Sub 1:30 Half Marathon 2021 Edition (Read 448 times)

darkwave


Mother of Cats

    Flavio - I think it's sensible to sandbag given the impact of the marathon and giving us a Gaga outfit is a small price to pay for playing it safe.

     

    I wish my race was today, no wind, cool with cloud cover.  The only difference tomorrow will be a bit more wind.  This morning I did some strides, and used the Asics GT-2000 for the warm up then put on the Endorphins for the strides.  Wow, what a difference.  The strides were faster than I wanted but didn't feel like it.  Tomorrow I think I'll do my 1-2km warm up with strides in my bricks then swap into the racing shoes just before the briefing.

     

    Good luck!!!!

     

    And good luck to Watson as well!

    Everyone's gotta running blog; I'm the only one with a POOL-RUNNING blog.

     

    And...if you want a running Instagram where all the pictures are of cats, I've got you covered.

    Marky_Mark_17


      Keen - I did consider wearing an old pair of Next%'s for the trail half I did.  I ended up wearing a pair of lightweight trail shoes and was definitely feeling the impact on the gravel the last few km's.  I guess the gravel probably chews the foam up a bit faster than the road so there's probably a trade-off.

       

      Watson - the winds are easterly too, so even if it picks up like it did last year it won't have much of an impact as the course mostly runs north-south.

       

      Steve - I wouldn't worry too much about that wind.  I looked at the course profile and you'll have it behind you going up that false flat over the first couple of km of each lap.  By the time you are going into it - and it doesn't look like it really picks up until later in the day anyway - you'll be on the very slight downhill.  And you won't be dealing with it for very long at a stretch either since it's a multi-lap course.

       

      Flavio - I think this is the first costume run by anyone on the thread this year? (not that we have had an abundance of races, of course).  TBH you might surprise yourself!

      3,000m: 9:07.7 (Nov-21) | 5,000m: 15:39 (Dec-19) | 10,000m: 32:34 (Mar-20)  

      10km: 33:15 (Sep-19) | HM: 1:09:41 (May-21)* | FM: 2:41:41 (Oct-20)

      * Net downhill course

      Last race: Maraetai HM, 10 Mar, DNF

      Up next: Waterfront HM, 7 Apr

      "CONSISTENCY IS KING"

      Mikkey


      Mmmm Bop

        It’s great to see Marky and Flavio back on their safe half marathon/shorter distance race ground again.  Phew!  Never a marathon again!

        5k - 17:53 (4/19)   10k - 37:53 (11/18)   Half - 1:23:18 (4/19)   Full - 2:50:43 (4/19)

        JamesD


        JamesD

          Good luck, Steve & Watson!

           

          Steve, remind me - are your Endorphins the Endorphin Pros or the Endorphin Speeds?

          Post-1987 PRs:  Half 1:30:14 (2019); 10K 39:35 (2019); 5K 19:12 (2017); Mile 5:37.3 (2020)

          '24 Goals: consistency, age-graded PRs, half < 1:32

          Mikkey


          Mmmm Bop

            I still laugh at Marky when he gave me crap when I tried to help him during his first marathon in 2017...a sub1:20 half runner and ended up with a 2:57.  You can lead a horse to water.....

            5k - 17:53 (4/19)   10k - 37:53 (11/18)   Half - 1:23:18 (4/19)   Full - 2:50:43 (4/19)

            SteveChCh


            Hot Weather Complainer

              Thanks James.  I've got the Endorphin Pros - I've worn them 3 times, each time to try them out before a race but this will be my first race so I'm excited to see how they help me out when it gets tough.

               

              Mikkey - Don't drink and post

              5km: 18:34 11/23 │ 10km: 39:10 8/23 │ HM: 1:26:48 9/23 │ M: 3:34:49 6/23

               

              2024 Races:

              Motorway Half Marathon February 25, 2024 1:29:55

              Christchurch Half-Marathon April 21, 2024

              Selwyn Marathon June 2, 2024

              Dunedin Half Marathon September 15, 2024

              watsonc123


                I still laugh at Marky when he gave me crap when I tried to help him during his first marathon in 2017...a sub1:20 half runner and ended up with a 2:57.  You can lead a horse to water.....

                 

                Mark's 5km, 10km, half* and full PRs are better than yours and mine, so you should give it a rest.

                 

                And yes, your PRs are better than mine.  But I am just a hobby jogger.

                 

                Mark - yes, wind direction tomorrow is good too.

                 

                * which is 1:12 on a non-downhill course.

