Mitchell's 2015 Micro Thread
Hi Coach P,
Two quick questions, one general and one specific to this week.
1) I probably missed this somewhere, but in terms of targeting the appropriate training zones, do the times listed represent midpoint of the zone? Or the starting / ending point? Mine Reads Z1: 9:27, Z2: 8:06, Z3: 7:48, etc. So is zone 1 any pace between 9:27 - 8:06? or is that zone 2? Realize it's getting nit picky between a few zones but the difference between Z1 and Z2 is pretty broad. If I'm running at 8:15, what zone is that in?
2) I have a half marathon coming up this Sunday. Definitely treating it more as a training session than a race. I'm hoping for an 8:00 pace, though 8:15 is probably more realistic as there are two relatively big hills. My question is around nutrition. Realize there's not much to worry about in that amount of time but any tips you have on prerace meals and when to eat them would be great.
Thanks!
Comments
We have a lot in the Resources / Wiki / Run area on the half, including good pacing...you might be surprised what you can do with pacing. For hills I say run them easy up (like if you are thinking of 8s, they would be at 8:30s...but expect sub 8s on the way down. Again, you might be suprised.
Pre race food is really a big lunch the day before, light dinner. Stay hydrated. Race AM is race breakfast ideally 2.5 hours before, then a powerbar at 75' to go, sip water, gel at 15' to go...then race it out. You'll need some kind of food on the run, I'd carry 2 gels and plan on miles 4 and 8.
Good luck!!!
Thanks for the tips. Plan and pacing really helped - pretty much hit what I was aiming for. First time I've run more than 11 miles and finished the 13.1 in 1:43:21, including 1,100 feet of elevation gain between a few hills. My Z3/HMP is 7:48 so finished just under that at 7:43.