Here are my mile-by-mile splits for each of the last 3M Half Marathons I’ve run.
The highlighted splits are the ones in which I ran the fastest in comparison to the same mile in other years. For instance, on Sunday, I ran Mile 2 in 6:56 , which is the fastest Mile 2 I’d ever run at 3M.
It’s interesting to note that when I ran a personal best in 2010, my first 8 miles were slower than they were in 2011 or yesterday. And then, Miles 9 to 13.1, I was able to drop the bomb for a super negative split. My lungs were absolutely on fire at the end of this race, but my legs were strong.
It’s easy to look at this chart and say that I should have run a more conservative 3M for the first 8 miles Sunday, especially since my legs were not 100 percent. But let me just add this: in 2010, I had no idea I could run that fast for that long (6:59 overall pace). Prior to 2010, I’d never run tempo runs at 7:00-mile pace, and only went that fast if I was running a 5K or 10k.
And yet 2010 wound up being a half-marathon PR by 5 minutes – I’d run a 1:36 at the Lake Benbrook Half Marathon in January 2009.
Since that breakthrough in 2010, I’d run dozens of tempo runs in sub 7-minute mile pace. So, when I toed the line for the start of the 3M Half Marathon in 2011 and again last Sunday, a 7-minute mile wasn’t something I didn’t think was doable.
But clearly, my legs are weaker now than they were two years ago. My lungs can handle 6:45s to 7:00s easily enough and so can my legs – up to a point, like an hour.
Yet judging by this chart, numbers don’t lie: either I need to get stronger, get flexibility and strength back in my legs, or run slower the first hour of a race.
I think the answer is both.
Negative splits are a good thing.
The highlighted splits are the ones in which I ran the fastest in comparison to the same mile in other years. For instance, on Sunday, I ran Mile 2 in 6:56 , which is the fastest Mile 2 I’d ever run at 3M.
It’s interesting to note that when I ran a personal best in 2010, my first 8 miles were slower than they were in 2011 or yesterday. And then, Miles 9 to 13.1, I was able to drop the bomb for a super negative split. My lungs were absolutely on fire at the end of this race, but my legs were strong.
It’s easy to look at this chart and say that I should have run a more conservative 3M for the first 8 miles Sunday, especially since my legs were not 100 percent. But let me just add this: in 2010, I had no idea I could run that fast for that long (6:59 overall pace). Prior to 2010, I’d never run tempo runs at 7:00-mile pace, and only went that fast if I was running a 5K or 10k.
And yet 2010 wound up being a half-marathon PR by 5 minutes – I’d run a 1:36 at the Lake Benbrook Half Marathon in January 2009.
Since that breakthrough in 2010, I’d run dozens of tempo runs in sub 7-minute mile pace. So, when I toed the line for the start of the 3M Half Marathon in 2011 and again last Sunday, a 7-minute mile wasn’t something I didn’t think was doable.
But clearly, my legs are weaker now than they were two years ago. My lungs can handle 6:45s to 7:00s easily enough and so can my legs – up to a point, like an hour.
Yet judging by this chart, numbers don’t lie: either I need to get stronger, get flexibility and strength back in my legs, or run slower the first hour of a race.
I think the answer is both.
Negative splits are a good thing.