Half Marathon Tinman – Critical Velocity
Tom "Tinman" Schwartz
About the plan
The half marathon built around the critical velocity of Tom “Tinman” Schwartz, coach of Drew Hunter and a reference in American training. CV is the pace you could sustain for about half an hour: strong, but well short of your limit. Trained in repetitions of 1 to 2 km with short rest, it develops the aerobic capacity of the intermediate fibers without charging the recovery price of a VO2 max workout, and that is why it shows up every Tuesday, from the first week to the last. In the first seven weeks the rest is truly easy volume, strides in alternating weeks, and a long run that grows from 10 to 14 miles (16 to 22 km). From week eight on, Saturday becomes a race-pace session: repetitions of 2 and 3 miles (3 and 5 km) at half marathon goal pace, then 5 continuous miles (8 km), and the long run reaches 15 miles (24 km). Volume runs from 32 to 50 miles (52 to 81 km) per week, with a cutback every three weeks, and the second-to-last week tapers for the race on Sunday. How to read the paces: the platform has no dedicated range for CV, so it appears as threshold; run these repetitions at the upper end of that range, controlled, with a feeling of “strong, but not hard.” The short rest is what defines the session.
The plan in numbers
- Duration
- 14 weeks
- Runs per week
- 6
- Weekly volume
- 36 mi · 14 min → 46 mi · 8 min
- Longest run
- 15 mi
Week 1 starts at 36 mi · 14 min and volume builds to 46 mi · 8 min in week 6, the heaviest of the plan.
A typical week has 6 runs, and the longest session reaches 15 mi (Long, week 12).
Over the final 8 weeks volume drops from 46 mi · 8 min to 17 mi · 4 min so you arrive at the race rested.
Race day (14 mi) falls on Sunday of week 14; the week holds 17 mi · 4 min of running before it.
There are 6 tune-up races on the way to the goal race.
Key workouts
The quality sessions that come up most in this plan:
- Threshold14 sessions across 14 weeks
- Long13 sessions across 13 weeks
- Repetition3 sessions across 3 weeks
Who it's for
Advanced level. To start safely you should already be running about 36 mi · 14 min per week and be comfortable with a 9.9 mi session — that is what week 1 asks for.
Week 1 — workout preview
36 mi · 14 min this week
6.8 mi · 6 min
5 mi
5 mi · 8 min
5 mi
4.3 mi
9.9 mi
Week 6 — the heaviest of the plan
46 mi · 8 min this week
8.1 mi · 8 min
6.2 mi
6.2 mi
6.2 mi
5.6 mi
14 mi
Plan Structure
14 weeks · 83 workouts · 15 rest days
See the full plan
Create your account to unlock every week, sync with your watch and get personalized paces.