Last night I decided to sign up for the Capitol City Half Marathon in Columbus, Ohio on May 7. I figured that since I'm training to run 6+ miles twice for the Poco Loco (out, rest, then back), I might as well use that earned endurance for a half marathon (13.1 miles), too.
I did a half marathon in 2008, but it was a totally different situation then. I was a newer runner, had never done anywhere near that distance, and was starting with a fitness level lower than I have now. I looked at my 2008 training plan and knew I'd have to do something totally different this time. I used the Runner's World Smart Coach, but the resulting plan wasn't what I was looking for, either. My husband thought I should seriously consider the Galloway method, so I spent about 30 minutes reviewing the Half Marathon training book by Galloway that I read this summer. I'm intimidated by all the math and drills and such required to do the pure Galloway method. I have enough trouble finding time to actually run and track/blog it. Adding all that other overhead is de-motivating.
As I was reviewing the Galloway method though, Ken asked me what my Time Trial Mile would be (pace is calculated on a mile time trial). I guessed 9:30 or 9:15 if I just ran just one timed mile. With a 9:30 time trial the book provided an estimate that I could do a 2:29:20 half marathon. Wow, that's almost exactly what I ran in 2008 (2:29:10) - that's a pretty impressive estimate.
In the end, I decided to make up my own plan. The plan called for me to do a 3 mile tempo run (a faster longer run) today. However, since I was intrigued by the idea of figuring out my time trial mile, I incorporated a timed mile on the RPAC track tonight.
First I ran 1 mile as fast as I could and was surprised to see my watch display 8:53:56; a sub-9 minute mile! . . . And not just 8:53 pace for a little while . . . I kept it up for the whole mile.
Instead of stopping after the fast mile, I kept the clock running, walked to get a drink and then took off on the track again and to run a second mile in 9:30:09. Again, I took a drink break on the clock and took off to run a third mile in 9:56:08. My 5K was 29:22. I cooled down by walking a half mile off the clock.
Obviously, I'm pretty excited about the run!
Congrats Kelly....that is great running! You should be very proud, but most importantly, encouraged by the indications for your training. I think you have a plan that can work and one that instead of being complex and confusing, will be your guide. Much better to think about the running, rather than the the plan : - ). Go get'em Kelly.
ReplyDeleteYea Kelly! I signed up for a half also and am making up my own plan also. I used Smart coach but the long runs were only 7 (what's up with that?) and the runs during the week were longer than I have time for. Good luck!
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