Half Marathon Trainers

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HMT - April 2012 (Read 355 times)


an amazing likeness

    I'm with you Meg, the wind is starting to wear me down...and the winds in my area are only about 1/2 what you deal with. 

    Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.

      Same here with the wind! Last few runs have had 30+ mph gusts.


      Former runner

        I had my first race of the year on Saturday and set a new PR by almost 5 minutes. Big grin That should help motivate me for the next couple of weeks as I get ready for my next HM. It was pretty cold when I left the house in the morning but once the sun came up it warmed up nicely. I went ahead with a long sleeve shirt but probably could have gone short sleeved. I always seem to underestimate the amount that I warm up during a run.

         

        I wrote a brief race report in my log entry.

        Ross

        CanadianMeg


        #RunEveryDay

          That's a huge PR. Good race notes too! How long were the stairs? 

           

          I just decided that I need to get running hills again and that maybe if I set up a rough schedule for me, I could keep my mileage up. (I was over 20 this past week and I haven't been over 20 miles in a week in months.) So yuck, back on the hill on Wednesday. Good for me, but hard to love when I haven't done them in months. I hope it's not uber windy.

          Half Fanatic #9292. 

          Game Admin for RA Running Game 2023.


          Former runner

            The stairs in the park vary from walkways with just a few steps to some that were the equivalent of 3-4 story buildings. They are spaced out enough that you can recover in the flats between them. I'd say the course was more hills and stairs than flat trail. Definetly challenging for someone like myself that lives in an area with no hills.

             

            I was kind of surprised that my legs have recovered as fast as they have since Saturday. Looks like the next couple of days will be cold again. I haven't needed a jacket on a run in several weeks.

            Ross

              Nice run, Ross.

               

              I also find hills are tough- my son just flies up them, but then he has enormously strong legs, and works very hard at hill training.

              For me coming down hill hurts my knees if the hill is steep enough.

               

              Should have run today but spoke to my daughter in Zimbabwe by phone, then sent a few emails back and forward. Weather there was 38 degrees C (100F) yesterday, she says it is cooling down nicely as the dry season approaches.

               

              I remember when I lived there getting single-word weather forecasts, hot, cloudy, fine rain etc. Even "nasty" or "nice" on one radio station!

              PBs since age 60:  5k- 24:36, 10k - 47:17. Half Marathon- 1:42:41.

                                                  10 miles (unofficial) 1:16:44.

               


              an amazing likeness

                Sounds like a great run in the park, Ross...5 minute PR is something that needs some good shout-outs. Indy Mini must be right around the corner for you....man, I still get a smile every time I think about that finish section, turning off the last bridge and down New York (?) into the finish -- that was a blast.

                 

                Meg -- I just scanned your log and you've got one heck of an more consistent base this year than you did last. I think the base you have now, heading into the warmer weather when you can get back outside consistently makes all your current PRs soft -- you could reset all distances in 2012 if you wanted.

                Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.


                an amazing likeness

                  Looks like a few intrepid HMT racers are hitting the start line this weekend....

                   

                  Apr

                  14th vegefrog Palmetto Half Marathon 13.1 Miles Columbia, SC USA 1:59:59  
                  Apr 15th MattJ Big D Half 13.1 Miles Dallas, TX USA  1:55:00  
                  Apr 15th MLea3girls Corvallis Half 13.1 Miles Corvallis, OR USA 3:12:59  

                   

                  Good luck and Run strong!

                  Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.

                  vegefrog


                    Thanks Milktruck! 

                    I'm not very well trained for this one though. I have more of a base then I did when I ran my first in January, so I'm pretty sure I can break 2 hours. I wanted to do a lot more speed work and tempo runs, but I have been lazy Sad

                     

                    Oh well. My plan is 9 min miles for the first 6, then try to bring it down to 8:45's and have enough left for the last 5K to feel good. That should get me under 2 hours and not be too uncomfortable. My friend that is running it with me scheduled us for massages later in the afternoon so THAT will be nice!!!

                     

                    We shall see! Good luck to MattJ and MLea3girls! Hope you have great races Smile

                      Glad to see everyone's entering April in such a solid way.  I did my first outside run in almost 3 months today, and it felt great!  Granted I went under 1.5 miles, but it's a start.  I didn't have any leg pain and wasn't breathing hard but my easy pace seems to have dipped from the low 8s to the low to mid 9s. Sad  I'm eager to get out there again but I know I should take it slow as I start back up!

