Half marathon - Feedback on pacing strategy

[kingalpha]

Hi all, I'm looking for feedback on my pacing for the half marathon. I'm male 33 y.o 173cm 71kg, got into rowing in August last year, 2k pace is 1.51.9

I took 3 x 20 seconds for water break (just plain water) at 11k, 16k and 19k mark. Before the row, I did 1k warm up at 2.30 pace followed by a few minutes of dynamic stretching. My goal was to finish below 1hr 40mins which works out roughly to be 2k pace + 30 splits. As a comparison, my 1hr pace is 2.12

My question, should I have started the kick earlier than at 16k mark? Perhaps 2.16 split from the 12k mark and no final sprint?

Time Meters Pace Watts S/M
1:37:44.3 21,097m 2:18.9 130 19
9:25.0 2,000m 2:21.2 124 19
9:25.5 4,000m 2:21.3 124 19
9:26.7 6,000m 2:21.6 123 19
9:23.4 8,000m 2:20.8 125 19
9:24.5 10,000m 2:21.1 125 18
9:18.2 12,000m 2:19.5 129 19
9:27.0 14,000m 2:21.7 123 19
9:13.5 16,000m 2:18.3 132 19
9:13.6 18,000m 2:18.4 132 20
8:58.7 20,000m 2:14.6 143 20
4:28.2 21,097m 2:02.2 192 26

Screenshot here: https://imgur.com/HS9TJDI

[Dangerscouse]

We are all different but how did it feel afterwards? Were you totally exhausted? Do you think you could increase the stroke rate?

I never stop for a water break for anything less than 30k. There's no need and it takes a chunk of time off your average and wastes energy getting you back up to speed.

My HM and 60 mins PBs are fairly similar average paces so if your 60 mins is 2:12 I think you are capable of starting at 2:18 and going from there.

[hjs]

Row in a very cool room, that way you can do without stops.
Also better to rate up a bit, keep the stroke light.

Good first go, was it very close to what you can? Likely not yet.

[mitchel674]

Congrats on your half marathon!

I don't take water breaks on that distance even though I sweat profusely. The only negative I find is a bit of cardiac drift upwards from water loss over the final 30 minutes. It just pains me to see the loss of pace you get from a few 30-45 second water breaks.

I row these at a similar pace to your listed piece. I don't warm up at all and just go. I also think you could increase your stroke rate a bit has Henry suggested. A bit of a lighter feel at 22-23spm might work well for you and bring your splits down a bit.

Only you can know your strategy. A lot is determined by your feel at the moment. I typically stay at my target pace and heart rate on these long sessions until the final 1000m when I then empty the tank.

[Minimoof123]

Congrats on the HM, Now you have a target for when you do the next one! and for another approach, from someone who only does this for fun, I dont aim for a sprint at the end unless I know I am going to make a time difference to a previous row, so you obviously had a lot of energy left there, I think it would be good to start 1.15 - 1.18 and see how long you can hold that, I also dont stop for water until the end (thats not to say I never did though)

[Amazing Amazon]

Well done on your first attempt.

What we often find is that our best pace will vary as the log of the distance covered. The slope of the line varies between individuals, and also over time, though is likely to be pretty consistent over a season. How to find your predicted results from your two best performances (at different distances) can be found at http://freespir.s409.sureserver.com/for ... -predictor.

Based on your stated 2k and 60 minute results this would predict that you should do the HM in 1:36.20.7, which is about what you might have done if you hadn't had those breaks! So pretty consistent. Like others I find that i can do a HM without taking a break. For a FM I will take a couple of breaks.

In my case I'm much slower than you at 2k (8:04.6 this season, but should be nearer 8 minutes) and should be about the about the same at 60 mins (2:12.5 pace) but have done my HM in 1:35:25.6, so the slope of my pace vs. log distance line is flatter than yours.

