Half Marathon Race In Marathon Training

Hello,

I have a half marathon race this weekend, four weeks to marathon day. Assuming your training's reasonably on track, what's the normal way to run this to best prepare for the 26.2?

Options include all out for a half marathon PB, marathon pace throughout, sections at marathon pace, add on extra miles at the start/end...

Would be very interested to get people's thoughts.

Tom

I'd run it all at MP, or at least the last 10 or so.

As long as it's far enough out then I race it all out. The goal for me is to get a final idea of fitness level and use this to set paces and splits for the marathon.

ross riley wrote (see)

As long as it's far enough out then I race it all out. The goal for me is to get a final idea of fitness level and use this to set paces and splits for the marathon.

 

Same here.  3 weeks would be my absolute limit for this tactic, but 4 weeks out seems ideal, then you've got time for a final LR before taper. But it really depends what the rest of your training looks like; I've done a lot of "race pace" during my other sessions, but if you want to use the HM to practise target pace, it's certainly an option.

Many thanks for three useful responses. I wasn't sure what the fitness benefits would be to going all out, as opposed to marathon pace, but I guess it's just like a big tempo run. Would anyone add extra miles before/after? Was thinking of five or so, given that four weeks out is traditionally peak mileage week..

If you race the HM then you're not going to gain anything by adding miles, apart from maybe a one or two after to cool down. An HM raced is a pretty excellent marathon workout in itself and adding slower miles doesn't enhance this since your already operating at threshold pace. If you add miles before you'll actually reduce your ability to hit true threshold pace.

If you are using the HM as a marathon pace simulator then you will gain by doing miles before the HM increasing your tiredness before running 13 miles at marathon pace.

Ross makes a good point re using it a a MP simulator, however I would go with the race-it group.

If you get a PB or a good time that will have been a very good work-out as well as giving you new additional confidence. If it does not go to plan then you need to think your pacing for the big-day  - win/win

Can I jump in by asking what you think about a 10 mile run I'm doing on April 06. My marathon is on May 06. Is your advice different or should I still run it as a flat out race? I had thought of treating it as a long run and doing 5 miles before at long run pace then the 10 miles at or just below MP then 5 more miles at long run pace. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

For me, I would treat that as a couple of miles w/up, 10m race at my Half Marathon Pace, and then 2 warm down for a pacy medium long run. That's what I will be doing on Friday, 3 weeks out, and then Final Long Run on the Monday. Trouble is, I may get carried away in the 10m race - but that's my inadequacy not yours!

Your idea of doing 10 @MP, and adding easier miles to make it a long run, also sounds good. It really depends if you need a blast to give you a measure of where you are in your traininig, or whether the LR is the priority for you.

I'd add that it depends on how you are in your plan and how key the next few weeks are for you. I just ran a half, got a PB, but also got a few niggles, so ended up writing off the last week of training - I can probably catch up, but it's been a trade-off for me. (edit...and also have a marathon in the next 4 weeks).

Also-ran - Maidenhead?  I'll be running that all-out, off a very minor/non-existent taper.  Same caveats as above though; I'm happy I've been doing enough marathon-pace training elsewhere in the schedule, I've got absolutely no injury niggles to nurse through to race day, and three weeks is plenty to recover from a 10 mile race.  It's also a quality threshold session in itself, which may help to make marathon pace feel that bit easier.

Depends how greedy you are for your PB at the expense of potentially ruining your Marathon training efforts so far. I ran a half last weekend at what I want to be MP, probably more of a psychological boost than a fitness one. Never got a PB but I managed it fine so gives me an idea there or thereabouts of my fitness levels. I'm doing London and then another half on the 26th May, where I will race that one hard and smash my PB and wont care if I bugger myself up in the process as I will be having a good rest for a few weeks afterwards!

I was planning on posing a similar question, although I'm way ahead of myself.  I'm going to be running the Loch Ness Marathon on 29th September again this year.

About 5 weeks beforehand there's a local 17.5 mile coastal (very hilly) challenge that I competed in last year.

I was thinking about incorporating it into my marathon training, but not sure how to treat it.  I thought the thinking would generally be "treat it as a long slow run", maybe with some MP sections.

But, maybe it would be okay to race it?  I fear that I might get carried away on race day and just go for it.  Would that be too close to the marathon?

Last year, my marathon plan didn't exist - I was blagging it big time.  I raced the 17.5 mile coastal challenge (well - I say "raced" - I went all out and did it in as fast a time as my fitness level allowed!).

I realise I have a lot of time to think about this...

Hi PP - yes Maidenhead 10  for me as well - its just a couple of mile jog up the road. 6.06 min/m is what I'm targetting for a HM at some point in the future, so I will have a go at holding that pace for 10 miles. Minimal taper, and hot cross bun pre race fuelling

Calum - 5 weeks is plenty of time to recover, but those 2 weeks after the race are usually peak mileage/intensity so think back to how well you recovered last year. Loch Ness is pretty much downhill so doing MP on a hilly course would be a fairly intense effort. I'd be more inclined to make it a long run, maybe progressively upping the pace to MP towards the end

Cheers for the tips.  I don't remember Loch Ness being mostly downhill...!!  Well, overall, it is, but the two uphills in the last 8 miles were an absolute nightmare!!

By "hilly" - I mean it's up and down.  There are a few brutal climbs but then some very steep declines as well.  A good workout...

I've got loads of time to think about it - and the local race can just be entered on the day if necessary