Last key workouts 2 weeks before target Half

Why run two halfs leading up to your goal half? That might work for 5k/10k races but racing an all-out half can take a toll on your body.

Keep up easy mileage maybe even bump up to 50mpw next week. The hay is pretty much in the barn at this point. My last workout for a peak half is a 5mi tempo around HM effort a week and a half out. I usually can average within 2-4s/mi of the same pace for the race.

The second half (one week ago) was meant to be the target one but it soon turned out it was better to convert it in a Sunday training long run ..

The first one was a surprise, sometimes I run long runs in races as a training (to fight boredom) but that day all conditions were perfect (not too hot, flat course) and I found myself with good steady pace at 10-12 km and decided to keep it until the end

probably my peak was there and I should have given everything in that race but my goal was 2 weeks ahead and I thought I was not ready yet

Zatoprek wrote:

work only on HM target pace with longer reps (e,g. Tuesday 3-2-1k with short active recovery, friday 3x3000 or 3x4000 @ target HM pace)

^^^ This ^^^

2 weeks out, there's still time for one more key workout. 10-14 days out is just about right. I would do ONE of the two workouts that you propose. Do it at goal pace and get the rhythm locked in.

From which I assume that far both of you a speedwork session is useless at this point

I think the important work is already done at that point, but I was still worried about the same thing, so all I did for my half was google "half marathon workouts" and based mine on the ones in this article:

http://www.runnersworld.com/race-training/workouts-for-your-better-half-marathon

So for two weeks out I ran 10mi at threshold on Tues, 4 at goal race pace on Thurs.

Then the week of the race, a small fartlek (total 11 minutes) on Tues and a 3 minute surge on Thurs.

Went from 1:13-->1:10

alex jones bones wrote:

So for two weeks out I ran 10mi at threshold on Tues, 4 at goal race pace on Thurs.

Then the week of the race, a small fartlek (total 11 minutes) on Tues and a 3 minute surge on Thurs.

Went from 1:13-->1:10

This works for me. My body needs the speed/pace/distance. I get to race day and it feels familiar and I can lower my hobby jogging times and feel satisfied with the efforts.

Every body is different though. Some do great with much more distance and then can just turn it up during the race.

pop_pop!_v2.2.1 wrote:

alex jones bones wrote:

So for two weeks out I ran 10mi at threshold on Tues, 4 at goal race pace on Thurs.

Then the week of the race, a small fartlek (total 11 minutes) on Tues and a 3 minute surge on Thurs.

Went from 1:13-->1:10

Every body is different though. Some do great with much more distance and then can just turn it up during the race.

For sure. And sometimes you just have to try new things and learn from them. I always find a way to improve my training each season.

Half Advice Giver wrote:

Why run two halfs leading up to your goal half? That might work for 5k/10k races but racing an all-out half can take a toll on your body.

Keep up easy mileage maybe even bump up to 50mpw next week. The hay is pretty much in the barn at this point. My last workout for a peak half is a 5mi tempo around HM effort a week and a half out. I usually can average within 2-4s/mi of the same pace for the race.

I agree, OP, i predict a sub par performance or you're significantly faster than you think you are. If your previous halfs of less than 4 wks ago were just easy runs then you'll be in good shape. If you honestly just raced a half 2wks ago, i can't see how you'll pr by much if at all. Or you don't know what racing a HM is at all.

@SasquatchThe second half (two weeks ago) was meant to be a race but the week before the race I was not ok, I tried but after 8-9 miles I saw it was better to run it as a long training. Of course the overall pace was determined by the first 8-9 miles (run around target pace) and it turned out to be an odd mix of a tempo run and a long run..The first half (four weeks ago) was the first half of the season, I run it as an intermediate test without having completed the training cycle planned for the spring race season but that day I was ok and weather conditions were at their best for my taste (10 Celsius degrees)For this I consider none of them was really raced and I decided to give a try next sunday.BTW, I finally had a 3-2-1 w. 400 rest on Tuesday on track (around 4'15/4'12/4'07 per km as average paces), 15km easy (a little bit more sustained compared to my classic easy runs, @4'47 per km instead of 5' per km) and today 3x4000mt rec.1000 mt (average for the 4k always 4'15 per km)It shows that I'm kinda stuck around yìthis 4'15 pace, but it must be said I always tend to improve the avg pace a few seconds in races (when..I race them, at least) Now before and for taper week I was thinking about:- Sunday, a long run at easy pace (like 10-12 miles max)- Tuesday, a few reps like 4 or 5x 1000 @HM race target pace (4'10/4'12)- Thursday and/or Friday, 5-6 miles with short strides (like 4 times 1' fast/1'slow)Any suggestion/change for these remaining 8 days?