Question for Runners

[pinkcat]

Hi runners!

I've always enjoyed running but I've never been been very serious or competitive at it. In nice weather, I like to run about 4 or 5 miles a few times a week and that's the extent of my running experience. I'm thinking of signing up for some 10Ks and maybe a half with a friend, and I'm having trouble finding what a "good" mile pace would be considered for these distances. I know it can vary on age, experience, etc...I guess I'd just like to know for typical races, what would an average female racer's mile pace be? I certainly don't care about being the fastest but don't want to totally embarrass myself either, since some of my friends who I'd be running with are more serious runners.

Any other advice on training for a half, or your experience with it, would be appreciated too!

[ironbaby]

The median for female half marathon is 2:20, and 10k is 1:05 or something like that.

That being said, there is kinda a dividing line around the 10:00/mile mark. Anything faster can be categorized as fast, but some more serious (read:quick) runners set the bar at about 8:00/mile.

I love to talk running, coaching, training. I specialize in halves and fulls, so let me know how I can help!

ETA: If you are actually talking about competing for age group awards, that's a separate conversation. Is that what you want to know?

[pinkcat]

Thanks ironbaby! I don't think I'd want to compete as in trying to place or anything- I'd be fine with being in the middle of the pack! I just wanted to make sure that my times weren't terrible and that training for a half and not finishing an hour behind my friends was possible, ha

Your stats did make me feel a bit better though! Right now, for a 5 mile run my pace averages to about 8:45. Based off that, do you think between now and October is enough time to train for a half??

[cnf2013]

You can time trial yourself on the 10k to find out what your competitive pace would be. For my athletes I have the doing anything over six miles at LSD (long slow distance pace) for training which would be a pace you carry a conversation at, so that should be easy enough to find out. When it comes to race day though you should pace for negative splits if possible for a half. Just my two cents at least.

It's also important to run your race. I am very competitive and get super caught up in my efforts to rack up roadkills, but at the end of the day, running is a very individual sport. Unless you're planning to podium you're racing against yourself. Don't get too worried about what others around you are doing or you may end up blowing your race.

[cheezee]

I'm probably not a ton of help here...but as a rookie runner I did a 10k in an hour flat. I could never do much better than a 10 min pace.

[ironbaby]

Jul 16, 2015 12:32:40 GMT -5 pinkcat said:

Thanks ironbaby! I don't think I'd want to compete as in trying to place or anything- I'd be fine with being in the middle of the pack! I just wanted to make sure that my times weren't terrible and that training for a half and not finishing an hour behind my friends was possible, ha

Your stats did make me feel a bit better though! Right now, for a 5 mile run my pace averages to about 8:45. Based off that, do you think between now and October is enough time to train for a half??

With that base mileage, yes, it's a bit of a tight schedule, but a half is doable. Ideally, 16 weeks would be your training period, but if you can get 12 weeks in, you'll be fine. It also depends on how your body handles the additional load. Let me know if I can help build a training plan for you.

And at an 8:45 average, you are probably top 1/3 of the pack, so no worries there! Keep in mind that this average will, and should, slow down as you train for a half.

[cnf2013]

Jul 16, 2015 12:32:40 GMT -5 pinkcat said:

*snip*
Your stats did make me feel a bit better though! Right now, for a 5 mile run my pace averages to about 8:45. Based off that, do you think between now and October is enough time to train for a half??

Rule of thumb is generally if you can run 3 miles consistently without stopping you can train and run a half marathon. Most half plans are 8-12 weeks depending on what kind of plan you want and look for. 

I miss running sub-9 minute miles. *sigh*

[ceejay]

You've already received some great advice from ironbaby and cnf2013, so I just wanted to add that I think training for an October half with your current mileage and current pace is definitely doable.

I've used Hal Higdon's training plans for all of my halfs (Novice 1 for my first half and Novice 2 for all races after that): Hal Higdon. They are 12-week programs, and I've always felt well prepared for my races when I stick closely to those training schedules. His plans also include pace suggestions for all of your training runs, such as doing your weekly long runs at least ~30-90 seconds/mile slower than your goal half marathon pace.

Also, I think 8:45/mile pace is a really impressive average pace! I've been running for years and I love it but I'm not very fast. 8:45 min/mile is about my 10k race pace... my training pace is much slower than that.

[pinkcat]

Thanks for all the advice ironbaby cnf2013 cheezee ceejay! Very helpful. And I will be looking into Hal Higdon's plans, thanks for the suggestion!

[cnf2013]

+1 for Hal plans. I used that for my first half and had a great race. Since I got coaching certified now I just write my own plans, but his are really great. I encourage all my athletes to do time trials and find their own paces then we work off those. And remember pace can be affected by things like weather, what you've eaten, fueling, hydration, just having an "off" day, so try not to get too hung up on pace all the time. Easier said than done, of course