Coach’s Corner: Half Marathon Training Tips from Achilles NYC

Feb 20

Taking on your first ever half marathon? View a webinar below and find top tips from elite paratriathlete Francesco Magisano, Achilles Director of NYC Metro Region, including:

Include workouts that train different energy systems such as a hard interval run and an easy long run. Often, athletes will have a favorite type of workout to do, and that’s all they do. Intentional variety is good!
Try the strategy of ‘negative splitting’ the race to help prevent crashing on the back half of the race effort. Negative splitting a race results in a patient start, slowly building in pace and effort. This is just one strategy on how to approach race efforts.
Make sure to fuel appropriately and with the right types of fuel for you. Look at carb and calorie totals on fuel packages to calculate hourly intake to maintain consistent fueling across a race effort and when switching products. Make sure to think about calories and electrolytes differently, since they serve entirely different purposes.
Avoid dramatically increasing your milage from week to week. A slow progression in milage or intensity will reduce the chance of injury. For example, for your long run, try adding just one mile per week and no more, even if it feels easy.

On February 8, Achilles NYC hosted the virtual Q&A for its inaugural Achilles Connect session for chapter members. Achilles Connect will be held on the first Thursday of each month.

This month’s topic was inspired by the 2024 United Airlines NYC Half, which many members are racing in March.

Learn more about how you can join, volunteer or donate to Achilles NYC.