Sub 1:30 Half Marathon in 2019 (Read 641 times)

flavio80


Intl. correspondent

     Is it weird that when I had some time to kill in Wellington Airport, I googled all the male entrants in the NZ Half Marathon Championships (there aren't that many and I already know some of them), and figured that I am a good shot at podium in the M35-49 age group with a chance of gold?

     

    I've done it before, in my case it was easier cause the entrants to the 50k were already split by age groups. It is quite easy in this day and age to find everybody, except a few which require a black belt in google-fu.

    Mark - are you a black belt in google-fu?

     

    Mark/Piwi - you guys are right, I do have a rocking side to side motion, though to be fair I used to turn way more to the right side, it seems to have evened out a bit (meaning rocking about the same amount to each side). To be honest I don't mind much that rocking so long as it's even and I'm being propelled forward. By the way this is what I call sprinting.

     

    Darkwave - have you looked up Airbnb? I know there's no cheap option in Manhattan (even a hostel bed is $100), when I was there I stayed in an airbnb in Brooklyn for $90 with my own bed and it had a full kitchen. It's about 40 minutes from central park though by subway.

     

    Steve - welcome back, how's life treating you besides playing cupid on online forums 

    PRs: 1500 4:54.1 2019 - 5K 17:53 2023 - 10K 37:55 2023 - HM 1:21:59 2021

    Up next: no idea

    Tool to generate Strava weekly

    CommanderKeen


    Cobra Commander Keen

      JMac - I'm really psyched for you to have gotten that PR - especially since it was 2 seconds faster than the fastest end of your prediction earlier in the thread! Nice RR, too. Enjoy Tanzania.


      Flavio - SO close! Nice RR as well. Looking at the strava entry, your HR took a downturn just before the turnaround that lasted ~800m or so. Effects of not having a headwind any longer? I'd love to see what you can do on a course without a headwind.


      Mark - Another month worth of taper madness for you??


      Paul - How's everything feeling post-AC?


      DPS - With all the taper madness floating around here, best of luck keeping your sanity until the weekend!


      With all the races, etc. in here recently it looks like my TT cements me as the slow guy in the group!  Had a few instances of "unstable-ness" in my right knee during my LR. No pain, just felt a bit wobbly for a second or two before going back to normal. All this happened between miles ~2.5-8. Not sure what that was about.

       

      Weekly Summary
      Monday, Aug 12, 2019 thru Sunday, Aug 18, 2019

      <tfoot> </tfoot>
      Day Miles Pace Description HR Link
      Mon 12.8 7:06 2x (5x 1,200 CV), 1:12 rec, 8 min between sets. 1 shooting star and 2 rabbits 154 (79%) strava
      Tue 12.2 8:32 A steady drizzle on the way out, plus 2 deer (2 strides) 137 (70%) strava
      Tue 2.3 8:17 Moving miles from tomorrow to today 126 (64%) strava
      Wed 8.1 8:34 2 shooting stars (!), 1 heron, and accidentally kicking a fat toad 133 (68%) strava
      Thu 1.3 7:58 A piddly warm-up 134 (68%) strava
      Thu 3.2 6:01 Inaugural Piedmont Invitational 5,000 (Read: solo time trial) 169 (86%) strava
      Thu 7.8 8:33 8 rabbits & 1 possum 146 (74%) strava
      Fri 10.2 8:41 7 deer (7 strides), 4 skunks, 1 rabbit, 1 raccoon, & 1 owl 140 (71%) strava
      Sat 15.1 8:24 Not the usual Remington hills, but hills all the same 147 (75%) strava
        73.0 8:09      

      5k: 17:58 11/22 │ 10k: 37:55 9/21 │ HM: 1:23:22 4/22 │ M: 2:56:05 12/22

       

      Upcoming Races:

       

       

      JMac11


      RIP Milkman

        Just reading through all of this, I think at some point we need a poll of who the craziest person on this thread is. Sometimes I think my taper madness takes the cake but man, Mark really gives me a run for my money with his quirkiness. Then you have Piwi with his jokes, Flavio with his overall ridiculousness, MJ only popping in for crude comments, etc.

