Forums >Racing>Goal of sub 1:40 half.
I think there is a tendency to run too fast on easy runs, and an ethic that intervals and tempo runs should be an all-out effort.
I have only been running three years, so my opinions are based largely on what I have read and discussions with people who have more experience than I; I am not pretending to have figured this out by myself!
PBs since age 60: 5k- 24:36, 10k - 47:17. Half Marathon- 1:42:41.
10 miles (unofficial) 1:16:44.
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Suspect Zero
6 miles tonight in 42:43. Average pace 7:07.
I had a goal to get out fast since I am only running every other day for the last 10 days or so.
I feel like I have a lot of running to get out of my system.
Mile splits
6:58, 7:16, 7:12, 7:09, 7:15, 6:53
This run helped me with my concentration of holding a pace that seemed tough,
I just needed to relax and trust that I had plenty of endurance to do this.
Once I hit 4.5 miles I realized my goal was going to be all sub 7:20 miles (I did 6 miles all 7:30 last week).
This run really took something out of me though, Time to run more easy stuff again.
Hi guys ... Sorry been a little low key lately with some crazy weeks of travels, etc.
Ended up august with highest milage month to date (173) despite two subpar weeks the last two weeks of August. Should knock 200 - 225 out in September. I guess needed a little break and august was a slow month and had not really had a quality run outside of races in quite a while.
Tuesday night went out and ran a 5 miler at a pretty good pace (8:43) and felt really easy, Yesterday morning had a planned 11 miler and figured legs may a little fatigued after running 12 hours earlier. Wanted to shoot for 9:00 - 9:15, but went out at 8:45 pace and felt good. This run is on a canal towpath with a steady 1 - 2 percent grade and usually run slightly uphill the first half and then downhill, this run reversed and was going downslope the first half.
Continued with miles of 8:43; 8:33; 8:40; 8:49; 8:47; 8:43 (turn around @ 5.5 miles); Figured pace would drop above 9:00 on way back but heald steady at 8:49; 8:51; 8:51; decided to kick it up last 2 miles as spotted another lone runner up about 1/3 - 1/2 mile that I could see on the straight aways ... target was to pass him by the end; 8:38; last mile 8:22 and passed him with about 1/2 mile to go and was hitting 8:05 pace when I went by him.
Overall looking back the pace and vo2max equivilent was better than my spring distance races between 15K/10 mile/half. I felt strong at the end and could have gone further and/or faster if I had tried, With 10 days till my "target Half" (real target is 10/18 marathon, but this should be fastest half as 2nd in akron is only 3 weeks before marathon), this makes me feel good about the race.
Still not 100% confident of sub 1:40; but may plan on 7:45 pace the first 6 miles then drop it down to 7:30 the second half. If 7:30 does not feel like happening will be OK going back to 7:45 pace and still destroy my 1:55 PR and year over year time of 2:05. Should probably get 1:42/43 and if all goes well and good weather conditions think can make a run at it.
"It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard... is what makes it Great!
Sounds like a good plan Buckeye.
The worst case scenario would be to go out too fast and run out of steam with 6 miles or so to go in the race thus blowing your race time out of the water.
I am a little bit faster than you so I want to beat 1:40 no matter what. That is 7:38 pace and I know I can handle that pace for 13 miles IF I don't get off to TOO FAST a start. But in the back of my mind I am also thinking but I need to get out somewhat good because just maybe I can break 1:36. So its the voices in my head trying to figure on what pace will be right. I can run a 5k and know the paces that I should run but for 13 miles this is uncharted waters.
Bronze goal.... break 1:40. I think I have a 95% chance to do this. 7:38 per mile.
Silver goal.... break 1:38:25 (don't know if this is exact time) but this goal would be to beat 7:30 per mile pace.
I would say I have about 75% chance to beat this goal.
Gold goal...beat 1:37. I would say 50/50 odds of this since it is my 1st race I will be somewhat conservative.
Could I beat 1:36 or even 1:35? Yes but I don't want to put those ideas in my head or I may start too fast. So my 3 goals are listed above and will keep track of my paces after each successive mile to see how I am doing with regard to these paces.
