Scheduling races before a half marathon
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a_stronger_steph
Posts: 434 Member
Hi all,
I've signed up for my first half marathon which takes place on May 26th. I've mapped out a 16-week schedule that's sort of a hacked/extended version of the 12-week Hal Higdon Novice 2 plan. I'm hoping to run a couple of races in the spring before the half - probably a 5 or 8k and a 10k.
The 5/8k is on April 6th, about 8 weeks before the half - this race I can take or leave. It'd be nice to do but it's not a must. I'd really like to do one of the 10's though, and there are two that I can choose from - one on April 21st (6 weeks before the half) and one on May 12 (2 weeks before the half).
Any ideas as to whether it's better to run such a race earlier in the training program, or later? The Higdon plan says to pretty much pick races in your area that are convenient for you and that the timing isn't too particular, but is two weeks before the half a bad call? Or does it really not matter much?
Your thoughts are appreciated! Thanks so much!
I've signed up for my first half marathon which takes place on May 26th. I've mapped out a 16-week schedule that's sort of a hacked/extended version of the 12-week Hal Higdon Novice 2 plan. I'm hoping to run a couple of races in the spring before the half - probably a 5 or 8k and a 10k.
The 5/8k is on April 6th, about 8 weeks before the half - this race I can take or leave. It'd be nice to do but it's not a must. I'd really like to do one of the 10's though, and there are two that I can choose from - one on April 21st (6 weeks before the half) and one on May 12 (2 weeks before the half).
Any ideas as to whether it's better to run such a race earlier in the training program, or later? The Higdon plan says to pretty much pick races in your area that are convenient for you and that the timing isn't too particular, but is two weeks before the half a bad call? Or does it really not matter much?
Your thoughts are appreciated! Thanks so much!
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I have a similar question and would love to see what replies you get to this.0
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I think it all depends on what you mean by "race."
Unless you've been running a long time and racing at 10ks or longer with that, I would say that your goal for a first half really should just be (like Jeff Galloway says) to finish upright, with a smile on your face, wanting to do it again - so not aiming for time at all. So the priority during training is to build your endurance without getting injured. That should be the anchor for the decisions you make about what to do during your training.
So if you're planning to run that 10k at a fairly easy pace for fun and to have the experience of figuring out how you hold your pace despite the energy of the pack and your own adrenaline telling you to go out too fast, then I think running it 2 weeks before the half is just fine. It would mean, though, that you'd probably be doing your longest long run 3 weeks before your race - totally OK if you keep up your endurance through making sure you're running 3-4 times a week after that.
If you're planning to race that 10k, though (as in, go all out or close to it), I would go earlier, so that if you do injure yourself, you have a buffer of time to cut back for a couple of weeks to recover before you have to run the half.
If you've never ever run in a race before, I would encourage you to do one of the earlier 5ks too, again, at a fairly easy training pace - it's super-fun, and it's nice to have a couple of practice events so you know how things go before your big day.
My two cents - as a very conservative back-of-the-pack runner with no real ego about times, so that's my bias.0 -
Lots of considerations. How often do you race? How fast do you recover? What is your 1/2 marathon goal. A ROUGH rule of thumb is the body needs one day of recovery per mile raced so you would be recovered from a 10k in both cases but part of that recovery is some easy days and during your taper before the 1/2. Personally I would do the one six weeks out. And you could do one of the 5ks as long as it does not affect your overall training plan. Maybe just make it a training run0
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I am running my first 1/2 this weekend and plan on maintaining my mileage afterwards. My goal is to run another half at a faster pace in a few months and then increase my distance further to prepare for a marathon this summer.
Perhaps I would feel differently if I did not have plans for a full marathon in the future. However in my case I would prefer to keep my body used to longer runs.0 -
Thanks for the input! It's given me some things to think about...
In response to how often do I race, I've done two 10k's, and 8k, and five 5k's in the past year and a half (I suppose I'm coming up on almost two years of running now - what a strange thought from someone who loathed running for most of her life!). I'm not sure what my recovery time is exactly... I usually give myself a few days after a race, but the last 10k I ran I had to take a couple of weeks because I was running on a slightly injured foot, and it was a little aggravated after the fact.
Just knowing myself and the race-state-of-mind that I get in, I don't think I'd be able to run a race at an easy pace. The thrill of it is just too much, and I know I wouldn't be satisfied running at less than what I was fully capable of (also - it'll still be cold - maybe I can bust out a new PR...).
Given that, I guess it makes the most sense to do the one 6 weeks out, just in case of injury, as was pointed out. (Though I certainly hope not to injure myself!!).
Thanks again!0 -
Hope your half is a huge success. One thing to watch for which has bitten many people I know when they do thier first half is you start a bit too fast (all pumped up) and decide "Hey, this feels pretty easy, I think I'll keep this pace." It should feel easy the first 6-9 miles, so try not to get sucked in.
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Hope your half is a huge success. One thing to watch for which has bitten many people I know when they do thier first half is you start a bit too fast (all pumped up) and decide "Hey, this feels pretty easy, I think I'll keep this pace." It should feel easy the first 6-9 miles, so try not to get sucked in.
Haha, thanks! It's funny you should say that - back in September, I felt SO GOOD at the end of my first 10k (like I could have just kept going forever!), that I was sorely tempted to just dive in and sign up for a half marathon that was taking place in October. I posted about it in this group, I think, and was wisely advised against it (what a recipe for disaster that would have been). So I'll keep that in mind when it comes to the actual race. 0
