Runners! My first race is coming up in 6 weeks! Should I go for the 10k or half marathon?!
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Thank you! It is encouraging to know at least SOMEONE gets my way of thinking.... Lol I've always been a sort of black sheep in this world, so it's nothing new for me to kinda go against the grain of everyone else's way of thinking.... But nice to know I'm not alone out there :-P0
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blueeyez939: Very few people, if anyone, enter a Half Marathon without proper training. Very few people, if any, enter a Half Marathon on a whim or a bet or peer pressure from co-workers or associates. Everyone, probably, who enters a Half Marathon has gone through a training plan to prepare for that Half Marathon. If you want to be one of those very few, knock your socks off and go for it. Most here recommend against it for good reason. It is a long way to go. If you are not properly trained, if you have not covered sufficient miles in training, the race could be a very unpleasant experience. Most of us here, don't want you to go through that.
I personally, trained for my September 25 Half Marathon since July 4 with the last nine weeks thereof putting in weekly miles of 25-32 and weekly long runs of 10,12,13,12 & 13 miles. That being said I finished, ahead of my goal time but, 186 of 245 overall, 122 of 152 in my gender group and 7 of 9 in my age/gender group.
In my opinion, you are more likely to place poorly, in the half Marathon, going in ill trained, than your chances are in the 10K. If your goal is to place well, the 10K would be your better bet. But, you do what you think is best.2 -
blueeyez939 wrote: »Scared off, to say the least..... Lol I understand that many of you don't understand my logic, think that I have no common sense, and think I'm racing for the wrong reasons, and that's fine..... I am racing for my own set of reasons, one of which is the satisfaction of being better than someone else at something. Is that not the heart of just about all true competitors to begin with? I understand a passion for what you do is the first key, but passion alone won't get you first place, passion plus will power does though. I don't know, I'm certainly not here to get anyone fired up or on a rant. But I'm a competitive person, when I am participating is something where there is a winner and a looser, I prefer to be the winner lol I don't see anything wrong with that. Not saying there is "something wrong" with being last either, it's just not for me, I refuse to be last at anything that is a reflection of my effort. Maybe I have never ran a race before, but I have participated is sports for years and I know the satisfaction of winning and the discouragement of getting your butt whooped... It's all part of the game, no matter what your game. And I agree, even in defeat you have to come out ready to do better next time. But, Im very strong willed and enjoy pushing myself, so I didn't think it was unreasonable to think I would be better off walk/running the whole half marathon and likely still end up getting a better position then exhausting myself to be lucky if I'm in the last 10% of the 10k. But, everyone sees things differently and I appreciate everyone telling me your honest thoughts
Running 2 months, haven't run farther than 5 miles, want to be competitive in a half-marathon in 6 weeks ...........what could possibly go wrong?
It's clear that you were hoping for a "rah, rah, you go girl" type of response rather than actual feedback from experienced runners. Good luck!7 -
A half marathon is a different beast than a 10K.
However, if you are determined then at LEAST run at least 10 miles before the race.
The 10th mile is a killer.
Good luck.1 -
I get the whole competitive bit. I'm the same way and used to enjoy winning road races or my age group. I struggle to accept that at 60 and starting over with my running using a C25k program that I can't just go cruise like I did in years past. That being said, to be competitive you need to be prepared. You need a proper aerobic base, over distance for the race, and speed/interval training for a good performance. If you aren't at this level yet, why not work towards it? If you think you'd be in the bottom 10% of a 10k race and don't like it, then build your running in the months ahead. You don't have to run this race in 6 weeks.
For myself, I'm not running a race until January and I'm accepting of the fact that I'm not going to be competitive in my age group. I'm using the race as a baseline...just to see what I can do after 4 months of running. From there I will build my long runs and add speed work as appropriate. Its a process and I intend to do it properly rather than risk injury and fatigue. You can do the same.
