How long between marathon & half?

Hi,

I'm training for a marathon (on 25th Oct) and my tempo runs suggest that I ought to be able to knock about 10 mins off my half-marathon PB, if I choose the right course. So, how long after the marathon would be ideal to try to do this (ie, making the most of my fitness but still allowing recovery time)? The marathon is Beachy Head, so I'm expecting to be pretty destroyed at the end of it.

Thanks for any advice.

I ran a marathon in April this year and then knocked 5 minutes off my half marathon PB (1:43 down from 1:48) in Milton Keynes in July.  After the marathon I took a couple of weeks off then eased myself back in to it.

10 minutes is an awful lot to try and save, good luck!

Thanks topcat. Yeah, I know 10 mins sounds a lot, but my pb was set about 2 years ago and it's the only road half I've ever done- since then I've only been doing hilly offroad races. Most of my training is offroad too, so I was surprised this week when I did a flat 12-mile tempo run in 1.35!  (My half pb is 1.55, at Windsor) So I think if I chose the right course, it could be possible.

How long between marathon & half?

13.1 miles........

seriously - provided you recover well from BHM (I'm doing it for the 3rd time)your target is doable especially if you've been training offroad and on hills which are naturally slower than the road. I reckon, let the legs recover for a couple of weeks and then look for a flat 1/2 around early December for the PB attempt.

as an idea I took 20 mins off a 1/2 Ironman PB, 2 months after completing a full Ironman as I was long distance fit - it's not the distance of the 1/2 that's the issue but going that little harder over the distance. I reckon a 1:45 is possible

good luck - and see you at BHM!

Sounds like you are going to smash that pb! 

After the mara training, if you up your base mileage a little and maintain an occasional 18-20 miler you will be very pleasantly surprised by your hm times. My mara attempts have been plagued by minor injuries and it will take me ages to work up to the distance properly. But even so, since my first mara last year hms have seemed very much easier and I knocked 6 mins off prev pb.