Goal Time for Upcoming Half Marathon (Read 791 times)

I don't really have much in terms of advice for you, but I can say that hills make a *huge* difference. As an example, my recent 2 mile best is 11:31, which I ran way back in Feb on a flat track. I hadn't raced the 2 mile again since that point until yesterday, but that was on a hilly outdoor course, and at the same level of effort my final time was somewhere around 12:48... the official results still have yet to be posted, but the big race clock at the finish line was somewhere between 12:47 and 12:49 when I crossed. Good luck!

Good - you finished strong in your last half marathon, meaning you probably left time on the course Bad - you've forgotten to do your weekly 10 mile runs since then! (saw your log) Good - you should still have some residual fitness from your last HM Bad - your mileage is definitely on the low side Good - your next HM is flatter Bad - your jacket-taking-off abilities are awful...just awful! Good - maybe it will be warmer this Sunday and you won't need a jacket I say you have an excellent chance of breaking 1:50. Take the first mile out at no faster than 8:30 and then keep cruising from there. The first 3-4 should feel kind of easy, but not totally easy, if that makes any sense. At mile 7 or 8 it may start to get harder. This is where your mental toughness is really important. Do not allow yourself to slow down! Tell yourself the discomfort is normal for anyone trying to get a new PR in the half. Good luck!

Running negative splits is the way to run your best race but they are normally only a couple percent at most. Your last leg was a full 10% faster than your first which means you can afford to start out faster than a 9:00 min/mile pace. To make your 1:50 goal you'll need to average 8:24 min/mile. Try starting out at around 8:34 and finish up at around 8:15 min/mile, that will give you a good shot at your goal time. Tom

Oh man! That was awesome. My time: 1:51:25 I am very happy with that. I wanted to get there with enough time to warmup but because of the massive downpour, cars kept getting stuck in the mud on the way into the parking lot, so that took awhile. So, I just shot out of the gate. I won't bore you with too many details, but I did not run a negative split on this one. I tried to be fast but still conservative, but my first mile was around 8 min. I didn't slow down too much the second half but I was definitely struggling to maintain. There were a few more hills than I thought there would be. The first half is actually all uphill but it's slight- than, of course, you get the slight downhill on the way back. So, all in all, it was a fun race.... cold, hard, driving rain and all. Thanks for your help here. It just makes me want to keep trying more and more races in order to get it "right"

Hey Kimmie, I told you that 1:50 was unrealisitc Seriously--your race was huge. I just couldn't see how you were going to do it so soon after your last and on such low mileage, but you came close enough to leave no doubt that it was not unrealstic. If you can find the time to fit some more miles in you can be improving a whole lot more too. I don't think 1:50 is anywhere near your potential either, but it will be hard to realize it without running more. Nudge, nudge, nudge. Congratualtions on a nice run