Hey everyone! I (24F) was wondering how much time you all think I may be able to drop on my half marathon? Some background about me, I started running again last year after not running regularly for about 5 years (I ran track and cross country in high school). I have since built up to running about 40 miles per week (with a down week of 20-25 mpw every 4th week). Truth be told, I haven't really been doing a lot of workouts or speed work. Every so often (1-2 times per month) I'll run at a medium effort for 3-5 miles (which for me is about 7:15-7:30 pace), but all of my other runs I do at an easy effort (usually 8:45 - 9:15 pace). I do, however, live in a pretty hilly area, so my easy runs on flatter surfaces are usually around 8:20 - 8:45 pace.
A couple of months ago I ran my very first half marathon. I didn't follow a training plan or anything (just the training I mentioned above). I ran it in 1:38. Miles 3-6 of the race were on this really uneven trail with a lot of big rocks and roots, so that made my legs burn like crazy. There was one steep hill after that portion, but the rest of the course overall was pretty flat.
Given those circumstances, I'm curious as to how much time I'm capable of dropping. I know the only way to find out is to continue running and give it time, but I'm curious as to what you all would predict. I would love to run under 1:30 one day. Do you all think that is possible?