Determining Half Marathon Pace

I am training for my second half marathon. I ran the first in June, 2013 with a finishing time of 1:52:11. I had been aiming for sub 1:45:00. Because I didn't meet my goal, I have registered for a second half marathon scheduled for August 31. My goal has been sub 1:45:00 again. I ran a 10 mile race in June, 2014 at 1:18:52, so it seems reasonable. I have been following the Run Less, Run Faster app this summer and am certainly a lot faster than I was 7 weeks ago. This morning, I did a 6 mile tempo run at 7:36 pace which is faster than my 10K PR from October 2013 of 47:29. My endurance is also stronger. I ran 13 miles on Friday at 8:26 pace. Now I'm wondering whether I should set a faster goal for the half, but I'm nervous that if I go out too fast, I'll die and won't make my sub 1:45:00 goal.

What do you think is an appropriate goal pace for my half marathon? I appreciate any thoughts or opinions you'd like to offer.

My second one was 4-5 minutes better than my first with pretty much the same training. The experience of running the race, how to run it, what to expect was pretty much what helped me get better. My first was 1:45and the second was 1:40.

I did alot of 5k's and 10k's before it as well but I just didnt know about a full 13.1 mile race and how I would react so the first one was a bit tentative.

I had much more confidence in the second one in knowing how and what I could do. I use a garmin 305 watch with pace alerts. LOVE PACE ALERTS!!!
Going in I knew I could get the time of my first race. No problem unless something drastic that day. I then set my pace alerts to alert me when I went too fast (usually in the beginning) and too slow. The later the race got and I was feeling stronger I slowly began to go a little faster and faster where my second half of the race was better than the first.


I know tha may not help, but your experience alone may help you shave 4-5 min off from the 1st to the 2nd race!

I dont know if you have a GPS watch at all or one with pace alerts. I was almost always setting PRs in 5Ks with that thing becaue of the pace alerts. You dont even have to look at the watch when it beeps as you KNOW if you are too fast or slow when it beeps. You sound like your training is going well. I didnt change up my training between the two to get faster because I felt running a smarter race would shave my time. Running SMART can def help. In my PT test twice a year I get these young punks half my age sprinting out the gate. I am out and run a pretty much same pace the whole time. GUess who is huffing and puffing at the mile, mile half mark getting passed by this old geezer? Yep, those who didnt run a smart race.

Can you turn your next long run into a fast finish long run and try to run the last 6 at goal half pace? So if you are toying wiht the idea of making 7:36 a possible new goal, run 6 at long run pace and then the last 6 at goal pace and see how it feels.

What is your normal training pace? I would worry about making all your runs fast right now and burning out before the race. You don't want to peak too early.

One thing you can try is 'steady state' long runs, where every other week on your longest run, you do a portion of the miles at goal race pace (to get your body and mind used to running that pace without freaking out). If the run was 10 miles, it might be 2 warmup, 6@ goal pace, 2 cool down. Pay attention to how your other runs feel. If you are trashed after, it may be too fast.

I will add this one more thing.

For "beginning" HM race runners I think the most important thing to improve time is just putting in the miles. Put in those long runs and be faithful to that LR routine. We usually maxed out 14-15 miles on the LR.

Simply by getting those miles in and getting comfortable with it will help your overall time. Just the way it usually goes.

Once you really start to drop your time and get closer to what your body can do is when those specialized runs really come in to help.
A number of my friends will run a sub 1:30 and they do alot of those special runs and even they suggest for the novice racers who have just a couple/few races to just get those miles in and get those legs ready!!!!

My new normal training pace is about 8:20/mile. I was frequently slowing myself down during my 13 miler on Friday because my target pace was 8:29. When I was paying attention to how I felt and thinking, this is probably an 8:29 pace, I would check Garmin and find that was at 8:20 +/- 2 seconds. Last week I did an 8 miler at 7:52 pace and didn't feel trashed at the end. Yes, I was pushing myself, but I wasn't dead either.

Would 7:45 pace (vs. the 8:00 pace for a sub 1:45:00) be realistic?

Depends a bit on your mileage, and how long you have been running this training pace. but unless you're only running 15 miles/week or something, that shouldn't really be a problem. Generally, training pace should be 1-2 minutes slower per mile than race pace, so if you are repeatedly and comfortably running 8:30s or lower, I see no reason to discount 7:45. If its only been a few weeks with 8;20-8:30 as your long run pace, you may want to go with the more conservative time plan.

Its up to you which strategy to take, maybe try to set out at 8min miles to avoid tanking the race, then trying to negative split if you feel good. Is this a big half? If so there may be pace groups, and those can be a big help in not going out to fast, and taking some of the mental hardships out of trying to maintain pace. Its sometimes easy to just follow the guy holding the sign.

It is a big half, The Chicago Women's Magnificent Mile Half Marathon, so I was considering just hanging out with the race pacer. I just need to decide which pacer to hang with.

I've been doing 8:10-8:15 pace for a 5 mile run very comfortably since February or so. Longer runs (10+) seem okay at 8:20ish. I've got the following long runs on the schedule until race day (paces are as prescribed by the RLRF app):

7/18--10 miles @ 8:19
7/25--14 miles @ 8:29
8/1--10 miles @ 8:19
8/8--15 miles @ 8:29
8/15--12 miles @ 8:19
8/22--8 miles @ 8:19
8/31--Race Day!

Should I maybe play with pace on the 8/15 12 miler and try to simulate race pace or is that too close to race day?

I would start messing with it sooner, try doing half the miles at goal pace this week, then do the next week at your training, then 6-7 at goal on 8/1, and see how it goes. In the meantime, what is your tempo run/interval schedule? Upping 'quality' miles will help you at this point, but its a balancing act.

Your training pace seems fast... Do you do most of your miles at that pace? If so I would think on race day you can significantly beat your goal. You need to be careful during your taper not to do all miles that fast. For example, on a 12 mile run, make sure you get a warm up at a much slower pace, then do the last 4-6 miles at race pace.

According to the predictor I use, if your 10K PR is 47:30ish then your half marathon race pace should be 7:58.

The 12 mile run is not too close to the race, but I would start testing earlier.

At the half I would be very careful not to go out too fast. If you are happy with 8:00 pace and sub 1:45, then I would start around 8:10-8:15 for the first mile or 2 miles. You can make that up. Gradually speed up to pace, and then drop below 8s for the last few miles. By then you will know exactly how you are feeling and if you have some juice left.

ETA - your training sounds like it's going really well. Congrats and good luck!

I like to use this site to estimate event times: http://www.runningforfitness.org/calc/racepaces/rp

I put your 6 mile info in and it is says about 1:38 for a half. You've still got some time to train, so if you want to set your goal for a faster time, it looks like you should be able to do it.

So, with that many fast miles during the week, I don't know that I'd advise adding more 'quality' during your long runs, you might be better off with just more miles on your legs. Basically, your training is fine, you should be able to run a half faster than 1:45, if you don't burn out or get injured. The rest is just managing the actual race itself.