                 

                 

                Mark

                PRs: 5km 18:43 (Dec 2015), 10km 39:59 (Sep 2020), half 1:26:16 (Sep 2016), full 3:09:28 (Jun 2015)

                 

                40+ PRs: 5km 19:31 (Oct 2020), 10km 39:59 (Sep 2020), half 1:29:39 (Jun 2018), full 3:13:55 (Sep 2022)

                 

                2023 PRs (hope to beat in 2024): 5km 20:34, 10km 41:37, half 1:32:32, full 3:21:05

                 

                2024 PRs: 5km 20:25

                Mikkey


                Mmmm Bop

                   

                  Mark's 5km, 10km, half* and full PRs are better than yours and mine, so you should give it a rest.

                   

                   

                  Of course they are...he’s about 17 years younger than me.

                   

                  My point was that he’s not that good at marathons.

                  5k - 17:53 (4/19)   10k - 37:53 (11/18)   Half - 1:23:18 (4/19)   Full - 2:50:43 (4/19)

                    Steve and Chris all the best for tomorrow. I await your race results with eagerness 

                     

                    Flavio look forward to the superman 🦸‍♀️ photos. Please don't wear too tight lycra pants 

                    55+ PBs 5k 18:36 June 3rd TT

                    " If you don't use it you lose it,  but if you use it, it wears out.

                    Somewhere in between is about right "      

                     

                    watsonc123


                      Steve - I think you should do the warm up run in the race shoes.  One reason is simply to make sure lace tightness is correct.

                      PRs: 5km 18:43 (Dec 2015), 10km 39:59 (Sep 2020), half 1:26:16 (Sep 2016), full 3:09:28 (Jun 2015)

                       

                      40+ PRs: 5km 19:31 (Oct 2020), 10km 39:59 (Sep 2020), half 1:29:39 (Jun 2018), full 3:13:55 (Sep 2022)

                       

                      2023 PRs (hope to beat in 2024): 5km 20:34, 10km 41:37, half 1:32:32, full 3:21:05

                       

                      2024 PRs: 5km 20:25

                      SteveChCh


                      Hot Weather Complainer

                        Thanks darkwave and Piwi.

                         

                        watson - good point. I usually do 2 short warm ups, (one really slow, one with strides) so maybe I’ll swap over in between the 2.

                        5km: 18:34 11/23 │ 10km: 39:10 8/23 │ HM: 1:26:48 9/23 │ M: 3:34:49 6/23

                         

                        2024 Races:

                        Motorway Half Marathon February 25, 2024 1:29:55

                        Christchurch Half-Marathon April 21, 2024

                        Selwyn Marathon June 2, 2024

                        Dunedin Half Marathon September 15, 2024

                        JamesD


                        JamesD

                          Good luck again, Steve & Watson.  I guess your races are about to start.

                           

                          I took most of the week off because of throat & sinus sickness.  DW had the same thing a week before I did, and she’s still feeling it, so it may be a while before I’m 100%.  Starting Thursday I was able to get back on the treadmill with walk breaks, though my heart rate when I stopped was above what it usually is after longer continuous runs.  Foot and upper hamstrings still hurt sometimes, but at least they’re not getting worse.

                           

                          I was pleased that my baseball team won the World Series (for non-U.S. folks: yes, it’s arrogantly named and has nothing to do with the world outside the U.S. & Canada) for the first time since 1995.  I had taken my son to see one of the earlier playoff games a few weeks ago, but neither of us wanted to pay $1,000 each for Series tickets.  Instead, when the team was playing the final away game, he drove 2 hours from his university to Atlanta with some friends and watched the game broadcast on a giant screen in the team’s stadium with tens of thousands of other screaming fans.  Said he was a little sleepy in his classes the next day after getting back to his dorm early in the morning, but it was well worth it.   

                           

                          Sun-Weds - off sick throat & sinus

                          Thurs - 3.3 miles very slow on treadmill (38 minutes) + 0:40 walk after every 6:00

                          Fri - 5.2 miles very slow on treadmill (60 minutes) + walk breaks

                          Sat - 7.8 miles very slow on treadmill (90 minutes) + walk breaks

                           

                          Total - 16.3 miles

                          Rapidly declining YTD average - 41.7 mpw



                          Post-1987 PRs:  Half 1:30:14 (2019); 10K 39:35 (2019); 5K 19:12 (2017); Mile 5:37.3 (2020)

                          '24 Goals: consistency, age-graded PRs, half < 1:32

                          watsonc123


                            Weather and myself were not as good as hoped.

