Recently, I got about halfway through my 10-week half marathon build and realized I have no idea what pace to target on race day. I haven’t done any major races this year so far, and I haven’t run a half marathon in about a year and a half. Initially, I wanted to train without a goal and make my racing comeback after dealing with depression and burnout.
But as I progressed through the first few weeks, I panicked about how to pace the race and realized how much I wanted to see what I was capable of achieving. Plus, I know how important it is to head to the starting line with a plan. Otherwise, I tend to start out too fast or pick it up too soon midrace, both of which almost always lead to a serious fade before the finish line (and some miserable miles).
I went searching for guidance from Kai Ng, a USATF- and RRCA-certified coach in New York City, exactly one month out from my half marathon. On the other hand, run too slow to start and miss hitting your goal time. As runners, we all want our finish times to reflect our hard work—myself included.
So I learned the best strategies for setting a smart goal pace a month out from race day. Ideally, Ng prefers that runners do a time trial or race (ideally, a 10K) one week before they start their race training block. From there, you can use a calculator (like the Runner’s World pace calculator or V.O2 calculator) to set your training paces.
It’s a good idea to do another race or time trial midway through your training block, because testing and retesting helps you understand your current fitness level. In the second half of training, you can use race pace workouts to get a closer look at what your race goal should be, Ng says. At this point, you should be able to hold goal half marathon pace comfortably for five to eight miles, he adds.
If, like me, you haven’t run a race in months, a few specific strategies can help you fine-tune race pace throughout training. Though I had not run any 5Ks or 10Ks this year, I had just run a one-mile race at the 5th Avenue Mile in New York City a week before my conversation with Ng, which did give some insight into my fitness. While a 10K race is a much better option to set paces before a half marathon, Ng says, the mile is a good indicator of my current fitness.
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