Half Hacks Please!
June 7, 2011 12:00 PM Subscribe
Give Me Your Half Marathon Hacks
I'm running a half marathon in about two weeks. This is not new to me; I believe it will be my 12th one. However, I've never really had any effective coaching. I'm looking for tips that I might not know of. For example, it was embarrassingly recently that I learned that eating gobs of fatty foods the day before a race is a bad idea. I really don't want to limit the scope of the question; I'll consider anything people believe might be helpful.
FWIW, I'm male, 40'ish, expect to run about 7:30/mile, my longest training run of the year has been 9 miles (too late to worry about conditioning at this point). More or less every half I've run has been 1:45 +/- 5 minutes, but I'm looking for possible ways to improve my performance on race day. I've always run best on an empty stomach, apparently this is not universal, but I can't handle food bouncing around while I run.
If I could just identify the seemingly random difference between good running days and bad ones I'd be ecstatic.
Thanks!
I'm running a half marathon in about two weeks. This is not new to me; I believe it will be my 12th one. However, I've never really had any effective coaching. I'm looking for tips that I might not know of. For example, it was embarrassingly recently that I learned that eating gobs of fatty foods the day before a race is a bad idea. I really don't want to limit the scope of the question; I'll consider anything people believe might be helpful.
FWIW, I'm male, 40'ish, expect to run about 7:30/mile, my longest training run of the year has been 9 miles (too late to worry about conditioning at this point). More or less every half I've run has been 1:45 +/- 5 minutes, but I'm looking for possible ways to improve my performance on race day. I've always run best on an empty stomach, apparently this is not universal, but I can't handle food bouncing around while I run.
If I could just identify the seemingly random difference between good running days and bad ones I'd be ecstatic.
Thanks!
Are you well hydrated? Not, drink-a-gallon-of-water-race-day-morning hydrated (bad), but well hydrated every day? That helps.
posted by teragram at 12:16 PM on June 7, 2011
posted by teragram at 12:16 PM on June 7, 2011
It might help to do a little speedwork in the next week (one or two sessions at most), and then taper.
I've run only one 25K race, and my strategy was to start out slower than the pace I thought I could sustain. I was aiming to run an 8:00 pace, and I deliberately held back for the first few miles, running around 8:15 or so. I then picked it up a little bit. I was running negative splits in the second half, which was a big morale booster, because I was starting to pass people who were flagging, while I still had a lot of oomph left. I succeeded in meeting my goal and I felt pretty good doing it. If you start out slow, you can always pick up the pace, while if you exhaust your reserves early on, you'll struggle for the rest of the race.
If you do start out too fast, you can follow Jeff Galloway's advice and take short walk breaks. I don't run any more, but I do a lot of cycling, and I find the cycling equivalent (a few minutes' easy cycling, or even a quick stop, every hour or so) lets me go all day without running out of steam.
posted by brianogilvie at 12:25 PM on June 7, 2011 [1 favorite]
I've run only one 25K race, and my strategy was to start out slower than the pace I thought I could sustain. I was aiming to run an 8:00 pace, and I deliberately held back for the first few miles, running around 8:15 or so. I then picked it up a little bit. I was running negative splits in the second half, which was a big morale booster, because I was starting to pass people who were flagging, while I still had a lot of oomph left. I succeeded in meeting my goal and I felt pretty good doing it. If you start out slow, you can always pick up the pace, while if you exhaust your reserves early on, you'll struggle for the rest of the race.
If you do start out too fast, you can follow Jeff Galloway's advice and take short walk breaks. I don't run any more, but I do a lot of cycling, and I find the cycling equivalent (a few minutes' easy cycling, or even a quick stop, every hour or so) lets me go all day without running out of steam.
posted by brianogilvie at 12:25 PM on June 7, 2011 [1 favorite]
Make sure you get enough sleep.
If the race is at 7am and you're training at 7pm try to wake up early for your taper runs so your body gets used to the early morning start.
Smile.
Breathe.
