HM expectation (Read 487 times)

Hey guys, I PRed at the Virginia Beach Rock and Roll half last September(1:49:14, 8:21 pace) -- while I was training for Marine Corps. I feel like I am faster now - because I'm doing more speedwork, have been running faster overall, etc. - but I am currently running about 30 miles/ week as opposed to the 40-45 miles/ week I was doing when I ran VA Beach last September. I have a HM in two weeks and I'm wondering what kind of pace I should shoot for during the HM in a couple of weeks. The course is pretty flat (similar to VA Beach) ... it will certainly be much colder (it was 75* during VA B each), and I feel like I'm faster ... but my mileage is not what it was last September and I haven't done any long run longer than 12-13 miles (I was doing 15-20 mile long runs during MCM training). Thoughts? Thanks! Trish

I didn't want to read and ignore your post yanno, I did a great hm right after the RnR last summer and when I did another half in Nov, I just sorta aimed to finish, considering my mileage was really down but more importantly, my mind wasn't in training mode. I picked up the training bug again in Jan, the mindset more than the miles, and PR'd at the Carlsbad Half in Jan. So, my short answer is, pick a time and aim for it! At Carlsbad, I actually set my garmin on a virtual trainer, for the first time (I know, nothing new on race day!), at a totally out there pace for me and I beat my predicted finish by over 2 minutes! My training mileage in the weeks preceding were bare minimum. How do you race? I know some people have a hard time with races and don't do better than training, I typically do better than I expect. I think I feed off the energy there. You sound like your mind is where it needs to be to PR, so I say go for it! Run hard.