I’m running my first 1/2 marathon in 2 weeks, and need help setting my pace… internally I want to do sub 1:40. Why this? Not sure. I feel that will push me a little, but I don’t want to blow up and miss it altogether.
I feel I’ve prepared for it well, with long runs in the 15 - 16 mile range. My last long run, a steady just slightly faster than easy 15 had me at 1:48 13.1 split over some hilly terrain, so I feel comfortable with the 1:40.
I just wasn’t sure how to attack it… do I try to go out and stay consistent every mile… 7:37, for 13 of them? Or do I start slower and speed up? Start faster and slow down? Yesterday I did 15 and mentally broke it into three 5 mile legs, and tried to increase my speed as I went… Did a 43:05, 41:30, 40:45, and like I said it was pretty comfortable. So today I was out for a little recovery run and was thinking on how to best pace myself for the race… Do I try to break it down into two 5 milers and a 5k? And shoot for 39, 37, 23 to come in under 1:40? Or go for the steady pace? Or some other way?
My longest runs are also in the 15 range. Each HM I’ve done I’ve negative split by about a minute, and my strategy going in is to start solid but do-able, and evaluate at the halfway mark. Every time, I’ve kept it steady and picked up that minute in the last 5k. Translation: I absolutely did not want to run faster for another 6.55 miles, yet I was able to pick it up toward the finish – which I take to mean I’m pacing it about right, possibly even a hair too slow.
1:48 13.1 to 1:40 13.1 is non-trivial. I had a couple friends just a few months ago say “I just did 7 min pace for 7 miles, comfortable” yet came in above 1:40.
My own recommendation is to pace conservative (which for a HM still means you’re going to be uncomfortable for a long time), try for a negative split, and if you feel good with 5k to go, hammer. And post your results. Races really are the great equalizer, you either did the time for the distance, or you didn’t.
first start with a good warm up of at least 30 minutes, with few accelerations. that should warm you up pretty good so you don’t have to spend time on warming up during the race.
i normally start at my upper zone 2 for the first 1.5-2 miles, then settle in for a good tempo pace that i know i can hold. at the last 2.5 miles or so i usually pick up the pace and really push hard, what ever i have left in me.
based on what you describe you’ll go sub 1:40 IMO.
I found the McMillan Pace Calculator to be pretty helpful in setting a realistic goal. I would round off your target splits to something manageable like 7:35. I can’t do math in my head once I start getting tired. I did two 1/2 Marathons last Summer and I was amazed at the number of people who have no sense of pace, so be patient and stick with your plan. For me even pace or just slightly faster for the second half of the race work best.
Interesting… I was going to add I did 7:40 for 8 miles back to back days last week without too much trouble, but decided not to
I’ll post back my results… I feel no shame in however I do. Last year I ran a 5 mile race barely breaking 40 mins. Now I can do that with relative easy on miles 10 - 15, so I’m stoked with how far I’ve come as it is.
Start a little on the easy side. Your 5/5/5 idea is right on…in fact my coach suggested the same 5/5/5k pacing plan. It has worked for me. (my apologies Mike if I’m stealing your thunder)
first 5 a few seconds over your goal pace (say 7:45’s), second 5 a few seconds under your goal pace (7:30’s), drop the hammer with 5k to go. The terrain of a particular course may throw off your splits a bit, but the idea is that you work into your pace. The few seconds you give away at the start will be made up by a strong finish. If you start dead-on your goal pace and can’t hold it…you weren’t fit enough run that pace to begin with.
I’ve used this strategy yesterday at a race and the last few half mary’s I’ve done and been pleased with the results.
The only problem with the mcmillan calculator is that I’m a relatively new runner… so I’m improving quickly. I’ve improved (and shed some weight) since my last race in the fall and am faster with more endurance.
Based on the last two races I did, a 5 mile in October and a 5k in December and mcmillan has me at 1:39:15 and 1:37:15 respectively… Though, to put in perspective, that October 5 miler was nearly 5 minutes faster than a June 5 miler, and the December 5k was 1:40 faster than a September 5k.
So, it’s tough to gauge as I’m still in the drastically improving phase.
I was shooting for the same goal in the Rock and Roll Arizona 1/2 last month. Sub 1:40 was a hell of a stretch so I didn’t really talk about it being my goal, and the flat terrain was something that I just couldn’t predict pace for.
I decided on a strategy of very conservatively negative splitting, closer to even splitting really. I started out at 7:44 to wind up and then tried to crack 2-5 seconds off each mile, with the intention of running the last 5k like it was a stand alone 5k.
What I didn’t account for was the mental break that happened. In the second half I was pushing the pace hard. At mile 10.5 my mind kinda just failed me and I couldn’t convince my mind to keep me running any longer. I ended up walking for 3 minutes and then walking again at 12.2 for 2 minutes. I was upset but happy that only mental conditioning really held me back.
My finish time was 1:43:09. I’m sure I can get into the 1:3x:xx range this year provided I can get over my current injuries.
Just don’t screw up the first mile or 2. You can do serious harm there. So, I would start a little slowly and build into it. However, unless you are pretty conservative in your pacing, I don’t think you should expect to be picking up steam your last 5k. If you are, in my opinion, you didn’t run the first 10 miles hard enough.
In my only open 1/2, which was in November, I ran a 6:58 first mile, then ran the next 9 miles all between 6:35 and 6:40 and then hung on for a 6:41 pace for the whole thing. There was a steep hill in the last mile that lasted a really long time (in my mind). The last 5k took a lot of concentration.
If I were in your shoes, I would try to run an 8:00 first mile and then string together 12 7:35’s. That gets you in just under 1:40 with a few seconds to play with.
