I've silently started training for a half marathon, and things are going OK. I changed the way I run tempo according to Hal Higdon's advice. I start at 8:55 min/mile for a mile, then start to accelerate for 1.5 miles, so that the last half mile of that portion is covered in 3:42 or so. Then I decelerate for 1 mile, and at the end of that I am supposed to slow down to my comfy 8:55 m/m speed. Then I coast home (half mile). This is 4 miles and I cover it in 32-34 minutes.

One thing that is still weird for me that I find it quite hard to run the fastest part. Even though I should only maintain the 7:25 m/m speed for 1/2 mile, which should be easy, as I ran significantly faster my whole 5 miler race less then 2 weeks ago. But somehow there is a big difference between training and race. I am a little worried about my half marathon in June: it won't be a race: I will run it alone, against the clock. Will it feel like a race, or training?

My time goal for the HM should be around 1:40, according to the scientific training time projections, but those are based on my race times, not on my training times. So if it will be like training, I will be probably closer to 1:50. So my goal is now just set loosely to 1:40-1:50. Even 1:50 should be generously sufficient partial result for a 4-hour marathon goal.