Forums >Racing>HM Tune-Up Race Two Weeks Before Marathon?
I'm planning on running a marathon this Spring and I've already signed up for a 1/2 marathon on April 4. One of the marathons I'm looking at near me is on April 18. I'm using a Pfitz 18/55 plan that calls for a tune-up race a couple weeks before the marathon but I believe he recommends a 5k or 10k rather than a HM.
Is the HM going to be too close to my actual race? I'm hoping to PR in both my half and full next year but the full is the higher priority.
It's too close, takes at least a week to recover from a half and you need that time to prepare for the full, I would schedule your full at least 1 month after your half. A 5K or a 10k is a good tune up race before your Marathon.
Ive done a half just before a full and had some dead legs at the end full, but I'm not very smart
Good Luck
I'm planning on running a marathon this Spring and I've already signed up for a 1/2 marathon on April 4. One of the marathons I'm looking at near me is on April 18. I'm using a Pfitz 18/55 plan that calls for a tune-up race a couple weeks before the marathon but I believe he recommends a 5k or 10k rather than a HM. Is the HM going to be too close to my actual race? I'm hoping to PR in both my half and full next year but the full is the higher priority.
The half is too close to go all out.. pfitz says to limit yourself to a 10K 2 weeks out. If you have a weak half PR maybe you could still improve your time.
5k- 18:55 (2018) 10K- 39:04 (2017) Marathon- 3:00:10 (2018)
Okay, thanks for the advice. I'll find a marathon sometime in May.
finnegan begin again
There are many wiser and more experienced runners here to follow than me. I ran a half 2 weeks before the marathon as part of a training plan with +/- 40 mpw. I was fresh for my marathon and felt confident in my pacing.
Unfortunately I continued to train too aggressively for a hilly marathon to follow that marathon. I think I did not allow myself to recover properly. It culminated with a bad plantar fascia issue a week before the 2nd marathon. I foolishly ran that marathon anyway. Thus proving to me that you cannot train for a hilly marathon.
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There are many wiser and more experienced runners here to follow than me. I ran a half 2 weeks before the marathon as part of a training plan with +/- 40 mpw. I was fresh for my marathon and felt confident in my pacing. Unfortunately I continued to train too aggressively for a hilly marathon to follow that marathon. I think I did not allow myself to recover properly. It culminated with a bad plantar fascia issue a week before the 2nd marathon. I foolishly ran that marathon anyway. Thus proving to me that you cannot train for a hilly marathon. The best lessons are learned through experience. And the most painful
How did you run your half? HM race pace or take it a little easier knowing you had your full in a couple weeks?
If you run the HM and the Marathon both all-out it's likely too close, you probably wouldn't be recovered for the marathon.
A 5k or 10k 2 weeks out is ideal. A half marathon is probably overdoing it, unless you were to use it as a marathon pace workout and not race it at full half marathon effort.
3,000m: 9:07.7 (Nov-21) | 5,000m: 15:39 (Dec-19) | 10,000m: 32:34 (Mar-20)
10km: 33:15 (Sep-19) | HM: 1:09:41 (May-21)* | FM: 2:41:41 (Oct-20)
* Net downhill course
Last race: Waterfront HM, 7 Apr, 1:15:48
Up next: Runway5, 4 May
"CONSISTENCY IS KING"
It's hard to know for sure. It was certainly beyond a tempo pace. Perhaps I could have squeezed up to 10 sec/mile more. It measures up compared to my other results at the time.
Exactly. And then, why pay HM entry money for a workout?
Mmmm Bop
I think some folk do that because a 13 mile run at MP is easier mentally in a race environment than running it solo?
I raced a half 2 weeks before a full once and it actually worked out very well and ran big PRs in both races. I think the higher your weekly mileage the quicker you’ll recover from races/workouts. Whether you’ll actually gain the fitness benefits from the half is hard to say as it takes about 7/10 days for a medium effort threshold and 10/12 days for a hard effort threshold run. I would guess that a half might take a bit longer than that.
5k - 17:53 (4/19) 10k - 37:53 (11/18) Half - 1:23:18 (4/19) Full - 2:50:43 (4/19)
Problem Child
race day practice. Panic urinating before the start, forgetting a pair of gloves, figuring out how to stay warm at the start, trying a gel strategy, running with a pack instead of solo, get a new shirt and medal, and having a closed course for your workout are a few reasons to run a half marathon for a workout. Just the closed course and race atmosphere can be beneficial. I did a long run with a 10K and 8K race and both of those I ran faster than if I'd just run solo. it wasn't intentional, but it happened.
As for two weeks before a half marathon. No way in hell would I do it as a race. Supported long run only and it would probably be the LAST long run of the cycle.
Many of us aren't sure what the hell point you are trying to make and no matter how we guess, it always seems to be something else. Which usually means a person is doing it on purpose.
VDOT 53.37
5k18:xx | Marathon 2:55:22
No thanks. Don't need to practice panicking or any of that other stuff. People stress too much over this sport ... It's just running! I'll keep my money and do the proper workout in the comfort of my home course.
I guess that is why ElFear is here asking about racing it and you aren't. You have more experience about it.
ElFear if there is a timing mat at half way you could always race the first 10K of the half then shut it down and do a cool down for the second part.
Exactly. A full marathon is completely different to a half and it’s kind of pointless trying out gels because most folk won’t even need them for a half anyway and it’s a LOT more difficult to digest them in the second half of a marathon. Forgetting a pair of gloves??? That’s just forgetfulness.