Try this speedwork sandwich workout to prepare for the half-marathon

It can often be difficult to simulate the fatigue you’re going to feel at the end of a half-marathon in your training, but practicing pushing through that late-race fatigue is what will get you to the finish line in a new personal best. This speedwork sandwich workout will prepare you for exactly that so you can run your best half yet.

The speedwork sandwich

The idea behind this workout is that you’re asking your body to run at a sustained pace after you’ve already accumulated fatigue, which is exactly what you have to do at the end of your half-marathon. It’s very important to pace the first part of the workout correctly, or else you risk being unable to maintain your pace at the end (which is often a problem for runners who are new to the half-marathon and who go out too hard).

The first section of the workout should be comfortably hard. You’re still moving at a good pace, but you should feel as though you could keep going by the end of the interval. In the five-minute intervals, you can speed up a little, to approximately 10K pace. Finally, the last section will be tough, but the goal is to run half-marathon pace (or a bit quicker) to simulate the end of your race.

The workout

Warmup: 15-20 minute warmup, followed by form drills and strides

Workout: 3km at half-marathon pace/3 min rest/3 x 5 min at 10K pace with 2 min rest between each/3 min rest/3km at half-marathon pace

Cooldown: 10-15 minutes followed by light stretching