So I'm running MK again this year, it was my first marathon ever in 2015. I did it in 3.53 and was really happy but felt i could go faster. Did a few more races, a few trail marathons and halfs but now ready to tackle MK again.
Was orginally aiming to try sub 3.45- but today did the Vitality North Lomdon HM in 1.32. the RW predictor says I should be able to do a full in 3.12....seems a lot faster than I thought.
Should I up my game and aim for 3.30 or even 3.20 or stick to the orginal plan?
Comments
Personally I would go for 3:30 and if you feel strong in the last 5 miles then push the pace up a bit
Yeah I think that maybe a good bet, I would rather finish strong then collapse at 20miles!
Did you do a half before your marathon last year and if so how did the times compare?
Was the HM comfortably hard or a gruelling torment?
Did you feel strong and in control?
How many miles are you running at the moment?
How many of those miles are stamina ( tempo, steady state, hill repeats) and speed (track intervals) miles as apposed to endurance every day runs.
I have only ever run one HM, in 1:31and I did it on a whim just to see what I needed to do and if I could.
At that time I was doing 40 odd miles a week, including stamina and speed runs.
I would hope your doing the same kind of thing
If you are and are free of any aches i say go for it.
Make sure you are doing sufficient miles at marathon race pace and look up diagonals. A silly little drill that has helped me a lot in my running just to get leg turnover nice and fast.
Best of luck
Thanks for the advice! the HM was great fun and I felt strong the whole way... managed negative splits and last mile in 6.25 minutes per mile without too much difficulty.
Ive been following a training plan and do 35-40 mile per week with regular speed work
I think that if I aim for 3.30 and surprise myself it would be a better experience than aiming for 3.20 and not quite making it!
Negative splits
Last mile 6.25
35-40 miles a week with speed work included
Seems your sorted
Best of luck.
Have fun bring back a medal
Thanks! lets hope my 'niggles' can be kept at bay for another month!
Most predictors are on the optimistic side. On average people's marathon time is 2.2 times their half time which gives you 3 22 or 23.