Forums >Racing>Sub 2:00 Half Marathon thread
Hector- Nice job! You rocked it!
Edith- Sounds like a great racing day for you too!
npaden- Congrats on getting to "onederland"! And weighing less than in college is a huge accomplishment too!
Jan- Glad you're feeling better when you run! Hope you see continued improvement.
Jeff- I wish you the best of luck in your upcoming races!
me- I just got back from a wedding in Palm Springs, which is why I crammed so many tough runs into early last week. I did complete all my scheduled runs during the vacation, only with sun instead of the rain I'm used to up here in Oregon. But I developed a bit of a tightness in my right hip which I felt again yesterday during my last pre-race speedwork session. So I only did 2x1600 instead of three. And then today I got home late so it became a URD.
I feel a bit like a slacker, but I'm thinking that I can do a lot more to hurt my race by doing to much as opposed to too little. So I'm trying to listen to my body and make sure I stay healthy. 11 days to go!
Godzilla
blue- I can see why your Mom wasn't too pleased with the hill analogy. Although it rings true. I've never tried compression sleeves for actual running (I've used them as recovery after a LR or a race) but I can see how they could help by adding some support. Good luck in your trail 10k this weekend. You gotta do it since you don't already have a race lined up for this month.
Nathan- BoomBoomPow! You've got a lot to feel good about: super high mileage, weight goal met, final LR is done! You're going to do great in your HM!
Edith- Wow! Congrats on a fantastic race! AG award, and all the loot! You mentioned you wanted to win some chocolate but I had no idea you could win a BOATLOAD of chocolate. Seriously, you must have a tummy ache by now. Did they provide a wheelbarrow to help you transport your loot to the car? I'm thinking you have a huge closet if you can hide that much chocolate in it. I'm naming my hill the 'Happy Hill from Hell'. It has a ring to it.
pc- Nice intervals! (I would still lose count running 'only' 6x800s) You'll be more than prepared for your 10k. Lots of training left before the end of May. Have fun at the wedding. Try not to resent the happy couple too much for messing up your running schedule.
Jan- I'm trying to picture chocolate truffle pizza and, well, that just sounds unappealing. So glad your runs are going relatively well! They'll keep getting better and better till you've forgotten all about this little hiccup. (Ok, I know you won't forget about it and I know it's not a hiccup but you know what I mean.....it'll be a thing of the past)
hector- Awesome! You rocked the house! Excellent first HM! Your pacing the first half was perfect. And of course the hills threw the pacing off for the second half so I'd say you nailed it. Congrats to your DW, too. Sounds like everyone had a great day. I think I'm most impressed with your patience concerning your foot issues leading up to the race. You backed off and allowed yourself to heal. I wish I had that patience. Oh, and I use my Kinvaras for speed workouts and races. For easy and long runs I use the Asic Blur33s (although I have used the Kinvaras for long runs in the past but now I like to switch between the two shoes).
gosling- Sooooo, what color are the new kicks? Do you ever use vaseline on your feet? I put it on when it's raining or supposed to rain. I should put it on all the time, though, since my feet feel soft afterwards. Happy you had such a good run! How long is your taper going to be? Not too much longer till it's that time so hang in there.
Jeff- Congrats on your longest race! I gotta say, your schedule is kinda scary! Be careful. And that marathon you picked.......what a way to end a marathon. Who would do that? That's just cruel.
Zelanie- Maybe it's a good thing you didn't get home in time to run. Now you need to wrap yourself in bubble wrap so you don't stub a toe, bang a knee or do anything else that might be detrimental.
me- Well, after that god-awful run on Fri. I read up on 'over-training' and it was not good. What's a little over-training? Nothing's hurt or pulled or broken or strained, right? I was reading that if you're over-trained you need to stop running cold turkey for up to 2 months.
Say wha?!?!
Fortunately I don't have any of the other symptoms so hopefully I caught it in plenty of time (no loss of appetite, no higher resting HR, no disturbed sleep, etc). Saturday my legs felt almost as bad as they had after Friday's run. I decided to take at least three days off. I ended up taking four days off just because I didn't want to push it too soon. So today was my first run. I was either going to feel fine and run 10 or I was going to feel like crap and run 2-3. I ended up with 10. I felt pretty OK. It felt like a normal 10 miler. I've also cut out speed workouts and hills this week. It's too bad because it's Spring break here and I was looking forward to having the track to myself without having to wake up early.
Tomorrow I'm going to see how my legs feel. If I need a day off then I'll take a day off. As of now I'm feeling OK.