                       

                      Good luck everyone on upcoming races - I'm sure you'll do great.

                      I ran. I ran until my muscles burned and my veins pumped battery acid. Then I ran some more.

                       

                       

                      Future Goals: 5:30 mile • 19:30 5k • 33:30 8k • 42:00 10k • 1:15:00 10-mile • 1:40:00 half-marathon • 1000 miles

                      vegefrog


                        EEK! Now I'm going crazy trying to come up with a plan for my half tomorrow!!

                         

                        I had a GREAT run this morning, now granted it was only 6 miles, but I ran around an 8:30 pace and it felt EASY. I was talking to myself the whole way...

                         

                        Now I'm thinking...could I hold that for the whole race? Initially I was just going to try to stay comfortable and run under 2 hours.

                         

                        Now I'm thinking...I should RACE it and push myself out of that comfort zone to try to get between a 1:50 and a 1:55....

                         

                        I like what Milktruck said in a main forum, break the race into 5-5-5K.

                         

                        This will only be my second half and I'm not very good a knowing how to race one. 5K's are easy, you just run as fast as you can, LOL.

                         

                        I know it's a long race so if I go out conservatively I will have time to make it up...so I think I'll try to do the first 5 in around 44 min, then try to pick up the next 5 for closer to 42 min and hopefully RUN the last 5K in around 26. Does anyone think this is doable based on my mileage and paces??

                          Vegefrog,

                           

                          Hells yeah you should RACE the race! Racing should never be comfortable.

                           

                          You’ve already had a pretty bang-up year, and the improvement is coming fast and furious. So, if you feel like 1:55 is in a “comfort zone”, if ever there was a time to take a shot…

                           

                          Your negative split plan gives you room to feel out the race too, so if there’s a need to back off, you can (and should).

                           

                          As for the 5-5-5 thing…that was my plan 2 weeks ago. For months I had thought about the race that way, and had planned out what I needed the splits to be, and how I would approach each of the segments…

                           

                          Come race day, somehow that all disappeared. I was just in a rhythm with the guy I was running alongside, and I became mesmerized by the mile splits, like it was some sort of neat trick, that every x minutes and x seconds, the next mile marker would appear. And each time it happened, I thought, “heh, that’s funny, it happened again”, and that kept happening and before I knew it we were at mile 8. And I sort of remembered about the 5-5-5 thing at that point, but executing on it was gone. And then a big hill came and that distracted me, and then some pretty awful calf cramps came, and then I  mustered whatever I could to get me to the end.

                           

                          So, I think it’s a good mental approach, and one that I intended to carry into the race – you just never know what’s going to happen when you’re actually running I guess.

                           

                          Have fun! Good luck!

                          Come all you no-hopers, you jokers and rogues
                          We're on the road to nowhere, let's find out where it goes


                          an amazing likeness


                            Now I'm thinking...I should RACE it and push myself out of that comfort zone to try to get between a 1:50 and a 1:55....

                             

                            Of course you should RACE it !!  You're training level is great. Your workouts show you''ve got sproing in your legs and now you're getting hunger in the belly. Hammer it out there and adjust IF needed.


                            GO Vege!

                            Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.


                            an amazing likeness

                              Looks like a few intrepid HMT racers are hitting the start line this weekend....

                               

                              Apr

                              14th vegefrog Palmetto Half Marathon 13.1 Miles Columbia, SC USA 1:59:59  
                              Apr 15th MattJ Big D Half 13.1 Miles Dallas, TX USA  1:55:00  
                              Apr 15th MLea3girls Corvallis Half 13.1 Miles Corvallis, OR USA 3:12:59  

                               

                              Good luck and Run strong!

                               

                              I'm worried about Matt -- he hasn't logged a run since back in March....hope it's just work and life getting in the way...Confused

                              Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.

                              vegefrog


                                Thanks guys! Ok I'm gonna go for it...will let you know what happens. I just needed a little push to convince myself I can and SHOULD race a distance longer then a 5K, LOL. I'm gonna earn that finishers medal Wink 

                                 

                                MattJ! I hope you are ok!!!! I am worried about him too. I know he was having issues with that hip. Sad

                                Matt if you are racing this weekend, I hope you do great and feel good. If not, there will be many more!!

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