However, if you're determined to compete in the half just because you think you won't be in the bottom, then just do it and hope for the best. For me there would be no thrill in out walking other participants. So what? My goal is always, first and foremost, to run the entire race. If you're as competitive as you say, it's difficult to understand why you don't woman up to reality and run your best 5 or 10k...and accept the results.0 -
It sounds like you got your heart set on the half marathon, so go for it. Good luck!0
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BrianSharpe wrote: »blueeyez939 wrote: »Scared off, to say the least..... Lol I understand that many of you don't understand my logic, think that I have no common sense, and think I'm racing for the wrong reasons, and that's fine..... I am racing for my own set of reasons, one of which is the satisfaction of being better than someone else at something. Is that not the heart of just about all true competitors to begin with? I understand a passion for what you do is the first key, but passion alone won't get you first place, passion plus will power does though. I don't know, I'm certainly not here to get anyone fired up or on a rant. But I'm a competitive person, when I am participating is something where there is a winner and a looser, I prefer to be the winner lol I don't see anything wrong with that. Not saying there is "something wrong" with being last either, it's just not for me, I refuse to be last at anything that is a reflection of my effort. Maybe I have never ran a race before, but I have participated is sports for years and I know the satisfaction of winning and the discouragement of getting your butt whooped... It's all part of the game, no matter what your game. And I agree, even in defeat you have to come out ready to do better next time. But, Im very strong willed and enjoy pushing myself, so I didn't think it was unreasonable to think I would be better off walk/running the whole half marathon and likely still end up getting a better position then exhausting myself to be lucky if I'm in the last 10% of the 10k. But, everyone sees things differently and I appreciate everyone telling me your honest thoughts
Running 2 months, haven't run farther than 5 miles, want to be competitive in a half-marathon in 6 weeks ...........what could possibly go wrong?
DNF seems quite likely to me!4 -
Winners prepare. They spend months preparing their body for a single race. They don't just decide one day to run 13.1 miles.6
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blueeyez939 wrote: »Thank you! It is encouraging to know at least SOMEONE gets my way of thinking.... Lol I've always been a sort of black sheep in this world, so it's nothing new for me to kinda go against the grain of everyone else's way of thinking.... But nice to know I'm not alone out there :-P
I think you might want to go back and read that post again...lol.
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TavistockToad wrote: »blueeyez939 wrote: »Scared off, to say the least..... Lol I understand that many of you don't understand my logic, think that I have no common sense, and think I'm racing for the wrong reasons, and that's fine..... I am racing for my own set of reasons, one of which is the satisfaction of being better than someone else at something. Is that not the heart of just about all true competitors to begin with? I understand a passion for what you do is the first key, but passion alone won't get you first place, passion plus will power does though. I don't know, I'm certainly not here to get anyone fired up or on a rant. But I'm a competitive person, when I am participating is something where there is a winner and a looser, I prefer to be the winner lol I don't see anything wrong with that. Not saying there is "something wrong" with being last either, it's just not for me, I refuse to be last at anything that is a reflection of my effort. Maybe I have never ran a race before, but I have participated is sports for years and I know the satisfaction of winning and the discouragement of getting your butt whooped... It's all part of the game, no matter what your game. And I agree, even in defeat you have to come out ready to do better next time. But, Im very strong willed and enjoy pushing myself, so I didn't think it was unreasonable to think I would be better off walk/running the whole half marathon and likely still end up getting a better position then exhausting myself to be lucky if I'm in the last 10% of the 10k. But, everyone sees things differently and I appreciate everyone telling me your honest thoughts
i agree, with that attitude you should totally try and win the half marathon... good luck!blueeyez939 wrote: »Thank you! It is encouraging to know at least SOMEONE gets my way of thinking.... Lol I've always been a sort of black sheep in this world, so it's nothing new for me to kinda go against the grain of everyone else's way of thinking.... But nice to know I'm not alone out there :-P
I think you might want to go back and read that post again...lol.
Sarcasm is often difficult to perceive in type written text, except in this case. ;- )4 -
blueeyez939 wrote: »Scared off, to say the least..... Lol I understand that many of you don't understand my logic, think that I have no common sense, and think I'm racing for the wrong reasons, and that's fine..... I am racing for my own set of reasons, one of which is the satisfaction of being better than someone else at something. Is that not the heart of just about all true competitors to begin with? I understand a passion for what you do is the first key, but passion alone won't get you first place, passion plus will power does though. I don't know, I'm certainly not here to get anyone fired up or on a rant. But I'm a competitive person, when I am participating is something where there is a winner and a looser, I prefer to be the winner lol I don't see anything wrong with that. Not saying there is "something wrong" with being last either, it's just not for me, I refuse to be last at anything that is a reflection of my effort. Maybe I have never ran a race before, but I have participated is sports for years and I know the satisfaction of winning and the discouragement of getting your butt whooped... It's all part of the game, no matter what your game. And I agree, even in defeat you have to come out ready to do better next time. But, Im very strong willed and enjoy pushing myself, so I didn't think it was unreasonable to think I would be better off walk/running the whole half marathon and likely still end up getting a better position then exhausting myself to be lucky if I'm in the last 10% of the 10k. But, everyone sees things differently and I appreciate everyone telling me your honest thoughts
Then I say, you did not need anyone's advise, help, opinions or assistance with this.. You have your answer!
