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

FreeSoul87


Runs4Sanity

    miele - lol, I guess that is better than the meltdown threads. My son has been keeping me up for the past couple of nights with stomach cramps I guess, and when he sleeps with us I end up getting elbowed in the mouth, eyes and ears, and I think his skull is thicker than my because when he headbutts me......... OMG I want to cry. But I am trying to keep my hopes up, it's still only Tuesday and things might look up before Saturday. Then again I have been keeping my eyes on the forecast and it's threatening a chance of scattered thunderstorms so I am trying to pray to the running gods for a race without rain, or lightning but I am not sure what's going to happen. It looks like my goal to PR a sub 2:00 might have to be pushed to the Indy Monumental Half on November 2, but we'll wait and see.

    *Do It For Yourself, Do It Because They Said It Was Impossible, Do It Because They Said You Were Incapable*

    PRs

    5k - 24:15 (7:49 min/mile pace) 

    10k - 51:47 (8:16 min/mile pace)

    15k -1:18:09 (8:24 min/mile pace)

    13.1 - 1:53:12 (8:39 min/mile pace)

     26:2 - 4:14:55 (9:44 min/mile)

    pcaharrier


      PC and Nathan-  Hansons question.  How do you feel about the taper?  Or lack thereof?  It's scaring me.  I knew when I first read the plan that the taper is something I would adjust.  It just seems like very high mileage with some serious speed work.  PC, how are you planning to tackle the taper?  You keeping it as written or adjusting?  Nathan, I know you changed things up but I don't recall exactly how.  I'll check out your log later but if you have any additional thoughts they would be greatly appreciated.

       

      This will be my first time through their marathon plan. I bought a 10k plan from their website but didn't even really get to try the taper since a cold knocked me off my feet for almost a week leading up to my race.

       

      At this point, I plan to just do the taper pretty much as written.  The only slight adjustment I have to make is due to the fact that I've been doing my long runs on Saturdays whereas my race is on a Sunday (so I'll end up with an extra rest day in there).  Even taking Sundays off now I can feel the difference in my legs when I hit the road again on Monday mornings.  With that in mind, I'm not too worried about the taper doing what it should do.

      Zelanie


        miele- I guess I haven't talked about it here, but I've had what I thought was a tight piriformis for this whole year.  It doesn't get worse when I run, and it doesn't get better when I don't run, so I mostly just ignore it.  I can manage it with rolling (with a baseball!) and stretching, and neither the doctor nor the PT seemed particularly worried about it.  I'm sure it's related to the knee thing, but it's not "instead of" that diagnosis.  It's just another piece of the puzzle.


        You Rang?

          Lurch- From the descriptions of Disney I've read, it was nowhere near the same level of congestion!  There were maybe 500 runners in both races.  The main problem for me was that it took so long to get clear of the start in the 10K that it kind of all blended in to the back of the 5K.  And I didn't want to sprint to get around people and through gaps if I could avoid it, since I was focusing on a smooth start.  I had to stop looking at my watch, because the slow slow average pace it was telling me (like, over 10:00 for a good way) was freaking me out.  I finally switched the screen so I could only see current pace, and tried to keep that steady instead.

           

          Disney sold 5,000 bibs to the 5K, 5,000 bibs to the 10k and 5,000 bibs to the Double Dumbo people.  That's 15,000 people!  Perhaps you should get a bib to the Disneyland Half Marathon (registration opens in January) and c'mon down and experience the madness!

          Rick 

          PR: 5k 25:01 (10/15) 10k: 57:44 (7/14) HM: 1:57 (5/15) FM: 4:55 (1/15)

          npaden


            Still getting caught up from my hunting trip.  I'll try to catch up with everyone and get my half marathon race report written soon as well.

             

            Had my first real "workout" in about a month this morning.  Wasn't sure how well I would do with my race just 5 days ago and the big lay off before that, but I ended up with a really good workout.  Took a little bit to get my pace sorted out, but ended up doing 5 X 1,000m intervals with 500m recoveries and my avg pace on the intervals was right at 6:50.  I had to work at them, but I didn't feel like I was having to race them or anything.  Started the 2nd and 3rd interval sets too fast and slowed down on the latter part of them, but I wasn't dying, just trying to hit my target pace and not kill myself on the early intervals.  Hammered it down on the last part of the final interval, I still felt like I had something left in the tank when it was all said and done.