And if a small child is standing on the side of the course stretching out his arm to give you a high five take it.
posted by samhyland at 12:40 PM on June 7, 2011 [1 favorite]
If the race is at 7am and you're training at 7pm try to wake up early for your taper runs so your body gets used to the early morning start.
Smile.
Breathe.
And if a small child is standing on the side of the course stretching out his arm to give you a high five take it.
posted by samhyland at 12:40 PM on June 7, 2011 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I just picked up Which Comes First, Cardio or Weights? by Alex Hutchinson, based on a review in Runner's World, and it is exactly what you are looking for. It is officially multi-sport targeted, but really most of the information is for running. He reviews the latest science behind better performance and lower injuries. For a sample of his writing and the type of things he says, check out his blog, or the table of contents for the book, showing what kind of questions it answers.
The one that I found that might still help you for this race are his posts on How to Taper. The blog is a little more science-y than the book, which is a little easier to read. The book has soem good tips on stretching and nutrition that might help for this race if you get it soon.
posted by I am the Walrus at 12:43 PM on June 7, 2011 [2 favorites]
The one that I found that might still help you for this race are his posts on How to Taper. The blog is a little more science-y than the book, which is a little easier to read. The book has soem good tips on stretching and nutrition that might help for this race if you get it soon.
posted by I am the Walrus at 12:43 PM on June 7, 2011 [2 favorites]
Here is Amby Burfoot's Q&A with Hutchinson that prompted me to buy the book.
posted by I am the Walrus at 12:46 PM on June 7, 2011
posted by I am the Walrus at 12:46 PM on June 7, 2011
Print the mile splits you're aiming for on a small piece of paper, laminate and wrap round your wrist. Makes the in race math easier.
If there's a crowd, and you're flagging, start cheering them on. i.e. "C'mon crowd, keep it up, only 2,000 more runners to go". Gets a laugh and cheer back, and got me round the last 8 miles of an ultramarathon in a decent time once.
For a half you probably won't get into calorie debt, so no need to carb load excessively the night before. Fat free pasta sauce best, I've been told. I've also been told a piece of toast is a good breakfast, but like you I prefer to run on an empty stomach.
posted by momentofmagnus at 2:30 PM on June 7, 2011
If there's a crowd, and you're flagging, start cheering them on. i.e. "C'mon crowd, keep it up, only 2,000 more runners to go". Gets a laugh and cheer back, and got me round the last 8 miles of an ultramarathon in a decent time once.
For a half you probably won't get into calorie debt, so no need to carb load excessively the night before. Fat free pasta sauce best, I've been told. I've also been told a piece of toast is a good breakfast, but like you I prefer to run on an empty stomach.
posted by momentofmagnus at 2:30 PM on June 7, 2011
Best answer: I find that I do better if I'm well hydrated the day before (not so much the day of). I've actually run half marathons without taking water at all.
You've probably noticed this already, but consistency of pace is the key. Speed up at the end if you can, but going out too fast is a no-no.
For future races you should definitely throw in some speedwork. Everyone is different, but I'm about your speed (or I was) and your age, and I found that I stopped getting faster at about 7:45/mile unless I actually worked on speed (up until that point general fitness improvements made me faster). I threw in the occasional fast half mile or quarter mile on my morning runs and that helped a lot, but it might be too late for that for this race.
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 4:10 PM on June 7, 2011
You've probably noticed this already, but consistency of pace is the key. Speed up at the end if you can, but going out too fast is a no-no.
For future races you should definitely throw in some speedwork. Everyone is different, but I'm about your speed (or I was) and your age, and I found that I stopped getting faster at about 7:45/mile unless I actually worked on speed (up until that point general fitness improvements made me faster). I threw in the occasional fast half mile or quarter mile on my morning runs and that helped a lot, but it might be too late for that for this race.
