Question:

I was seriously thinking of doing a 1/2 marathon in preparation for a marathon, but I got to thinking… 1.  I doubt if I can run a 1:36 on that course because it is too hilly. 2.  I missed a 20 mile long run with our marathon training group. 3.  I like the marathon finishers t-shirts (didn’t happen this year though) I ended up doing a Marathon instead and treated it like a 20 mile long run with a 6.2 mile recovery.  It looks like it might have even worked. I’ll know more when I see how I do on my next 5k. Thanks,         Roger – Tapering started Sunday afternoon –

Response:

  Doubling half marathon plus ten minutes is a good bet if you pace yourself well in both races.  I ran a half marathon three weeks before Boston in 1:15:50 (with asthma problems from 4 mile mark to finish).  Then ran Boston in 2:37.42, then a month later another half marathon in 1:14.22.  So it’s a close estimate. Andy

Response:

Thx for the advice! I now can race this one without having a bad conscience UNfortunately I’ve got a slight cold but I guess I can do a 1:30 1/2 marathon. Of course you can expect a report Greetings, Oerficus! — One Sure Thing – When everything else fails, you still have your running.. Daniel’s Running Formula Feel free contacting me! ICQ: 55398705

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi all! I am doing a 1/2 marathon next Sunday as a preparation for my first marathon on the 14th of October. Well, my question is how fast I should go? I have thought about running it like a LSD but I already know know that I’ll not be able to do that in a race when everyone else infects you with the hype of racing. Could it harm running this race faster than marathon pace, besides is it even possible to run a 1/2 marathon much faster than running a marathon? As this will be my first 1/2 marathon race I’m not sure which pace I should go for being able finishing the race? Any experiences welcome! I guess there are loads of them out there Further info ’bout me: 5k time 18:55 10k time 43:12 (old) LSD pace: 5min/km Yasso’s 800m: 3:10 predicted MP: ??? (taken from the 5k time it’s 3:01 but I guess I can’t trust this calculation) Greetings, Oerficus! PS: If this topic has been treated recently I’m sorry but I’ve been to Spain for a while now. No possibility to read r.r. really missed it. — One Sure Thing – When everything else fails, you still have your running.. Daniel’s Running Formula Feel free contacting me! ICQ: 55398705

Response:

Race it.  Start out at a little slower than your old 10K pace and then pick it up in the last 4-5 miles.  My 5K PR is slower than yours, but my 10K is slightly better. All the best. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi all! I am doing a 1/2 marathon next Sunday as a preparation for my first marathon on the 14th of October. Well, my question is how fast I should go? I have thought about running it like a LSD but I already know know that I’ll not be able to do that in a race when everyone else infects you with the hype of racing. Could it harm running this race faster than marathon pace, besides is it even possible to run a 1/2 marathon much faster than running a marathon? As this will be my first 1/2 marathon race I’m not sure which pace I should go for being able finishing the race? Any experiences welcome! I guess there are loads of them out there Further info ’bout me: 5k time 18:55 10k time 43:12 (old) LSD pace: 5min/km Yasso’s 800m: 3:10 predicted MP: ??? (taken from the 5k time it’s 3:01 but I guess I can’t trust this calculation) Greetings, Oerficus! PS: If this topic has been treated recently I’m sorry but I’ve been to Spain for a while now. No possibility to read r.r. really missed it. — One Sure Thing – When everything else fails, you still have your running.. Daniel’s Running Formula Feel free contacting me! ICQ: 55398705

– Regards, Dave I’d love to think that there’s an end just waiting right around the bend, but every turn’s a tunnel.        I descend I’m the running man… Edward Ka Spell and kEvin Key, The Last Man to Fly, 1991

Response:

Run it as a race! That is assuming you are on track for your training and this isn’t your first 13 mile run. You’ll be in pleanty good shape for it so you might as well use it. A word of caution though. If you do decide to race it be sure you can recover from the run before you go racing. This will take a bit out of you and how soon you get back into the swing of marathon training depends on your rate of recovery. If you recover slowly and need 2 weeks to recover from a long run then you should consider running at marathon or a bit faster pace. If you have had no problems recovering (ie. you are able to do a long run each week in your training) then you’ll be fine. Just take an easy week after the half and start back up again the following week. Enjoy, Andy – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi all! I am doing a 1/2 marathon next Sunday as a preparation for my first marathon on the 14th of October. Well, my question is how fast I should go? I have thought about running it like a LSD but I already know know that I’ll not be able to do that in a race when everyone else infects you with the hype of racing. Could it harm running this race faster than marathon pace, besides is it even possible to run a 1/2 marathon much faster than running a marathon? As this will be my first 1/2 marathon race I’m not sure which pace I should go for being able finishing the race? Any experiences welcome! I guess there are loads of them out there Further info ’bout me: 5k time 18:55 10k time 43:12 (old) LSD pace: 5min/km Yasso’s 800m: 3:10 predicted MP: ??? (taken from the 5k time it’s 3:01 but I guess I can’t trust this calculation) Greetings, Oerficus! PS: If this topic has been treated recently I’m sorry but I’ve been to Spain for a while now. No possibility to read r.r. really missed it. — One Sure Thing – When everything else fails, you still have your running.. Daniel’s Running Formula Feel free contacting me! ICQ: 55398705

Response:

I am doing a 1/2 marathon next Sunday as a preparation for my first marathon on the 14th of October. Well, my question is how fast I should go?