             

            Here's my splits.

             

            <colgroup><col width="40" /> <col span="8" width="64" /> </colgroup>
            10/3/13 - 5 X 1000m intervals with 500m recoveries, 61 degrees, 100% humidity
              Type Distance  Duration Total Duration Pace Avg HR Max HR Notes
            1a Manual 0.5 km 02:08.5 19:32.1 6:54 159 171  
            1b Manual 0.5 km 02:08.1 21:40.2 6:53 174 177  
            2a Manual 0.5 km 02:02.4 26:34.9 6:34 168 178  
            2b Manual 0.5 km 02:12.9 28:47.8 7:08 177 179  
            3a Manual 0.5 km 02:03.3 33:44.2 6:37 167 180  
            3b Manual 0.5 km 02:08.8 35:53:00 6:55 178 179  
            4a Manual 0.5 km 02:09.2 41:00.5 6:56 167 178  
            4b Manual 0.5 km 02:06.3 43:06.8 6:47 179 181  
            5a Manual 0.5 km 02:11.5 48:10.7 7:04 172 180  
            5b Manual 0.5 km 01:58.6 50:09.3 6:22 182 185  
                             
              Totals   21:09.5   06:49.5 172.3 185  

             

            I have a 5K coming up next Saturday and I'm hoping to set a new PR on it.  My current 5K PR is 22:39 from last fall so I think I should beat that pretty easy, but you never know.  My "A" goal is for my avg pace to start with a 6:XX so to get a 6:59 means I need to finish under 21:40.

             

            Will try to get caught up and post again soon.

             

            Nathan

            Age: 50 Weight: 224 Height: 6'3" (Goal weight 195)

            Current PR's:  Mara 3:14:36* (2017); HM 1:36:13 (2017); 10K 43:59 (2014); 5K 21:12 (2016)

            miele


            Godzilla

              blue-  Wait.  The elliptical hurt?  I thought that was the go-to machine when one was injured.  (Although I avoid it like the plague).  And you must do some serious rolling to get bruised.  Or you're very easily bruised.  Hang in there.

               

              Free-  How's the weather looking?  Good luck tomorrow!

               

              pc-  I checked out your log.  So Sunday's are your SRDs.  Looks like solid training to me.  Are you tempted to run 18 instead of 16 at some point for the LR?  I am.  If the weekly mileage supports it, that is.  I'll see how I feel when the time comes but I'll probably adjust the taper.  I think it takes me longer to recover and I definitely want to be fresh and ready on race day.  I just don't see much of a reduction mileage-wise in the taper and it scares me.

               

              Zelanie-  Ok, that makes sense.  Because I knew the PT for the knee issue had been successful and I was wondering how that could be if it was misdiagnosed in the first place.  I meant to tell you that I was stunned to learn you have a 15 year old!  You just don't look old enough.  At all.

               

              Lurch-  You've got a 5k this weekend, right?  Good luck!

               

              Nathan-  Sounds like the break from running did you some good.  You'll do great in the 5k.

               

              Jeff-  Good luck and have fun in the Tower of Terror!

               

              me-  Still running.  Good luck to all the racers this weekend!

              10K: 47:12* / 13.1: 1:50:56 / 26.2: 3:53:48

               

                          

              FreeSoul87


              Runs4Sanity

                No storms or rain during the race, but 70 degrees, 90% humidity and dew point at 67......... I wasn't planning on having my shirt off for most of the race but it looks like I'll be without a shirt, I don't care for warm temps during a half marathon..... I thought the St. Louis Half's 60 degrees was warm so this will be interesting. I've ran this race twice now, and the last 2 times it barely started above 50 so this is just weird, but then Sunday will be in the 60's so go figure. I'm not getting my hopes up due to the warm weather, and I'm changing my sub 2:00 goal to the Indy Half next month with hopes of colder weather but if I can get close to it tomorrow I will be pleased.