Go for the half marathon.. full throttle.. and carry on with the winning and true competitive spirit!
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blueeyez939 wrote: »Scared off, to say the least..... Lol I understand that many of you don't understand my logic, think that I have no common sense, and think I'm racing for the wrong reasons, and that's fine..... I am racing for my own set of reasons, one of which is the satisfaction of being better than someone else at something. Is that not the heart of just about all true competitors to begin with? I understand a passion for what you do is the first key, but passion alone won't get you first place, passion plus will power does though. I don't know, I'm certainly not here to get anyone fired up or on a rant. But I'm a competitive person, when I am participating is something where there is a winner and a looser, I prefer to be the winner lol I don't see anything wrong with that. Not saying there is "something wrong" with being last either, it's just not for me, I refuse to be last at anything that is a reflection of my effort. Maybe I have never ran a race before, but I have participated is sports for years and I know the satisfaction of winning and the discouragement of getting your butt whooped... It's all part of the game, no matter what your game. And I agree, even in defeat you have to come out ready to do better next time. But, Im very strong willed and enjoy pushing myself, so I didn't think it was unreasonable to think I would be better off walk/running the whole half marathon and likely still end up getting a better position then exhausting myself to be lucky if I'm in the last 10% of the 10k. But, everyone sees things differently and I appreciate everyone telling me your honest thoughts
Then I say, you did not need anyone's advise, help, opinions or assistance with this.. You have your answer!
Go for the half marathon.. full throttle.. and carry on with the winning and true competitive spirit!
OP may have a competitive spirit, but she will not be a winner. She states that her projected 10k time would put her in bottom 10% of runners for this race. Yet she plans to forego the 10k and try the half without the proper training. If she can't run a fast 10k, then she certainly cant do better at more than twice the distance. No amount of willpower or mental strength can overcome lack of preparation. IMO, it's irresponsible to encourage her to run this far.2 -
blueeyez939 wrote: »Scared off, to say the least..... Lol I understand that many of you don't understand my logic, think that I have no common sense, and think I'm racing for the wrong reasons, and that's fine..... I am racing for my own set of reasons, one of which is the satisfaction of being better than someone else at something. Is that not the heart of just about all true competitors to begin with? I understand a passion for what you do is the first key, but passion alone won't get you first place, passion plus will power does though. I don't know, I'm certainly not here to get anyone fired up or on a rant. But I'm a competitive person, when I am participating is something where there is a winner and a looser, I prefer to be the winner lol I don't see anything wrong with that. Not saying there is "something wrong" with being last either, it's just not for me, I refuse to be last at anything that is a reflection of my effort. Maybe I have never ran a race before, but I have participated is sports for years and I know the satisfaction of winning and the discouragement of getting your butt whooped... It's all part of the game, no matter what your game. And I agree, even in defeat you have to come out ready to do better next time. But, Im very strong willed and enjoy pushing myself, so I didn't think it was unreasonable to think I would be better off walk/running the whole half marathon and likely still end up getting a better position then exhausting myself to be lucky if I'm in the last 10% of the 10k. But, everyone sees things differently and I appreciate everyone telling me your honest thoughts
Then I say, you did not need anyone's advise, help, opinions or assistance with this.. You have your answer!
Go for the half marathon.. full throttle.. and carry on with the winning and true competitive spirit!
OP may have a competitive spirit, but she will not be a winner. She states that her projected 10k time would put her in bottom 10% of runners for this race. Yet she plans to forego the 10k and try the half without the proper training. If she can't run a fast 10k, then she certainly cant do better at more than twice the distance. No amount of willpower or mental strength can overcome lack of preparation. IMO, it's irresponsible to encourage her to run this far.
Missed the sarcastic font in that reply too...
