Forums >Racing>Sub 1:30 half marathon in 2017
Intl. correspondent
I'm back from the 4 mile race which actually was a bit short at 6.25km. I'm not complaining though.
25:22 for 8th overall and 2nd age group
My dream objective was to run under 24 minutes.
My A plan was to be top 5 and snatch a nice christmas tree styled trophy.
My B plan was to be top 10.
It was 25C at 5:30am and by the start time the feels like was 32C.
Converting to Fahrenheit that's like running inside a giant wood oven (90F).
Km Splits and average heart rate
1 - 3:44 - 132
2 - 3:52 - 153
3 - 3:53 - 169
4 - 4:14 - 175
5 - 4:27 - 177
6 - 4:09 - 179
0.25 - 1:02 - 179
It was just way too hot. You can see that I could still maintain a certain pace for about 3km but at the turning point I started getting very hot and had to slow down. Somewhere in between km 4 and 5 I saw Jesus, his siblings and all the apostles.
Somehow I had counted 5 guys ahead of me at the turning point and I passed one of them. I was very happy with a top 5 result until I saw the actual results and I was 8th. LOL, we should not trust our math abilities when running at max heart rate.
I was second age group, but upon inspecting the prizes (it was just a different medal) decided it was better to come home. I don't blame the organization though, the race was very very cheap (roughly $10), it's impressive that they offer trophies to the top 5 overall and extra medals to top 5 in age groups for the 2 and the 4 mile race.
This confirms that I have no interest in running a half marathon any time soon in this weather haha.
PRs: 1500 4:54.1 2019 - 5K 17:53 2023 - 10K 37:55 2023 - HM 1:21:59 2021
Up next: some 800m race (or time trials) / Also place in the top 20% in a trail race
Tool to generate Strava weekly
Flavio nice job. Its very hard to know what pace to run in a hot race. Like you say everything feels great through the first half then bam you realise its not. Congrats to Jesus and his mates for beating you
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 "
Flavio - well done on the race, those conditions are brutal for sure. Smart plan not running a HM if the weather is like that!
Also, the Garmin FR 235 is an outstanding watch. I only recently replaced mine with a Garmin Fenix 5S, which I justified on the basis of rewarding myself for hitting my marathon goal. I found the 235 to be awesome, the wrist-based HR is actually pretty accurate and the GPS was actually sometimes more stable than the new 5S is! You can download custom watch faces for it via the Garmin Connect app too which is quite cool. Also if you are running to HR zones you can calibrate them automatically or manually via the app. Such a good watch. Although be slightly wary of the VO2Max estimator. It doesn't adjust for temperature/weather or terrain - so mine got as high as 68 in the winter when I was doing long runs with tempo blocks in the cold on the flat, versus 63-64 now I am doing more hilly runs in warm/humid temps!
Me -
M: 7.5km recovery
T: weights, spin bike
W: 16.7km with a few intervals
Th: 8km with hill reps
F: weights, spin bike
S: 5.7km short track workout
S: 30.0km long run
Total: 68km
Right IT band has been a little niggly after the HM last Sunday. Tends to be fine most of the time, but flares up the day after longer runs - like during last Monday's post-HM recovery run, and today's recovery run after the 30km long run. I'm not too nervous at this stage because it's actually fine during those longer/harder runs (barely noticed it during the 30km LR) and I think there's just a knot in there that I can't quite deal to myself with the foam roller - so off to the osteo tomorrow where she will probably beat it up!
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: Waterfront HM, 7 Apr, 1:15:48
Up next: Runway5, 4 May
"CONSISTENCY IS KING"
Mark - Thank you for the hopeful words. *Fingers crossed* (and smart training ahead) with respect to the injury-free bit. Also, I've been dealing with IT band issues of sorts for the last 6 months or so. They don't particularly bother me during runs but get incredibly tight after. I see a MT monthly and she usually rubs it out (with apologies as she is doing it - I don't wince or grimace or show any reaction, but she can surely feel that it is not pleasant). Only in recent months have I started foam rolling and that has helped. I saw a PT for a running assessment and mentioned this to him. He determined I have a weak muscle near the hip joint that is likely the root cause and gave me an exercise to do. I've been trying to keep with that. We shall see in the coming months when my volume increases as to how the exercise/foam rolling will help (still with my monthly massage ). I hope your osteo can take care of it!
Jaime - Best of luck with the injury. Good idea on not rushing it!
Flavio - Good job on the race. Always nice to nab a top 10 (and top 3 AG!). I have never had to race in such heat; I can only imagine. During my Full, about halfway through the sun came out and it ended being about 18 degree celsius. Folk around here referred to that as getting too hot Come to think of it, I don't think I've been in race much more than 20 degrees celsius or so (yet). Fortunately, around here, early morning means cool temperatures any time of the year. Unfortunately around here, winter means COLD all the time. And winter has come.