                *Do It For Yourself, Do It Because They Said It Was Impossible, Do It Because They Said You Were Incapable*

                PRs

                5k - 24:15 (7:49 min/mile pace) 

                10k - 51:47 (8:16 min/mile pace)

                15k -1:18:09 (8:24 min/mile pace)

                13.1 - 1:53:12 (8:39 min/mile pace)

                 26:2 - 4:14:55 (9:44 min/mile)

                  posting a link to our RnR Montreal photo, before the start when we were all nice and fresh. Me and Penny (knock knock..Penny Penny..knock knock...Penny Penny). Love bugging her.

                  me and Penny

                  Steve

                  5K/22:33   10K/47:52   21.1K/1:44:06  42.2K/4:07:37
                  2014 Goals: 5K<22:00 10K<45:00 HM<1:40  FM<3:45


                  You Rang?

                    The Chapman Univ. 5k Race Report is up over on the Beginners and Beyond.  It was hot, dry, and windy.  Real nasty weather to run in (or do anything else outside).  I set a new PR by over two minutes.  New PR is 26:17 with a final tenth of a mile kick at a 6:50 mm pace.  I had no clue I could run that fast!

                    Rick 

                    PR: 5k 25:01 (10/15) 10k: 57:44 (7/14) HM: 1:57 (5/15) FM: 4:55 (1/15)

                    Zelanie


                      Hello, everyone!  Got my LR up to 12 miles yesterday, so I'm feeling pretty good about that.  I'm inching towards the mid-upper 30s in MPW finally, too.  I signed up for a 10K next weekend that I plan to run as a pace run for HMP.  There are hills on the course, though, so maybe more like HM-effort?  If I can figure out what that is? Smile  It looks to be a fun event, and I know some people who are running it, so I am looking forward to it!

                       

                      Lurch- Congrats on the shiny new PR!  Isn't it fun to see that 6 there on the pace?  I only see it when I run 200s (and really shouldn't even then), but it is fun!

                       

                      Npaden- How did the race go?

                       

                      miele- I have been mistaken for a student at DD's high school more than once!  I guess the grey hairs will take care of that soon enough, though.

                       

                      FreeSoul- I read your RR on the B&B- congratulations on your PR!  Now go and beat it!

                       

                      Steve- Nice photo!

                      hectortrojan


                        Miele -I run on trails only on weekends. I do not run on every weekend these days, trail running is still my favorite running. I used to run on TM on weekdays, but I stopped doing that and running on streets lately which has been a lot better than TM running.

                        Nice interval running.

                         

                        Npaden – impressive splits! Good luck with your race this weekend. What are you shooting for?

                         

                        Zelanie – apart from the race, is 12 milers your longest run?

                         

                        Me – went to southern California to attain a baby shower for the weekend and felling tired because of not sleeping enough. But we had blast. I ran 3 times (all 40 minutes runs) for the week

                        FreeSoul87


                        Runs4Sanity

                          Zelanie - I am going to try, working hard on recovering from this awesome PR, stretching, foam rolling and going to slowly ease back into running today. I'm also starting some side plank exercises with hopes that it will strengthen my hips and in turn strengthen my knees which so far get really stiff around mile 9.

                          *Do It For Yourself, Do It Because They Said It Was Impossible, Do It Because They Said You Were Incapable*

                          PRs

                          5k - 24:15 (7:49 min/mile pace) 

                          10k - 51:47 (8:16 min/mile pace)

                          15k -1:18:09 (8:24 min/mile pace)

                          13.1 - 1:53:12 (8:39 min/mile pace)

                           26:2 - 4:14:55 (9:44 min/mile)

                          npaden


                            Okay, one of these days I'm going to get some time set aside and do a race report on my half marathon.  In the meantime I'll just pop in and post on my workout last night.

                             

                            Sharpening workout for my 5K race on Saturday morning.  One of those confidence booster type workouts.

                             

                            Just 4 X 400m intervals with 400m recoveries so nothing I could sustain for very long, but these were smoking fast for me.  Just running on the road with my phone telling me when to start and stop the intervals so not like I could push myself hard to the line or anything like that either.  Recoveries were at easy pace and ended up right around 9:00 per mile.  My 2 mile warmup and cool down were at 9:05 pace.  Pretty happy with having those 5:XX paced splits at the end.