Your answers so far seem to fall on two sides (1) run it as a race and use that as a confirmation of the viability of your marathon goal or (2) run it at marathon pace to practice holding that pace. My recommendation is predicated on how much you have run at your MP during training.  If none or little, I recommend (2) above.  Entering my first marathon, I had traing 18 weeks and had run a total of zero miles at my MP.   Ran a lot of miles faster and a lot slower, but none at the goal pace.   Hence, I found myself throttling along at some random pace trying to understand whether I was too fast, too slow, or whatever. If you’ve run a lot of MP workouts, then if it were me I’d run it as a race.   The race calculator I use (there are many) equates a 1:26 half with a 3:01 full (gee, that’s about the same as double-it-and-add-10, oh well). Have fun. — Lorne Sundby

Response:

It sounds like you have an excellent opportunity to see how closely you can hold precisely your marathon pace.  A half-marathon done a marathon goal pace is an excellent workout and should give you a lot of confidence going into the full marathon race.  I don’t know what you accomplish by attempting to race harder for the half except tiring yourself out.  Since this is your first marathon as well as your first half, all the more reason to take the half conservatively. I’ve run 3 half marathons and started training for a marathon but gave up.  I find the half-marathon distance short enough to be raced, but as my mileage peaked, I found myself thinking that a marathon’s distance is quite an accomplishment of and unto itself.  If your long runs have been going well and they’ve been up over 20 miles, then you may have the kind of endurance and stamina it takes to race a marathon, but if remember that once the wall hits, well, it takes its toll quickly.  As I increased my long run distances, I was always surprised by how quickly I went from feeling fine to feeling awful and that transition usually took place within a mile or two after I’d passed the distance of my previous longest run. And might not the Yasso 800’s be a better predicter of your marathon performance than a 5k race?  If I remember how they work, they’d suggest 3:10, not 3:01. Steve "confessing the idle ramblings of someone who got tired of 2+ hour runs by himself" Freides – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi all! I am doing a 1/2 marathon next Sunday as a preparation for my first marathon on the 14th of October. Well, my question is how fast I should go? I have thought about running it like a LSD but I already know know that I’ll not be able to do that in a race when everyone else infects you with the hype of racing. Could it harm running this race faster than marathon pace, besides is it even possible to run a 1/2 marathon much faster than running a marathon? As this will be my first 1/2 marathon race I’m not sure which pace I should go for being able finishing the race? Any experiences welcome! I guess there are loads of them out there Further info ’bout me: 5k time 18:55 10k time 43:12 (old) LSD pace: 5min/km Yasso’s 800m: 3:10 predicted MP: ??? (taken from the 5k time it’s 3:01 but I guess I can’t trust this calculation) Greetings, Oerficus! PS: If this topic has been treated recently I’m sorry but I’ve been to Spain for a while now. No possibility to read r.r. really missed it. — One Sure Thing – When everything else fails, you still have your running.. Daniel’s Running Formula Feel free contacting me! ICQ: 55398705

Response:

From my experience of people who’ve run marathons recently, 18:00 — 18:15 in a 5k is what you need if you want to run a marathon in less than 3hrs. Of course your 1/2 marathon time will be an even better gauge: you should aim for 1:23 or 1:24 for the 3hr time goal. Double 1/2 marathon plus 10 mins is quite optimistic for your first marathon (but not impossible!). Here are the race times of several friends of mine (and myself) who ran in either Paris, London or Boston this year. Of course, there is a bit of variation from person to person (not all of it caused by the poor conditions in Paris), but you get the general idea. I expect all of us would be running 800s in round about 2:50. Best of luck for your races! Oliver. Person 1: 5k: 17:59 1/2 mar: 1:19:30 mar: 2:47:24 (London, 29th lady) Person 2: 1/2 mar: 1:19:40 mar: 2:48:00 (Boston, 5th vet 50) mar: 2:58:20 (London, 6 days later, including bad fall at 18 miles!) Person 3: 5k: 17:53 1/2 mar: 1:23:00 mar: 2:58:54 (Paris) Person 4: 5k: 18:11 1/2 mar: 1:23:57 mar: 2:59:58 (Paris, 29th lady) Person 5: 5k: 17:33 1/2 mar: 1:19:45 mar: 2:51:58 (Paris) Person 6: 5k: 18:02 1/2 mar: 1:23:30 mar: 1:51:30 (London)

