$29 one-time
- The full 12-week plan as a PDF, from Kristina
- Every session added to your phone's calendar, from your start or race date
- Phaes Insights free for 14 weeks
- Gym and home versions of every exercise
Secure checkout with Stripe. No account needed.
Want it to adapt to you every day? Get it coached in the app: $9.99 a month, first week free.
Who this plan is for
You run comfortably for 30 to 60 minutes, your half marathon is about 12 weeks away, and you want a plan that respects how your recovery has changed.
Kristina Folcik wrote it for women in perimenopause and menopause, when the old way of training (lots of miles, tempo runs, light weights for high reps) tends to leave you tired, stalled, or hurt. It works with or without MHT (HRT).
- Sprints folded into the middle of the long run
- One sprint session and one HIIT circuit a week
- Heavy strength three days a week, 5 sets of 5
- Reset weeks at weeks 4 and 8, a taper, then race week
How it trains you differently
In Kristina's words, it takes a while to wrap your head around a new way to train. The plan follows her method for this stage of life:
- Skip the middle zones. One short sprint interval session a week replaces tempo runs, with one HIIT circuit on leg day, the day after the sprints, and harder efforts go in the middle of the long run.
- Easy runs are very easy. They are active recovery, not junk miles.
- Strength sessions are challenging. Lift heavy for you, 5 sets of 5.
- A reset week every fourth week. No intensity and lighter weights in weeks 4 and 8, so you absorb the work.
- One full rest day a week, physical and emotional, and more protein to support the muscle you are building.
Her advice is to give it a few weeks: in her experience, women on this method find they have more energy and fewer niggles. Read more about her method in a marathon build, sprint interval training, and why reset weeks matter.
Sample weeks, day by day
Here are three weeks exactly as they appear in the plan: the first week, the first reset week, and the hardest week. Tap a day to see its sessions.
How the 12 weeks are built
Three weeks of building, then a reset week, repeated, with a taper and race week at the end. The long run peaks at about 1 h 45 min.
Show as a table
| Week | Type | Running | Long run |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Build | 2 h 24 min | 1 h |
| 2 | Build | 2 h 45 min | 1 h 10 min |
| 3 | Build | 2 h 57 min | 1 h 20 min |
| 4 | Reset | 2 h 25 min | 55 min |
| 5 | Build | 2 h 59 min | 1 h 20 min |
| 6 | Build | 3 h 22 min | 1 h 30 min |
| 7 | Build | 3 h 30 min | 1 h 35 min |
| 8 | Reset | 2 h 35 min | 1 h 5 min |
| 9 | Build | 3 h 49 min | 1 h 40 min |
| 10 | Build | 3 h 54 min | 1 h 45 min |
| 11 | Taper | 3 h 2 min | 1 h 20 min |
| 12 | Race week | 45 min | None |
The strength sessions
5 sets of 5, 2 min rest between sets. Go heavier on the last set; getting only 2 reps is fine. Every session ends with core. Each exercise has a gym version and a home version.
Arms + calves
- Biceps Barbell curl or at home: Dumbbell curl
- Triceps Close-grip bench press or at home: Close-grip push-up
- Calves Standing calf raise or at home: Single-leg calf raise
- Core Pallof press or at home: Side plank
Chest/back/shoulders
- Chest Bench press or at home: Push-up (elevate feet to progress)
- Back Bent-over barbell row or at home: One-arm dumbbell row
- Shoulders Standing overhead press or at home: Dumbbell shoulder press
- Core Plank or at home: Plank
Lower body
- Glutes Barbell hip thrust or at home: Single-leg hip thrust
- Hamstrings Romanian deadlift or at home: Single-leg Romanian deadlift
- Quads Back squat or at home: Bulgarian split squat
- Core Dead bug or at home: Dead bug
Hips
- Hips Goblet Cossack squat or at home: Lateral lunge
- Adductors Adductor machine or at home: Copenhagen plank
- Abductors Cable hip abduction or at home: Banded lateral walk
- Core Pallof press or at home: Side plank
HIIT: Once a week on leg day, before your leg strength. Warm up 5 min. Then 15 min: 3 moves, 5 sets each of 40 s work, 20 s rest. Moves include squat jumps, skater hops and single-leg hops, with a no-jump version (squats, lunges, calf raises) if your lower legs hurt.
Fixed plan or coached?
The plan, $29 once
The same 12 weeks for every woman at this level, as a PDF, in your calendar and in the Phaes app. You follow it; you adjust it yourself on bad days. Includes Phaes Insights for 14 weeks.
Phaes Coach, $9.99 a month
The same method, built into a plan that changes every day with your sleep, energy, symptoms and cycle, with a coach you can ask to move things around. First week free. Start with Coach.
$29 one-time
- The full 12-week plan as a PDF, from Kristina
- Every session added to your phone's calendar, from your start or race date
- Phaes Insights free for 14 weeks
- Gym and home versions of every exercise
Secure checkout with Stripe. No account needed.
Want it to adapt to you every day? Get it coached in the app: $9.99 a month, first week free.
Frequently asked questions
How long is the longest run?
The long run builds to about 105 minutes in week 10, then tapers. Most build weeks put a few short sprints in the middle of it.
Is 12 weeks enough for a half marathon in perimenopause?
For a runner who can already run 30 to 60 minutes comfortably, yes. If you are starting from less, do the 5K or 10K plan first.
Who are these plans for?
Women in perimenopause and menopause, and women over 40 who want to train this way. Kristina wrote the method for changing hormones, with or without MHT (HRT).
What do I get when I buy?
An email from Kristina with your plan as a PDF, plus Phaes Insights free for the length of the plan and 2 more weeks. Sign up in the app with the same email you paid with and Insights turns on automatically.
What is the difference between the plan and Phaes Coach?
The plan is fixed: the same weeks for everyone at that level, for a one-time price. Phaes Coach builds the same method into a plan that adapts every day to your sleep, energy, symptoms, and cycle, for $9.99 a month or $69.99 a year, with a free first week.
Do I need a gym?
No. Every strength exercise has a gym version and a home version. Heavy means heavy for you.