        5K: 16:37 (11/20)  |  10K: 34:49 (10/19)  |  HM: 1:14:57 (5/22)  |  FM: 2:36:31 (12/19) 

         

         

        darkwave


        Mother of Cats

          Darkwave - have you looked up Airbnb? I know there's no cheap option in Manhattan (even a hostel bed is $100), when I was there I stayed in an airbnb in Brooklyn for $90 with my own bed and it had a full kitchen. It's about 40 minutes from central park though by subway.

           

           

          I looked, but rental of full apartments by Airbnb in Manhattan is illegal.  And I'm not comfortable going with Airbnb to get a room in someone else's occupied apartment unless that person is a friend of a friend or similar.

           

          Looked into hostels, but I am (wait for it) too old....

           

          Looked into staying in Queens or similar, but by the time I paid enough to avoid a potential bed bug situation, I might as well just stay in Manhattan.  And I'd rather be reasonably close to the race, since I want to run the race, cheer for some friends, jog back to my hotel and change shoes, run some more in Central Park, jog back to my hotel and shower, and THEN head home.

           

          As it turned out, I managed to snag a room at a Marriott in Manhattan for under $250, including all fees, taxes, etc, so I just went with that.  Again, less than a pair of running shoes (just barely).

          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.

          paul2432


            Paul - How's everything feeling post-AC?

             

            CK - No aches or pains, but feeling tired.  I can't run my regular paces or distances yet without feeling overworked.  It's starting to come around though.

             

            Mark - Not weird.  I do that type of stalking all the time, especially in ultras where the fields are small and there is lots of data on ultrasignup (at least in the US).  It also helps estimate finishing time if the course is unknown.

            paul2432


               

              I looked, but rental of full apartments by Airbnb in Manhattan is illegal.  And I'm not comfortable going with Airbnb to get a room in someone else's occupied apartment unless that person is a friend of a friend or similar.

               

               

              After reading stories about hidden cameras in AirBnB rentals, even the full rentals give me pause.  If someone wants to see a 51 year old man taking a shower they can have at it, but I do worry for my wife and daughters.

                I used to google stalk my competition when I was mad keen on running. Problem was late entry fast guys that show up on the day of the race. Races with money prizes always attract a bit more competition.

                 

                I wouldn't say I'm crazy Jmac  I mean we just bought a Toyota Corolla very sensible . I just happen to have a rude sense of humour.  Paul I get to see a 51 yr old man in the shower daily, nothing exciting there 

                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 "      

                 

                Mikkey


                Mmmm Bop

                   

                  I wouldn't say I'm crazy Jmac  I mean we just bought a Toyota Corolla very sensible . I just happen to have a rude sense of humour.  Paul I get to see a 51 yr old man in the shower daily, nothing exciting there 

                   

                  Yep, that car is very sensible.....my very sensible parents used to have one when I was a kid. Then when I passed my driving test I bought a Toyota Celica 2.0 injection!  Have you not had your midlife crisis yet? Get rid of the Corolla and treat yourself to something mega. 👍

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

                  flavio80


                  Intl. correspondent

                    Just reading through all of this, I think at some point we need a poll of who the craziest person on this thread is. Flavio with his overall ridiculousness

                     

                    Awwwww 

                     

                    To be fair MJ has been behaving as of late.

                     

                    Keen - well spotted, not having the head wind helped a lot while I still had legs.

                     

                    Darkwave - fair enough, if I went today I'd also pay more and stay in Manhattan.

                     

                    Paul - I've used Airbnb on all my vacations and almost always have had positive experiencies. It is a headache though when things go south because their support is pretty much useless. That said, hotels have been even more hit and miss.

                     

                    Piwi - you have an awesome sense of humor. I'm the one with the rude sense of humor, as sometimes I have to edit my posts when I think I've gone too far.

                    PRs: 1500 4:54.1 2019 - 5K 17:53 2023 - 10K 37:55 2023 - HM 1:21:59 2021

                    Up next: no idea

                    Tool to generate Strava weekly

                    Marky_Mark_17


                      I used to google stalk my competition when I was mad keen on running. Problem was late entry fast guys that show up on the day of the race. Races with money prizes always attract a bit more competition.

