Half marathon race pace?

[Shauna]

Sasha,
I'm running a half marathon on Sunday, and I'd like your opinion.  I posted a question regarding a target pace on Monday's blog.  Because I have radically changed the way I train since I started blogging, I'm not sure what my race pace should be.  Based on my current level and others' feedback, I'm thinking that these are reasonable goals: Gold: sub-1:50 (would be a PR), silver: sub-1:53, and bronze: sub-1:55.  The half is in San Diego, on Hwy 75 right along the ocean, and completely flat (not to mention COMPLETELY straight!).  Temps are supposed to be in the upper 50s.  I am feeling very good about my running and training in general right now.  And, I am prepared to all-out RACE!  What are your thoughts?  Thanks!

[Sasha Pachev]

You might surprise yourself. I would recommend going by feel. Run at a pace that is comfortable, but fast enough to make  conversation difficult or impossible. Do not get scared of fast splits, but do not get discouraged if they are too slow - sometimes the mile marks are wrong, other times there are subtle negative influences. I see no reason that you cannot run your PR. You can have been able to run sub 9:00 mile pace with a reasonable degree of comfort. On race day, tapered, and in competition, 8:20 pace could very well be sustainable for 13 miles.

Try this - warm-up for 4 miles, then run the last 3 at 8:20 pace, first see if you can, then if you can, ask your body if it thinks it can do it for longer.