Some half-marathon related questions

rainbow kirby

I'm doing my first half on June 28 (Irish Multimarathon). Was just thinking about a few things, and wondering if anyone had any advice...

- Longest run beforehand? My longest run so far was 9 miles, done on a relatively hot day. My plan is to go either 10-11-8 over the next 3 weekends for my long runs, or 10-12-10. Would it be worth trying to cover the full 13.1 beforehand, or is 11-12 miles enough?

- Someone gave me a handful of wine gums during my relay leg in Cork, and they were damn good. Worth carrying a packet on race day?

- Pacing? McMillan suggests 2.05-ish based on the 10k time that I extrapolated from my Cork relay leg, but I don't think there's a hope in hell of me stringing together 13.1 miles at 9.35 pace. Shoot for 2.15 (10.19/mile) which is roughly in line with my long run pace?

goofygirl

Hey hey.

Well I'm no expert, but have done 4 half-marathons including Connemarathon Half so here goes.

1. my longest run beforehand was nine miles. There's a circuit near my house in Ireland that's about 3 miles long including a horrific one mile hill so I used to run laps of that. Came in handy with The Hell of the West in Connemara

2. I carried some of those jelly beans in the my pocket for my first half and I've kept that up. Maybe it's more mental comfort than anything else to know that I have fuel on hand in case I bonk. Generally I only end up eating three or four en route though! Past two half-marathons I've run have had water and Gatorade stalls every 3km though so I've taken a gulp or two at each stall.

3. I'm the world's worst pacer, in fact I have absolutely no idea about pace whatsoever. My 10km PB is 55 mins and my half marathon times have ranged between 2 hrs 9 (in Connemara) and 2 hrs 2 (in Auckland). My "tactic" (ha!) is start at little more than a trot and then get into my stride usually around the 10km marker, then struggle and groan at the 18km marker and then belt it out for the last 200 metres. (Sorry, I live in Canada now where all the races are done in kilometres). This probably hasn't served me well because I think I start off too slowly.

That said, the way I look at it is that 21km is a bloody long way and I'd rather burn off any excess energy by stepping up the pace in the last few kms rather than blasting out at the start and then keeling over half-way through.

I'm sure there are people a lot more knowledgeable than me on here who can help

goofygirl

oh yeah for my first half marathon my only goal was to finish, nothing loftier

RoyMcC

Hi Rainbow,
Your planned schedule sounds good. And you'll find the extra mile or two on the day I guarantee.

Like Goofygirl says the jelly beans are a comfort factor, but they can also give you a definite boost at low moments.

As to pacing, you're getting a better runner by the day. It wouldn't surprise me at all to see you break two hours under (cool) race conditions. But perhaps go with your LSR pace for 7-8 miles and see how you feel at that point.

Best of luck.

griffin100

I've only done two halfs so my advice is based on very little experience but here goes:

- Longest run beforehand? My longest run so far was 9 miles, done on a relatively hot day. My plan is to go either 10-11-8 over the next 3 weekends for my long runs, or 10-12-10. Would it be worth trying to cover the full 13.1 beforehand, or is 11-12 miles enough?

I don't think you have to cover the 13.1 miles beforehand. For my first half in Connemara I was injured for the run up and my longest run ended up being around 10 miles - done the weekend before the race and not having run more longer than 5-6 miles in the previous 6 weeks. Hal Higdon's novice plan's longest run is 10 miles a week before the race.

- Someone gave me a handful of wine gums during my relay leg in Cork, and they were damn good. Worth carrying a packet on race day?

You can also try ride shots which I find really good.

- Pacing? McMillan suggests 2.05-ish based on the 10k time that I extrapolated from my Cork relay leg, but I don't think there's a hope in hell of me stringing together 13.1 miles at 9.35 pace. Shoot for 2.15 (10.19/mile) which is roughly in line with my long run pace?

You will be surprised at how much quicker you will run and how well you will hold a fast pace - or at least I was. I did 1.59.57 in Connemara but took just over ten minutes off that in Wexford, partly due to more training but also better pacing. As one half marathon novice to another I would advise don't start off too fast but also don't settle into the pace of the slower runners around you - pick your pace and stick with it for the first few kms. If you still feel strong then pick up the pace after the half way point or later. In connemra I ran the first two miles up the first hill at the same pace as the group around me thinking that this wasn't too bad and I felt really strong, I looked at my watch at the 2 mile point and it said 21 minutes, I was aiming for 18 minutes. In wexford I started off with a preset pace in mind and spent the first 2 miles overtaking slower runners and keeping to my preset pace, the temptation to run at a slower pace with larger groups was always there though.

Good luck.

eoin ryan

Maybe consider going to the Free Irish Multimarathon Train Smarter not Harder Seminar in Dcu Sports complex next Tuesday at 7pm. It is primed for Half Marathon training amongst others.

Might have a few ans there... The Q & A is normally good

Eoin

TFBubendorfer

griffin100 wrote: »

I don't think you have to cover the 13.1 miles beforehand. For my first half in Connemara I was injured for the run up and my longest run ended up being around 10 miles

No, you certainly don't have to do more than 10 miles in training for a half-marathon. It will see you around, no problem. However, you will have a better race if you go longer (but slower) in training.

griffin100

No, you certainly don't have to do more than 10 miles in training for a half-marathon. It will see you around, no problem. However, you will have a better race if you go longer (but slower) in training.

One thing I meant to say also was that you should try and get a two hour run in at a slow pace irrespective of distance to get your body used to being on the go for this period of time. I was given this piece of advice by a marathn runner and it seemed to help me.

Oryx

Ive only done one so far, and the longest training run beforehand was somewhere around the ten mile mark. Id never actually run the 13 mile distance before.

Dont try and cram in a long run in the two weeks prior to the race, just keep to your usual training. It was Eoin Ryans advice for the Wexford one, he advised that it wont make you any fitter doing long runs that late.

Just start at a nice comfortable pace, and check your times each km you pass, that will give you an idea of the pace you are running, and allow you to slacken off if you are feeling pooped or pick it up if you realise youre slowing down.

Psychologically I tell myself at each marker 'Only 20kms to go... 19 to go... etc etc', instead of counting up.:D

rainbow kirby

Thanks for all your advice

I think I'm going to go 10 miles this weekend, 11 miles the weekend after that, and 8 miles the weekend before the race. I'll save doing anything longer for marathon training! I reckon the 11 mile run should take me about 1:55 anyway, so that's taking me close enough to the 2 hour mark. That said - I was tempted to try run from my house to the city centre and back as my longest long run before it, and that's 12.4 miles according to MapMyRun...

Ger the man

Im running since the start of May and have done a few 8/10k's here and there. My training sessions last the best part of an hour and are usually around 10ks 3 or 4 times a week. Should I increase this between now and Marathon day?

911sc

goofygirl wrote: »

I carried some of those jelly beans in the my pocket for my first half and I've kept that up. Maybe it's more mental comfort than anything else to know that I have fuel on hand in case I bonk.

You would not need to take in anything for a half BUT...if this brings you comfort when it gets hard, then is perfect. Mental plays a big role.
Hydrate well before your long run.

911sc

Ger the man wrote: »

Im running since the start of May and have done a few 8/10k's here and there. My training sessions last the best part of an hour and are usually around 10ks 3 or 4 times a week. Should I increase this between now and Marathon day?

oh yes...when is the marathon you are doing?
Have a look at the Higdon training plans