Which leads me to my week. More and more treadmill runs are boring! However, I did a medium long run and a long run this week outside. The MLR was about -15 with some wind in the evening. My damn eyeballs were frozen afterwards (everything else covered properly). The LR wasn't too bad in that I did it in the morning so it warmed up (to about -5) halfway through (with sun) which is much more bearable. Steadily getting back to 80km range for the week. The goal is 4 weeks of base training starting January 1 at 80km/week. Everything is lining up nicely for that. My garmin HRM came in, as well. I wore it for the first time today. I am going to monitor my workouts for the next few weeks and try to determine my resting, maximum, maximal, various zone HR's before I get into training for my May HM.
Personal Bests: 5k 19:43 (04/2017), 10k 43.24 (10/2016), Half 1:33:18 (10/2017), Full 3:32:47 (05/2017)2018 Targets: 5k: sub19, 10k: sub41, Half: sub90
JamesD
Great job, Flavio. Hope you can find a half in cooler weather in about six months.
I'm still doing base work and upping my mileage gradually in what for here is cold weather (40s F/5-10 C). On my longer runs I've been feeling good and generally speed up to a moderate pace without really trying as the run goes on. Having some trouble with my left knee, but it seems manageable. We leave for Chile this Friday, and I'll probably only run a couple of times a week for the next two.
Sun - off
Mon - 10.3 miles easy to moderate plus a little swimming afterwards
Tues - 6.2 easy, stopping to exercise every half mile, including some strides late
Weds - 20 minutes swimming, felt weak, not sure why
Thurs - 7.8 moderate, probably faster than I should've gone but felt good since it was warmer
Fri - 6.3 easy, stopping to exercise every half mile
Sat - 6.2 moderate
Total - 36.8 miles
8-week average - 27 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
@all - there were no candidates to King of the thread, so I guess that makes me King
Piwi - LOL first place had a long beard so you might be onto something.
Mark - I think it goes by heart rate versus pace to calculate the vo2max. In a way it’s right, since if you were to use that number to calculate race pace it better vary with the conditions.
Now that I think about it you have there an excellent tool to calculate how much to adjust pace for the conditions.
Blair - and that’s the beauty of a discussion board like this versus the facebooks out there.
Here we can have informed discussions about heart rate discussion and learn from each other.
Over there it’s all about modeling to selfies.
James - Oh Chile. The only South American country that's doing the right things economically.
We were there on vacation earlier this year and we were amazed by it.
me - The official results are out and somebody got kicked out of the rankings because now I’m 7th place. Not that it matters much.
It rained yesterday afternoon so it was a comfy 19C with a cool breeze this morning haha, the weather must be trolling.
Post race analysis I really need to shed the extra 6kg I'm carrying around.
Also functional training is working wonders and I was able to keep posture for much longer.
Off course training has been very spotty and I really can't expect much better results. Going into next year keeping healthy and with a higher mileage I'm sure the weight will go away and the times will improve.
If I had made into the podium there'd be a massive difference between the 4 skinny guys 1-4 and the one with the protruding beer belly in 5th place haha.
Flavio never underestimate the power of the beer belly ive been working on mine for years.
James my nephew who i surf with regularly is married to a Chilean. They go back about once per year.
I ran only 32kms last week but surfed 4 days. Put one surf on strava to see what the track looked like.
Got 20kms in 2 days so far this week as the surf is flat. Also kayaked about 6kms sunday on a fishing mission.
I'm happy to volunteer to manage the thread next year but I can't promise perfect attendance with other bits and pieces happening.
Flavio/Blair - I have found my HRM invaluable for training so hopefully it's worthwhile for you guys too!
A couple things I did note:
James - enjoy Chile... depending where you are you might get a bit of altitude training in!
Piwi - maybe you should look for a running/surfing/kayaking triathlon!!
Me - forgot to mention that after the Omaha Half Marathon, I walked the 5km with my wife and 9 month old daughter (she was in the pram). Anyway, my daughter fell asleep about 2 minutes before the start, and then slept through the entire thing! She woke up maybe 10 minutes after the finish. If she ever gets into running I'm gonna have to remind her how she slept all the way through her very first race!
RIP Milkman
Flavio - great job on the race. Agree with Piwi, the worst about hot running is all of a sudden it just hits you that you are in a world of shit. It takes a lot of discipline and tons of practice to a) figure out what pace you should be running in those temps and b) stay disciplined.
I don't have much else to report on, trying to run again but foot pain still migrating all over the place. Just gonna keep running through it and if it's still bothering me in a few weeks, I'll go back to the doc. Pretty sure it's a totally fake injury but it's kind of annoying to deal with.
5K: 16:37 (11/20) | 10K: 34:49 (10/19) | HM: 1:14:57 (5/22) | FM: 2:36:31 (12/19)
JMac- hope it comes right soon, sounds like an annoying (but hopefully not serious) injury.
