hm race tactics for first timer...

yikesouch wrote:

Otherwise, you might try this workout about 2 weeks out in place of your normal long run. Add an easy warmup & cooldown. Then, run 4 miles at goal pace + 1 minute immediately followed by 4 miles at goal pace. For me, the 4 miles at goal pace felt very much like the last 4-5 miles of my half marathon race. And, the pace was identical.

If you do that workout, just make sure you take an extra day or two more than normal as easy days to make sure you recover fully.

Whoa! Abort! Abort!!

Sorry for not being clear on my suggested workout. It is an 8-mile continuous run. The first 4 miles is at 1 minute slower than goal pace (goal pace + 1 minute). So, if your goal pace is 6:15, do the first 4 miles at 7:15. Then, with no rest break, continue into the last 4 miles at goal pace, or 6:15.

Warmup & cooldown as necessary before & after.

You can also do a 10-miler (5 + 5), or 12-miler (6+6), but to be honest, with your mileage I would suggest the 8 miler. That is all I needed when I ran 1:17 and I was doing a bit more mileage than you. It was a solid workout, but not over the top. And, like I said earlier, when I hit mile 9 or so in the race, I immediately thought back to that workout and felt "this is exactly what my legs felt like then, and I knocked out 4 miles at goal pace" It should give you some confidence during the race.

I also agree that you know your body best. Avoid the "blitz adrenalin start" in miles 1 & 2, and you'll be fine.

Guys, I think we're being subtly trolled. A 31 year old posting with this kind of grammar is extremely laughable. This guy is an idiot and obviously is unaware that he is in no shape to run 1:20.

Listen buddy, I've been posting thru my phone, which is the reason my grammar is not near as perfect as you would want it to be! Last time I checked not everyone has to have perfect grammar skills to be able to post on this message board. It's only been you and another poster who think there is no way I can run that fast given the training I've put in. I came here looking for advice on race strategies and tactics and I got them, so for those that took the time to give me constructive feedback, THANK YOU.

i've been in the sport a long time and have coached. so based on that run in similar conditions (the heat), yes, starting at 6:45 would be the best choice.

do you handle heat well? if not, and it's hot on race day, start at 6:45 for 6 miles as i suggested.

if you start at 6:45 for the 1st two miles on a cool day and are capable of 80min, then you should hit close to 80 minutes with a fast finish. you'd only "give up" 30 seconds compared to your plan of 6:30s at the start.

in general if you start 1 second per mile too fast, you're going to give up a good 20 seconds per mile each of the last 3 miles. watch the end of the london marathon for the elite men this year for an example.

Once you put it that way, I guess you're right I will only be "giving up 30 seconds". If you really think I can still hit my goal starting out that slow then I'll give it a try. Bottom line, I want to finish strong and get as close as possible to 80 min. I'll watch the London race. I've never liked the heat but never imagined it would affect my pace that bad... the race starts at 7 so I think I should be ok (temp. wise). Thanks!

ok, sorry, man. felt like a troll.

listen to old-n-crustyyyyyyyyyy -- he seems to know what he's talking about and should represent the tone of letsrun.

If you want to run anywhere near 1:20, 6:45 is ridiculously slow for your first mile. I wouldn't even consider going out slower than 6:20. It is a good idea to be conservative, but that's taking it to a ridiculous extreme.

Here's my advice -

Your first half-marathon should, most of all, be FUN. And you know what the best part of that is - if you have any iota of competitive spirit in you (which I can tell you do), having fun will translate into running FAST.

You've probably been training on your own for a while now. Clearly you've been paying a lot of attention to pace.

Don't go out with a specific pace you want to hit for the first mile. Just go out with the mentality "I'm racing 13 miles" and your common sense will restrict you enough. I feel that making yourself adhere to too strict of a pace, especially in a distance that long, takes away that extra adrenaline boost you get from racing.

You want to make sure you're feeling good until 7 miles - I've always found that once the first half of a long race is done, mentally, you think, "this is cake from here out."

And murder those last 3 miles. Once you get past that double digit barrier, my my, how time flies!

I did a 6 mile tempo today in 37:36 (6:16 pace). The bad part was that I struggled to hit even splits.. 610 605 616 619 616 623. My question now is..do you guys think I'll I be able to maintain 6 15 pace for 13.1 miles??? On todays run I felt pretty good the first 3 miles and then I started struggling to maintain sub 610 which was my goal fron the very beggining.

runningagain wrote:

I did a 6 mile tempo today in 37:36 (6:16 pace). The bad part was that I struggled to hit even splits.. 610 605 616 619 616 623. My question now is..do you guys think I'll I be able to maintain 6 15 pace for 13.1 miles??? On todays run I felt pretty good the first 3 miles and then I started struggling to maintain sub 610 which was my goal fron the very beggining.

