General Discussion Triathlon Talk » Half Marathon Pace Rss Feed  
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2008-09-05 11:11 AM

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Veteran
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Hillsborough, NH
Subject: Half Marathon Pace

I’m getting ready for an early Oct half marathon and I’m trying to figure out a goal time for the race.  I ran a half marathon last May in 1:43:33 but I feel that my fitness level is much better now.  I haven’t run any open running races since then but I ran a 10K as part of an Oly two weeks ago.  My time was 44:31 or 7:11/mile pace.  Can that pace be used to guesstimate a half mary?  Thanks, any help is appreciated!



2008-09-05 11:21 AM
in reply to: #1652783

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Not a Coach
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Media, PA
Subject: RE: Half Marathon Pace
Why not run a 5k or 10k in the next couple weeks?  That would be much easier to guess from as the oly could be well below your potential if you didn't pace the swim & bike well.  Or above your potential if the course was short (not unheard of for tri courses to be off materially).
2008-09-05 11:27 AM
in reply to: #1652783


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Subject: RE: Half Marathon Pace

Yes, I think your 10K in Oly pace would be a good estimate.  It shows what you can do during a race.  Its not as far as the half, but you had already done the swim and bike.  You may even be a little faster on the half run. 

From your log it looks like you have been doing ~ 7:30 to 7:40 min/mile.  Depending on how hard you do these training runs, you should be about that 7:11 pace in the race.

I recommend being conservative on the first couple miles, and then adjust up to this race pace if you are feeling good.

2008-09-05 11:30 AM
in reply to: #1652783

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Cycling Guru
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Subject: RE: Half Marathon Pace

Using your oly. 10k as a reference, here is what McMillan projects (assuming correct levels of training for the distance attempted):

Event100m200m400m500m800m1000m1500mMile2000m3000m2M4000m3M5000m
Time18.236.51:16.21:39.42:47.43:38.75:44.66:11.27:50.612:17.313:12.016:47.420:3921:26
Pace/Mile----------------6:18.66:35.56:36.06:45.36:536:54
Pace/K------------3:49.83:50.63:55.34:05.84:06.14:11.84:174:17
Event4M8000m5M10K15K10M20K13.1M15M25K30K20M25MMarathon
Time28:0235:1935:3144:311:08:591:14:351:33:521:39:031:54:151:59:152:25:022:36:513:17:443:28:55
Pace/Mile7:017:067:067:097:247:277:347:347:377:417:477:517:547:59
Pace/K4:224:254:254:274:364:384:424:424:444:464:504:524:544:58

Of course running a stand alone 10k would give you a little bit better idea of your potential.  Once again, solely based on getting the correct training in for the longer distance.
2008-09-05 11:31 AM
in reply to: #1652812

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Champion
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Verona WI--Ironman Bike Country!
Subject: RE: Half Marathon Pace

JohnnyKay - 2008-09-05 11:21 AM Why not run a 5k or 10k in the next couple weeks?  That would be much easier to guess from as the oly could be well below your potential if you didn't pace the swim & bike well.  Or above your potential if the course was short (not unheard of for tri courses to be off materially).

I agree with JohnnyKay, a 10K would be a reasonable indication of your pace potential for the half assuming you do not start out too fast and then blow up at the longer distance.  If that is not feasible, you could also consider starting tempo runs working up to an hour to get a feel for pacing.  I checked your logs and don't see much in the way of speed work so am not sure if that is something you are already doing or not. 

2008-09-05 12:34 PM
in reply to: #1652783

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Expert
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Subject: RE: Half Marathon Pace

My April 1/2-marathon pace was 7:22

My June Oly pace for the 10k was 7:31 

However, the course plays a major role.  Both of the above were on flat courses.  Although the Oly was about 10-15 degrees warmer...  So, in general, they are good comparisons (open 1/2-marathon and Oly 10k run).



2008-09-05 12:43 PM
in reply to: #1652783

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Runner
Subject: RE: Half Marathon Pace

Just go out and run it and see what happens.  Don't worry about a set pace to run.  Run what your body says you can run.

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