Me - osteo said the IT band issue was actually my hamstring spasming and the IT band tightness was a referred symptom, not the cause. It kinda makes sense as I'd had a hamstring tendon niggle on that side a few weeks ago too. So what followed was a fun (actually miserable) half hour of her pummeling my hamstring, ITB, adductor and hip flexor. It shouldn't stop me running as long as I keep up the foam rolling and stretching, which I'm pretty diligent with anyways.
Went for an easy run this morning and the knee was still pretty sore, although the tightness was definitely much improved. I'm hoping the knee is just residual inflammation that will sort itself in a day or two with a bit of icing and ibuprofen.
Flavio - Nice race! Losing 6 kgs would definitely make a big difference. The Garmin 235 should be a good watch for you, but I've had very varying results with wrist based HR. I got really skinny wrists so it's near impossible to get good readings that way, and I end up using a strap all the time. Also, that race predictor in Garmin is way off for me, and it would be great if it could take a peek at the lactate threshold pace as well as VO2Max. For my predicted VO2Max of 57 it gives me a predicted half of 1:23 and a full of 2:53, both at paces well below my predicted lactate threshold pace of 6:57 per mile.
Mark - Solid week, hope the IT band issue works itself out. I had something that felt like that a while ago (I think it was almost 2 years ago), got a foam roller and rolled it (even though some people say it doesn't work), and it was all gone within a couple of weeks.
Blair - Solid week as well. I've found that one of the best ways of getting close to max HR is in a race that's not too long with a downhill finish. That way your tired legs will not limit you a hair less at the end, and I still use my number from a race in the summer of 2016 as my max (192).
Piwi - Nice work with your surfing!
James - Nice work, take good care of that knee.
I've been trucking along on my December run streak while getting started on the JD program for my race in March, and ran 32 miles last week. Good thing with only 2 workouts a week is it's easy to move them around if it's needed. I had a beginning cold/throat niggle at the end of last week and decided to postpone Sunday's workout (4x1600 cruise intervals, 2 minute recoveries) until today. I just finished that run and felt surprisingly good, and felt like I was working at the correct intensity level while I averaged 6:48 per mile for my intervals. My real goal for the workout was about 10 seconds slower so I guess I had a good day today. I have no injuries but feel a it tired most of the time, but that might be a combination of running every day plus trying to prepare for Christmas both at work and at home.
The next two workouts this week are a session of 200m reps and a long-ish run (12 miles) and I will probably try to squeeze them both in before Sunday.
5k: 20:32 (1/17) | HM: 1:34:37 (2/18) | FM: 3:31:37 (3/18)
Getting back into it
Rune I think its pretty normal to feel tired with the increased mileage. try and eat well/more and sleep well too. Sounds like you are already reaping some improved fitness.
Mark the classic ITBS symptons are irritation on the outside of the knee or hip. usually the knee irritation causes swelling and the knee to lock up making running near impossible. You sound like you have it under control and have a good relationship with your osteo.
I just saw Julian Oakly running down Marine Parade. He ran 7.44 3000m early in december. Hes from Tauranga but doing a scholarship in the states. Sub 4 miler etc.
Jmac good to hear from you. Hopefully that mystery niggle will clear in the new year.
I was running down Papamoa Hills today when a guy running up passed by wearing a full face mask/oxygen mask. Maybe a firefighter training ?
Piwi - beer belly power yeah!
Regarding the full face mask, It’s either that or the apocalypse is about to start.
Mark - the thread runs itself pretty much. Your job as king of the thread is really to create the first post with the table of races and update the results during the year. Traffic is now much lower here on running ahead so it’s a lot more manageable.
It’s now easier than ever since we can create simple tables, no need to post embedded spreadsheets anymore.
Ouch on the knee issue. If you’re not signed up for a race maybe take a low week around 20 miles, since at this time of the year there’s so much else going on anyway
Thanks for the HR stuff.
Jmac - you seem to have similar symptoms to what I have. I have had these for over 2 years now and I can run and even race on it. I now have hopes that functional training will diminish it.
Rune - My wrists are not the biggest but I can get fairly good HR readings on the Garmin 235. What watch do you have? My girlfriend has the 15 and it’s pretty bad in the HR department.
Flavio - I have the 735, so it's more or less identical to the 235, but with good built in functionality for lots of other sports apart from running, including biking, lap and open water swimming, and multi-sport activities.
Piwi - It might be that I am seeing additional benefits from my extra runs, and looking at some earlier training cycles I could be led to believe that there actually is a benefit from this. I'm a bit skeptical to whether daily, really slow 3-mile runs would have much benefit at all, but maybe they do? I felt like I actually saw some benefit from the December run streak last year, and the summer before I added 2 days of slow, short easy runs with the kids and our dog for 5-6 weeks before the HM I ran then,and I still hold that race as the best feeling race I've ever done.
Mark - Thanks for the info on HR.
To all on HR - what methods do you use for determining trainibg zones? I am reading Pfitz and Daniels at the moment. Pfitz's methods with Heart Rate Reserve seem to make sense. As for what percentages to actually use, I guess that is the question. As per Mark's advice, I will look into Joel Friel as well.