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First half Marathon Next week, what pace to expect (Read 712 times)

    I have my first half marathon coming up next Saturday and this one has Galloway pace groups for 9, 10, 11 and 12 min paces. Although I dont plan to walk, should I try to go with the 9 min group or should I just run my own pace. My longest race to date is a 10 miler last November, which was fairly hilly and I finished in 1:37:00 which is about 9:45 pace. I have been running a bit more weekly mileage since then, and think I can hold a 9 min pace if weather cooperates. You can see from my log that most of my training on the road is at 10-11 min/mile paces. I run most of my long runs on the trails and that kind of worries me. I just did a 11 mile long run on the road and feel fine. Any suggestions as to the pace I should shoot for is appreciated.


    The Greatest of All Time

      Your 5K PR pace was 9:09, and that was less than a year ago. I think shooting for 9:00's in a HM at this point might be reaching a bit. That's just my observation by looking at your log. I can't tell you what pace to run. I am sure others will though. If this your first crack at a HM I would be conservative and start a slower than 9:00 and if you feel really good after the first 4 or 5 miles, kick it up a notch or two and see what happens. Just my $.02. Good luck! Have a great race.
      all you touch and all you see, is all your life will ever be

      Obesity is a disease. Yes, a disease where nothing tastes bad...except salads.
      Mr Inertia


      Suspect Zero

        If you recently raced a 10 miler at 9:45 a 9:00 HM is almost certainly too aggressive. Plugging your numbers into a pace calculator shows that a 1:37:00 ten miler should net you about 9:50 for a half marathon (2:08:XX). If you've trained consistently and are ready for this distance, you could most likely do a bit better than that. I would try to start around a 9:50 pace, perhaps a touch slower. Evaluate at the half way point and see if you're ok to pick up the pace to a 9:45 or. When you've got 3 miles to go, take a final evaluation and see if you can pick up the pace just a tiny bit more. As a heads up, overdoing it in a long race can be pretty disasterous. It is much better to start out a bit conservatively, pick it up a little late in the race and cross the finish line with a bit left in your tank than it is to start off too fast and feel like you've been hit by a car by mile 8. Ask me how I know.


        Hawt and sexy

          If the long run you are speaking uf was the one at 9:55 mm pace, then it really depends on how that run felt. If it was truly an easy run, then yes, you have a chance at a 9 mm pace come race day. If you could not have done the same workout over again after the run was done, then a 9 mm pace is too aggressive. Now upping mileage after a race that was 5 months ago can help a lot, I have proof of that in my log back a year ago. Meh, you will find out.

          I'm touching your pants.

          RUNR4LU


            go out with the 10 minute pace team and hang with them for 1/2 or 3/4 of it. then try to beat them to the finish line.
            Kimmie


              I wouldn't line up with the Galloway group unless you plan to walk. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but if they are trying to average 9 min. miles, then the run section would be a bit faster to make up for the walking. Plus, if you start out with them and they all start to walk after however many minutes, what are you going to do? Keep running? You might as well run your own race. I agree with the others that starting out easy is the way to go. You can always speed up if you feel good. I've run races both ways and it's much better to be passing people at the end.
                Thanks all for your thoughtful suggestions. To be honest that 9:00 min pace was just wishful thinking, as I was able to hold an under 9 min pace for a couple of miles in some of my workouts. But as Willamona suggests, I dont think my 9:55 pace yesterday was not all that easy, I could have run maybe another 3-4 miles at that pace but not cetainly turn around and do it again. Now any suggestions for my RA handle if I finish my Half Marathon. This was a goal when I started running a couple of years ago. Yes I take my time getting somewhere Smile
                  I wouldn't line up with the Galloway group unless you plan to walk. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but if they are trying to average 9 min. miles, then the run section would be a bit faster to make up for the walking. Plus, if you start out with them and they all start to walk after however many minutes, what are you going to do? Keep running? You might as well run your own race. I agree with the others that starting out easy is the way to go. You can always speed up if you feel good. I've run races both ways and it's much better to be passing people at the end.
                  I was thinking of starting out with the pace group and I usually walk through the water stops so if they take a similar break then I figured I'll just let them catch up, but thinking about it feels a bit silly to slow down for them to catch up and the speed up to their pace. I probably wil just run my pace and keep the 10:00 min group in sight until mile 7 and then see what I can do. My problem in all my earlier races is I feel I am too conservative and usually pass people in the end, which is why I wanted to go with a faster pace group, but maybe on my next race.
                    Now any suggestions for my RA handle if I finish my Half Marathon. This was a goal when I started running a couple of years ago. Yes I take my time getting somewhere Smile
                    Hope is always good, stay hopeful. Mhopeful has a nice ring to it. Good luck with your race, I'm looking forward to your report (don't forget you get bonus points for pics.)

                    E.J.
                    Greater Lowell Road Runners
                    Cry havoc and let slip the dawgs of war!

                    May the road rise to meet you, may the wind be always at your back, may the sun shine warm upon your SPF30, may the rains fall soft upon your sweat-wicking hat, and until you hit the finish line may The Flying Spaghetti Monster hold you in the hollow of His Noodly Appendage.

                      How did you feel after 21kms of your recent 26km training run? You can probably judge your pace from that. I would plan to arrive at the 10 mile mark (16kms) in 100 minutes, and see how you feel at that point compared with your previous long runs. I would not decide at 7 miles; I think that is too early, you will almost certainly feel great at 7, if not there's a problem! Simon.

                      PBs since age 60:  5k- 24:36, 10k - 47:17. Half Marathon- 1:42:41.

                                                          10 miles (unofficial) 1:16:44.

                       

                        Simon, That 26 KM run was on a trail where I walked 1-2 min every 10 min on the hills, so cannot really judge by that. I think I could have run another 2-3 KM after the run if needed, but as you can see the pace of that run was 12:30/mile (is it 7:50 /KM?), while I hope to run the Half at under 10:00 min/mile pace. I wish I had done a 8 -10K race recently to get a better idea of the paces I can hold, but I'd rather run the trails on Sat/Sun than run a race Smile. I am actually more nervous about this than the first ever race I ran 2 years ago which was a 10 miler and I had no idea what I was getting myself into and had only been running regularly for 2 months before that.
                          The fastest pace I see in your training log is 10:00 min/mile. I would suggest starting there and running slightly negative splits (1%-2%). You could handle 9:00 min/mile for a while but would slow as the race progressed, exactly the opposite of how you should run it. Tom
                          JakeKnight


                            If I were you, I'd pay attention to your watch for the first 3-4 miles just in order to avoid heading out too fast. Pick a pace - maybe 9:30 or 9:45 - and don't go faster. Then I'd hand the watch to somebody, ignore the time, and run as fast as you can comfortably run. At whatever pace feels tough but maintainable. Or maybe skip the watch altogether and do that for the whole race. It's your first. The only real way to find out what pace you can maintain is to go do it. And the only reason I'd watch the clock is so you don't get too ambitious too early. If you don't stick with Galloway in training, I wouldn't run with the groups. I personally like most of Galloway's ideas, but I find that just walking through water stops is more than enough walk breaks. I don't think there's any need to stick to some strict pre-arranged run/walk schedule, even if you do that in training. As long as you don't go out too hard and don't worry too much about some pre-selected pace, I'll bet you run much faster than you think. Others will disagree and your mileage may vary. Just my pair of rubles.

                            E-mail: eric.fuller.mail@gmail.com
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