As to warm-up and pacing. I always used to do a full 20 minute (~4250m) warm-up even for a HM . I've now cut it back to about 10 minutes (2k, 1k at 2:28 and then 1k at 2:24), a 10 minute break, then I started the HM at around 2:18 and like you negative split down from there (2500m split pace (spm): 2:18.2 (22), 2:16.8 (22), 2:16.2 (22), 2:15.7 (23), 2:15.8 (23), 2:15.6 (24), 2:16.1 (24), 2:14.5 (25), then 1097m at 2:07.2 (30).

I'm stroking a bit faster than you, as for me at least 20 spm or slower is less efficient. I also maintain my split/negative split by slowly increasing my stroke rate, not by pulling harder each stroke.

Hope this helps.

[Cyclingman1]

To OP, You've really just started rowing. To you the HM seems like a giant hurdle. For many posting here it is just another distance, maybe a bit further. I can tell you that there are plenty of good rowers here who are within 10-15 secs of their 2K pace for a HM. 30 secs over 2K pace shows a distinct lack of endurance. Also, rowing at 18-20 SPM to achieve a good time is ridiculous, especially for a shorter, LWt. I would think that a minimum of 28 SPM should be used. But, then again, you may not be fit enough to row at that pace, although 1:51 for 2K says otherwise. When you get stronger and fitter, 1:37 will seem pretty slow. Also, 2:02 for last 1K, shows lack of experience. And also, much warmup is hardly needed. Start a little slow and gradually work down to target pace.

[c2jonw]

Congrats on a good effort! The closest predictor you have is your one hour at 2:12 pace. For me that would indicate a 2:15 or so for the half marathon, so I would start out at that or a little slower and see how you feel. Even splits are the most efficient way to go. Agree with upping the stroke rate a bit and dropping the rest stops- just be well hydrated before you start.

[kingalpha]

Thank you everyone for your feedback so far!

how did it feel afterwards? Were you totally exhausted?

I was fine actually. I've been doing twice a week 20k SS at 18-20 SPM for 2 months now so the distance is not new to me. However doing it without a break was new. My SS program is a combination of 2 x 10k, 3 x 7k or 3 x 30 mins with 2 mins break to have water, stretch and relieve some of that bum soreness.

Row in a very cool room, that way you can do without stops.

My home gym is the coolest room in the house but it's summer here in Perth (Australia) and it was 29C when I did the HM. I had a fan going to help cool me down. I think the water break is just a habit from my SS program. I was sweating lightly but I was aware that I'm losing water and 'should' be topping up.

I also think you could increase your stroke rate a bit has Henry suggested. A bit of a lighter feel at 22-23spm might work well for you and bring your splits down a bit.

I'm so used to that rate (18-20) from doing SS so I thought it's safer to stick to what I know. I do struggle to keep it light when increasing rate so this is something to work on. If I up the rate then split usually goes up to. At the moment I cannot adjust the force produced to match the increase rate in order to keep split constant.

30 secs over 2K pace shows a distinct lack of endurance. Also, rowing at 18-20 SPM to achieve a good time is ridiculous, especially for a shorter, LWt. I would think that a minimum of 28 SPM should be used. But, then again, you may not be fit enough to row at that pace, although 1:51 for 2K says otherwise.

Just checked my HR graph, it started at 126 at 2k mark and got to 141 at 20k mark then climbed to 179 at the finish. The average of the 20k is 132. My max HR rate (tested) is 195. This attempt was not for time, rather it was about getting it done in one sitting which I have never done before, hence my question about pacing strategy.

[Dangerscouse]

Ok, good. You definitely need to start at 2:15 pace, and don't worry about sweating and not drinking. I sweat a lot and I will row a HM early morning and only having a small strong coffee beforehand and not stopping for a drink.

Drinking too much is worse than not drinking enough as you start to dilute the sodium and electrolytes too much but in reality neither too much or too little will be an issue for a HM.

[sjors]

30 secs over 2K pace shows a distinct lack of endurance. Also, rowing at 18-20 SPM to achieve a good time is ridiculous, especially for a shorter, LWt. I would think that a minimum of 28 SPM should be used. But, then again, you may not be fit enough to row at that pace, although 1:51 for 2K says otherwise.
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Just checked my HR graph, it started at 126 at 2k mark and got to 141 at 20k mark then climbed to 179 at the finish. The average of the 20k is 132. My max HR rate (tested) is 195. This attempt was not for time, rather it was about getting it done in one sitting which I have never done before, hence my question about pacing strategy.

