Sub 1:30 Half Marathon in 2020 (Read 618 times)

Thanks Mark.  I know of a couple of people (overseas) who thought they had a sinus infection and it turned out to be Covid, but I assume you'll have been tested.

 

I did have a test which came back negative albeit that was 10 days before I actually got sick.  I've had very limited social interactions over the past few weeks as I've been working from home and basically only going out for exercise and occasional chores like supermarket shopping, plus my symptoms don't really line up with Covid.  Fair question, but I think the odds are really low!

Queenstown half's start line is a bit of an inconvenience as it's literally in the middle of the countryside.  Not a lot to do to kill time other than sit around!  I'm with Piwi on not wearing headphones.  I only wear them for long runs now.  For races I think it's much better to be in the moment and headphones can be a bit of a distraction.

 

There is also a dirrect correlation with your seriousness and the length of your shorts. If you are not in 3 inch shorts or tights, you are a hobby jogger

As long as you don't wear shorts over tights. That's just silly.

I totally won't wear short shorts. I'd rather be viewed as a hobby jogger.

Remember the guy whose package dropped out in the closing stages of a marathon. He was unaware and just kept on going. Google it 

I don't need to google that. Stuff like that is bookmarked. I was deeply impressed. My blood would have been circulating in my feet after 42k of torture.

It has dawned cool with some light rain and light winds - there’s a warning for severe gales but that should hold off until this afternoon. Pretty poor sleep but shouldn’t matter today. I have my ride sorted to the start so it is go time. I think I feel more excitement than nerves which is a good sign.

One final listen to The Immortals by Kings of Leon, put on my short shorts and I’m out of here.

Go get it Stever!

Good luck Steve.

Oh and in other good news I felt miles better this morning now those antibiotics are getting out of my system.  Managed a half-respectable track workout and felt good at the end.  Given the varying levels of soreness, sickness and general misery over the past 6 weeks, I can confidently say I'm not running another marathon.  Ever.

Still no idea how next Saturday's HM is going to go.  I'll likely continue to improve over the next couple of days as the antibiotics clear out of my system.  I think anything sub-1:20 would be reasonable given my current (lack of) training and the potential for warm weather, but I'm just going to go on feel and see how it goes.  The next big goal is going to be to run something ludicrously fast at Southern Lakes HM next May.

For the record, in case anyone is wondering this in the future:

I had Amoxycillin (penicillin-based) as the first round of antibiotics, running was not affected massively apart from legs feeling a bit sluggish (this was the same last time I took them too).

Doxycycline (which is a tetracycline) was the second round, that turned running to crap.  High heart rate, inability to sustain any sort of effort, not fun.  Don't know if it was just the doxycycline or the fact it was the second course of antibiotics but I'll be avoiding it if possible in the future.

FYI research also suggested avoiding any fluoroquinolone antibiotics as these have been linked with tendon issues in runners (particularly achilles issues).