Part 1 covers 5K, 8K and 10K
Part 2 covers 15K, 10 miles, Half Marathon
Part 3 is Marathon
(read part 1 for overall context, in how this series is being written; or don't, that's fine, too-this will still make sense)
15k (9.3miles) and 10 miler: I wish there were more races at these distances. The #HotChocolate Series has a 15K (9.3) miles and locally, #CARA (Chicago Area Runners Association) puts on a 10 miler on the #Chicago #lakefront, as well as some other suburban trail races. I'll refer to 15K and 10 miler as one in the same for brevity in the rest of this narrative.
This is one of my favorite distances!! This is a great distance if you’re thinking about doing a half marathon and/or if you really enjoyed the 8/10K, but want to see what longer races are about. The 10 mile race is also a great way to do a supported training run for something like a half marathon or marathon. This is a also great distance to practice your pacing since you have a nice chunk of time out there. I love using 15k/10 milers to practice negative splits-starting out slower, running a bit faster each mile, until the end. And, since it’s not a terribly long distance, you will usually have some juice left at the end to push the last few miles. This is also great practice if you’re gearing up for a half marathon.
If you use it as a training run, how did you feel at the end? Could you pump out another 3 miles? If you raced it, and went pretty fast, do you think if you slowed it down a bit, you could cover 3 more? Great practice for a half.
Half Marathon (13.1 miles): I think I read somewhere that the half marathon is the most raced distance! I was surprised when I heard this as I figured it would be 5K. I guess it makes sense that I’ve raced this distance more than any other distance. I’d estimate I’ve run over 20 half marathons (not to mention the many, many 13+milers I’ve run while training for marathons).
I love the half marathon and think it’s a great distance for anyone-not just for anyone who’s thinking of a marathon.
People used to tell me: "the race begins at mile 10." I didn’t really understand what this meant because for the first few years of running these, I didn’t know how to properly fuel. So, by mile 10, I felt like I was running on fumes, not getting ready for the ‘race' part. Now that I know how to properly fuel and pace, I get it. If you are smart in the first 10 miles, you should be able to really push it the last 3.
The half marathon is a great way to implement pacing strategies or learn how to, if you don’t already know. It’s also a great distance to practice fueling, hydrating and bathroom stops etc. if you have your sights on a marathon.
There’s enough distance to cover that you can start out a bit slower. And, like the 10 miler, work on progressing your run as the miles tick on. This is a good distance to practice the adage: start comfortably; get confident in the middle; get competitive in the last miles. And, if you want to run the race but not race it, it's a great way to get in a longer, supported run. I've also used the half marathon as part of a longer run and sandwiched the race in between some warm up miles and some cool down miles. All that said, 13.1 is a great distance to race in and of itself!
While 13.1 isn’t super long, it’s still a distance that needs to be respected and trained for a run intelligently. I like that about it, as well. I think it has a little bit of everything-which is probably why it's such a popular distance!
Part 3 covers the marathon
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