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finished my first ever half marathon yesterday! Analyzing results, help please?

mkmiecmkmiec
in General Training Discussions

 Hey all,

So, as the title indicates, I'm done , I'm sore , and I have some questions !  

Background:  male, 31 years old, next year will be my 2nd year of triathlon, after doing two sprint's last year and getting the bug!    I am doing a 70.3 next fall (Poconos), as well as an Oly or two and a few sprints in the June/July time frame, and started the OS on 10/4.  I have done numerous 5-K and 4 or 5 mile road races over the last two years, but this was my only road race over 5 miles, ever.  

Ran the race with my Garmin 305 and recorder mile splits.  Below is the data.  Going into the race, I really wanted to focus on finishing, and was hoping to get a negative split (which I got, but by seconds rather than minutes). Also, the course was very flat - was in Atlantic City, NJ.  Finally, I ran the OS VDOT 5K test at a 7:22 min mile pace, with a LTHR of 175 BPM:  

Mile 1: 9:03, avg heart rate = 147

Mile 2: 8:41, 156 BPM

Mile 3: 8:44, 155 BPM

Mile 4: 8:40, 156 BPM

Mile 5: 8:44, 156 BPM

Mile 6: 8:43, 159 BPM

Mile 7: 8:36, 160 BPM

Mile 8: 8:46, 161 BPM

Mile 9: 8:46, 162 BPM

Mile 10: 8:40, 163 BPM

Mile 11: 9:04, 164 BPM (chatting with some nice people and took my eye off the pace a bit, plus, I was tired I suppose, hehe)

Mile 12: 8:22, 169 BPM

Mile 13: 8:27, 174 BPM

Remaining:  8:00 pace, 176 BPM 

Now firstoff, I am happy with my results.  I finished, I held a steady pace, and I picked it up at the end, and did I mention I finished?? 

My main question is this:  did I run a little too slow?  I ask because my VDOT result for the OS test has my HMP at 7:57.  For my next half marathon - probably in the spring after/near the end of OS, what pace range and heart rate should I try to aim for during the race?  Should I shoot for a higher heart rate/closer to my LTHR for a larger portion of the race?  What do you more experienced runners tend to aim for, in terms of heart rate and pace?  

Any other comments or advice on half marathons is MORE than welcome.  Thanks all! 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

  • steveperxsteveperx

     @Michael:

    First, congrats on finishing your HM.  It looks like you ran a fairly consistent race.

    You may have run a little slower than you could have, but I wouldn't sweat it.  As you do more longer distance running you'll get a feel for how you should be running at any given time.

    To give you perspective, I ran a marathon yesterday (my second ever stand-alone marathon).  According to Daniel's VDot, my marathon pace is 7:50/mi, which equates to a 3:24:30 marathon.  I finished in 3:47:30, which is more like 8:40/mi.  Part of that may have been my nutrition/hydration strategy; part may have been that I went out too fast.  All I know is that I have the fitness to do better than I did, I just didn't execute right, and that is a function of my inexperience at the open marathon.

    In any event, what you can do on a theoretical basis is affected by many factors.  The more you run at those distances, the more you learn about how your body reacts in certain ways to different stimuli, and the closer you'll get to running that "perfect" race.

     

  • GregSVanGregSVan

    Hi Michael,

    Congrats on the finish! First thing to concentrate on is just finishing, and that in itself is a big hurdle. Strong work.

    I had a similar start as you 2 years ago. Since then, Ive had some problems accurately predicting my pace for long races based on my vdot. Like mentioned above, your pace can depend on so many things, many out of our control. So while your vdot testing says you should be at that 8:00 pace, it doesnt mean you can automatically just go out and do it.

    My take on it this is your schedule allows, try some tempo runs at that pace and see what happens.

    Congrats again!

  • jburbattjburbatt

    I think you'll also find that many people, as they get used to their vDot and the paces they run at various distances, find that a different test is a better indicator of their paces. I think I recall mancona saying that he based his vDots off his half-marathon times since they were more accurate in his overall pacing strategy. I find that my 10k time is a much better indicator of my abilities for the longer distances, and my 5k times are better for determining my speed work paces. (Hopefully that makes sense!)

  • Jeff BraatenJeff Braaten
    Good job Michael, first time you run that far it feels like forever. I would echo what everyone above says and would reiterate what Jennifer stated. Just because you can run a 5K at a 7:22 pace doesn't necessarily mean you can turn around and convert that to a half marathon totally. VDOT testing gives you predictions of times and paces for various distances with the appropriate training at those distances. My test last week would have me running a 3:34 marathon but there is no way I could do that at this time, I haven't put in the miles. YET. Good job, good run.
  • mkmiecmkmiec

     Thanks so much everyone for the encouragement and advice!  

    Sounds like going forward, I should focus on running more at my stated HMP in the data tool, recognizing that the stated pace is a guideline/prediction and not an absolute truth, but that more and more time accumulated at that pace should get me faster times going forward.  

     

     

  • Coach PatrickCoach Patrick
    Mike, you got it. The vDOT in the data tool is a training guide, not a racing one. Train to it, lift it, and get faster....
  • mkmiecmkmiec

     Thanks Patrick!  

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