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Oops, I did. Sorry... Well, at least I summarized the craziness of the plan.1
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blueeyez939 wrote: »Thank you! It is encouraging to know at least SOMEONE gets my way of thinking.... Lol I've always been a sort of black sheep in this world, so it's nothing new for me to kinda go against the grain of everyone else's way of thinking.... But nice to know I'm not alone out there :-P
@blueeyez939 - I'm pretty sure that @TavistockToad was being sarcastic.blueeyez939 wrote: »Scared off, to say the least..... Lol I understand that many of you don't understand my logic, think that I have no common sense, and think I'm racing for the wrong reasons, and that's fine..... I am racing for my own set of reasons, one of which is the satisfaction of being better than someone else at something. Is that not the heart of just about all true competitors to begin with? I understand a passion for what you do is the first key, but passion alone won't get you first place, passion plus will power does though. I don't know, I'm certainly not here to get anyone fired up or on a rant. But I'm a competitive person, when I am participating is something where there is a winner and a looser, I prefer to be the winner lol I don't see anything wrong with that. Not saying there is "something wrong" with being last either, it's just not for me, I refuse to be last at anything that is a reflection of my effort. Maybe I have never ran a race before, but I have participated is sports for years and I know the satisfaction of winning and the discouragement of getting your butt whooped... It's all part of the game, no matter what your game. And I agree, even in defeat you have to come out ready to do better next time. But, Im very strong willed and enjoy pushing myself, so I didn't think it was unreasonable to think I would be better off walk/running the whole half marathon and likely still end up getting a better position then exhausting myself to be lucky if I'm in the last 10% of the 10k. But, everyone sees things differently and I appreciate everyone telling me your honest thoughts
While I get being competitive, if winning at everything you do is your ultimate goal for running you either need to be very, very fast or only plan to run in races with a small field of runners. Most runners understand that they aren't going to win races; instead, we compete with ourselves. Trying to be just a bit faster at the same distance or the same race year over year is what drives many of us to keep training and racing.
As I said earlier, it can certainly be done. If you want to run/walk the half marathon, go for it. Just be prepared to deal with the consequences afterward. Personally, my main training goal for every race is to actually get a chance to be at the starting line and then finish the race. The secondary goal is to beat my best time. Suddenly increasing mileage is the wrong way to go about that. I've read posts from many runners who have over-trained themselves into an injury and never even got to run the race they were training for; you don't want to be one of them. The people who have responded to you so far are just trying to caution you that your plan could very well cause you to regret it later.
It's your life, your training plan and your race. What you choose to do is completely up to you. I certainly hope you don't end up getting hurt by doing it.A half marathon is a different beast than a 10K.
However, if you are determined then at LEAST run at least 10 miles before the race.
The 10th mile is a killer.
Good luck.
Agreed! I try to fool myself after 10 miles that it's only another 5K....1 -
BrianSharpe wrote: »blueeyez939 wrote: »Scared off, to say the least..... Lol I understand that many of you don't understand my logic, think that I have no common sense, and think I'm racing for the wrong reasons, and that's fine..... I am racing for my own set of reasons, one of which is the satisfaction of being better than someone else at something. Is that not the heart of just about all true competitors to begin with? I understand a passion for what you do is the first key, but passion alone won't get you first place, passion plus will power does though. I don't know, I'm certainly not here to get anyone fired up or on a rant. But I'm a competitive person, when I am participating is something where there is a winner and a looser, I prefer to be the winner lol I don't see anything wrong with that. Not saying there is "something wrong" with being last either, it's just not for me, I refuse to be last at anything that is a reflection of my effort. Maybe I have never ran a race before, but I have participated is sports for years and I know the satisfaction of winning and the discouragement of getting your butt whooped... It's all part of the game, no matter what your game. And I agree, even in defeat you have to come out ready to do better next time. But, Im very strong willed and enjoy pushing myself, so I didn't think it was unreasonable to think I would be better off walk/running the whole half marathon and likely still end up getting a better position then exhausting myself to be lucky if I'm in the last 10% of the 10k. But, everyone sees things differently and I appreciate everyone telling me your honest thoughts
Running 2 months, haven't run farther than 5 miles, want to be competitive in a half-marathon in 6 weeks ...........what could possibly go wrong?
It's clear that you were hoping for a "rah, rah, you go girl" type of response rather than actual feedback from experienced runners. Good luck!
