Half Marathon Advice

raisealittlehell

I am hoping to get some opinions from seasoned runners. While I have been running for a couple years at this point my longest distance races has been around a 10K. I am currently signed up to complete my first half marathon in 12 weeks. I have a training program, but am wondering what a best and/or realistic finishing time would be for your first?

Yes, to finish will be a goal in and of itself- however, not being a race newbie I would like to set some type of time goal, so just looking for a general view of what a good first half time would be for someone who runs and is training.

Also, any advice for hydration during as I normally don't carry water when I do runs, but it has been suggested to me that for a half I will need to.

Thanks very much!

SingingSingleTracker

I am hoping to get some opinions from seasoned runners. While I have been running for a couple years at this point my longest distance races has been around a 10K. I am currently signed up to complete my first half marathon in 12 weeks. I have a training program, but am wondering what a best and/or realistic finishing time would be for your first?

Yes, to finish will be a goal in and of itself- however, not being a race newbie I would like to set some type of time goal, so just looking for a general view of what a good first half time would be for someone who runs and is training.

Also, any advice for hydration during as I normally don't carry water when I do runs, but it has been suggested to me that for a half I will need to.

Thanks very much!

What pace do you run? Figure out your average pace - be it jogging along a 6 mph (10 minute mile), or a faster running pace - and if you can comfortably maintain that pace on your longer duration weekend runs, it is not out of the question to anticipate maintaining that pace for your 1/2 marathon so you can guesstimate your finish time.

Here's the pace chart which includes 1/2 marathon finish times based on your running pace.

http://www.runnersworld.com/race-training/pace-chart-800-859-pace-mile

spicegeek

run a hard 5k - as if you were racing that distance - plug that number into the Macmillian calculator - it will give you a ball park projected half marathon finish www.mcmillanrunning.com - it is ball park - it depends very much on the mental focus of the longer distances - for me it was within 1 min of my final marathon time - it also gives good guides on the paces of different types of training runs which I found useful

melaniecheeks

What kind of times do you run a 10k in? I did my first half last year in just under 2:30. My fastest 10k at that time was 1:03.

Will there be water stations on the route? I dont like to drink while I'm running - not even during a half! But it's something you should experiment with during your training runs.

I'm not sure about that chart from Runners World though - just cos I can run a 5k in 27 minutes doesn't mean I can maintain that pace for 10 or 15km.

raisealittlehell

My best race time was I did 5.2 miles in around 50 mins. I average between a 9:30- 10:00 mile. I am hoping to get that lower by race day but if I could maintain an average 10 min mile I would think that is pretty good. I am by no means a gazelle.

apple_22over7

There's so many variables here..

What's your 10k pb?
What type of course is it - flat or hilly?
What pace do you complete your long runs at?


Personally, I've been running for 12 months, my 10k PB is 60:08 and I ran my first half last weekend, in a time of 2:07:11. It was a flat course, but running into a 40mph headwind for half the course slowed me down - I reckon I could easily have shaved off 4-5 mins had the wind not been so strong (it was like running through treacle!).

Try putting your 10k time into the calculator here: http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/general/rws-race-time-predictor/1681.html and that should give you a good guide to start with. As you complete longer and longer runs in your training, you should get a feel for what your comfortable pace is and what time is realistic, challenging but attainable.

As for hydration - you'll definitely need it. I wouldn't go so far as energy gels or drinks (I used neither for my first half, just ensured I had a decent, safe breakfast on race day and made good use of the snacks provided in the finishers goody-bag), but water is a must. Do you know at what points the water stations will be for the race you’re doing? If so, on your long runs stick to hydrating at those points so you get a feel for when you’ll have access to water (unless you plan on carrying water with you during the race).

Personally I wouldn’t physically carry a water bottle in your hand – doing this for longer runs can alter your gait and upper-body movements, leading to injuries down the line. Instead, either “hide” water bottles along your route before you run, or run loops past your car/house/safe place so you can keep grabbing water from that point. Or invest in a waist/best pack. You can get specialist runners ones which have little bottles in holsters to carry water in. This keeps the weight of the water closer to your centre of gravity and doesn’t affect your running form.


The two most important things though are to 1) listen to your body, throughout training and the race. Need more water? Take it. Think you can go faster? Do it. Need to slow down? Slow your pace. All the training plans and advice in the world are no match for gut feeling and instinct. Secondly – enjoy yourself. Enjoy the training, and enjoy the race.

Good luck!

SingingSingleTracker

My best race time was I did 5.2 miles in around 50 mins. I average between a 9:30- 10:00 mile. I am hoping to get that lower by race day but if I could maintain an average 10 min mile I would think that is pretty good. I am by no means a gazelle.

Yes, the longer the distance for you at this point, it's not a bad idea to focus on a realistic pace you could maintain for that distance. There is nothing wrong with a 10 minute mile pace (since it is realistic). You have 12 weeks to train and I assume this includes an endurance run on the weekend. Practice that pace on your weekend endurance run to dial it in and get used to it.