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 4:10 PM on June 7, 2011
Pay attention to hydration, diet, and sleep the whole week before, not just day-of or day-before.
posted by orangejenny at 4:26 PM on June 7, 2011
posted by orangejenny at 4:26 PM on June 7, 2011
Get lots and lots of sleep for the next two weeks. Its probably too late for hills and speed work, the two things I hate but always help my times... but keep them in mind for the next race.
Have a great race!
posted by Nickel Pickle at 6:23 PM on June 7, 2011
Have a great race!
posted by Nickel Pickle at 6:23 PM on June 7, 2011
That Q and A "I am the Walrus" linked to mentioned a couple of points I've long assumed in my running. Firstly, stretching is a waste of time. Secondly you should push up hills in training and go gently back down but in a race you should do the opposite - take it easy going up and push hard running down.
The chap makes another good point about measures to limit inflammation after a work out. Not that I've ever had one, but the injuries suffered by modern fast bowlers always make me think that ice baths and massages after a game or training do more harm than good - assuming it's your body's reaction to that stress and inflammation which makes it get stronger. If you train hard then artificially limit the inflammation that naturally creates then you're stressing your body without triggering the response it needs to get stronger to withstand it - which equals more injuries and not fewer.
More practically try to avoid large gatherings of children in the week before your race. Kids have colds and colds will kill your running.
posted by joannemullen at 7:29 PM on June 7, 2011
The chap makes another good point about measures to limit inflammation after a work out. Not that I've ever had one, but the injuries suffered by modern fast bowlers always make me think that ice baths and massages after a game or training do more harm than good - assuming it's your body's reaction to that stress and inflammation which makes it get stronger. If you train hard then artificially limit the inflammation that naturally creates then you're stressing your body without triggering the response it needs to get stronger to withstand it - which equals more injuries and not fewer.
More practically try to avoid large gatherings of children in the week before your race. Kids have colds and colds will kill your running.
posted by joannemullen at 7:29 PM on June 7, 2011
joannemullen: "Firstly, stretching is a waste of time."
Hutchinson goes into this pretty well in the book. His 3 points on it:
1) Always warm up first, and never stretch a cold muscle. That makes you more likely to injure it.
2) "Static Stretching" (Moving the muscle to the limit of it's range of motion, then holding that) actually decreases speed, as shown in multiple studies. The hypothesis for this is that part of a runner's speed comes from torsion in the ligaments and muscles, their ability to spring back quickly. Stretching reduces this torsion and makes people less efficient runners.
3) "Dynamic Stretching" (using the body's natural movements to stretch out the muscles) correlates to greater improvements in performance than control groups with no stretching or static stretching.
So, in the book, his recommended pre-workout routine is a brief warm-up followed by dynamic stretching.
For a runner, this means a 5 minute jog to get the muscles warm, and then he recommends doing strides of knee-high runs, heel-kick (or butt-kick) runs, and then walking lunges for the dynamic warm-up.
Hope this helps!
posted by I am the Walrus at 6:18 AM on June 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
Hutchinson goes into this pretty well in the book. His 3 points on it:
1) Always warm up first, and never stretch a cold muscle. That makes you more likely to injure it.
2) "Static Stretching" (Moving the muscle to the limit of it's range of motion, then holding that) actually decreases speed, as shown in multiple studies. The hypothesis for this is that part of a runner's speed comes from torsion in the ligaments and muscles, their ability to spring back quickly. Stretching reduces this torsion and makes people less efficient runners.
3) "Dynamic Stretching" (using the body's natural movements to stretch out the muscles) correlates to greater improvements in performance than control groups with no stretching or static stretching.
So, in the book, his recommended pre-workout routine is a brief warm-up followed by dynamic stretching.
For a runner, this means a 5 minute jog to get the muscles warm, and then he recommends doing strides of knee-high runs, heel-kick (or butt-kick) runs, and then walking lunges for the dynamic warm-up.
Hope this helps!
posted by I am the Walrus at 6:18 AM on June 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
Nothing new on race day. Pray for good weather. Line up with the right people.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 12:07 PM on June 7, 2011