Yeah...LMFAO...0 -
blueeyez939 wrote: »Thank you! It is encouraging to know at least SOMEONE gets my way of thinking.... Lol I've always been a sort of black sheep in this world, so it's nothing new for me to kinda go against the grain of everyone else's way of thinking.... But nice to know I'm not alone out there :-P
@blueeyez939 - I'm pretty sure that @TavistockToad was being sarcastic.blueeyez939 wrote: »Scared off, to say the least..... Lol I understand that many of you don't understand my logic, think that I have no common sense, and think I'm racing for the wrong reasons, and that's fine..... I am racing for my own set of reasons, one of which is the satisfaction of being better than someone else at something. Is that not the heart of just about all true competitors to begin with? I understand a passion for what you do is the first key, but passion alone won't get you first place, passion plus will power does though. I don't know, I'm certainly not here to get anyone fired up or on a rant. But I'm a competitive person, when I am participating is something where there is a winner and a looser, I prefer to be the winner lol I don't see anything wrong with that. Not saying there is "something wrong" with being last either, it's just not for me, I refuse to be last at anything that is a reflection of my effort. Maybe I have never ran a race before, but I have participated is sports for years and I know the satisfaction of winning and the discouragement of getting your butt whooped... It's all part of the game, no matter what your game. And I agree, even in defeat you have to come out ready to do better next time. But, Im very strong willed and enjoy pushing myself, so I didn't think it was unreasonable to think I would be better off walk/running the whole half marathon and likely still end up getting a better position then exhausting myself to be lucky if I'm in the last 10% of the 10k. But, everyone sees things differently and I appreciate everyone telling me your honest thoughts
While I get being competitive, if winning at everything you do is your ultimate goal for running you either need to be very, very fast or only plan to run in races with a small field of runners. Most runners understand that they aren't going to win races; instead, we compete with ourselves. Trying to be just a bit faster at the same distance or the same race year over year is what drives many of us to keep training and racing.
As I said earlier, it can certainly be done. If you want to run/walk the half marathon, go for it. Just be prepared to deal with the consequences afterward. Personally, my main training goal for every race is to actually get a chance to be at the starting line and then finish the race. The secondary goal is to beat my best time. Suddenly increasing mileage is the wrong way to go about that. I've read posts from many runners who have over-trained themselves into an injury and never even got to run the race they were training for; you don't want to be one of them. The people who have responded to you so far are just trying to caution you that your plan could very well cause you to regret it later.
It's your life, your training plan and your race. What you choose to do is completely up to you. I certainly hope you don't end up getting hurt by doing it.A half marathon is a different beast than a 10K.
However, if you are determined then at LEAST run at least 10 miles before the race.
The 10th mile is a killer.
Good luck.
Agreed! I try to fool myself after 10 miles that it's only another 5K....
Someone should really warn you that the last 5K of a half is actually 10K before your first one.
My first half was on ice-and-frozen-slush-covered roads with a bit of a red wine hangover, though, so I think the last 5K were actually 15 in that case.3 -
A mantra of mine when I was a regular distance runner was "Respect the Distance".
I think it is somewhat disrespectful to others to insinuate that you could participate in a half and get anywhere near even a slow time without training and preparation - what do you think that the people that spend months training for these events do at 6am on a wet and windy morning? Do you think that they are less determined than you, have less drive than you and therefore need to train more that you?
Passion and will power, sure they are requirements in distance running, but they are manifest in the hours or tedious training - not "on-the-day" heroics.
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blueeyez939 wrote: »... I am racing for my own set of reasons, one of which is the satisfaction of being better than someone else at something. Is that not the heart of just about all true competitors to begin with?...
one day you'll grow up and realize the only person you ever truly competed against was you.
And when you realize that- you'll be a whole new person.
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The reason the half marathon times are slower is because it's 13 miles instead of 6. Running at a fast race pace for close to 2 hours straight (HM) instead of 45 minutes to an hour (10K) means people are going to run slower so they can last the distance. Typically, people start with a 5K or a 10K for their 1st race. If you run too many miles too fast, you risk getting injured, and then you won't be competing at all. I understand the competitiveness of it, and I've won my fair share of bling so far even though I'm new to running, but my 1st 5K was in April, and my 1st Half Marathon will be October 1st. Even though my resting heart rate is also in the 30's, I took my time to build up to the longer mileage. In my opinion, you'll put yourself in a better position to be more competitive for your 1st half if you take it slower in increasing your mileage.
If you haven't run more than 5 miles at a time, I would honestly start with a 5K, then do a 10K, then a 15K, then a half, etc... You have enough time to add a 5K race before your race in 6 weeks (hopefully you choose the 10K option). Then, you'll know a little more about what to expect in your upcoming 10K...just double the distance. You'll also have had a chance to see what worked/what didn't if you want to be competitive in the 10K.
I'm not sure if you have a training plan for doing a 10K or a HM on your race day, but you should put one together. I really like the Hal Higdon training plans. There are others out there as well. Anyway, if you want to be sucessfull and competitive in running, it will help to create running plans for your training that incorporate gradual increases in distance runs along with speed work. Strength training is beneficial as well.
Good luck, and I think the previous posters recommending a 10K in 6 weeks is really in your best interest.0
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