                       

                      I wouldn't say I'm crazy Jmac  I mean we just bought a Toyota Corolla very sensible . I just happen to have a rude sense of humour.  Paul I get to see a 51 yr old man in the shower daily, nothing exciting there 

                       

                      Aha, but Dunedin is miles from anywhere, and while there are some good clubs there, the Masters scene is not as strong as it is in Wellington or Auckland!

                       

                      Also Corolla's are profoundly sensible.  That was my first car of my own (helped by my parents).  We got it with 70,000km on the clock ex-rental.  By the time I sold it, it was up to 250,000km and still went sweet.  Get it serviced regularly and they go forever.  The servicing is also cheap because parts are so abundant (cam belt only cost me $150 to get replaced!!).

                      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"

                      Marky_Mark_17


                        Just reading through all of this, I think at some point we need a poll of who the craziest person on this thread is. Sometimes I think my taper madness takes the cake but man, Mark really gives me a run for my money with his quirkiness. 

                         

                        That's the nicest way anyone has ever described my OCD tendencies hahaha.

                         

                        Keen - nice week, and let's hope that it's not an entire month of taper madness, I would probably only just survive that but I'm not sure my wife would.

                        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"

                        JMac11


                        RIP Milkman

                          Flavio - I almost pointed it out the other day, I noticed you went on the semi-annual "Flavio Purge" where you just add a bunch of dots to your old posts.

                           

                          Mark - If it keeps the PRs coming, you can't complain about the OCD

                           

                          Me - I always have key takeaways at the end of cycles, and I never wrote mine out for this cycle. I think it's obvious: I can be just as successful at racing with my easy runs at a MUCH slower pace. I still think I'm okay running them faster, but given the summer heat/humidity, my easy runs dropped from 7:05 per mile when I was in peak form for Boston all the way down to 8:00 currently and yet I've been just as successful. More importantly for me, I stayed injury free all summer. You know when the last time was that I stayed injury free? Last summer's training. The only consistency there is that everything is way slower because of the heat. I did exactly zero strength training this summer, so that can't be it either.

                           

                          I will need a way to control myself as temps come down and I start feeling great. It may not be 8:00 in the fall during CIM training, but I'm going to work my hardest to keep it north of 7:30. Easy pace is definitely a personal decision, and I think I could justify running down to 7:00 this fall, aerobically, but it is better for my body to keep it slower than a HR monitor / effort gauge would tell me. This is going to be vitally important as well because I plan on entering new mileage territory this fall, with a very aggressive target of averaging 70 miles over the 12 week. My last two marathons I averaged 57 and 59 miles, so this will be a big bump. BUT IT IS THE BOTT YEAR AND IT'S TIME TO GO GET 2:3X.

                          5K: 16:37 (11/20)  |  10K: 34:49 (10/19)  |  HM: 1:14:57 (5/22)  |  FM: 2:36:31 (12/19) 

                           

                           

                          SteveChCh


                          Hot Weather Complainer

                             

                             Steve - how is the rehab progressing?  I've seen the occasional slightly frustrated activity logged on Strava.

                             

                            Seem to be taking equal steps forward and back at the moment.  The physio thinks I should be running to try it out "not damage it but possibly slow down the recovery"..I'm over that approach as I'm getting nowhere so I haven't run for a couple of weeks.  All feels good now but I might give it just a bit longer to be sure.  After 8-9 weeks another 1 or 2 hardly matters.

                             

                            I now have a bit of time on my hands after my job was made redundant so I can do all the stretches and strengthening several times a day, plus the dreaded bike.

                            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

                               Steve - welcome back, how's life treating you besides playing cupid on online forums 

                               

                              Ha, I wasn't playing cupid!  I know JMac is married (or as good as?).  Just some average trolling...

                              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

                                Steve your troll game is strong !

                                 

                                Mikkey I get an awesome... van to drive around in. My wife has the Corolla. We will all be in electric soon anyway. My midlife crisis was to start running.

                                 

                                Jmac if this 50 year old can run 2.36 you should be able to

                                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 "