I’m bucking the trend here and giving my strategy. Think of it like two 10k’s. Run the first one balls out and then hang the f*ck on for the last 10k. If your fitness is good from cycling you’ll be able to do it. I actually think everyone should try this once. I think too many people never really push themselves. Most of the guys who finish up front are going out much faster the first 10k.
For a 10K last year - I went out way too fast and felt pretty spent by mile 2. I had to hang on for the last 4 miles, and while painful, I was very happy with my time. It was much fster than equivalent times at other distances.
I think you mentioned you were doing Hyannis? I’m in for that one too although I’ve had some hamstring issues, hoping to go under 1:20. Even if I can’t run I’ll be down there cheering on my wife.
I’m going to disagree with the conservative people here and say that if you can do 8 miles@ 7:40 pace in training on back to back days 7:35 isn’t going to kill you. Probably, you can go faster than that. You will get a huge boost for the first couple of miles from the adrenaline, 7:35 will feel slow.
You still have time for 3 more tempo runs, maybe try 3x2 miles@7:20 pace with 2 minute rests Wednesday, 30’ 7:25 pace Saturday, 5x1 mile 7:20 pace (1’rest) Tuesday.
These paces should feel hard, but not super hard. The pace you would go for a 1 hour race. If you still have a lot in the tank at the end of the Wednesday run, I would say you are likely to go under 1:40 by a couple of minutes and would drop the pace on Saturday to 7:15-7:20 and Tuesday to 7:15. If you hit these workouts, I would say a pace of low 7:30s is a good goal for the race.
As far as breaking up the race, I first try to get to 4 miles, then the half-way point (there is a relay transition there so a decent crowd), then 10 miles, then get out the whip because the last 5K is either a little downhill or flat. The half-way to 10 mile stretch is the toughest.
For me, I feel pace is not only important, it is crucial. I ran my second half marathon this past saturday. I used a garmin to keep track of my pace, and once in awhile, I would glance at it to make sure I was consistent. My goal was to run between a 7:17-7:19 pace (I had not run in a week and a half b/c of ankle issues; decided to run anyway…didn’t want to run a killer pace though). I ended up running a 7:14 pace, and I felt great throughout the entire race…ended up with a 1:34…15 minute improvement from my last half that I ran.
You still have time for 3 more tempo runs, maybe try 3x2 miles@7:20 pace with 2 minute rests Wednesday, 30’ 7:25 pace Saturday, 5x1 mile 7:20 pace (1’rest) Tuesday.
What do you think about doing these on the treadmill? I’d rather run outside, but the treadmill will allow me to force the pace and keep me honest for the duration. I usually run 1-2% incline.
And the “rest” is that a slow ru / jog or a walk? Usually when I do rests i still at least slow run… maybe 9 min pace.
In your situation, I think you should do them outside if at all possible. Aside from the physiological benefits of these workouts, you are trying to see how your body reacts to these paces and determine if they are realistic for your race, and X min/mile on the treadmill does not necessarily = X min/mile outside. The rest should probably be easy jogs.
I have a cul-de-sac loop near my house that is exactly .66 miles, and I snuck up there one night and spray-paainted discrete .25 mile markers. I’m sure I’m know as “that crazy guy who keeps running around the block at all hours of the night.” by the locals…
I’m bucking the trend here and giving my strategy. Think of it like two 10k’s. Run the first one balls out and then hang the f*ck on for the last 10k. If your fitness is good from cycling you’ll be able to do it. I actually think everyone should try this once. I think too many people never really push themselves. Most of the guys who finish up front are going out much faster the first 10k.
I’ve run races kind of like that. I did 2 trail HMs last summer. Trail strategy is a bit different, because it can have some bottlenecks where placement is important; I figured, yeah, go out hard and hang on.
I do think that this is an effective way to do well in a race, placement-wise. BUT I also had way less fun in those races than I would have otherwise, I’m kind of a natural negative splitter, and was just hating it in the last couple of miles. I didn’t slow by much, I didn’t blow up; but I did lose my smile. The last road HM I did was during marathon training, so I didn’t go all out. Basically, I took it pretty conservative for hte first 10 then opened it up. During those last three miles I was running hard, but in a much better spirit than the HMs when I went out hard.
YMMV
Overall I did about 1/2 mile warmup 3x2mi, with slow 2’ rest, and a jog back that was about 1.2 miles… Total distance was 8.03, in 1:03. I felt it was relatively flat, but Motionbased says 823 ft elevation, that’s with the correction on. Didn’t seem that hilly. What was interesting was the head wind for the first 2 intervals; I sort of did a interval out, rest back, interval out, rest back, interval back, jog back…
Anyway. Felt really good overall, though it was more difficult then I had expected. I think I could have done one more set, but figured an hour was enough for today.
0.5 mi warmup slow
1 mi 7:10
1 mi 7:12
0.18 2:00 rest
1 mi 7:20
1 mi 7:19
0.19 2:00 rest
1 mi 7:18
1 mi 7:18
0.15 1:50 rest
1 mi cooldown slow
Based on those interval times, I’d go for 7:25 miles, then see how you are feeling with 3-4 miles to go. Then lay it all out if you have anything in the last 4k.
You’ll be surprised how much faster you can run on race day. The 1/2 distance is scary, because you are holding a fast pace for a quite a long time.
I did a half last year, and one of the workouts I did 3 weeks out was a 10k tempo run. I ran it at 3:43/km (5:56) pace, and I was very tired at the end and wouldn’t have been able to hold that pace much longer. On race day, I ran 3:48/ks (6:14), and I still can’t wrap my head around how that all works. My training partner and I always refer to it as the “race day magic”. If you don’t go out too hard, you’ll be surprised what you can hold. But DON’T GO OUT TOO HARD.
