The Waltons aka Advanced Half Marathon Training Thread - 2022 edition (Read 444 times)

Fredford66


Waltons ThreadLord

    I've definitely noticed it takes my watch longer to lock in on a GPS signal on days with heavy cloud cover, so the theory of atmospheric moisture could be right.

     

    I skipped my usual Tuesday track routine today, opting for an easy 4 mile run as recovery from yesterday's race.  I'll resume some harder work on Thursday, when I meet my RP for some HM pace work.

    5k 23:48.45 (3/22); 4M 31:26 (2/22); 5M 38:55 (11/23); 10k 49:24 (10/22); 
    10M 1:29:33 (2/24); Half 1:48:32 (10/22); Marathon 4:29:58 (11/23)

    Upcoming races: RunAPalooza (Asbury Park) HM, 4/6; Clinton Country Run 15k, 4/27

     

    Fredford66


    Waltons ThreadLord

      Cranford Firecracker 4 Miler - 7/4/22

       

      We arrived shortly before 8:00 for the 8:30 start.  I was just telling my wife and son that I suspected one of our neighbors, a relatively fast guy, would be at the race when we turned a corner and there he was.  He and I exchanged a few words and good luck wishes (he'd finish 8th overall of 893 runners and 1st runner over 40).  I went for a 1-mile run to loosen up my legs and get my aerobic system warmed up (I also used the PoP at a ball field along the way that had no line, vs. the lines at the start area - it's good to have local knowledge).  We headed to the start and my son, as usual, complained we were too close to the fast people and should line up further back (and when the race started he took off, weaving through the crowd ahead of him, as usual).

       

      The race started right on time at 8:30, as it always does, though they didn't have the cannon to start us off as in prior years.  The temperature was in the low 70's but the important factor was the humidity had dropped over the previous 24 hours, so it was quite pleasant for a July morning.  The first mile is slightly downhill (for a flat course) and in the shade.  I know I always go out too fast in this race and this year was no exception.  I knew there would be less shade in mile 2, and I was feeling good on the gradual downhill.  I kept trying to hold back a bit, but it wasn't working.  I finished the first mile in 7:44, which is practically 5k pace for me, so I knew I'd opened fast.

       

      Fortunately, for my pacing issues, mile 2 is almost all uphill.  If you drive the course, you hardly notice it's uphill, but running it, you notice it's ever so gently uphill almost the whole way.  Honestly, I'd rather climb a shorter, steeper hill than run gradually but constantly uphill for almost a full mile.  My second mile split was 8:00, which came mostly from the course, but also from consciously knowing I needed to dial back a little bit from mile 1.  Near the end of mile 2, a runner in a yellow shirt passed me just as I was trying to recover from a bit of a slow-down, so I used him as a target, trying to keep close to him (and by the looks, it occurred to me he might be in my age group).

       

      Mile 3 is uneventful except for a sharp right turn followed soon by an almost as sharp left turn onto an old paved path which is not as smooth as the roads and therefore a little harder to run on.  After being in the sun for most of mile 2, mile 3 was mostly in the shade, which was welcome.  Along this section there's always a guy with a hose, but he's very good about only spraying people who ask for it and being careful to keep the water off half the course for those who prefer not to be wet.  I asked for, and got, a solid burst of spray.  I was still running close to the fellow in the yellow shirt, sometimes a few steps behind, sometimes several steps behind.  I posted a 7:58 for the third mile and felt tired but not exhausted.  In years where it's been too warm, mile 3 was where I died, but not today.

       

      The last mile includes the toughest part of the race.  About halfway into mile 4, we climb an embankment and cross a narrow footbridge.  It's only about a 10 - 15 foot climb, but it's steep and the turn onto the bridge is almost 90º.  After the short crossing, the course goes back down to street level with a steep drop.  Then, about 20 yards later it's a smaller climb, but almost as steep, back up to the embankment to run along the top of it for a while before we get to the park and the last run to the finish.  Everyone slows down at this part (even my neighbor who finished 8th).  As this was my 5th running of the race, at least I knew what was coming and was prepared.  As I crossed the bridge, I was right behind the man in the yellow shirt.  Coming off the bridge, he chopped his steps for the steep downhill, while I kept an open stride and went right past him.  Then up the embankment and with less than half a mile to go and I was starting to hurt.  I was able to pick up my pace a little bit, but I had no kick.  I finished the last mile in 7:49.  The man in the yellow shirt was 2 seconds behind me (per the finish line video) but it turns out he was in the next, older, age group, so he probably beat me on an age graded basis.