10K: 47:12* / 13.1: 1:50:56 / 26.2: 3:53:48
Super B****
Zelanie -- you're doing the right thing by taking it easy, even though it might drive you crazy! (This coming from someone whose taper was unintentionally a month long. And it worked out okay.)
miele -- true over-training syndrome is relatively rare, I think. I hope a couple of easy days do the trick for you.
me -- I did my first tempo run in forever today... just four miles, with the middle two at what was supposed to be a tempo pace. I was aiming for 7:55-8:05, but I felt so draggy and slow in the warmup mile that I thought there was no way I'd be able to run that fast, so I didn't really look at my watch during the tempo miles. Yeah. I wound up with a 7:43 and a 7:26. Eek.
chasing the impossible
because i never shut up ... i blog
Jeff CT – congratulations on running your furthest race! Good luck with your HM next week!
Zelanie – good job in completing all your schedule runs during vacation. You are being smart in listening to your body and changing your workout
Miele – backing off and resting foot was tough and boring. Because of that, I had a 4 week taper! I saw that Kinvaras 4 are going to be launched soon and Kinvaras 3 got cheaper. So I bought one pair of Kinvaras 3! My front foot is wider than normal and I bought wider(ee) ones. I am curious to see how would they fit. Its awesome that you felt great and ran 10 miles after resting for 4 days.
Bluerun – excellent tempo run
Me – in a couple of weeks, there is a half marathon on the trails that we go running. My wife and I are volunteering for that race and would be at an aid station. This would be the first time that I would be volunteering at a race and am excited about it.
hector - I actually love running in the rain too! And it's never caused me any problems in the past either. It's totally possible that my blister came from something else and I'm just blaming the rain since it started during a particularly soggy run, but I'm not taking any chances now that the sucker's almost healed! Awesome that you are volunteering, I would really like to do that at some point also.
JeffCT - Good luck with your races, I would be scared stiff of that schedule/course!
Zelanie - I think you made the right choice taking it easy...it's all about injury prevention now!
miele - (Sorry in advance that my links don't work, I tried!) I wanted these: http://www.runningwarehouse.com/descpageWRS-SKN3W9.html but the only ones they had in my size were these: http://www.runningwarehouse.com/descpageWRS-SKN3W1.html which I don't love. I needed the shoes asap though so I took what I could get. I don't use Vaseline but probably should start. I've never had an issue before this so I hadn't given it much thought...do you find that it works well? I think you're smart to give yourself a break if you're starting to feel overtrained. Kudos on listening to your body; I am trying to get better at this.
bluerun - Those are some fast accidental miles! Anything with a 7 in front of it still kind of blows my mind.
Me - Switched my week around again - to avoid days of rain this time - and did my LR yesterday. It was my last 12 miler and unfortunately, not the confidence booster I had hoped. Because I decided to do it about an hour before I actually went out, I wasn't really well-hydrated or fueled properly (I eat a pretty low carb diet unless I'm specifically fueling for runs), and was still a little sore from my speedwork the day prior. I still came in under 2 hours, but it just felt like a struggle. So I'm going to do my best to just forget it happened and focus on my 2 prior LRs which were great.
Related Q: I was planning to follow the advice I got here and run 12 this week, 8 next, and then 6 the week before my race. Now that I've switched my week around, my last 12 miler fell 3.5 weeks before my race. You think I'm still ok to follow my plan or should I up the mileage for next week? Everything but the LR will remain the same as I've been doing until the week before.
blue- I agree that over-training is not common but I've never felt so horrible after a run. I still don't think I've recovered from it. Those are some smoking intervals! I bet that put a smile on your face once you checked your pace. Good luck in your 10K!!!!
hector- New shoes! Yay! So what color are your Kinvaras? Nice that you're volunteering to help at a race. Sometimes I'm amazed at the enthusiasm of the volunteers. Especially when the weather is terrible.
gosling- I 'copied' and 'pasted' so they worked just fine. I like the color you ended up with but, yeah, your first choice is what I would've gone for, too, even though I don't really care for pink. It looks good on those shoes. I think they've done away with the vizi orange that's my favorite but I've still got miles on the ones I have. If I were you, I wouldn't change your plan and up mileage next week. So your LR was a few days early. I don't think a few days will matter. You're supposed to be tapering next week so taper. And no wonder your LR was a struggle! The day after speedwork? Not hydrated? Don't let that beat up your confidence. I think everyone would struggle under those circumstances.
Nathan- Good luck in your HM!!!
me- Took a day off from running today. Legs still not feeling a 100% which will make tomorrow's LR interesting. Originally I was planning 16 but now it's a wait and see kind of situation. If I feel really bad, I'll turn around and come home and try again Sunday.
miele- I hope you just needed a bit of extra rest and that it's not true overtraining.
bluerun- Blazing fast! I tend to do that too, when I feel slow and sluggish, sometimes it's because I'm misinterpreting feeling tired from running fast.
