Half marathon in 3 weeks - feeling nervous!

[Maybeitsmable]

I have my very first half marathon in 3 weeks. Training has been very hit and miss, particularly in the early weeks and I missed a lot of my scheduled runs but I've been more consistent over the last month.

Longest run has been 17.5k - it was boiling hot (28c) and hard work 😂 I took some walking breaks but got through it.

I'm really nervous about 'race' day and pacing and letting myself down.

Any tips or advice? Will adding in a few extra easy runs make a difference at this point?

If you're following a plan just stick to it, don't panic! Everyone misses runs during the training cycle - life gets in the way.

You've done a decent long run, don't worry about taking walking a bit with those kinds of temperatures - you can also walk intermittently during your HM and still get a decent time.

I'd say at no point during my training cycle have I ever really felt like I'd be able to do the distance at the time I wanted, but then you taper and on the day running generally feels doable!

If you haven't practised your nutrition, I'd give that a go. Make sure you've tried your kit properly too.

Doing a HM is a great achievement. Don't pressure yourself about time for your first HM (it takes practice to get really good, like for anything!) and give yourself an A goal and B goal so you know what range of paces you're aiming for.

You've got this!

This just about covers it!

No one has perfect training cycles.

Even pros have set-backs and adaptions to make along the way.

As the others have said. No ones training is perfect. You’ve managed a 17.5km run in hot weather so I do think you need to stress too much about race day. The adrenaline will carry you through.

stick to a steady amount of running between now and then or your plan if you’re following one and give yourself a day or two to rest before the race itself.

Do you have a time in mind or just happy to get through it? I wouldn’t stress too much about the time, but sometimes it’s good to set yourself an achievable pace.

You always get a bit more on race day also you’ll be able to pace yourself with another runner

tbh if you’ve got to 17.5 k your fine

Thanks so much everyone for the words of wisdom! First aim is to just complete it but secretly I'd like to aim to complete in under 2hr 30 (I'm not fast haha).

My 15k time is consistently around 1hr 45min, 10k is 1hr 5min. I think I'd be disappointed if I went over 2.5 hours but won't beat myself up too much for a first attempt.

Race day is easier than lone training late in the block. There's other people with you, spectators and you're fresh from tapering. 2:30ish will have a good flow of people throughout. I've been that pace many times!