Sub 2:00 Half Marathon thread (Read 2396 times)

Just checking in.  Having a hard time getting motivated on my running and finally got a few races set and worked up a tentative training plan.

I'm actually going to be shooting for a sub 2 hour half marathon again in two weeks, and by sub 2 hours I mean that's my goal, not 1:40 or 1:45 or 1:50 or even 1:55.  It's a trail race in San Antonio that actually starts in a cave.  I had an unexpected trip come up for work there and checked to see if there were any races and this one caught my eye.  It's a lot of technical single track trail with some ups and downs and a little bit of gravel roads.  It will be my first ever trail race so my goal right now is just to finish really, but I think I should be able to go sub 2 hours hopefully.

I also am setting my sights on a 50K trail race in May.  It seems like a reasonable course, mostly smooth dirt trails, and no terrible huge climbs.  It could potentially be a bit warm, but hopefully not too bad.  It will be my first ultra, only 5 miles farther than a marathon, but hey, you have to start somewhere.

My wife is starting to run again fairly regularly after dealing with mono pretty much all of last year and she is starting to run some of the shorter races with me so that is neat.

Sounds like most of us are in the wintertime funk right now.  Before you know it we will all be planning on spring races and fun stuff like that.

Hope everyone is staying healthy and happy.

Nathan

npaden- That sounds like a really fun race!  Hope that you enjoy it!  Good luck to your wife in getting started again.  That must have been so frustrating for her last year to be feeling badly for so long.

Twofoot- Glad your daughters are enjoying running!  Sounds like training is going well for you!  I am kind of comparing this year to last year myself, since I am following the same program (more or less) and training for the same race.

Me- Had a really nice MLR today on what should have been really tired legs.  Just felt a little lighter on my feet today, and better as I went.

Hi everyone!!!  I am glad people are checking in even though it's kind of a slow period.

Zelanie,  I think peaks and valleys are part of the process.  An uninspired or slow-feeling run or period of running usually means some better running is around the corner.  Or at least that's what I tell myself.

Npaden, Wow on the ultramarathoning.  Cannot even fathom.

EdithRevisited,  Congratultions on the award!!!!!!

Me-- Did that 16-miler today.  Ran my next half-marathon course and then some.  It was REALLY flat.  I found that my legs were REALLY tired at the end but I wasn't dying like I was in the 16 miler I did last fall.  I hope this doesn't wreck me for the 5K I have on Saturday but I really care more about sticking to my half-marathon program.

I will say I am finding winter to be a bit uninspiring.   At least, a couple weeks ago when it was SUPER cold, it felt like a battle; the determination to get out and run despite the conditions was dramatic.  But recently, now that we are in the balmy 30s or low 40s, it just feels  blah what with the overcast skies and most people indoors.  If I hadn't signed up for races, I would probably end up not running and get out of shape as I have in past years, so I think winter racing is key for me.  Also, I keep telling myself that slogging through the gloom means I will enjoy myself that much more when I am fit and in shape for the sunshine.

RACING QUESTION:  So the 5K I'm doing on Saturday seems a bit devilish.  It starts off predominantly steep and uphill for the first .5 miles.  Then it's a steep downhill for .5 miles.  Then flat, then hilly for the last .5.  That first steep, uphill .5 worries me.  I think I can push it and then recover on the downhill, but I dunno, it scares me and I'm worried about killing myself.  Any tips as to how to approach this?

Whether or not this helps I don't know, but I thought I'd throw my two cents at you. I do an annual 5K that has two steep sections (one right after the other) in the middle of the course. After the first .5 mile or so is when I entered the climb. I slow my pace to conserve on the upward climb knowing I would be hitting hard on the way down (out and back-style course).

In your case its at the start, so that can be a bit tricky. I would maybe use that.5 or so to warm your legs up and hit the downward .5 hard to make-up for the slower start. Also, I did a bunch of hill work and hilly courses when I was training for my 5K (I wanted a PR so badly on it).

I can remember who said it or if it makes sense to anyone else, but you take from the hill on the way up and then give it going back down.

It's fairly common to see people huffing at puffing at the top of a hill and even walking at the top of the hill or worse yet, on the way down the hill.  It's all about even effort.  Don't kill yourself going up the hill and don't just cruise down the hill without working at it.  Depending on how steep the hill is I will even walk portions of some hills going up them.  On my PR half marathon that I ran in 1:43:26 I walked 3 different times going up the steepest hills.  Then I blew by people by putting out effort running down the hills instead of just coasting.

Your mileage my vary though.

RACING QUESTION:  So the 5K I'm doing on Saturday seems a bit devilish.  It starts off predominantly steep and uphill for the first .5 miles.  Then it's a steep downhill for .5 miles.  Then flat, then hilly for the last .5.  That first steep, uphill .5 worries me.  I think I can push it and then recover on the downhill, but I dunno, it scares me and I'm worried about killing myself.  Any tips as to how to approach this?

I ran a 5K back in September the day after finishing RTB-NH where I ran six legs of the relay totalling 32.8 miles in about 26 hours, and when I got to the starting line of the 5K my quads were so sore and tight the "walkers" passed me between where I lined up for the start and the starting line, this in spite of the fact that I was "running".  The entire first mile was all up hill, and my slow start effectively allowed me to loosen up and warm up on what amounted to the slowest part of the course.  I ran the first mile in almost exactly 12 minutes; by the second mile mark I was right bang on the 20 minute mark, so clearly my legs were loosening up and I was getting nicely warmed up.

The last 1.1 mile segment was very interesting in that I ran it at the fastest pace I'd been able muster in over a decade, literally; I finished the final segment in a blistering (for me) 6:46, which equates to a 6:09 pace.  I'm thinking if you conserve your energy during your initial climb as I was effectively forced to do, you'll be able to tear it up during your last mile. 

Remember to update us on how you made out after your race. 

hello folks

Thanks again for everyone who posts on this forum.  Gives me some motivation up here in MA trying to stay motivated during winter running season.  I'm on Cape Cod, and we currently have blizzard conditions, and are expected to get 14 + before it is done.  Question for the group:  How long a recovery is usually required after a 1/2 marathon?  Thinking ahead to spring, and wanted some feedback before signing up for another race.

Recovery time depends upon how hard you've trained and how many miles you have under your feet.  If you're putting in 70-80 miles per week, recovery shouldn't take but a week or two; if you're only running 25-30 miles per week, it will most likely take a lot longer.