                             

                            Unofficial 1:30:08

                            PRs: 5km 18:43 (Dec 2015), 10km 39:59 (Sep 2020), half 1:26:16 (Sep 2016), full 3:09:28 (Jun 2015)

                             

                            40+ PRs: 5km 19:31 (Oct 2020), 10km 39:59 (Sep 2020), half 1:29:39 (Jun 2018), full 3:13:55 (Sep 2022)

                             

                            2023 PRs (hope to beat in 2024): 5km 20:34, 10km 41:37, half 1:32:32, full 3:21:05

                             

                            2024 PRs: 5km 20:25

                            SteveChCh


                            Hot Weather Complainer

                              Selwyn Running Festival Half Marathon - Race Report

                               

                              With so many races cancelled over the year, including my first attempt at a marathon, it was great to finally have something to target with over 50% certainty that it would happen.  Along with the marathon, I entered 5 half-marathons which were all postponed and/or cancelled.  This meant my marathon training wasn't used in a race and my half training extended out 2 months, although I don't think I would have been ready for the first one on September 12, as I found the transition from full to half training quite tough.  It took a while to feel comfortable at the half training paces.

                               

                              The Selwyn event includes a 5km and 10km so they decided to use a 5km loop for the race, adding a couple of small loops at the start for the half.  The race doubled as the Canterbury Half-Marathon Championship which I thought may mean a strong field with not too many other options.

                               

                              The weather forecast was for quite cool temps, 12-15C at race time, cloud cover but with increasing wind.  Almost the perfect forecast except the wind, which ended up stronger than forecast and seems to warrant a comment on everyone's Strava I've seen so far.

                               

                              The event is held in Leeston, a small country town about 30 minutes drive away.  I arrived about 7:15am for an 8am start and did a couple of warm ups and toilet stops, took an Endura electrolyte and carb drink and headed to the start.  Everyone had to space out in a pen for the briefing, all wearing masks, before we headed to the start.  I see a few fast looking people, and also an old friend from school who's doing her first post-baby half.

                               

                              Oska does a countdown and we're off and sure enough, some people are very fast out of the blocks.  My plan was to settle into 4:15 pace for the first 10km and then see what I had left as I'd need a surge to get a PB (1:29:24 was my target) as I was allowing an extra 100 metres or so.  The course was certified as it was a championship race.

                               

                              The first 1.5km is a bit annoying with lots of turning but I settle into about the right pace.  The first few km go by in 4:13, 4:21, 4:16.  On the second km my watch was all over the pace, down to 4:45 at times.  I didn't think I'd dropped that much pace.  The 4th km pops up in 4:17 and I'm happy I've stuck to the plan for a conservative start but I'm starting to think I don't want to get locked into this pace and have too much to make up.  On the first lap the wind wasn't too bad but I did lift for the 5th km and recorded a 4:10 with a light tailwind.  About 30 people seemed to have surged away and there were 3 of us running together exchanging places for a while.  The last 1.5km or so of each lap was into the wind, along with the first 400 metres of the next lap.  A guy I was running with in an orange shirt seemed to be using my slipstream along here without helping which was a bit annoying.  We reeled in a girl who had been about 300 metres in front of us by the end of the first lap.  My partner was stationed about 1km from the end of each lap and reminded me "not too fast" the first time I saw her.  Both me and orange shirt said "no this pace is good, about right".  I chatted with him for a bit and told him I have blown up in my last few races.  He's looking for around 1:30 so we agree to work together the next time we hit the wind.

                               

                              6 and 7 go by in 4:17 and 4:18 which is okay as most of them were into the wind.  With a 75% tailwind I lifted my pace a bit and this shows over the next few km of 4:09, 4:12, 4:14 to take me to 10km in 42:29.  I thought I may get to 10km a bit faster than that but I reminded myself I was still feeling good.  Unfortunately, this surge had lost orange shirt so I was into the wind by myself again and it had noticeably increased. My partner handed me a drink at around 10.5km, another Endura dose.  I had about 3 sips but it made me feel worse, although hard to know if my breathing was getting worse because of the drink or the headwind.  I reminded myself there was a turn away from the wind coming up and soon after this turn I ditched the drink.  I started reeling in the third woman in this lap and pulled up beside her eventually and heard her breathing sounding like she was in the last km of a 5km.  This helped me realise my breathing was fine and without the wind, I actually felt quite good.  11-15 go by in 4:15, 4:16, 4:14, 4:12 which is pretty good.  10 and 11 on the second lap were into the wind so I held the pace nicely.

