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Do I have to go so slow?

1 lurker | 4 watchers

Foxy Jul 2015 5:59pm, 14 Jul 2015 31,406 posts	Quote Pin Foxy welcome As David Hemmery said "If you think you can you're probably right, if you think you can't you're probably right !"
philbo Jul 2015 7:28pm, 14 Jul 2015 1,236 posts	Quote Pin philbo Hi welcome to Fetch , I ran two marathons on Hal Higdon plans , found them to be very good , i think you could do a lot worse , you need to try the distance before the day , the last few miles of the half are the ones that tell on the rest of your training .
AngusClydesdale Jul 2015 7:31pm, 14 Jul 2015 9,549 posts	Quote Pin AngusClydesdale As others have said, that's a shit plan. I liked Hal Higdon a few years ago and I also have the Daniels book which I quite like (I'll go and blow the dust off that wire for you). There's also training plans in Fetch too, IIRC. Lots of helpful people on the forums, some of them quite wise - but not me, I'm a feckless fool Welcome to Fetch!
AngusClydesdale Jul 2015 7:34pm, 14 Jul 2015 9,551 posts	Quote Pin AngusClydesdale Over here: http://www.fetcheveryone.com/forum__46180__daniels_running_formula_the_definitive_wire
falcarius Jul 2015 8:21pm, 14 Jul 2015 55 posts	Quote Pin falcarius Welcome. Based on your times you will probably do it around 2:10 if you ran a half marathon race today based on current time, but with 3 months training it should be a realistic target but challenging. You do not have to follow a plan rigidly. The main reason plans are helpful is because they encourage people to train more consistently than the would otherwise. Listen to your body: if you feel you can go faster then go faster, if you feel you need more rest then have more rest. If you feel you can do a longer run then do a longer run What is your current monthly weekly mileage?
jamesbriggs Jul 2015 8:54pm, 14 Jul 2015 4 posts	Quote Pin jamesbriggs Thanks again for continuing advice. Mileage for June was 91. Probably 80-ish in May. Have reduced the mileage this month as I was getting a bit tired and achy and had started to worry that I would peak way too early if I continued to up my long runs by a mile or so a week. I think I need a plan of some sort because otherwise I am far too happy just churning along at ten minute pace give or take and I haven't got faster for months. In fact I've probably got slower. Anyway, I'm off along the various links suggested above.
Molesy Jul 2015 9:10pm, 14 Jul 2015 2,165 posts	Quote Pin Molesy I'm going to swim against the tide here. It's not a shit plan. Depending on which options you selected when you set up the plan it's given you one or two relatively short runs, a mid-week interval/tempo session and a long run. In order to build up your mileage gradually then the short runs will be relatively short in order to keep the differential between long and short. As far as the pace is concerned, putting your 'predicted' 5k time into the Daniels tables gives an 'easy' pace of between 10:27 and 11:11 so 10:49 is in the right ball park. 8:30 is only 8 seconds slower than 5K pace so no, you're not making your easy runs easy - don't make me send Gobi round. I know it feels weird running that slow but that's what allows you to be properly rested for the hard sessions. Get yourself to Parkrun and give it a PB effort to find out what your real 5K time is and work from there. The only adjustment I would make to the Smartcoach plan is to set a slightly higher starting mileage. Oh, and welcome to Fetch
Robbo62 Jul 2015 9:19pm, 14 Jul 2015 2,206 posts	Quote Pin Robbo62 I think the Firman plan is a very good plan to follow for all levels, worth a look there is a forum on fetch for it.
Robbo62 Jul 2015 9:22pm, 14 Jul 2015 2,207 posts	Quote Pin Robbo62 * Furman * http://www.fetcheveryone.com/forum__39828__furman_institute_of_running_and_scientific_training_first_acolytes
Carpathius Jul 2015 9:33pm, 14 Jul 2015 7,210 posts	Quote Pin Carpathius While the training plan is probably perfectly ok in itself, it doesn't sound right for you. Based on those times a sub-2 half is definitely do-able and you'll need to practice keeping your pace up in the latter stages when it really starts to feel difficult. I don't follow a training plan. There are plenty out there, I think an intermediate one would be better than a beginners plan for you but if you carry on as you are and practice race-pace sessions towards the end of your long runs that would be sufficient. By running the distance you do get better at judging how hard you can push in the early miles, and it's quite amazing the difference being in an actual race makes.