Forums >Racing>Shake down run the day before half marathon.
Okay, I have a half marathon race tomorrow at 9:00 am. I've always gone by the thinking that if you are going to miss a run leading up to a race that it should be 2 days before the race, but I always try to get in a 2 or 3 mile run the day before the race.
I usually try to get in that run around 24 hours before the race, but today I'm going not going to be able to get it in until 8 or 9 pm.
Do I just skip the run today or do I go ahead and get it in around 12 hours before the race?
I doubt it would make much difference one way or the other and my training leaning up to this race has been spotty anyway with a lot of time missed hunting. I wasn't going to really focus on this race, but I seem to have made a breakthrough lately with my pace on my easy runs and I think I'm going to try to shoot for a PR tomorrow.
Just thought I would ask to see if anyone has thoughts on this one way or the other.
Thanks, Nathan
Age: 50 Weight: 224 Height: 6'3" (Goal weight 195)
Current PR's: Mara 3:14:36* (2017); HM 1:36:13 (2017); 10K 43:59 (2014); 5K 21:12 (2016)
an amazing likeness
I wouldn't skip a short jog just because it's less than 24 hours to your race. However, I'll assume you can't get to it earlier in the day due to other obligations...if those other obligations leave you tired, you might be better to be off your feet chillin'.
Personally, I do better with some miles the day before a half rather....but probably not that late in the day...I'd set aside a bit more time for warmup and skip the 8PM.
Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.
My other obligations today have me pretty much sitting on my butt all day long. I may need the shake down run tonight just to get the kinks out from sitting all day.
Walk-Jogger
I prefer to do my pre-race run in the morning, the day before a big race. But once I had to do it late in the afternoon the day before a big morning race. I always do a total of 2 miles the day before a race, and I like to do 1 slow easy warm-up mile, and then do 2x800 at about 5k pace. In the particular case I'm remembering I think I did 8x200m after the warm-up mile, but I don't recommend that. In my case it worked out well, but for anyone not doing a lot of 200m training it might be counter-productive. 1x1600 slow, 2x800 @ 5k pace or slower is what I would do in your case. Not enough to tire you out, but enough to get your blood pumping and leave you ready to run again the next morning. Make sure you get plenty of sleep the night BEFORE this, because you may not sleep well the night before the race. My $.02.
Retired & Loving It
A short jog with a couple accelerations could quite possibly put a little snap in your laps for tomorrow morning. I do this frequently and I think it helps for the next morning.
Thanks for the replies.
I do late evening runs a couple times a week so I am used to running late and then getting a good nights sleep. I usually just do 2 or 3 easy miles the day before a race, I throw some strides in if it is a shorter race, but for half marathons I usually just keep it easy. With the race at 9:00 tomorrow that gives me some extra time as well.
I'm leaning toward just a couple miles easy right now if I can get it in at least 12 hours before the race.
Yeah, that's what I would do if I couldn't run until the evening/night the day before a morning race.
I got home late and didn't get a chance to get my run in last night so I guess we'll see if it makes a difference.
Good luck with your race!
So did you wallow through the half okay?
Ended up going out too fast and paid for it in the end. Don't think whether I got a shake down run in would have made much difference one way or the other.
Had told myself I needed to go out at a 7:45 pace and through 6 miles I was averaging 7:30 but at that time I still thought I could keep it up. Slowed down a little but still well on pace to have a solid PR though mile 11 when the wheels came off. Ended up 1:44:21, almost a minute slower than last year.
Oh well, I learned that even if you are feeling good, it's a lot smarter to run slower at the start and then pick it up at the end instead of the other way around.
Wind was pretty bad this year too compared to last year, but that's just an excuse. Poor execution on my part, I really felt great at the start and thought I was going to smoke it.
The wallow got me in the end. I thought the north wind wouldn't be bad the way the course is laid out, but it turned NNE and that put several exposed stretches of the course going right into the teeth of the wind. The last big downhill didn't feel great either.
I'm assuming you intended your play on words. Have you ever run it?
The wallow got me in the end. I thought the north wind wouldn't be bad the way the course is laid out, but it turned NNE and that put several exposed stretches of the course going right into the teeth of the wind. The last big downhill didn't feel great either. I'm assuming you intended your play on words. Have you ever run it?
Yes. No, I don't think that race existed when I lived there. I moved away at the end of 1993 and haven't been back to visit since 2001. I miss living there. I love the climate, and I like brown.