Lydiard Half Marathon – The Complete Pyramid

About the plan

Arthur Lydiard's pyramid applied to the half marathon in sixteen weeks, with the four phases in the order he conceived them. Six weeks of aerobic base build the engine. Three weeks of hills convert that endurance into strength and stride economy. Three weeks of anaerobic development introduce intervals and threshold work, and only then — because for Lydiard anaerobic work is a varnish applied late and briefly. Three weeks of coordination sharpen with short repeats and race-pace blocks. The last week eases off and leads to the start line. It is a plan for runners who already run regularly and want to understand why their season has the shape it has, instead of repeating the same week for four months. Lydiard's hill sessions don't have their own pace on the platform: the long, hard climb was mapped as @intervalo and the short bounding/hopping drills as @repetição. Terrain and effort are what matter — look for a steady 4% to 8% grade.