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Running my first-ever official race 2 weeks from tomorrow. While I've been (sort of) training of several weeks now, my longest run so far has been 10.5 miles (this morning, actually), which I ran in 1:26 (nothing to write home about, just mentioning it so people have a sense of where I'm at). Given my two-week time frame at this point, does it make sense to run at least one (or more) full half before race day, or should I just focus on improving my time over shorter distances? I generally have pretty good recovery time when it comes to runs, so not super worried about over-training, but it would be good to hear any advice on what people think are the optimal strategy is.

Thanks in advance,

A.

If you are training for a long race, you should be tapering off your training somewhere around 3 weeks. At this point the best thing for you to do is rest up. If you really want to run next weekend, keep it to less than 10 mi; speedwork and/or intervals in the last week or two before a rest are likely to hinder rather than help your time.

I agree with JHH. Before I ran my first half marathon, my longest run had been 11 miles. I was told you run the last 2 miles on adrenaline and it's true.

As said befor, I would keep it low the last days. Don' worry about the missing distance! Adrenalin and the athmosphere during the race will do the rest. Have fun!

What JHH60 said.

Rest. Tank up on carbohydrates.
When training, you needn't run the actual race distance, ~70% should do.
Your training plan also depends on what your goals are.

Thanks everyone, sounds like there is a pretty good consensus here. Will probably end up doing a few shorter, low-pace runs, and also catching up on sleep, focusing on nutrition, etc.

All above are correct. If you've run 10.5, you can run 13.1. For a marathon, the longest I ran in advance was 20 miles. In 2 weeks you can't add much, but you can over do it. Take it easy. I'd say one 7 miler at most. A 5 mile tempo run would be a good idea...5 miles at your expected half marathon pace. Otherwise, just some easy cruises. Also, get your race day plans dialed in. What will you wear? What will you eat, before and during. Whatever you do, don't try anything new on race-day. No surprises.
Then relax and have fun.

Before my first and only half, my longest run was a couple of brisk 8 milers. I stupidly thought there was a kind of bravado to not putting a lot of training in. Boy, the last couple of miles really hurt (though it was due more to an imbalance and subsequent joint pain than lack of fitness). Having to do it again, I would've done more longer runs to allowed by body to work thru those issues, but time wise you've passed that mark. Like JH said, maybe a seven miler or so and a snappier 5 miler. If you've got a decent base, you should be able to do some decent running the second to last week and still recover adequately. That last week shouldn't be anything more than some easy miles.

Alexey,

I suggest doing a 10 or a 13 mile run today or tomorow at the latest. After a 10+ mile run most people will benefit and perform better with several days of recovery time. The reason I say to do the long run is so that your mind and body will know what to expect beyond the 10.5 mile distance, which is your longest run so far. Maybe everything will be O.K. but why wait until the big event to find out.

For a full marathon I'd recommend a 26.2 practice run but 2 months before the organized event. It's even more important for the full marathon becuase most people hit a psychological or physical performance wall between 18 and 21 miles. It's good to expereince the distance so you can anticipate what your body/mind will be telling you throughout the event.

I'm not a fanatic runner and I don't put in lots of training miles before an event. Depending on what I'm training for I run between 10 and 30 miles per week. I have run several half marathons and three full marathons in recent years. My best half marathon time was 1:55:21.

RickF wrote:Alexey,

I suggest doing a 10 or a 13 mile run today or tomorow at the latest. After a 10+ mile run most people will benefit and perform better with several days of recovery time. The reason I say to do the long run is so that your mind and body will know what to expect beyond the 10.5 mile distance, which is your longest run so far. Maybe everything will be O.K. but why wait until the big event to find out.

For a full marathon I'd recommend a 26.2 practice run but 2 months before the organized event. It's even more important for the full marathon becuase most people hit a psychological or physical performance wall between 18 and 21 miles. It's good to expereince the distance so you can anticipate what your body/mind will be telling you throughout the event.

I'm not a fanatic runner and I don't put in lots of training miles before an event. Depending on what I'm training for I run between 10 and 30 miles per week. I have run several half marathons and three full marathons in recent years. My best half marathon time was 1:55:21.

I disagree, you are now a week out. So a 10+ mile run now is a bad idea. If you can run 10 miles, you can run 13, 100% your body can do it. Don't mess up now. Take it easy, with a week left, one five miler and a few jogs and you'll be all set.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Finished in a very relaxed 2h 3 mins, wasn't really trying to make any good time at all, just an awesome day out running with someone special...accompanied by a full rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody around mile 11. Got some interesting looks from fellow runners there

AlexeyD,

Congratulations & nice job on your first half! Way to filter all of our well intentioned advice.

Nice going!

Pretty good time!