Break 1:30 Half Marathon Plan (Read 97 times)

Hi Everyone,

I was curious to see if anyone has any opinion on RWOL's "Break 1:30 Plan" (link below)?  I have just finished the first week and am not sure how I feel about the specific paces being given/the plan in general.  Should I stick this plan out for a May 18th HM or jump to something along the lines of Pfitz HM Plan B? Any advice or opinions would be much appreciated.

Here is a link to the plan:

http://rw.runnersworld.com/cha...s/half/break-130.pdf

Race History: First HM was a 1:36 using HH Intermediate. 2nd HM was a 1:33 using HH Advanced with ~2 weeks off in the middle to ski. Planning on taking this training cycle much more seriously with expectations of breaking 1:30.

Everyone is different.  Some could probably run 30 mpw and crush a 1:30.  Personally i find more easy running than 30 mpw is necessary as well as long tempo runs.  Running 6-7 mikes at a6:35-6:40 pace is going to give you specific fitness as well as confidence for holding 6:52 for 13.1 miles.  Anytime it's a choice between a RW plan and Pfitz, i would go with Pfitz.

+1.

It's kind of strange for a half marathon plan to bill itself as targeted for a specific time, as if following that plan is somehow a recipe for sub 1:30. That plan just looks like a generic beginner plan. If you happen to be of the fitness where you're close to breaking 1:30 off of a fairly low-mileage schedule and these training paces happen to be appropriate for you, then maybe this plan could get you over the top (but so could any other HM plan.)

Many people could run under 1:30 right now off of their regular base fitness, many more would need to train hard specifically for it, and still others could never break 1:30 even if they ran 120 miles a week for 2 years.

And, in general, anything Pfitz is better than anything RW.