Hector- Thank you for volunteering. I hope you have a blast!
Gosling- I have those white and yellow Kinvaras! I like them a lot. Hope they do well for you too. They are a good price right now at runningwarehouse (and roadrunner has the orange ones in my size, anyway), but I worry that it's a "worn shoe". I wonder how many miles are on them? Was it somebody who had a strange gait and mashed them up already? I'm sure they're fine, but I wish they had more info about the condition on their site.
I don't think that an extra three days more between your LR and your race is going to make a difference one way or the other. Life happens.
me- Taper madness already? I seem to have lots of motivation to eat, and not so much to run. It took me until after 9 to get my run in tonight. Of course, after I was running I felt great. Legs felt light. Last night's social run went well, too. Just over 7, probably faster than I should have run but nothing too crazy. Pfitz calls for a 10 mile LR this weekend, but I am wondering if that's too much and might cut it back. Or I might not.
Edith - what a fabulous race! And chocolate! That is a one smart race director.
Hector - also, fabulous race! Although I'm not sure we can be friends anymore if you don't like dark chocolate ... but liking Maroon 5 probably makes up for that.
gosling - I don't think a few days makes a difference either way. That said, 3 weeks is kind of a long time before a half marathon. I usually run 12-14 miles 2 weeks out, and 8-10 the weekend before.
miele - I hope a little rest does the trick for you. You're not anemic, are you? I had iron deficiency anemia and I never really felt fatigued like many people do, but I felt like training was hard. My legs felt more tired and took longer to recover. Once I finally got enough IV iron to get my counts up, that went away.
Jan - How're things? I hope you are recovering nicely!
Zelanie - I know that feeling well, the taper madness and feeling like a slacker. I keep repeating to myself that I can't do anything extra in training to help at this point, but I can sure screw it up overtraining or getting injured.
me - This should have been my first week of taper, but since I pushed my 20 miler to Monday due to work, it ended up being a pretty high mileage week. I ran 20 miles starting at 5 am on Monday so I could still get to work for a while. 2 friends ran the first 8 with me, and then I ran 12 solo. It was dark for the first 2 hours. I felt pretty badass, I must admit. It went just fine. I also did some intervals on thursday - 5 x 600 on the treadmill, with the intervals at 7.9 mph, and the 1/4 mile recoveries at 6.0 mph.
Because I had the chance to run with a nice group today, I did this weekend's long run a day early. 16 miles today - my last long run before the marathon. So, with 2 long runs, the first week of my taper ended up being 60 miles. I feel good, though, and fresh. I don't feel like I need a taper, which is a sort of dangerous place to be! I just keep repeating to myself to not screw it up.
I just found out Desiree Davila (US Olympic marathoner, who unfortunately had to drop out of the Olympic marathon) will be at my marathon expo. I'm pretty excited to lay eyes on her!
Yeah, I think I'm going to do one last 10-12 miler next week...then 6-8 the weekend before, depending on how I feel. I was already nervous about running my last 12 miler 3 weeks out, 3.5 is giving me anxiety!
doctorjen - When is your race again?
docjen - What an awesome week you had! I don't think you did any harm, especially since you're feeling so good. How cool that you get to see Desi Davila - she's always been one of my favorites. Speaking of favorites...Adam Levine is my "freebie." DH and I have a joke that we each get to choose one celebrity that we can have a fling with (of course we're both going to have that chance). I would also have his baby if he asked.
gosling - I think you'll be fine either way. If you feel up to 10-12 next week, go for it. If there's any doubt, just do the 8 miler. Either way you're well-trained and will do great in the race.
Zelanie - Isn't it funny what a taper will do to you? As for the eating, think of it as carbo-loadng for the race, or just loading. Only 9 days to go! Listen to your body, and repeat after me..."Do no harm, I'm fully trained." Good luck with your LR this weekend.
miele - I hope your LR went well today, and that your legs are feeling more like normal. Docjen might be on to something with the anemia, so if you're not feeling better it might be worth getting checked out. I've read that female distance runners tend to be more prone to that.
blue - Nice tempo!! Like they say, bad start good finish, and I'd say yours definitely was.
hector - Very cool that you and your wife are volunteering at the race. I think it's nice to experience it from both perspectives - a runner and a volunteer.
me - I ran 7 miles today!!! Had a chiro appt. on Thursday, one last adjustment, and he's turned me loose. We had a great conversation about the whole flaming ball of crap that landed me where I was, and he thinks basically that having one leg significantly longer than the other sets me up for muscle imbalances. The body can only compensate for those imbalances for so long before it starts to rebel, and maybe the 9 miler that day was the last straw, maybe I torqued something the next day...who knows? I've been terrible about recovering and resting (I ran 8 miles two days after my marathon in Oct. and a half 2 weeks after). All the parts are pretty much normal again, except for some bursitis in my hip (good call, docjen!). I have an appt. with my sports med doc on Thurs. to talk about the bursitis (shot or no shot). Lesson learned - the rolling and strengthening, and rest are just as important as the miles if I want to keep running!