You are getting some good advice here, but some might be tough to match. I've found long tempos tempos at a somewhat slower effort than HM goal pace one week, alternating with the standard shorter faster tempo (20 min at LT effort) the next week is a good approach.

As for pacing. Heed the advice to go out slower than you think. So if you want to go about 1:20 then 6:15 to 6:25 for the first three or so, then ease into 6:05-6:10 pace through 10. If you've paced well and it's your day you may surprise yourself and be able tuo run 6:00 or faster over the last few miles.

This is more aligned to what I kept thinking I was going to end up doing. Go out at 620-630 first three to four miles and start dropping ten seconds or so per mile from then on until I'm only hanging on with all I got till the finish line. Hopefully as close as possible to 80!

Based on that workout, 6:20 pace is a good target for you. But I wouldn't make any moves as early as mile 4....hold on to 6:20s and then pick it up if you're feeling confident by MILE 10 with 5K to go.

Well... official results are not posted yet, so I don't know my splits but I managed a 1hr 21 min and 38 sec. HM. My first try at the distance and I felt strong the whole way. I'm sure I negative split it. The mile markers were not clearly marked so I wasn't sure what pace I started out at but it felt like 630ish and started dropping it slowly to prob. 605-610. The best part is that not once did I get passed, one by one I passed people until the final sprint a 22 yr. kid got me by a head... I felt too good and since I'm not used to starting out that slow on races I prob. should have pushed harder the last 4 miles or so. Overall I'm very pleased with the experience. Thank you all that gave great advice...

ps. I tallied my mpw leading up to race...

8 17 32 12 18 18 22 34 44 34 35. I know I told you guys it was higher but I figured I would not be taken seriously if you knew the little bit of miles I was putting in. Not once did I run further than 8 miles until today. Thanks again.

Nice job! congrats on running a smart race. It sounds like you have a lot of upside from here based on your current mileage, and your conservative pacing.

Do your next cycle in the 40s, and you'll probably knock off that sub 1:20 mark.

Mileage has been a key factor for improvement in my experiences in the half. Moreso than in the shorter races like 5k.

My next race will be a 6 miler in 4 weeks. Will try to shoot for a 34:30 to 35 mins. What type of workouts should I do? I now have a race pace for my workouts... how about 4xmiles at 545 with 4 minute breaks or 6x800 at 245 with 2 min. breaks. I was thinking do one of these once a week and maybe a 10-12 miler once a week and continue with my 8 milers for the rest of the days. Let me know if I'm right on target with what typical workout weeks look like. Thanks.

mcgato wrote:

Just remember that the race begins at the ten mile mark.

Agreed.

To the OP: The HM is my favourite distance to race, and it looks like you are similar in ability to me. During a 10 month stretch I ran 80:54, 80:20, 80:44, and 81:13 (hilly, winter weather) before finally running 79:03 and 79:46 the next year.

Like mentioned earlier, the race starts at 10 miles or so. Resist the urge to put time in the bank early in the race. Provided the course is flat, run the first 15km right on target for just squeaking in for a sub-80, if that's the target. No faster at all. Draft off someone, relax as much as possible, and keep on form. You should feel like it's a pleasant tempo for the first half of the race, and feel discomfort starting to creep up no earlier than around 15 - 16km.

I think that the third 5k is probably the most crucial, at least for me. This is when you start to have an indication how the end stage will go.

Repeat: do not try to put any time in the bank early in the race. Your first 5k should feel easy. Don't make the mistake of thinking you are having a great day and pick it up.

ooops, I replied before realizing you had already completed the race. My apologies.

I also didn't clue in that you had run no more than an 8 miler in training. If this is true, you can easily smash 80 minutes with more mileage. Great race, all considering!

ok. so I'm back again for my 2nd half. My first half about 17 months ago went really good considering the mileage I put in. I ran 1:21 then and I'm hoping for a sub 1:20 this time around. my mpw totals for the last 7 weeks have been 18 18 24 30 40 32 and if I run my 8 miles tomorrow I will hit 35 for this week. I feel more confident this time that a conservative pacing will net me a sub 80 min. half. I ran a 5k race this last weekend and ran 18:07 I signed up late for it and ran it in my trainers with a t shirt and regular shorts. I went out too fast even though I didn't feel like I was, I hit 5:30 for the first mile and then followed it with basically 6 minute pace... My half is this next weekend and after this mornings easy 8 miler in which I ran 55:16 with 5 6:40 miles towards the end which felt very comfortable I'm definitely confident I can maintain 6:05-6:10 pace for my half. Any advice on what to run these last few days before the race?