Was thinking of running a half marathon two weeks before my key Ironman race this year (Arizona). I likely would be running approximately that distance anyway, just not sure if it’s a good idea to race it or stick to the training pace. It’s a pretty easy course (Hamilton, Ontario Road to Hope) with a net downhill. I’m thinking about hitting it at about 85-90%, rather than “all-out” if it was something I was really focusing on.
Bad or good idea?
First, I’ll tell you what you want to hear:
“Sure, run the half at 85-90% - no problem. You’re going to be fit enough for an IRONMAN. No big deal at all. Just keep it under control. You probably have a 13 mile training run anyways. It’s all downhill, easy peasy.”
Now, I’ll tell you the truth.
“It’s a dumb idea. The potential for injury is high, the potential for going too hard is high, residual fatigue will probably stick around until the Ironman marathon. Like doing an Ironman isn’t already hard enough, let’s do something stupid beforehand to make it even tougher.”
I ran as a pacer for a pretty flat half marathon in Vancouver two weeks before Ironman Canada at a pace about 20 minutes slower than my half marathon race time. Had a great Ironman with a sub 4 marathon. Just stay way back on the throttle and treat is as your last LSD and I think you’ll be fine. Like Nick said, I think 85-90% may be a little aggressive, the risk associated with injury are just too high, the probability may be low, but the consequences are pretty severe.
If you’re not gonna race the distance then why run it at all? Might as well run the same distance in a training where you’re less likely to overreach or feel tempted to go faster or get a PB or whatever it is you think you will get out of it. What is your reason for wanting to run the HM?
A friend is likely wanting to run it, so I thought I’d tag along for the ride and enjoy the race experience, rather than slug out the run on my own. I’ve totally told myself that I wouldn’t run it at the pace I could if I was treating it as an actual goal race.
All good points here that I will consider. Thanks.
If you’re questioning whether or not it’s a good idea, then it’s almost certainly the latter.
Racing is racing. Running at 85% of your race potential is - in most cases - not racing.
Race the race = a bad idea
Run the race = not a bad idea (but is there value in the race that you won’t get out of a solo run?)
85% of a half is what? A little faster than marathon pace? A 13mile MP race will leave me tired/in a hole for a couple days. Not an easy day by any measure. 2 weeks isn’t a lot of time to fully recover from that while tapering
What could you gain from running the half marathon ? If there are no benefits to running the half, bag it. There are too many opportunities to ruin your Ironman.