Running A Half Marathon as Training for the Full

TorridCutie

I am currently training for the Atlanta Marathon on October 30th and have also signed up for 13.1 Atlanta, which is this coming Sunday. I had a group run with some experienced runners that belong to the Track Club a couple of weeks ago who are running both races and they said they would treat the half marathon as a dress rehearsal for the full and would run at race pace.

I have a few questions for the experienced racers out there:

1. Do you think it is a good idea to run the half at race pace?

2. Would you taper during this week before the half? I ran 20 miles last Saturday and am still a bit sore.

3. Would you reduce your mileage next week for your shorter runs to recover? Next weekend, the week after the half, I have a 20-mile run.

Thank you in advance for any advice you may provide.

Sumo813

I can't answer your questions as I am not a runner. I will wish you good luck because I admire those who are runners!

Here is one of those "taken with a grain of salt" articles that was published in Men's Health some time back... (it actually applauds half marathons over full marathons - the reason I'm sharing).

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27460551/ns/health-fitness/t/are-you-running-yourself-death/

zookeepersuzy

1. Do you think it is a good idea to run the half at race pace? i would run it at marathon race pace

2. Would you taper during this week before the half? I would rest 2 days before, maybe 5-10k each day tues-thurs.

3. Would you reduce your mileage next week for your shorter runs to recover? I would take off 2-3 days after depending on how you feel. If you feel good, I'd go ahead with the long run.


*I've never done a full, but I've done several halfs & and watched my dad do fulls for the last 15 years. I'm training for a full next year and this is what I'd do..

TorridCutie

I can't answer your questions as I am not a runner. I will wish you good luck because I admire those who are runners!

Here is one of those "taken with a grain of salt" articles that was published in Men's Health some time back... (it actually applauds half marathons over full marathons - the reason I'm sharing).

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27460551/ns/health-fitness/t/are-you-running-yourself-death/

Any intense cardio puts stress on the body and increases the chance of a cardiac event, but studies actually have shown athletes, including marathoners, are actually healthier and live longer than the general population. This is the kind of alarmist article that my mother reads and then calls me to ask why I cannot run like "normal" people do. <sigh>

arc918

My $.02 - assuming you haven't been fighting injuries, I would run the half at full blast (or close to it) and then use that to help determine your marathon race pace.

I would not do a full taper, maybe just an extra day off before the race.

Bottom line, you want to run the half hard, but not so hard as to derail your marathon training.

Sumo813

I can't answer your questions as I am not a runner. I will wish you good luck because I admire those who are runners!

Here is one of those "taken with a grain of salt" articles that was published in Men's Health some time back... (it actually applauds half marathons over full marathons - the reason I'm sharing).

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27460551/ns/health-fitness/t/are-you-running-yourself-death/

Any intense cardio puts stress on the body and increases the chance of a cardiac event, but studies actually have shown athletes, including marathoners, are actually healthier and live longer than the general population. This is the kind of alarmist article that my mother reads and then calls me to ask why I cannot run like "normal" people do. <sigh>

How do "normal" people run? lol... and that's why I threw the disclaimer out there... but the alliteration of being Lance Armstrong at the start of the race and Louie Anderson at the finish was an eye grabber. Although, I'd be Louie at both the start and the finish. :sad:

Nonetheless, I still admire runners. You all do what I wish I could do. I run/jog a 5k on the treadmill in about 40 mins. In January I am going to sign up for the Warrior Dash in Lake Wales, FL. Should be nice and chilly. I'm hoping for a finish under 60 mins. We'll have to see how much I can improve by then.

rybo

I think you are going to have to make a little bit of a judgement call based on how you feel.

If you rest up an extra day or 2 & feel good going into the half, nothing wrong with trying to run it "hard", you should be able to recover fine for the next weekend's 20.

If you feel a little sluggish going into it, then backing off & running at marathon pace would not be a problem either.

thebiggreenmachine

My $.02 - assuming you haven't been fighting injuries, I would run the half at full blast (or close to it) and then use that to help determine your marathon race pace.

I would not do a full taper, maybe just an extra day off before the race.

Bottom line, you want to run the half hard, but not so hard as to derail your marathon training.

I agree with this. Run the half at full speed. This will give you a good idea of where your training is at and should hopefully give you a good indication of what you can run in the marathon. Good luck.

TorridCutie

Thank you for all the feedback. I will take Friday and Saturday off and will try to run the half as fast as I can. We'll see how it goes :-)

efarrar13

I am running my first ever full this sunday. Honestly, I would use the half as a training run. People tried getting me to do an official half but I reminded myself that the marathon is my ultimate goal. I didn't want to do all this training to get injured and fall short. If this is your first for both as it is for me, why not look at the races that way? Worrying about PRing and improving your time next year. Focus on running solid and enjoying the accomplishments you will be achieving this year. For me, training for this marathon, restraint has been the toughest part.

In the end you need to look inside yourself and decide what is most important to you. Then make it happen.

arc918

Thank you for all the feedback. I will take Friday and Saturday off and will try to run the half as fast as I can. We'll see how it goes :-)

I'm not talking run until you puke & die kind of effort, but run it at a solid tempo run kind of pace/effort

I guess the missing pieces of the puzzle are how easily you recover from your halfs and what kind of speedwork you've been doing

do you have an on-line running log?

skirunman

I'm doing similar for NY Marathon on 11/6 with 1/2 Marathon on 10/9. I personally would not "race" the 1/2. I will be running my half at my planned marathon pace of 8 min/mile (3:30 goal). I am 49 and my PRs for marathon are 3:24 (2003) and 1:36 1/2 (2005) to give you some background. With only 4 weeks between 1/2 and race day, in my opinion, you don't want to take the chance with an over training injury, especially as you have a long run the following weekend. I would do a very slight taper with shorter run on Thursday then usual, Friday off, then very easy run of 2-3 miles on Saturday. All this assumes you are feeling good with no nagging or slight injuries and you don't have any really deep soreness or tiredness from your training before the race.

Have fun and good luck!

keengkong

1. Do you think it is a good idea to run the half at race pace?

It may be a bit tough to run it at race pace considering that the next week you're expected to run 20 miles. I'm concerned about you running the half marathon at race pace if you haven't run a marathon before. The experienced runners in your group can probably run the half marathon at race pace and still run 20 mile the next weekend. However, one of the most important goals of marathon training is going easy enough on yourself that you don't injure yourself.

2. Would you taper during this week before the half? I ran 20 miles last Saturday and am still a bit sore.

Yes, if you plan on running the half marathon at race pace. Otherwise, no.

3. Would you reduce your mileage next week for your shorter runs to recover? Next weekend, the week after the half, I have a 20-mile run.

You might go a little easier on yourself for a few days after the half marathon.