In my 2nd half mary I went 1:27:XX on crappy pacing (i.e. sub-optimal run) on ~45km run weeks. Still in the process of kicking up volume gradually in all disciplines (2011 was my 2nd year in endurance sports) and I’m remaining injury free (touch wood), and training with consistency. Will do another Half Mary in May and I’ll trying to go sub 1:26
Looking to go long course in the next few years (early 2013 I’m hoping to have a crack at my hometown long course race which is 2km-83km-20km) and I’m wondering (because it’s a good way to avoid studying), how much more mileage or specific training hours, if any, will I need to be putting in on my run in order to be able to knock off, say, a <1:35 run split in a HIM?
I did a half marathon in May in 1:25. A run in a HIM at the end of June was 1:32. I was doing around 45 mpw, but had been sidetracked with an achilles injury over the winter and didn’t run in January or February. I’d say you should be 5-10 minutes slower in the HIM. I’m shooting to go under 1:30 this year on the run in a HIM.
I was hoping for :20/mile slower and ended fading in the second half of my HIM. Ended up 7 minutes slower total.
I have similar low run mileage to you. Also my HM PB is 1:27:xx. My best HIM run was 1:41:xx.
I chalk that up to low run volume. I’m hoping a base more like 40 miles/week instead of 40 km/week will help that time out.
If you have solid swim and bike fitness and pace both of those events and if the courses are similar between you half marathon and half IM, then half marathon + 5 minutes is achieveable.
Dev,
Swim fitness is coming along (from drowning to 25:xx 1500m split in last Oly race in a period of ~18months). Shooting for ~10k per week in the water plus working with a coach re: technique atm. Hoping to be a consistent 23:xx swimmer for 2012 - ambitious, but we’ll see how it goes. Bike fitness is where I can improve the most (did a 1:12:xx in last Oly, off which I ran 37:5X) and I chalk this up to not putting the respective miles and key sessions I need to. Addressing this now so looking to see some gains in my bike splits in 2012 and beyond. I think when stepping up the distances, the bike is where I’ll need to be putting in more in respect to what I have been doing.
Thanks for the input everyone, it appears for most of us in this range we can expect a ~5-10min slower HIM run on dilligent training and good pacing. This answers my question, cheers.
If I can put down these Trader Joes Chocalte covered potato chips I might be able to do that ;0)
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If you have solid swim and bike fitness and pace both of those events and if the courses are similar between you half marathon and half IM, then half marathon + 5 minutes is achieveable.
ya i was gonna say something like this. you probably dont need to run as much since you wont lose your running base fitness and the swimming/biking will help out. if the courses are similar ya you can do somewhere around +5-7 min.
If I can put down these Trader Joes Chocalte covered potato chips I might be able to do that ;0)
Chocolate covered what?? OMG… The closest TJ’s is 2 hours. Might have to do a road trip!
I ran 9.5 today and burned 1200 calories according to my rcx5. Just ate the whole bag and consumed 1000. Why can’t I lose more wait again?
I have a PB of 1:20 HM and a 1:21 HIM run (4 weeks later), basically the same pace but I believe I may have not pushed enough on the bike, though.
IMO the better the base you have the lower the gap will be between your HM and your HIM run, if you want to get close to your running abilities in an HIM run, you have to put in a lot of mileage.
Have fun in the process though as it can be tough 
If you run 1:26 half, then you should be able to run 1:35 in a HIM. Your current volume isn’t bad, but I would recommend a minimum of 50k/week during your base. Build up your long run so that 3-4 weeks before HIM race, you do an 18mile run with the last 8 at HIM pace (or faster) . Make sure you’re doing one interval workout a week, one tempo / week and one long run per week for at least 2 months before you begin to taper for your race. It isn’t so much about volume, but about quality workouts.
In my 2nd half mary I went 1:27:XX on crappy pacing (i.e. sub-optimal run) on ~45km run weeks. Still in the process of kicking up volume gradually in all disciplines (2011 was my 2nd year in endurance sports) and I’m remaining injury free (touch wood), and training with consistency. Will do another Half Mary in May and I’ll trying to go sub 1:26
1:27 on “crappy pacing” and in six months (assuming it was recent) you’re only aiming to go sub 1:26 on six months more training? There should be more improvement in you than that even if you only get the pacing right. No point talking about your HIM run split until you are close enough to the event (two years?) to have some idea of what you’re capable of.
I agree.
I suppose the nature of the OP was to get a bit of a yardstick for the differences between an open half mary vs one at the tail end of a HIM.
Once you get to the run leg of a HIM so much depends on whether you manage to avoid crumbling in the later stages, based on pacing the bike, nutrition, weather, etc. If all goes well you could be within a few minutes of your standalone HM time, but if things go wrong you could lose a lot of time.
I ran a 1:37 HIM split in August, and then a 1:24 standalone HM a few weeks later. I had built to a consistent 40+ mpw, and was in good shape for the run. My time differential was larger than it should have been if all went well, and I was feeling great for the first half of the run. Reasons: (i) although I didn’t entirely crash, the second half of the HIM run was a real struggle, so I lost a few minutes; (ii) I had no experience of running that far after biking; (iii) HIM run legs tend to happen late morning on hot summer days; HM runs tend to happen earlier in the day on fine spring/fall mornings – don’t underestimate that.
That makes more sense. In that case I think 10% variation is not an unreasonable expectation if the previous two legs are well executed and the fitness is there.
Open half marathon PR 1:29:50
Half Ironman run splits 6 and 8 weeks later:
1:30:10
1:27:40
You don’t have to go any slower off the bike, just learn to ride and loose your ego about the bike split.
I ran an open half at 1:27:04 on a cold windy course in may then ran a HIM in 1:31 in June, 1:32 in July, 1:26:40 in August then 1:35 in September. I think my open time can be dropped a few minutes but I also felt good during the 1:26 HIM run and I PRed the bike too. I did a lot of brick runs so maybe that helped.
It may have been said elsewhere, but don’t forget the time you begin the start to run as a factor in the time and effort it takes to complete the 13.1 miles. A normal half marathon starts early, 6:30AM for my next race on November 27th, but may not start until 9 or 10AM in a HIM. The temperature could be as much as 10 degrees warmer for the run on the HIM compared to a 1/2 marathon, which would have an impact on how fast you complete the run. Maybe not too much of an impact if you have trained for the difference, but it could be significant in cases like the Ironman Augusta race where the temps were approaching 85-90 degrees when the run legs were beginning for many racers.