                               

                              Coming up to the end of the third lap I head a car really close in behind me, then notice I'm getting lapped.  Yep, there were fast people there.  The winner finished in 1:06 and change.  The results are up now and I see that is Andy Good, who is in the 40-49 age group.  Sharp.

                               

                              This time the long straight into the headwind felt tougher again and kms 16 and 17 which make up most of these are 4:19, 4:17.  So it's definitely a factor.  I hit the last lap feeling tired but not crashing.  Once I turn away from the wind I feel a bit better again and decide if I'm going to go sub 1:30 I'll need to bank some time.  My calculations show that a PB will require a very fast finish, with 1.5km of it into the wind (assuming a course of about 21.2km).  I'm feeling it now but do pick up the pace a bit.  18 and 19 go by in 4:13 and 4:09 so I know I can afford about 4:18 until the end and get sub 1:30.  I'm still passing people consistently which is a good sign and shows I've paced this one a bit better.  I get to the final turn into the wind....bang, that wind is brutal this time round.  I guess a combination of it picking up and my fatigue.  When I go past the 4km marker (1km to go), I see I need a 4:20 to go sub 1:30.  This marker wasn't in the right place....but for a few hundred metres it almost feels like this wind is going to be the end of me.  My watch shows 4:25 pace.  There's a slight turn into the main street but it doesn't help with the wind much.  My partner gives me a big cheer which definitely gives me a lift and I really dig in  I can see the finish and just give it everything to get there.  As I cross the line my watch says 1:29:30 which is a surprise, and shows 21.1km exactly, on Garmin at least.  I don't think knowing I was that close to a PB would have changed anything though, I really worked hard into that last wind.  I may have stopped my watch slightly early as the official time in 1:29:32 for 30th place so actually 7 seconds off the PB, not 5 seconds as I noted on Strava.  Others on Strava show 21.1 - 21.3km.

                               

                              Overall, pretty happy.  I may have race rust but I'm just glad I executed a race well, finally!

                              5km: 18:34 11/23 │ 10km: 39:10 8/23 │ HM: 1:26:48 9/23 │ M: 3:34:49 6/23

                               

                              2024 Races:

                              Motorway Half Marathon February 25, 2024 1:29:55

                              Christchurch Half-Marathon April 21, 2024

                              Selwyn Marathon June 2, 2024

                              Dunedin Half Marathon September 15, 2024

                              SteveChCh


                              Hot Weather Complainer

                                James - Congratulations on the World Series.  I watched most of it, they were just too good.  Wasn't it named after the World Newspaper in the early 1900s who sponsored it?  Either way, there's no doubt they are the best players in the world.

                                 

                                Watson - Bad luck, but still a great time.

                                 

                                Weekly for period: From: 01/11/2021 To 07/11/2021

                                Date Name mi km Duration Avg/mi Avg/km Elevation Gain
                                in m
                                01/11 Warm up 0.29 0.46 00:02:47 09:36 06:03 0
                                01/11 Easy 10km 6.46 10.39 00:50:02 07:45 04:49 13
                                03/11 Warm up 0.28 0.45 00:02:40 09:31 05:56 0
                                03/11 3 x 500m, 6 x 250m @ HMP 5.29 8.51 00:39:12 07:25 04:36 12
                                04/11 Recovery 3.42 5.51 00:30:04 08:47 05:27 7
                                06/11 Warm up 0.28 0.45 00:02:46 09:53 06:09 0
                                06/11 6 x 100m strides 2.07 3.33 00:15:07 07:18 04:32 5
                                07/11 Warm up 1 0.43 0.70 00:04:16 09:55 06:06 0
                                07/11 Warm up 2 0.22 0.36 00:01:51 08:25 05:08 0
                                07/11 Warm up 3 0.23 0.36 00:01:39 07:10 04:35 0
                                07/11 Selwyn Half Marathon 13.11 21.09 01:29:30 06:50 04:15 30

                                Total distance: 51.63km

                                5km: 18:34 11/23 │ 10km: 39:10 8/23 │ HM: 1:26:48 9/23 │ M: 3:34:49 6/23

                                 

                                2024 Races:

                                Motorway Half Marathon February 25, 2024 1:29:55

                                Christchurch Half-Marathon April 21, 2024

                                Selwyn Marathon June 2, 2024

                                Dunedin Half Marathon September 15, 2024