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I agree with Povl… You can race this one… And in fact you have a great opportunity to really zero in on what your goal marathon time might be… However I would disagree with Povl on one thing… If you’re shooting at 3- flat, I’d put your half more in the neighborhood of 1.25-1.26… I’ve always used the rule of taking your half time, double it, add ten minutes to get your marathon target.  A 1.30 half ‘thon, therefore, would equate more to a 3.10. I’d go for it!… Practice running negative splits… This is a real good opportunity for that… Good luck! Hi all! I am doing a 1/2 marathon next Sunday as a preparation for my first marathon on the 14th of October. Well, my question is how fast I should go? I have thought about running it like a LSD but I already know know that I’ll not be able to do that in a race when everyone else infects you with the hype of racing. Could it harm running this race faster than marathon pace, besides is it even possible to run a 1/2 marathon much faster than running a marathon? As this will be my first 1/2 marathon race I’m not sure which pace I should go for being able finishing the race? Any experiences welcome! I guess there are loads of them out there Further info ’bout me: 5k time 18:55 10k time 43:12 (old) LSD pace: 5min/km Yasso’s 800m: 3:10 predicted MP: ??? (taken from the 5k time it’s 3:01 but I guess I can’t trust this calculation) Greetings, Oerficus! PS: If this topic has been treated recently I’m sorry but I’ve been to Spain for a while now. No possibility to read r.r. really missed it.

Response:

I agree with Povl… You can race this one… And in fact you have a great opportunity to really zero in on what your goal marathon time might be… However I would disagree with Povl on one thing… If you’re shooting at 3- flat, I’d put your half more in the neighborhood of 1.25-1.26… I’ve always used the rule of taking your half time, double it, add ten minutes to get your marathon target.  A 1.30 half ‘thon, therefore, would equate more to a 3.10. I’d go for it!… Practice running negative splits… This is a real good opportunity for that… Good luck!

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi all! I am doing a 1/2 marathon next Sunday as a preparation for my first marathon on the 14th of October. Well, my question is how fast I should go? I have thought about running it like a LSD but I already know know that I’ll not be able to do that in a race when everyone else infects you with the hype of racing. Could it harm running this race faster than marathon pace, besides is it even possible to run a 1/2 marathon much faster than running a marathon? As this will be my first 1/2 marathon race I’m not sure which pace I should go for being able finishing the race? Any experiences welcome! I guess there are loads of them out there Further info ’bout me: 5k time 18:55 10k time 43:12 (old) LSD pace: 5min/km Yasso’s 800m: 3:10 predicted MP: ??? (taken from the 5k time it’s 3:01 but I guess I can’t trust this calculation) Greetings, Oerficus! PS: If this topic has been treated recently I’m sorry but I’ve been to Spain for a while now. No possibility to read r.r. really missed it. — One Sure Thing – When everything else fails, you still have your running.. Daniel’s Running Formula Feel free contacting me! ICQ: 55398705

Response:

Hi all! I am doing a 1/2 marathon next Sunday as a preparation for my first marathon on the 14th of October. Well, my question is how fast I should go? I have thought about running it like a LSD but I already know know that I’ll not be able to do that in a race when everyone else infects you with the hype of racing. Could it harm running this race faster than marathon pace, besides is it even possible to run a 1/2 marathon much faster than running a marathon? As this will be my first 1/2 marathon race I’m not sure which pace I should go for being able finishing the race?

As you have plenty of time to the full marathon, I will suggest you take this as a race, and aim for a time around 1:30. If you can’t race it in 1:30, you can’t do the full in 3 hours. The reason I suggest 1:30 or thereabout is 19 minutes/5km double + 10% = 38 + 10% = 42 * 2 = 84 + 10% = 1:32. I would use the half to judge potential marathon speed. I was doing around 1:45 for a half, and spent 3:54 on a full, which is close to 1:45 * 2 + 10%.

Response:

Hi all! I am doing a 1/2 marathon next Sunday as a preparation for my first marathon on the 14th of October. Well, my question is how fast I should go? I have thought about running it like a LSD but I already know know that I’ll not be able to do that in a race when everyone else infects you with the hype of racing. Could it harm running this race faster than marathon pace, besides is it even possible to run a 1/2 marathon much faster than running a marathon? As this will be my first 1/2 marathon race I’m not sure which pace I should go for being able finishing the race? Any experiences welcome! I guess there are loads of them out there Further info ’bout me: 5k time 18:55 10k time 43:12 (old) LSD pace: 5min/km Yasso’s 800m: 3:10 predicted MP: ??? (taken from the 5k time it’s 3:01 but I guess I can’t trust this calculation) Greetings, Oerficus! PS: If this topic has been treated recently I’m sorry but I’ve been to Spain for a while now. No possibility to read r.r. really missed it. — One Sure Thing – When everything else fails, you still have your running.. Daniel’s Running Formula Feel free contacting me! ICQ: 55398705

Response:

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