvisation is the heart of doing a Tempo Run correctly. Here are a few examples of tempo workouts... (1) 20-30 minute tempo building to near 10K pace. (2) 20-30 minutes of 3 minute @ tempo followed by 1 minute recovery. (3) 2-3 x 10 minutes with 1 minute jog (4) 3-4 x 1 mile with 1 minute jog.
ON YOUR OWN: We recommend that in addition to attending the three Halfwits group runs each week, you do 2-3 days of easy runs or cross-training (30-45 minutes of swimming, cycling, elliptical, strength training, yoga, etc.). Be careful not to cross train too intensely; how much effort you can expend on off days will vary from person to person--the key is if you are too tired or sore for any of the group runs, then decrease the intensity/ duration of your cross training activities.
