1/2 marathon 1 month before marathon... all out or at MP?

I'm running a 1/2 5 weeks b4 a full and as of right now I plan on running the 1/2 for a PR. I want to guage my fitness based on past 1/2's. I'm curious as to what others think too.

Everyone is different, but for me, I would run it MP unless it was at least 6 weeks prior to the marathon.

Your workout plan is a good one IMHO.

If you are a better long distance runner than you are sprinter than I would say you may be able to get away with running the half for a time.

If you are better at the short stuff (fast twitch) then I would say use it as a MP training run. You will not recover in time for the full.

I have tested this with several groups of runners and been correct for each and every runner.

Be careful.

Actually, I'd probably do it somewhere between the two. You probably want it to be a little faster than MP so that MP feels easy, but my experience is that you need 7-10 days to recover from an all out HM, which obviously you can't spare right now.

And for what it's worth, my marathon is exactly one month from today, and I did a 10 mile race on Monday. I was about halfway between target MP (6:40) and a recent trained-and-tapered HMP (6:20) -- but it was at 5300 feet elevation on a moderately hilly course without a taper (I ran 20+ VERY hilly miles two days before). So I'm guessing that the effort was at least the equivalent of the 1:23 HM in July, maybe 1:21 high or 1:22 low. And sure enough, this week has been kind of cruddy training-wise. My medium-long workout (13 miles at altitude-adjusted MP) was a little slower than the week before, and my "easy" 2 x 2.6 @ MP workout was super crappy this morning. I had to strain to hit pace on the first one (something that never happens), and felt really tired on the second.

Good news is that I go down to sea level for half of next week, so I should be able to get some hard-but-feels-easy speedwork in.

I ran a hard trail marathon two weeks before running a hard 50-mile trail race. No worries.

hadd-ite, you don't thing 4 or 5 weeks is enough recovery time?

hadd-ite wrote:

If you are a better long distance runner than you are sprinter than I would say you may be able to get away with running the half for a time.

If you are better at the short stuff (fast twitch) then I would say use it as a MP training run. You will not recover in time for the full.

I have tested this with several groups of runners and been correct for each and every runner.

Be careful.

Race it for time, but don't try to get into a big sprint battle with anyone the last 800. Run hard the whole way, but stay relaxed. You will be fine. No reason to waste $50-70 to run MP for 13.1. You won't be able to run as much quality the week after, but by three weeks out, you are as fast as you are going to get.

You can't recover in 5 weeks??? And if you're just running easy, why even enter the race if you have no intention of "racing"? Just go for a training run.

Who ever said I can't recover in 5 weeks (though its actually 4 weeks)? I will be fine by the Thur after, I am sure.

That isn't the point. My question, rephrased, is what is better for me from a training perspective? An all out 1/2 where I don't get a long run in that week, and probably only run 14 or 15 miles that day OR a long hard workout of nearly 22 miles, where I run 13 of it at goal MP?

Clearly the 2 have very different physiological purposes. I am NOT concerned of recovery (the recovery from both are probably similar, as that's a monster 22 mile day in my opinion). Rather, I am interested in hearing what you guys think is best for my marathon preparation.

I am doing a half marathon tomorrow which is 4 weeks from Chicago. I plan on "racing" it but not all out unless I feel comfortable. My goal MP is 5:50 and I have a 1:10 half but I would like to run 1:12 pace for about 7 miles and see how that feels. If it feels easy then I'll pick it up the last 6. I'm hopefully going to practice fluids and gels too.

As for recovery I think Sunday easy, Monday easy and Tuesday easy with maybe some quality on Wednesday should be enough to feel pretty good. My calves are usually pretty beat up after longer races (10 miles and 1/2 marathons).

BTW - I wouldn't consider myself a high mileage runner as i'm only running b/w 80-90 mpw right now.

you will get beat up by the 22 miler as well but technically you won't be dipping into (above your LT) for the long run with 13 at MP (90% or so).

The fast half will require you to call on more of your anaerobic engine which will cause much nigher levels of lactic acid. You will definitely be MORE beat up from an all out half then the 22 above.

Again though, if you are more of what hadd-ites term a slow twitch type runner, you may be able to do the half with less damage than a fast twitch runner.

It's like this, if that marathon is where ALL of your eggs are going, then DO NOT race a hard half 4 weeks out. Period. If you do, you WILL have a GREAT half and a shitty marathon.

Take my advice...

FWIW, I'm doing Chicago in just over 4 weeks and am planning on doing a half this Sunday. If I didn't race, my schedule called for 20-22 miles, with the last 12 at marathon pace.

So I'm going to do like a 5-6 mile warmup, then run the half at marathon pace, and then do 2-3 mile cooldown, effectively emulating the workout. If I feel really good, I'll probably hammer the end of the race for fun and confidence, but I want to work on holding marathon pace for at least the first 12 miles.

Three of the major factors influencing me to do it this way instead of going for a PR:

1) I really need to work on holding back and running marathon pace early, even in a crowded race situation with adrenaline flowing. Last year, going out too fast was part of my undoing at Chicago, and this year in training, I don't quite have marathon pace 'dialed in' yet; it seems a lot of my M pace runs end up 10-15 seconds fast per mile. All signs say the fitness is there, the pace just isn't dialed in. I figure this is the perfect opportunity to try and dial in that pace, and work on holding back when I'm jacked up and everyone around me is, as well.

2) It's a hilly course, and probably not great for setting a PR on anyway...why attack a PR that I won't be satisfied with, if I'll have great opportunities to run a quick time in the spring?

3) I'm running a 10k six days later. It's the big hometown race, and I do plan to race that all out. It's definitely not a good idea for me to race an all out half marathon followed by an all out 10k so soon, then start thinking about tapering for Chicago.

So that's what I'm doing. Basically I'm sticking to my workout plan but using the race environment to enhance the fast portion of my long run. Plus maybe build a little confidence at the end. If I can kick people down like mad after running 16-17 miles, with 12 of it at marathon pace, that'll build some confidence for Chicago.

So to Precious Roy, who said "No reason to waste $50-70 to run MP for 13.1.", for me, practicing running MP in a race situation is exactly what I need. So maybe there is a reason. And it's only $30. Plus, it's just fun to get to a race and see some of the guys sometimes.