PR's: 5k - 23:33/ 10k - 48:30/ 5 mi. - 39:21/ 13.1 - 1:53/ 26.2 recent - 4:34
Upcoming races: Resolution Run HM 1/1/13
Phoenix R&R HM 1/20/13
Gosling - I'm running the Garmin marathon Olathe Kansas on April 20.
Jan - funny about your freebie. Dh and I are apparently more generous with each other - we get a list of 5. I tend to vacillate between nerds and bad boys.
If you ask
Gosling - winning an AG award is always nice, as I will never win a race. Forget about the hard 12 miler, but I say that the difficult runs are good for training for mental toughness. Not quitting when the running sucks makes the next nice run that much sweeter.
Bluerun - I'm looking forward to heairing if you ran that 10K. Nice tempo run. Wow.
Hector - I enjoy chocolate but my DH is a fiend! That is why the chocolate is hidden in my closet...as much chocolate as I have will last me months, but if he finds it, it will all be gone in about 2 weeks. I've never volunteered for a race, but I've gone as a spectator for a few. It's a nice way to see a race. Very nice of you to give back.
Jeff - you are a braver runner than me! I would never choose that as my first marathon. I was going to say that if you run it at an easy enough pace, you will be fine for the half, but the inclines will be tough on the legs, as well as the declines, yikes! How long will your LSR be before the full?
Zelanie - I think it was Ryan Hall who said something about it being better to be more rested than running too much. Always error on the side of more rest, I guess.
Miele - I'm liking your hill name. I'm glad you felt well enough to run the 10. Maybe you were only "pre-overtrained ?" Continue to be careful.
docjen - the race director is truly quite brilliant. His race applications are fun to read, and his email updates are laced with crude jokes. Good luck with your taper. It's cool that you will get to see Desiree Davila. I've met Bart Yasso twice (he signed my book and he's friends with the aforementioned race director so he shows up to some of the races) and each time I am star struck. I am really looking forward to your race.
jan - yay, seven miles!!! Your Chiro sounds like a smart cookie!!! I need to learn to stretch as I know it's important. Good luck at the doc! Haha about your freebie. I've never had a convo with DH, but my girlfriend and I (on long runs) talk about our alternate world where in it we eat carrot cake cupcakes ( 1/3 cake, 2/3 icing) and I'm dating Chef Robert Irvine.
Me - I ran Weds, on the trails, doing 5 miles with hill repeats. Then my friend showed up on Thurs to run 6-8 but we ended up running 10 as it was just so nice out. Today was 18 miles. We went to the city museum area to run two 9 mile loops... Heading into the wind then crossing the bridge and running in perfect weather. The second loop into the wind was brutal, however, as it was her first time running in the city, I insisted she run up the "Rocky" steps. Happy to be finished.
Went out to run today and my hip started hurting after the first mile. I called it quits after 2 and had a two mile walk home. I can feel something clicking on the side of my hip when I walk. I kinda think it's the top of my IT band, since that is also *very* tight along the top when I've been rolling it lately. I guess take a couple of days off completely? Ugh!
CT JEFF
So far, Ive run 18.1m. Goal for this week is 20mi and I hope to have one 24 mile run under my belt before the FM. Darn, May 26th is getting close.
RUN SAFE. Barefoot 1st: 6/9/13. PR: 5k=22:50 10k=47:46 HM 1:51. FM 4:28 Oct 2015 joined RUN 169!
Jan - It sounds like you're well on your way to an amazing recovery! Regarding muscle imbalances, I've been looking into Functional Movement Screening. It's supposed to do a pretty amazing job of identifying and correcting strength and flexibility imbalances. Both my brother (a PT) and my old (and favorite) chiro are big fans. I haven't done any of the work yet, but I plan to and I'll let you know what I think!
Edith - Sounds like you've had some nice runs. It's the best when you stay out longer than you planned because everything just feels good!
Zelanie - Is the clicking on the outside of your hip? Mine was doing that on the inside/groin area when my psoas was out of whack. My chiro solved the issue in one visit with low level laser therapy and some stretching. I left skeptical that it had worked, but low and behold, it really did "switch on" that muscle and solve the issue.