Goal setting can be tricky. You're running strong and training well, hard to put the pie in the sky numbers out of your skull. Running hard, right on the edge, fatigued and tired, hard not to get discouraged becasue your legs are toasted.
Ran just under 14 this morning with 6 x 1 mile, just a few seconds off goal pace - averaged right about 7:40.
Goal setting can be tricky. You're running strong and training well, hard to put the pie in the sky numbers out of your skull. Running hard, right on the edge, fatigued and tired, hard not to get discouraged becasue your legs are toasted. Ran just under 14 this morning with 6 x 1 mile, just a few seconds off goal pace - averaged right about 7:40.
These work outs are making you strong! You will race quite well.
Sounds like a good plan Buckeye. The worst case scenario would be to go out too fast and run out of steam with 6 miles or so to go in the race thus blowing your race time out of the water. I am a little bit faster than you so I want to beat 1:40 no matter what. That is 7:38 pace and I know I can handle that pace for 13 miles IF I don't get off to TOO FAST a start. But in the back of my mind I am also thinking but I need to get out somewhat good because just maybe I can break 1:36. So its the voices in my head trying to figure on what pace will be right. I can run a 5k and know the paces that I should run but for 13 miles this is uncharted waters. Bronze goal.... break 1:40. I think I have a 95% chance to do this. 7:38 per mile. Silver goal.... break 1:38:25 (don't know if this is exact time) but this goal would be to beat 7:30 per mile pace. I would say I have about 75% chance to beat this goal. Gold goal...beat 1:37. I would say 50/50 odds of this since it is my 1st race I will be somewhat conservative. Could I beat 1:36 or even 1:35? Yes but I don't want to put those ideas in my head or I may start too fast. So my 3 goals are listed above and will keep track of my paces after each successive mile to see how I am doing with regard to these paces.
Based on your 6 mile tempo run the other day, I say your odds are 95% to break 1:38 and 80% to break 1:37 and 50/50 to break 1:36.
I agree with Tchuck that your chances of reaching those goals are better than you think. I was in a very similar position time-wise to you when I did my first half marathon, almost 3 years ago, in 1:36:00. It would actually be another couple of months before I got a sub-20 5k. A month earlier I did a 12k race at exactly 7 pace and a week before that a 10k at 7:03 pace.
Instead of picking a precise pace to target I would just try to hit a comfortable pace in the first few miles that you feel you can keep up for 13 miles. If this is 7:20, 7:30, 7:35, whatever, then just go with it for a few miles and reassess then. I would, however, decide on what pace is simply not feasible, so that no matter how good you feel on the day, you ease up a bit if your first few miles are at that pace (or faster!). I say this because I ran 1:36 in about the worst way possible - by going out too fast (first 3 miles at 7:03, 7:00, 7:06) and then struggling hard to hold a dying pace at the end (last 3 miles at. 7:37, 7:29, 7:30). I'm sure I could have gone at least a minute faster with more sensible pacing and had a MUCH more pleasant race experience. Ah well, I learned a valuable lesson.
Was your 6 mile run at 7:07 pace closer to a tempo pace effort or a full out time trial effort?
John
I have never raced anything but a 5k so its hard to tell. That and my weekly mileage has been in the upper 20s the past couple weeks....and lower 30s for most of August...so I have let off on the miles in the past month. SO I guess it is fear of the unknown that will make me a wee bit conservative in the opening miles of my half marathon but I like hearing others confidence in my training paces.
