How much time can I shave off my half marathon in 8 weeks?

first race ever! wrote:

If I do an 8-week training plan that starts at 38MPW and peaks at 55MPW, and lose 5lbs, how much time could I realistically shave off my HM time in 8 weeks?

Not a lot. Don't get injured.

first race ever! wrote:

I'm running my first ever race in 8.5 weeks - a half marathon. I did a time trial last week and ran it in 1:58 (right around 9:00 min/pace). I did that off of 6 months of sporadic training - 0 miles some weeks, 30 miles other weeks, with and 8-12 mile long run most weeks.

If I do an 8-week training plan that starts at 38MPW and peaks at 55MPW, and lose 5lbs, how much time could I realistically shave off my HM time in 8 weeks?

If you really get to 55 mpw, you might be injured by week 6 or 7.

Stay consistent with your 30 mile weeks and you will have a good race.

^ This. If it's your first race, play it safe. <2HM for a total newb ain't that bad TBH. Your biggest obstacle is going to be injuries. Start maybe at 26 MPW. Something like:

Tues/Weds/Thurs - 5 miles easy

Sat - 1 mile easy + 3 miles race pace + 1 mile easy

Sun - 6 miles easy

Add 1 mile each Sunday so you get that up to 12 miles on week 7. Also add 1 mile every second week to the Weds run so you get that up to 8 miles on week 7. Do a few 3-mile runs the week of the race to taper.

Not sure how much you'll improve. Losing 5lbs in theory could take off a few minutes. I usually do a few sec/mile better at 'real' races because of adrenaline and crowd support. Just those two things could shave off 4-5 mins.

I had a very similar build up to my first half. I never did a time trial, but my runs (longest was around 10-11 miles) were between 9:00-9:30 pace. I had about three months where I got really serious before the race and built up to 45 mpw with a long run of 12. Ended up running 1:19, which I was stoked about.

Given you have a little less time, I’d say something in the 1:22-1:25 range. Go for it!

Maybe we should ask Keira D'Amato.

0/10

very similar story wrote:

I had a very similar build up to my first half. I never did a time trial, but my runs (longest was around 10-11 miles) were between 9:00-9:30 pace. I had about three months where I got really serious before the race and built up to 45 mpw with a long run of 12. Ended up running 1:19, which I was stoked about.

Given you have a little less time, I’d say something in the 1:22-1:25 range. Go for it!

Thanks for sharing that. what did your peak 45-mile week look like aside from the 12-mile long run?

it depends on your age, talent and so on...

i do not think you can ran anywhere near 1:30 like previous poster said...

maybe aim for 1:40-45 depending on your age.

Kipchoge fan wrote:

it depends on your age, talent and so on...

i do not think you can ran anywhere near 1:30 like previous poster said...

maybe aim for 1:40-45 depending on your age.

I'd be pretty happy with 1:45, that a 1 min/mile improvement. From the research I've done 1:45 seems to be a decent target, with <1:40 being a stretch goal.

Mitochondria growth takes 6 weeks and maybe after your time trial you gut some more pace feeling and you can shave of 5-10 minutes maximum (a guess of course).

Consitent training over the year is key.

Stay healthy and good luck.

I think it's realistic to make a big jump with consistent training for 8 weeks. Mid-1:30s to mid-1:40s could be plausible depending on how things go. When you're first starting off, mileage & better training can help make big jumps. Then it can take years to improve by a minute or two.

With the ambitious goal of running 38-55 mpw from 0-30, just make sure to keep the mileage easy at the beginning of the plan. You don't want to end up injured.

NERunner03533 wrote:

I think it's realistic to make a big jump with consistent training for 8 weeks. Mid-1:30s to mid-1:40s could be plausible depending on how things go. When you're first starting off, mileage & better training can help make big jumps. Then it can take years to improve by a minute or two.

With the ambitious goal of running 38-55 mpw from 0-30, just make sure to keep the mileage easy at the beginning of the plan. You don't want to end up injured.

Thanks for that info and thanks to everyone else for the helpful replies.

I've taken the replies in this topic, done some more research, and made a plan starting at 26MPW and building up to about 44MPW. All easy running except for 3-4 miles at race pace each week. I'm going to skip on the intervals, tempo runs, etc. for the sake of getting in more total miles and reducing injury risk.

Training starts today!