I have a goal HM in february. Wondering if it would be detrimental to race one in november and then december. Have raced HMs during marathon training, and ran them well. Is it overkill or a waste of time, or would it help with pacing?
25 yr old male
60 mpw
1:25
I am very similar
25
55ish mileage a week will top out around 70 in Late dec to early Jan.
trying to go 77ish in Feb.
No not at all. I like running a half in Nov and either 5k/10k Dec or Jan. I wouldn't run 2 halves before you goal race. It would be hard to train and tapper correctly, but running a half early in the cycle isn't a bad idea. It also will give you an idea on your fitness.
Also the problem with the 2nd half in December is it will be where you are hitting peak mileage and starting to do race specific pacing, and you don't want to do a hard long race during that. It is the meat of your training cycle, and then put the 5k or 10k about 6 weeks out before you start tapper. I also like the change of pace to help jump start my tapper. That's just what me and my coach like to do.
Do a 10k or 10 miler instead if you can find one. That is how the pros do it, and that is how I do it.
If my 10k didn't feel too good, then I know my half is not going to go well, or I still need to work on things.
Save your half marathon shape for your actual goal half marathon.
thanks for the advice guys