first HM

[Marc1t]

Iv been rowing on the erg for 4 weeks now,Im age 50 72kg & 5'10". Having done a few 10k, 5k's which I feel happy with, I thought I would have a crack at a half marathon 21097m @ a DF ov 125 usually 130, & boy have I learnt something I cruised the first 10k @ 2:05 pace well outside my usual 10k pace (I was trying to pace myself!)but the second 10 was a different story, I died a horrible death & ended up with a time of 1:28:01 I really thought I would be ale to do better than this & I had a drink during & thought I rehydrated reasonably But I didnt feel too well at the end of course I recovered & now only a few hours later I feel like I havnt rowed at all. How weird is that? Did I bite off more than I can chew bearing in mind Iv not been rowing long? could I have done better I feel a bit dissapointed with my time.
Cheers, Marc.

[c2jonw]

What pace have you been rowing your 10Ks at? How much hydrating and fueling up did you do before the half marathon? Were you well rested? These are important considerations. Generally speaking, your pace for the half should be around 3-5 seconds/500 slower than the 10K. If I know I'm going to do a half I won't row for the day or two before, eat and drink well in the 24 hours before and usually don't need to eat or drink during the row. If it's your first half, good for you to have done it and survived- it's a long time to be sitting on the erg! C2JonW

[jamesg]

Well done, 1:28 is not bad at alI.
I find half marathons are best done in pairs: one easy now to get the feel of it, and the second in a week or so's time. There can be an amazing difference, the first slow and awful, the second faster and much easier. It's all training.

[Bob S.]

Unless I punched the buttons wrong on the calculator, 1:28:01 comes out to be a pace of just under 2:05.2. If your pace for the first 10k (i.e. almost half) was 2:05, you essentially held pretty close to that for the whole piece. What time did you have as a goal?

I agree with c2jonw that it is not necessary to eat or drink during the HM. The FM is a different matter, but sufficient hydration beforehand will get you through the HM. It is very hard to gain back those precious seconds lost during a drink break.

Bob S.

[chris5150]

One of my goals was specifically to do the half marathon in under 2.00/500 pace, which I achieved last week. I do a lot of 10k's etc, don't really have much interest in rowing any less as like a 40min workout minimum.
I would not jump straight from 10k to 21097, I rowed many 10' s but couple of times a week row a 15k or 18k, that gets you in the 'swing' for doing the extra distance. If you are building up to do a better time in the future, crack the 15k at the pace you want to hold, then that way you know when you get to the 21097, all you got to do is hold on for that final 6097 mtrs!
I cannot get my head around the full marathon at all, that must be mental to do, and when I look at the times for that on the rankings, blimey there is some hardy supermen out there..respect

[Marc1t]

Unless I punched the buttons wrong on the calculator, 1:28:01 comes out to be a pace of just under 2:05.2. If your pace for the first 10k (i.e. almost half) was 2:05, you essentially held pretty close to that for the whole piece. What time did you have as a goal?.

Bob S.

Now i dont feel so bad about my time I was ahead of this schedul for the first 10k I felt good but died in the second so my average was about what I was aiming for I started a bit too fast having not doe a HM befor & I didnt really know what to expect, I learnt a lot from it & have picked up a few pointers for future HM's from you guys thanks

I agree with the last post that a full marathon must be just so much harder & indeed deserves respect.

My friend Keith Cody in the 40-49 2009 rankings here, has done 100,000m in about 8 hours. I have a lot of respect for that effort. wont tell him just yet though it'l go to his head

[Citroen]

My friend Keith Cody in the 40-49 2009 rankings here, has done 100,000m in about 8 hours. I have a lot of respect for that effort. wont tell him just yet though it'l go to his head

When I did my 100K it took 24 hours, but there were three of us sharing an ergo doing 19'30" stints with 30" change overs for the whole session (we three reached 300K that way).