                             

                            <colgroup><col width="40" /><col span="8" width="64" /></colgroup>
                            Splits (GPS Interval)
                              Type Distance  Duration Total Duration Pace Avg HR Max HR Notes
                            1 Manual 0.25 mi 01:35.0 19:46.0 6:20      
                            2 Manual 0.25 mi 01:32.6 23:30.2 6:11      
                            3 Manual 0.25 mi 01:27.5 27:11.3 5:50      
                            4 Manual 0.25 mi 01:25.6 30:54.1 5:43      

                             

                            Looking back on my log my first intervals that I ran were back in March of 2011.  Here's my notes from that workout:

                             

                            First attempt at interval training. After work before church at the old Cooper track. Shooting for 8:20 on the fast laps and easy on the in between laps. Did pretty good, but feeling it after interval 7. Walked the next lap then finished strong on number 8. Cathy was just using a stopwatch and I was doing really well on the pace on that. Interval 7 was a tough, but still kept it at 2:05, the rest were at closer to 2:00 except I pushed number 8 in at 1:55. Almost hit my max heart rate with a 187 right there at the end of interval 8. Overall good work out. Hopefully it will help out in my speed.

                             

                            I remember being pretty happy with the workout at the time.  That 1:55 on the last lap puts it at a 7:40 pace.  And I wasn't wearing my HRM last night, but I doubt I even got to 180 on my HR last night compared to 187 at the end of the workout back in March of 2011.  That means I was effectively racing that workout at the time.  Another thing that jumps out at me is that my easy pace now was my Tempo pace back then.  Seems like I've improved a little bit in the last 18 months!

                            Age: 50 Weight: 224 Height: 6'3" (Goal weight 195)

                            Current PR's:  Mara 3:14:36* (2017); HM 1:36:13 (2017); 10K 43:59 (2014); 5K 21:12 (2016)

                            pcaharrier


                              pc-  I checked out your log.  So Sunday's are your SRDs.  Looks like solid training to me.  Are you tempted to run 18 instead of 16 at some point for the LR?  I am.  If the weekly mileage supports it, that is.  I'll see how I feel when the time comes but I'll probably adjust the taper.  I think it takes me longer to recover and I definitely want to be fresh and ready on race day.  I just don't see much of a reduction mileage-wise in the taper and it scares me.

                               

                              Yeah, I had thought about pushing the mileage out a little bit, but I kinda wanted to do it for the second to last 16-miler and that was this weekend. It didn't happen.  I've been feeling a little bit of . . . something (stiffness, maybe? it's not really what I would call painful) in my knees for the last couple of weeks (really only during the warmup).  I'd like to push the mileage, but I definitely don't want to risk an injury.

                               

                              Regarding the taper, are you counting the mileage for the race itself?  I know I did that the first couple times I looked at the schedule.  I count 42 miles for myself in the nine days leading up to my race on Nov. 10.  A year ago I would have thought that was a lot, but now it doesn't seem that bad, especially considering it's all easy mileage.  Even so, I still might decide to shorten some of those runs a bit.  I didn't run at all the day before my half marathon last February and missing that last shakeout run didn't seem to hurt me.

                              npaden


                                pcharrier and meile - Taper.  Looking at my log my days leading up to the race were:

                                 

                                 

                                9 days before MP Tempo 13.2 total miles with 10 @ MP.

                                Then all easy 8.1, 8.1, 3.1, 6.1, 2.1, 3.1, 3.4 and 1.8 the afternoon before the race.  That's 36ish easy miles the 8 days before the race.

                                 

                                Per the plan I was supposed to do 8, 8, 6, 5, 0, 6, 6 and 3 the day before the race.  That's 42 easy miles the 8 days before the race, so looks like I cut 6 miles out of the plans taper.

                                 

                                I followed everything else pretty much exactly with the 2 - 10 mile runs the weekend before the 2 - 8 mile runs, all the MP Tempo runs, intervals on Tuesdays, etc.  Just cut a few easy miles out of that last week.

                                 

                                I think part of mine was that I had some travel issues with everything and had a hard time fitting in those last few runs so I cut them short.  I don't think running 6 vs. 3 the few days before the race is going to make much difference, but I would err on the side of tapering.  Of course I've run a whopping 1 marathon so I'm sure I'm an expert on the subject! Big grin

                                Age: 50 Weight: 224 Height: 6'3" (Goal weight 195)

                                Current PR's:  Mara 3:14:36* (2017); HM 1:36:13 (2017); 10K 43:59 (2014); 5K 21:12 (2016)