Monday 15 September 2008

Half Marathon Recap

The photo below confirms my 01:24:30 HM finish time yesterday. Mile, Pace, Time, HR 01, 06:31, 06:33, 151 02, 06:33, 13:04, 157 03, 06:29, 19:33, 160 04, 06:33, 26:06, 169 05, 06:44, 32:50, 169 06, 07:05, 39:55, 168 07, 06:09, 46:04, 168 08, 06:08, 52:12, 169 09, 06:09, 58:21, 169 10, 06:22, 64:43, 171 (10 Mile PB?) 11, 06:19, 71:02, 172 12, 06:27, 77:29, 175 13, 06:23, 83:52, 178 13.11, 00:38, 84:30, 184 The HR certainly shows the increasing stress I was under from mile 10 on. Just hanging in there before blowing up - I certainly left it close but isn't that what you're supposed to do for the perfect race and I don't think I was far off it yesterday. The key is to know what you are capable of and head out at that pace and hang in. I miscalculated in my August 5k when I blew up 300m before the line. The danger in applying that race philosophy in a marathon is that a small miscalculation in target pace could mean a disastrous end to the race. While McMillan would give me a 02:58:13 marathon (equivalent to doubling HM time and adding 10 minutes as mentioned by Alien Lizard). Heading out at 06:48 pace in Amsterdam still represents a huge gamble in my book. While my calves are a bit stiff from yesterday I feel reasonably ok. My recovery run will have to wait until this evening as I woke late this morning. Marathon Week 11/16 - 63.5 Miles Chasing Charlies Angels at 5 Miles.

6 comments:

  1. You're still 5 weeks out - enough time to better your odds and gather confidence for a 6:48 MP. They way you've been crushing PR's lately I think you'll do it.

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  2. I think you would know within the first couple of miles of the marathon if 6.48 is on or not, you have to feel really comfortable at that pace, if not then its a matter of backing off on the gas peddle.
    SOME OF THE GUYS IN MY RUNNING CLUB HAVE RUN SUB 3 HOURS AFTER RUNNING 1.24 1/2 MARATHONS SO IT IS WELL POSSIBLE. BUT IT WILL BE A CLOSE THING,GOOD LUCK!

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  3. The Blarney half is hilly too so 1:24 there is probably 1:23 or less on a flat course. I've no marathon experience but I reckon go for it :-)

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  4. Damn that's fast! Great job! Sub three hour marathon would be pretty sweet. Best of luck.

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  5. As said above you'll know pretty sharpish if the pace is within you are not. If you're pushing yourself in the early miles it could well be beyond you but if it feels relatively easy go with it. The worst thing would be to hold back because your watch tells you that you're going too fast while your legs are cruising.

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  6. It depends how strong you are on the long runs. That's the key. There's a bloke down here (58), ran sub-3 with a similar half time.

    Going by the HRs, looks like you could sit on 165ish for a long way.

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