No Half Measure

I'm starting to think the half marathon distance is going to be a good indicator of my run fitness as I progress towards the Ironman. It is predominantly aerobic, it is raced at around the so-called anaerobic threshold, and is short enough not to require an extended recovery period. Furthermore, I have always enjoyed the half marathon. You require a good sense of pace judgement, combined with mental toughness to put in a good time relative to your fitness level. It can be approached from a very methodical point of view, or you can attempt to race just on feel. It is also long enough to expose any weaknesses.

With the above thoughts in mind, I plan on racing a few half marathons over the next year. I'll start with the Sri Chinmoy Fitness Festival at Williamstown next weekend. This is a race I love doing, and I race it most years. It always has a great atmosphere and of course the draw card is the pancakes and apple crumble post race. I haven't worked out my pacing plan yet. I'll take my times from yesterday into account and see how I run over the next few days before working on my goal splits. After yesterday's go out hard and suffer, the smart approach may be a more conservative first few kilometres.

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