Monday, October 27, 2008

Half Marathon goals & game plan

The Hamilton Road2Hope Half Marathon on November 8th will be my third 21.1K/13.1mi. Having trained for and recently completed my first full marathon and run a handful of shorter races this year (three 10K's, one 5K), I am anxious to tackle the half marathon distance again.

I'm looking forward to it. It's a distance that's just long enough to be a challenge, without leaving me feeling like I've jumped out of a plane without a parachute. At least, hopefully.

As I mentioned yesterday, I have three goals for this race (my PR is 2:01:00):

A. 1:55 (5:27/KM): This is my ideal goal.
B. <1:58:57 (5:38/KM): You may be wondering about the random number - it's a friend's HM PR. A friend (male) whose 10K PR is 40 seconds faster than mine, HM PR is 2 minutes faster than mine and marathon PR is 3 minutes faster than mine (this is the guy who ran the entire second half of the race with me, but the bugger crossed the start line after me. No fair!). Nothing like a little friendly competition. I like trying to beat the boys. ;)
C. <2:00 (5:41/KM). If it kills me, I will come in under two hours.

As for the game plan? The first half of the race is downhill, so I plan to use that to my advantage. My goal is to hold a 5:15-5:25 pace for the first half until it flattens out. At that point, I will re-assess and slow down a little, or try to maintain the pace if I feel like I can. I know anything can happen on race day, but I feel pretty prepared.

20 comments:

Unknown said...

Good luck. I have trouble with understanding your planed pace to being American. Darn metric system. :) I'm guessing 1:54:09

Road Warrior said...

Sounds like you've got your head in the right place. Based on the pace you put together for the 10K, I'm pretty confident that you can meet your goal.

Good luck. We'll be rooting for you!

Jess said...

Those are great goals! Good luck with training for the sub-2 hour plan!

Anonymous said...

I always like having an A, B, and C plan. What a great motivator plan B is.

Mel-2nd Chances said...

lol...this one will be yours Marlene, he'll have to pick another race to do after your HM to try to beat your PR :D

Steve Stenzel said...

You can TOTALLY hit that "A" goal! Good luck!!

J said...

Sounds like a good plan!! I am sure you can reach your goal! Beat that guy and get under 1:58!!

JenZen said...

I LOVE half marathons. I completely agree. They are tough, but not as time consuming as a full to train for. You ROCK too btw! My ultimate goal is a 2:00 half. My PR is 2:16. One day....one day.

Marcy said...

Ohhhh Marlene. I'm SURE you can hit the A goal most DEF!!! ;D ;D

BeachRunner said...

Excellent plan and goals. Good luck.

Aron said...

awesome goals!!! you can definitely get it :) use those downhills to your advantage!

Marky Mark said...

Good luck with it! I was thinking of doing the 10K on the Saturday but see it's supposed to be 35K winds that day so now I'm thinking of the half. Not sure as we're seeing Sound of Music the night before.

If I do it I will try to just enjoy it and do a 2:15 even though my PB is 1:58:34. I think you will find it easier to go faster in the relative cool weather as compared to Scotia. Just don't go TOO fast at the beginning. When I broke two I banked a couple of minute sin the first 10K so that I was on pace for 1:56 and then as it got quite hot (it was Labour Day in Oakville) I slowed down a bit.

Marci said...

You can do it! Hope to see you there!

Run Mommy said...

Sounds great! Being a Canadian, I totally get your time! :). I will say this, if I have learned nothing in the recent weeks it is to let whatever happens - happen. In the end you can still call yourself a runner no matter what the outcome. Good luck!!

Marky Mark said...

Is it clear to you from the website what the exact course is as compared to the route for the full? I can't seem to find a map of the half.

Nitmos said...

Go for the goal A. Run a smartly paced race and you'll do it. I mean, a half marathon is , like, almost half the distance of a full marathon so it should be no sweat. Well, a little sweat but not quite as much.

AddictedToEndorphins said...

Have fun:)
you are going to ROCKKKKK it:)
((hugs))

Heather said...

Great goals. Good luck with your last bit of training.

Runner Leana said...

Those look like good goals! Best of luck!

yumke said...

Based on your 10K run totally doable half. I say you can even do it faster, weather permitting of course.