Sub 1:30 Half Marathon in 2018 (Read 704 times)

Steve thanks for that link poor Rod Dixon what a tough 4th place. Not a Kenyan in sight.

Marks thanks yes I will need to get better soon otherwise 10k pace aint happening. Im planning on another Parkrun the week after too.

To be fair, the Kenyans were boycotting like the rest of Africa but I don't think there were any that could touch the first 4 or so runners anyway.

Quite a few are getting good weeks in, congrats!

Piwi, sorry for your flu... The flu is in my house too, last night nobody slept as the kids have it... for now I am safe, but I am not feeling 100% (flu and warm weather in June in the UK... where is the world going???).

As I mentioned last week, apparently my body or brain decided that the Luxembourg marathon wasn't for me and did not allow me to push myself over the edge... I had cramps and all, but probably once that started, I stopped pushing, and in the matter of a week I was on my way to full recovery. Last week I took it easy as I was travelling in the US, I had gym in the hotels so I did a lot of stretching and some cross-training.

However I took some chance to test my legs: In total I ran 25 miles last week, with 3 main training to check my legs:

- interval (2 miles warm up, 4 X 0.25 miles at 6' per mile with 0.25 miles at 10 per mile + one final 0.5 at 6' per mile + cool down)

- semi-tempo (2 miles warm (8'30) up 1.5 mile speeding up to 7 in progression, 1.5 miles at 7' and cool down).

- then 12 miles to test a slow mid-long run.

my HR is back to normal and my legs felt good. So I decided to put something more in this week: this morning I ran intervals for the first time on my local track in 2018:

5X800 mt. with 3'50-4' per Km as a target (between 3'04'' and 3'12'') . I ran 3'04, and 4 X 3'06 (when I was young, I use to be very precise running interval, maybe that is back at these low speeds... )

I aim to run a longer tempo in one or two days and a long run with a fast finish during the weekend. My running club is taking part in a 10K/HM race on the 20th of June, and, if everything goes well, I am tempted to try the HM (10K is too fast for now) to get the feeling of the 7' per mile (without any specific final time, but with a 8 to 10 miles at 7' goal and then assess...)

I will decide at the end of the week.

Piwi - Never heard of those gels before. These tights don't have pockets, so I'd likely either have to pin them to the waistband or get some sort of waist pack. It's difficult to find one that's essentially "just" for gels, rather than having a massive pocket for a phone that I won't carry. Nice week.

Mark - Nice week as well.

JMac - "DD" is "Dear Daughter" followed by birth order. Botswana (or Botulism, or most any "B" word/name) is code for that certain Patriot's Day race. Legend has it that if you say the name of that race you're DOOMED.

Mick - My L7 has been very solid - not a hint of an issue, but it's a sample of 1. Most treadmills these days have a longer running surface than mine does (I'm about 6' 2"), but I have had zero issues with it feeling crowded, even when doing R-paced work at ~5:30/mi / 3:25/km. Again a sample of one, but a longer (and more expensive) running surface wouldn't really benefit me. I view width as being similar. It's a "nice to have" but in terms of core functionality isn't necessary and adds cost if you don't have a true need for it.
In general, heavier is better for a treadmill. I think mine is probably ~350 pounds. It creates a more stable running surface, and there's more weight across which to distribute the force of you landing. If you can accomodate it, I'd recommend against folding treadmills. As a general rule they are going to be less stable (frequently weigh less to help with moving it around) and it introduces moving parts that don't have to be there (possible stuff to break).

When looking at them definitely make sure the elevation function moves all the way up/down smoothly and that the belt/motor seem to accelerate/decelerate smoothly all the way from the lowest "on" setting to the peak speed. Run your hands on both sides of the belt to make sure there is no fraying, etc. Test these at first without actually getting on the belt. ANY whining/grinding sounds during this should be a red flag. If those check out, run on it for a mile or two, vary the speed/incline and make sure it feels good and doesn't shake too much for your liking (lighter ones will shake more than heavier ones). When you find one you like try finding out how to get into the diagnostic and/or reporting screens. I figured this our for my L7 and was able to run a self-diagnostic scan (all checked out, which was a big relief) and I was able to find out how many miles and hours were on the thing. When I saw that it had less than 1,000 miles and the hours on the engine averaged out to about a 12 min/mi pace I had to have it!

I highly recommend Stryd for treadmill running as what's reported as a given pace by a treadmill may or may not be close to correct and it can even vary from one to another of the same model. Any watch is going to be off since it has fewer accelerometers, and if you ever look at your watch (and stop swinging your arm) it'll think you've stopped running as well. No such issues with a footpod. Plus, you can only use Zwift with a footpod (like Stryd) that broadcasts via BLE, so using a watch for it is a no-go since they only do ANT+ if they broadcast anything at all.

There was a pretty decent "what to look for" treadmill buying guide on the now-defunct ROWL forums. Maybe I can find it in a cached version.

Zero consistency from me this past week. Today is day #4 without a run (so far, I might get in a short run later). This weekend was really busy, lots of real life starting earlier than normal and later nights, so I prioritized some sleep over running. That ends tomorrow morning for sure!

Mark - Keep up the great consistency. Are you getting bored yet with no races in the future and just running about the same amount? Also, why don't you use the Strava app to upload your runs on here, I feel like you had a reason but I don't remember.

Cold - I had a cold this weekend too. What is going on, does the entire world have a cold right now, there are 4 of us on this board that had one!

Keen - You are far and away the mile leader YTD on this board, I think a few off days is a good idea.

Steve/Rob - Nice weeks

Rune - good week too.

It seems that our volume is lower than previous years overall?  Very few 60+ miles have appeared, and most/all have been from Keen.

Time off - I kind of agree, a couple extra days will probably do me good. Even with those I'm still well ahead of my mileage goal for the year. Maybe I'll drive into town for a group run with an LRS tonight just for something fun. Or do something less ordinary in the morning. Eh, I'll decide later.

Mick - Glad I can help. If you have any other questions let me know. I had done a bunch of research on buying treadmills (particularly used ones) and that was all the big things I could remember off the top of my head plus my experiences since getting mine. I tried to find the buying guide I went through before RWOL was nuked but haven't had any luck.
The maintenance/diagnostic info was the big thing that led me to buy mine. It was clearly old and was stuck in a back corner of the store. While the price was great and it felt good, I was really uncertain because of the age. Seeing that I had shoes with more miles on them pushed it over the edge for me.

I had to find an old user manual online for mine and sift through that to find how to access those screens, so that's where'd I'd start if you find one you like.

I think we only had bigger mileage at the end of last year because there were a few of us training for a marathon (you, me, Mark, etc.). That isn't the case this spring. I'll be upping the mileage as I go into marathon training though starting July 1. Looking to average 60+ for 15 weeks before tapering. I only averaged 45 miles for those 15 weeks last marathon, but I have to make up a serious YTD deficit in mileage this year compared to last.

So which 2Q program did you follow last year? 40-55 or 55-70 mpw? Since I plan to max out at 50 I'm sticking with the 40-55 program this time around.