For those who run sub90 or better in the half marathon i have a question!

Depends on the temperature. I'll drink a little water if it's really hot, more of a part of a cooling thing. A cool half I don't take in anything.

Note: my PB is only 1:18 (a little under), so probably should check with faster runners. I could be doing it wrong.

Same here. I rarely take in any fluids in the half. I often take water and dump it on my head for cooling purposes. If it is really hot, or if I am prepping for a marathon, I will try to drink some. I just find it to hard to reliably take in fluids while at race pace.

I usually start really slow, Kenyan style, 4 min after the gun to have open roads, and target around 8:30 min/mile for a couple of miles with a progression in the high 7s until mile 7.

Then I stop at the DD, get some carbs in and head directly to mile 12.

From there I just drop the hammer and finish in an all out sprint to squeeze under 90.

So yeah definitely need the fuel for a sub90 half.

Smoove wrote:

Same here. I rarely take in any fluids in the half. I often take water and dump it on my head for cooling purposes. If it is really hot, or if I am prepping for a marathon, I will try to drink some. I just find it to hard to reliably take in fluids while at race pace.

Thank you so far for the responses. I think I just learned something new about myself.

Same as the above posters- I usually try to grab a water around 9 miles or so, but only take a quick sip before tossing it. I try to avoid slowing down for it at all. I'm sure I could go without fluids for the whole race but it's nice to get rid of the cottonmouth feeling.

My PR is 1:18 also

My PR is 1:26, so a bit slower than the others (but closer to your goal).

I run with a handheld water bottle for the first 5-8 miles before tossing (if it's a really hot day, I'll hang on to it until the end). I also take half a gel around mile 5, and the other half around mile 8-9.

I have only not taken water in one half and I fell apart the last couple of miles. Not sure if that is why, but it has not happened in other halfs where I did.

A 13.1 inquire wrote:

Thank you so far for the responses. I think I just learned something new about myself.

What did you learn?

A 13.1 inquire wrote:

Do you ever fuel or drink fluids during the half marathon or just get into a groove and never slow down?

You do not need to refuel during a half.

Taking fluids depends on the temps. Cool weather means no fluids at all. If it's warm I'll just douse myself b/c I suck at drinking and running. If it's blazing hot I'm not going to be running a half.

PR is 1:08.

No, not necessary. Counterproductive as it messes with your stomach.

I had a beer (well, really just a couple ounces) at mile 4 of my half marathon PR.

Trackbot! VDOT 1:40.91 800m

VDOT for 1:40.91 0.8km: 88

Equivalent race times based on VDOT:

Marathon: 01:57:33

Half marathon: 00:56:07

15K: 00:39:06

10K: 00:25:33

5K: 00:12:15

3Mi: 00:11:48

2Mi: 00:07:35

3200m: 00:07:32

3K: 00:07:01

1Mi: 00:03:33

1600m: 00:03:32

1500m: 00:03:18

I am a bot. Info: habs.sdf.org/trackbot

A 13.1 inquire wrote:

Do you ever fuel or drink fluids during the half marathon or just get into a groove and never slow down?

Depended on my age. And on the weather. At New Bedford in the late 80's I didn't get one drink during the race, and was so focused, I barely remember anything other than the 5 mile and 10 mile splits. I ran three PR's. 10mi, 20k, half. I ran 1:08, a 2 min PR.

But as I aged, I took more fluids and went out much slower. And, when I ran the rolling course of Fairfield, CT. in June, I took fluids late, which I rarely ever do. But it was always hot.

I remember running Erie , PA. half in a driving rain storm. all the water stops were abandoned by the volunteers. So, water was nowhere. One guy just said "open your mouth", and it made a slight difference. Ha.

Fluids are a tricky subject. It's different for each person. I drink very little in races, where some require drinks at almost every two miles, and some even expect at least two water stops in a 5k! In a 5k!!!

Do you know that before USATF, it was TAC.? The Athletic Congress. And, the rules stipulated that no water stop was to be provided before the 10k mark in the 70's and 80's for a TAC sanctioned race.

As a runner who now shoots for sub 90 (and has run 89 and change 3 times in the last 3-4 years), I usually grab a water once every 2 miles or so and then the last half of the race, I switch to Gatorade/powerade or whatever the race provides. Running high 6's, low 7's pace, I just grab the Gatorade, stop and walk to drink it for 5-6 seconds, then start running again. I've never found that it messes up my rhythm all that much and it ensures that I am actually able to drink properly. I'm a pretty poor warm weather runner though and only train 15-25 miles a week so that might be part of why I feel the need for the fluids.

My PR is around 1:27 and what seems to work for me is taking a gu around mile 5 and then grabbing some water shortly after. the water is more to just help with the digestion / seems to avoid the cramping / GI issues. I'm usually breathing too hard after mile 9 to mess around with taking in any fluids or food. I am pretty inexperienced and expect to have to get better at this if I move up the marathon.

1:24 hobby jogger here, i take small sips of water throughout the second half usualy. Just whatever feels comfortable

fdsfasdfasdf wrote:

A 13.1 inquire wrote:

Do you ever fuel or drink fluids during the half marathon or just get into a groove and never slow down?

I suck at drinking and running.

Yes, it is hard--consider practicing the water cup grab (obviously a bottle is much easier). I don't usually need fluids until around 2:15, but in a race I'll usually at least try to grab fluids once or twice either to dump or take a tiny sip from.

which was? wrote:

A 13.1 inquire wrote:

Thank you so far for the responses. I think I just learned something new about myself.

What did you learn?

To realize I don't need gels or water as much as I think i do in a race. Typically I take a gel around mile 6/7 and to avoid the very cramps I might be bringing on. I can do a long run any given Sunday and never need to stop for water, but in a half marathon i feel like it's necessary to walk or jog through and drink. I just need to hydrate better before a race. I think there's plenty of glycogen in the system to power through the race without the need for a gel.