I agree with Tchuck that your chances of reaching those goals are better than you think. I was in a very similar position time-wise to you when I did my first half marathon, almost 3 years ago, in 1:36:00. It would actually be another couple of months before I got a sub-20 5k. A month earlier I did a 12k race at exactly 7 pace and a week before that a 10k at 7:03 pace. Instead of picking a precise pace to target I would just try to hit a comfortable pace in the first few miles that you feel you can keep up for 13 miles. If this is 7:20, 7:30, 7:35, whatever, then just go with it for a few miles and reassess then. I would, however, decide on what pace is simply not feasible, so that no matter how good you feel on the day, you ease up a bit if your first few miles are at that pace (or faster!). I say this because I ran 1:36 in about the worst way possible - by going out too fast (first 3 miles at 7:03, 7:00, 7:06) and then struggling hard to hold a dying pace at the end (last 3 miles at. 7:37, 7:29, 7:30). I'm sure I could have gone at least a minute faster with more sensible pacing and had a MUCH more pleasant race experience. Ah well, I learned a valuable lesson. Was your 6 mile run at 7:07 pace closer to a tempo pace effort or a full out time trial effort? John
Were you running around 28 mpw when you ran a 1:36? I only know long distance paces from training so a race may make running faster seem easier but I think 7:10 would be the fastest pace I could handle so I will try to start out in the 7:20-7:29 range.
My 6 mile run was run a little faster than tempo pace but would have been easier had I not run the 1st mile in 6:58 and last mile in 6:54. My 6 mile tempo pace is probably around 7:15. Hmm so that probably is pretty close to my half marathon pace right? I will try to run more miles the next 2 weeks then a small taper the week of the half marathon just to keep me from getting tired perhaps. You see I have no idea how to train for this.
Probably a bit less. I didn't start recording everything until a few months later and my mileage then was ~30mpw so I'd guess I was doing ~25mpw before the half. This really isn't enough (as I discovered) but you've been running for a while and you've got a few longer runs in there so you can probably run a decent half, although you won't maximize your potential at that distance without some more consistent mileage.
I think aiming for the 7:20 - 7:29 range is reasonable but I'd concentrate on finding a good paced effort rather than running by the watch. I'd mainly use the watch to hold yourself back if the first few miles are unrealistically fast - decide what 'unrealistically fast' is ahead of time and do NOT change on the day because you feel great over the first 3 miles at 7:05 pace! You can also use the talk test - in the first few miles you should not be running so fast that you couldn't chat with your fellow runners.
Well the race was this weekend and...
I got it!
Gun Time : 1;39:37
Chip Time: 1:39:30
Before the race I would have given myself a 50-50 chance. Training had gone well over the summer, even with vacations etc.. but this being my first half really didn't have an idea of what to expect.
Short race report:
There was only about 300 people running the half so I lined up in about the 6th row, but people kept trying to inch their way forward at the start. I knew I wanted to start conservative or on pace so I let them inch ahead. When the gun went off a bunch of people just shot ahead. I realize this is a common thing and I've noticed it at every race I've been at but I still can't get over it, it just cracks me up. I love to pick out a couple of people who pass me that I think don't have a hope of maintaining that pace and look forward to catching them later. Usually it happens sooner than later.
First 5k went along without incident, just cruising along feeling like this was just an easy training run. At the 6k point i caught up to a big pack of people that were creating a bit of a road block so i just cruised along with them for a while but soon felt like they were slowing me down. Checked the watch and sure enough the pack was going a bit slower than my goal pace. Didn't feel like blowing alot of energy bursting past them so very slowly just inched up through the pack over the next 1.5k until I was at the front and soon running by myself.
Next 10k or so I was just trying to stay close to these 2 guys I could see ahead of me, they were running about my pace and I just tried to keep them close. Around the 16k point I was realizing that I was going to do this, I was going to beat 1:40. I was feeling great and thought that maybe I should have gone out faster. Then at the 17k point I was glad I hadn't gone out any faster. Things got a whole lot harder from here on out. It just required alot more focus and effort to keep on pace, but hey I hung tough and managed to pull it out. Needless to say I am thrilled with the result. When I joined this thread I really thought 1:45 was what I would end up running but I got inspired and thought why not 1:40 and here we are.
The Aftermath:
So the mesh on top of the left shoe is supposed to be white right?
My fourth toe had been digging into my 3rd toe the entire race and filling my sock/shoe with blood. I had no idea this was happening until I went to the washroom after and happened to catch a glance of my shoe.