It's probably not a lack of endurance but more a lack of confidence for longer peaces.
To give you an idea: my 2k pace is in the moment around 1:41 and I did a HM at 1:51 pace. My max HR 175. In that HM after 2K HR 145, after 10K 158 and at the end 169. And pace was from start around 1:51.5.
So 2:15 is still very conservative. I would try something between 2:00/2:10 pace. Maybe you can test this first in een interval-set-up like 5 x 4k/0:30R and the also try to rate 22-24 S/M.

[kingalpha]

I did 15k SS today at rate 22-23 and completed it in 1hr 10min with no water break. This session's goal was to get used to a higher rate so I didn't pay any attention to my split. Average HR was 131 for the entire session but it did drift upwards to 141 at the end. I will change my SS rate to 22-24 range and will do variations of 15k to 20k without break. In 3 months time (winter in Australia), I would like to complete another HM at 2.12 split or 150W.

[Dangerscouse]

I did 15k SS today at rate 22-23 and completed it in 1hr 10min with no water break. This session's goal was to get used to a higher rate so I didn't pay any attention to my split. Average HR was 131 for the entire session but it did drift upwards to 141 at the end. I will change my SS rate to 22-24 range and will do variations of 15k to 20k without break. In 3 months time (winter in Australia), I would like to complete another HM at 2.12 split or 150W.

Depending on your max HR I'd say that was almost certainly a UT2 session but as it was 2:20 pace, 2:12 is possibly quite a big jump in performance. My HM PB is circa eight seconds faster than my UT2 pace, which was a really tough PB, and there's a surprising difference between 15k and 21k.

Keep on nudging up your pace and doing the longer distances as three months is a good amount of time to get fitter if you plan your training right

[kingalpha]

Today I decided to redo my 60 mins to see what I can achieve when going higher rate. Previously (2 months ago) it was 13,605 m or 2:12:3 pace. Today I got 14,106 m or 2:07:6 pace.

In addition, I tried a different kick method starting when at the 40 mins mark. It was 10 strokes at 2:09 pace (regardless of rate) followed by 10 strokes of 2:05 or better at rate 22. As I got tired, the rate to achieved 2:09 increased to about 28 at the end. The idea is to use the 2:09 strokes as recovery in between the stronger strokes. It also helped to breakdown the last 20 mins into manageable chunks which was psychologically easier to handle.

I still needed to drink during this piece but I limited it to just 1 big gulp of water each time (about 5 seconds). Water breaks were at 7k, 10k and 13k. I know many have said that it's okay to go without water but I just couldn't do it. My mouth and throat was getting dried up. I couldn't nose breathe only at the HR I was doing. Heart rate wise, average for the whole piece is 158 (81% max HR) and it got to as high as 191 (98% max HR) at the final sprint home.

Screenshot https://imgur.com/5BUsEjH

Time Meters Pace Watts S/M
1:00:00.0 14,106m 2:07.6 168 23

6:00.0 1,395m 2:09.0 163 22
12:00.0 1,405m 2:08.1 166 23
18:00.0 1,404m 2:08.2 166 22
24:00.0 1,399m 2:08.6 164 22
30:00.0 1,419m 2:06.8 171 22
36:00.0 1,392m 2:09.3 162 22
42:00.0 1,419m 2:06.8 171 23
48:00.0 1,409m 2:07.7 168 23
54:00.0 1,410m 2:07.6 168 25
1:00:00.0 1,453m 2:03.8 184 27

[Minimoof123]

Well done, If these were my figures I would be saying, just another 30 odd minutes takes me to the HM, I realise I put totally wrong figure in my previous reply should have said 2.15 - 2.18, but looking at your time / rate for 1 HR. I would aim even lower than that for the HM, I know easier said than done and indeed there are times when we will fail.....but keep up the good work and you will soon have those times going down