I figure if I put all my annoying questions and random babbling in one place then (a) I'll know where to find it and (b) it won't overrun the monthly threads etc.
My recent fastest 1/2 marathon time (my whopping 2 second PR in Montreal in April) is 2:47:28. Or a 7:56-7:57 min/km (uhm 12:45 min/miles?)
Is it realistic to try and cut that by almost a min/km by September 28? i.e. to run a 2:30 half?
Other useful info:
My highest weight this year was about 225 pounds (Uhm I'm pretty sure I weighed about that in Montreal). As of this morning I weigh 208.5 pounds
I will have 17 weeks to train starting June 1, 2013. Hog4life sent me the Ryan Hill plan and I have the Higdon plan too. I was going to combine both of those and double up a few weeks at the beginning. Oh yea, that's probably the biggest thing. I am still running 10:1s (which I recognize is my safety blanket) so I'm spending the first few weeks of training not doing any speed/hill stuff but just getting myself to run longer without walk breaks.
First or last...it's the same finish line
HF #4362
Redleaf you can do a lot in that time.
My personal experience has been that the early gains are the easiest to make and that my rate of improvement slows down as time goes by.
Thus your pace should improve a lot over the time you have to train, but if you had twice as long the additional improvement would be quite small (at least if you are like me!)
I think the same will be true of your weight loss.
PBs since age 60: 5k- 24:36, 10k - 47:17. Half Marathon- 1:42:41.
10 miles (unofficial) 1:16:44.
Thanks Simon!
Another question - when a plan says (for example) to run intervals at "10 k speed" I am assuming I want to try and work up to running them at the pace I want to be at right? Not my current 10k speed.
So while I likely cannot do them at that speed now, I want to work up to it. Does that make sense?
(although my current 10k PR is better than the predictor says it would be based on my half marathon PR time).
Hi Red,
I thought I would chime in, just ran 2:30:00 in Halifax on Sunday - so 11:28m/m (I'm not good at kilometres!)
Firstly, all of the pace bunnies in our race over 2 hours were 10:1 run: walk, its very popular here. So that strategy is fine. I did some of my long runs that way, but I tried my best to run through every run 1 hour or less.
Secondly, practicing the long run is the most important element after building up meekly mileage.
also, i would use your current race time as a guide for other pace rates.
hope that helps, A
Recalculating...
Which distance/time did you put into the calculator? IMO, I think you could get to 2:30, it will take some work though.
I think it is safer from an injury point of view to use your current 10k pace as the basis for the training programme.
You might also run a 1k or 1 mile time trial and record the time. In 4 weeks run it again under similar conditions, that is on the same stretch of road and not the day after your long run, and you can see the progress you have made. This also allows you to adjust your training paces as your fitness improves.
I agree with Simon, use your current HM pace as a guide for the 10k pace running in the Hall plan. If it feels easy after 4 weeks or so reduce slightly.
Thanks everyone.
I used the McMillan calculator (it's really the only one I know). I put in 2:47:28 for my current half marathon time and the 10k time it gives is 1:15:07
My 10k pr (from a couple of weeks ago) is 1:12:21. So really not all that different I guess. And still a bit higher than 1:07:17 (which is the 10k time for a 2:30 half).
Anyway, perhaps at this point I'm overthinking it I definitely like using the current time for a bit and then reassessing.
I'm hoping to get the plan down on paper this weekend and then will add it to the training widget here. Is that open too - like can you look at my training plan like you can look at my log?
#RunEveryDay
Yep, training plans are as open as your log. (You can see my current lead up to half training and my half training one on my log now.) I like that training plans are open bc I like feedback on mine too.
You'll get it sorted out, Lisa!
Half Fanatic #9292.
Game Admin for RA Running Game 2023.
Hello and good luck! I have always used pace's from McMillan with my current best race time entered. Because a goal is just a wish, I can hope that my training might get me to a certain level, but I can't control when or how my body responds to training. But what I have already done in a race is a good indicator.
I guess if it were me, I would focus more on building endurance and dropping the walk breaks before I would focus on any speed at all. But that's just my personal preference.
Good luck to you!
an amazing likeness
A few random and unstructured thoughts to offer…
First, digging into your goal of running a 2:30 one could change the question from ‘…could I run a 2:30 half…’ to ‘..I need to run 11:25 miles for 13 miles to hit my goal..’.
I’ve always viewed HM training as a three tiered effort -- first you need the training to cover the 13.1mi; when that’s in place you layer in training to increase the pace of your running ability, and finally you add faster running over longer distances.
Base + speedwork + tempo endurance
You know you have the base to run the 13.1mi, if only from all your recent HM.
So, to meet your goal you need the next two layers: raw speed to run 11:25 min/miles and then the ability to run 13 of those 11.25min miles in a row.
Were I coaching you, I’d be concerned that going in with a regular training plan will waste time on base building in the early weeks – when it looks like you’d benefit more from working on pace (intervals) and pace over distance (tempo). Not to say you shouldn’t worry about base miles, but it looks like base miles are less important to you than most beginning training plans will make them.
Short version: 2:30 looks like a fantastic stretch goal. You can get there, with a focus on speed and tempo to get used to the 11:15 – 11:30 pace, then longer runs at 10K effort to build endurance pace.
(I also think you’re in the ideal position to get maximum benefit from a structured run:walk race plan.)
Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.
Think effort, rather than pace. Your pace will vary day-to-day depending on all sorts of things -- how you're feeling, weather, hills, whatever.
Let's say a plan calls for "5 miles at 10K pace". To me this means running an slow & easy opening mile to warm up, then steadily picking up effort until I'm running with what feels like the right effort for a good 10K result, then hold that for 5 miles...all the while making adjustments up and down to try and dial in the effort level so that I can run the planned 5, but not easy enough that I could go a few more miles, then an easy jog mile to cool down.
The key thing they usually want when calling for 10K pace training is that you don't go all out like you would in a 5K effort run, and don't get over the anaerobic edge. Run hard, but sustained. Harder than HM effort, less than 5K effort.
Y'all are such a big help thanks!
Hi Redleaf. Circling back to your question on intervals, my run tonight was 4 x 1/2mi @10K effort, if you want to glance at how one of these workouts might look. I didn't have any pace feedback while running, just ran the intervals by effort -- tried to make them harder than 1/2Mar effort, but less than 5K, and it turned out they came in pretty close to my 10K pace. But, I couldn't have run 10K distance at the effort I was putting out without fading...so that means I ran them too hard.
Thanks MT! That's very helpful to see in black and white.
I've been dealing with some, uhm, ahem, female medical issues this week so am sidelined until Saturday. I hope to go out with a friend in the morning though - the purpose (to go back to your other point) will be just to loosen up and ensure my muscles have some sort of memory of what they're supposed to do.
Also tonight or tomorrow night I'll start adding my "training plan" to RA. Currently it's a word document - all colour coded and everything 'cause I am weird that way.