Sub-90 Minutes for the Half Marathon (2011) (Read 6744 times)

Tief, I don't know what's gonna help in the last month.  I just looked at your log and my honest first response was WTF?  You aren't running near the needed (IMO) volume and every run is like you've been shot from a rocket at 6:50-7:10 pace.  I'm not big on the whole "gotta run easy all the time" thing, but you are at the other extreme.  I think you would have been better off with way more volume, way more easy miles (8:00-8:30?) and with one or two planned workouts/wk.  Doesn't help you too much now, though.  I guess I'd say to not do any kind of taper, try to get some longer slower runs in and still hit a few hard workouts even in the last few weeks. 

 

Just my $.02.

A lot of these faster runs are planned workouts - Fartleks where I run a minute hard a minute easy or something similar.  I don't program them into the garmin though so they just look like faster miles.

The longer distance runs (8, 9, 10) I try to run easier, but I get out there in the first mile and it always is like 7:20 or something.  So then I just hold onto that pace.  I hate running slow.  I hate it.  It just feels bad to run that slow to me.   I guess I should because that is what it takes to get in shape for the half marathon though.

Yeah, I agree with BT - I just don't think ALL of your runs shaould be at that pace.  Don't get me wrong, if I could handle the volume AND that pace I'd ba a happy boy.

I'm not worried about my legs yet.  They have surprisingly held up well.  Tomorrow I am going to run as easy as I can for 5 miles.  Then on Sat/Sun I'm thinking of running 10 or 11 miles.   I plan on running 10 or 11 at least three more times before the race day.  Also, I have a 5k on August 6th to kind of judge my fitness level a bit.

There is just this one part of me that can't relax.  When I ran in hs/college track, I could justify running slow for long distance runs because my races were the 400,800, or the mile.  I was simply building endurance.

Now with a race that is 13.1 miles, I feel as if I should be running my race pace for these shorter runs because when it is race day I am going to have to hold that pace for longer than I ever have run in my life.

There is one encouraging thing though.  I have done this all alone except for  a recent distance run I did with my brother.  When I ran with him the pace seemed so easy and it was fast.  This gives me hope that on race day, when there are other runners, I will feel better.

Yeah you don't run easy days easy for the sake of it, you do it so you can handle more volume and do bigger workouts.  If you're not planning to do either of those things than slowing down in and of itself won't do any good.

Tief if you decided to ramp your mileage to 2 or 3x what it is now for a few months you'd wonder what all the fuss was about regarding a 1:30 half marathon.  However, if your goal is to see if you can run a sub 1:30 on less than 30 miles a week or something, then carry on.

However, if your goal is to see if you can run a sub 1:30 on less than 30 miles a week or something, then carry on.

Quit making my goals public, kind sir.

New Milford 8 Mile Road Race today…very glad I finally ran this. One of the area’s iconic races (44^th running and CT’s 3^rd oldest race), and I’ve wanted to run it since we moved here 5 years ago. Has to be an old race, because no one who wanted to build a returning customer base for this thing would design it the way it is today – with a ridiculous hill at the end (check my log for the elevation profile, it’s nasty).

Anyway, this was a good wakeup call in my half-marathon training for how not to pace and how not to hydrate. In the end, my time was okay, but I could have run a much smarter (and probably faster) race.

My workout Wed was supposed to be to dial in race pace, so ran a fartlek with what were supposed to be 3 half mile 6:20’s. I ran them all way too fast (2:45 or so). Very hard for me to get the feel of the in-between pace. I can run a 5:50 and I can run a 6:50, but nailing in-between is an issue.

Anyway, was feeling great in the first mile, pretty comfortable…and then the girl giving splits at mile one said “5:38”…and I felt panic. Holy crap. That’s not good. And was unsettled from there on out. Looking back at the splits now, they kind of make sense, given the course.

1. 5:38
2. 11:50
3. 18:24
4. 24:45
5. 31:30
6. 37:30 (I think)
7. 45:30 (I think)
8. 51:37

That slow mile up to 7 is the crazy hill.

The other big lesson from today was my hydration management. It sucked. Yes, it was warm today, but there were 8 water stations on a 8 mile course, plenty of opportunity to fill up. And I tried, I just wasn’t very good at drinking from the cup at that pace. Something I need to practice. Both calves seized up right after mile 6 (actually right when Beat – another RA guy – passed me). So the last 2 miles were an unnecessarily painful struggle.

So, encouraging for my HM goal in 9 weeks, but plenty to learn from. Great day. Lots of fun. They have a guy playing a fiddle as you slog up the big hill and a big fat smiley face painted on the road at the top.

Onward.

Being three minutes under 1:30 half marathon pace at 8 miles is pretty awesome if you ask me.  Sure you have to have a slower first mile, but that still is impressive.

 

I have my first race in two years on Saturday - just a local 5k, but I am super nervous.  I have no idea what time I will run.   

Thanks. Definitely getting there. The best part of the race, now that I think back on it, was on that final hill, someone I didn't know (but looking at the results, must have been Pedro Cobos - THANK YOU PEDRO if you're out there!) who must have seen me dying and grabbed two sponges from the aid station and gave one to me, without being asked. That gave me a nice lift right before the finish. Runners are awesome.

Good luck in your race. Will be a great opportunity to learn where you are, and to get the feel of racing back.