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Richmond Half Marathon: Please critique my plan

[Deleted User][Deleted User]
in General Training Discussions

 

Hello,

 

I am running the Richmond Half Marathon this weekend.  I have raced many 5Ks, 8ks and 10Ks but this will be my first ever ‘open’ half marathon.  I have had a solid 3 month run training block as I broke my collar bone earlier this year and had to close down my tri season early.

 

So I’d like you to critique my race / pace plan.    Based on an 8K run in October and a 10K in September I have a VDOT of 40, which gives me a HMP of 8:27.   In the pacing spreadsheet I used a target time of 1:50:00 so my pace looks like this ;

 



Mile
Calc Pace
Real Pace
Delta(s)

1
08:24
08:39
 

2
08:24
08:39
 

3
08:24
08:39
 

Split (1-3)
0:25:11
0:25:56
-0:00:45

4
08:24
08:19
 

5
08:24
08:19
 

6
08:24
08:19
 

7
08:24
08:19
 

8
08:24
08:19
 

9
08:24
08:19
 

10
08:24
08:19
 

Split (1-10)
1:23:58
1:24:08
-0:00:10

11
08:24
08:19
 

12
08:24
08:19
 

13
08:24
08:19
 

0.1
00:50
00:50
 

Total time:
1:50:00
1:49:54
0:00:06
 

Nutrition I know is somewhat personal but in my long runs I have been using a GU gel and a few sips of water approximately every 30 minutes.  So I plan to follow the same protocol during the race.

 

Am I being too ambitious re my pace target?  Welcome your thoughts / comments.

 

 

Regards

 

 

 

Ian

Comments

  • Steve WestSteve West
    I would start a little slower, like 9:00 for the first 2 to 3 miles. Don't let your pace pick up until you are fully warmed up and in the groove. Then target your HMP @ 8:27 until mile 10. If you have good run fitness you should be able to crank it up some more for the final 3.1. How much depends on what you got left. If your run fitness is less robust, just hang on and know that if you had gone out faster you'd be slowing down by now.....

    Just my 2 cents.....

    Best of luck
  • mgraffeomgraffeo
    Ian, I like the plan. Give yourself a little flexibility in the first mile (anywhere up to 9 minutes is OK), and just work on getting into your rhythm between 1 and 4, then check in against your splits.

    Go get 'em!
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User]

    @Mike @ ;Steve, 

    Many thanks for the input.  I'll let you know how this old body does next week!

     

    Ian

  • Coach PatrickCoach Patrick
    Ian, you might consider a short jog before the start...for like 10-15'..then get in line with 5-10' to go...just so you have the heebie-jeebies shaken out of your legs!!
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User]

    Well that was fun!  Thanks to you all for your valuable advice.  I had a good warm up to got rid of the ‘heebie-jeebies’, then followed the guidelines and came back over a minute under my best expectations.  Here are my splits;

     

    Mile 1    8:43

    Mile 2    8:39

    Mile 3    8:35

    Mile 4    8:23

    Mile 5    8:40 

    Mile 6    8:04 

    Mile 7    8:20

    Mile 8    8:26

    Mile 9    8:28

    Mile 10  8:30

    Mile 11  7:55

    Mile 12  7:32

    Mile 13  7:04

     

    Total Time:  1:48:47

     

    So now for some solid work in the OS and see what happens in the Spring 

     

    Thanks again

     

     

    Ian

  • mgraffeomgraffeo
    Well done!
  • MattAaronsonMattAaronson
    Wow, that's a pretty massive negative split
    And I assume a new VDOT too: 40.87
    If you are really lucky, you are one of those people who consistently has a higher VDOT in 15k, 10-mile and half-marathons compared with 5k and 8k distances.

    Post an RR in the other forum if you're inclined, I'd love to knoe how the race felt for you. I suspect that laying down 3 miles sub-8:00 at the end -- includeing a 7:34 and a 7:04 -- either left you almost dead or wishing you had turned up the fire a bit earlier. Or both.

    In any case a great race for you...congrats!
  • NoyakNoyak

     Great race!  Well done.

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