I did it! After 8 months of structured training, I finally broke 1:40 in the half marathon.
Result: 1:38:42 (previous PB was 1:44:16)
Training approach:
Race execution:
The plan was to go out at 4:45/km and negative split. Reality: went out at 4:38/km because the Berlin crowd is electric and you get carried away.
By km 12 I was right on 4:42/km pace and feeling strong. The wheels started to come off at km 17 — hamstrings tightened up and I had to dig deep.
Last 2km was pure willpower. Crossed the line in 1:38:42 and promptly collapsed in the finish chute.
Splits:
What worked:
Next goal: sub-1:35 at Amsterdam in October!
Congratulations!! That's a huge PB — over 5 minutes off at the half distance is massive.
Your splits are really well executed too. Yes, the first 5k was a bit fast, but you recovered and actually brought it home faster than your middle splits. That shows good fitness and mental strength.
For sub-1:35 you'll need to average ~4:30/km. Very doable if you can bump your weekly volume to 70-75km and add some race-pace specificity. You have 7 months — plenty of time.
Berlin is such a great running city. Did you train with Stryd power or purely pace-based?
Also curious about your taper — what did the last 10 days look like? I always overdo my tapers and show up flat on race day.
@Jake — I trained pace-based with HR monitoring. I've been meaning to get a Stryd but wanted to nail this race with what I know before adding another variable.
Taper was:
The key is keeping some intensity but cutting volume dramatically. A lot of people cut intensity too, which is how you end up feeling flat. The short strides at race pace keep the neuromuscular system sharp.
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