       

      My official time was 31:35.5, 185th of 893 overall and 5th of 42 in my age group.  It was my best time ever on the course and my second best 4-miler ever (9 seconds off my PR).  My son finished in 30:44, a new 4-mile PR for him, but a smaller margin of victory over me than in our last 4-miler.  He slowed a bit during mile 3, recovered, slowed again on the embankment, but then picked up the pace for the last quarter mile.

       

      Having run the race 5 times now, I can compare performances, and being a datavore, I put together this chart of my splits in each race.  You can see the uphill mile 2 always slows me a bit and in hot weather I die in mile 3.  I really like the consistency I was able to achieve this year.

      5k 23:48.45 (3/22); 4M 31:26 (2/22); 5M 38:55 (11/23); 10k 49:24 (10/22); 
      10M 1:29:33 (2/24); Half 1:48:32 (10/22); Marathon 4:29:58 (11/23)

      Upcoming races: RunAPalooza (Asbury Park) HM, 4/6; Clinton Country Run 15k, 4/27

       

      Ian5


        There's been some GPS glitches in the UK also,mine has measured out by quite a bit in the last week or 2 and a few people I know have also had issues.

        5k 17:35,10k 36:43,10m 61:55,HM 1:24:03,Full 3:07:39

        CommanderKeen


        Cobra Commander Keen

          Piwi - Nice week. Do you have to use lawyers for a house sale, or is that a personal preference?


          DWave - I think it's absolutely awesome that you're feeling better, even if not completely so. Good luck with the medication tweaking.


          Fred - Killer job on the race! I tossed out a 33:22, but you just blew that out of the water.


          GPS issues - I've heard the theory that this solar flares could be (at least partially) to blame. I've certainly seen a bunch of wonky GPS traces on Strava.

           

           

          I'm pretty darn happy with my 5k workout from Wednesday, a slightly more difficult version (2:30 rest instead of 3:00 of one I absolutely bombed two weeks prior (largely not accounting for weather properly, and this one was decently cooler than mornings have been). This looks to show that I'm in PR shape, at least if temps are below 70F/21.1C, and maybe I'll even have a chance of breaking 18 in the fall.

           

          Weekly for period: From: 06/27/2022 To 07/03/2022

          Date Name mi km Duration Avg/mi Avg/km Elevation Gain
          in ft
          06/27 2 rabbits & 2 herons 12.25 19.72 01:40:42 08:13 05:06 515
          06/28 5 deer (5 strides) & 2 turkeys 8.05 12.96 01:11:07 08:50 05:29 381
          06/29 8x 1k @ 5k effort + 4x 200m hard 15.16 24.39 01:55:27 07:37 04:44 325
          06/29 2 doves & one firing pin 4.05 6.52 00:33:29 08:16 05:08 190
          06/30 2 rabbits, 2 herons, & 1 three-toed box turtle 10.01 16.11 01:28:58 08:53 05:31 420
          07/01 4 deer (4 strides), 2 rabbits, & 1 hawk 11.00 17.71 01:31:28 08:19 05:10 466
          07/01 Fiddling with the tall side of the PDC 5.00 8.05 00:43:40 08:44 05:25 207
          07/02 4 herons, 3 Mississippi kites, & 1 hawk 15.05 24.22 02:05:52 08:22 05:12 446
          07/03 3 yellow mud turtles & 1 heron 6.00 9.66 00:53:03 08:51 05:30 249

          Total distance: 86.59mi

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

           

          Upcoming Races:

           

           

          Fredford66


          Waltons ThreadLord


            Fred - Killer job on the race! I tossed out a 33:22, but you just blew that out of the water.

             

             

            I'm pretty darn happy with my 5k workout from Wednesday, a slightly more difficult version (2:30 rest instead of 3:00 of one I absolutely bombed two weeks prior (largely not accounting for weather properly, and this one was decently cooler than mornings have been). This looks to show that I'm in PR shape, at least if temps are below 70F/21.1C, and maybe I'll even have a chance of breaking 18 in the fall.

             

             

            Thanks.  In your defense, we were looking at upper 70's and humid as the conditions when you threw out the 33:22.  Glad to hear you're feeling good about training and I hope you do break 18 this fall.

            5k 23:48.45 (3/22); 4M 31:26 (2/22); 5M 38:55 (11/23); 10k 49:24 (10/22); 
            10M 1:29:33 (2/24); Half 1:48:32 (10/22); Marathon 4:29:58 (11/23)

            Upcoming races: RunAPalooza (Asbury Park) HM, 4/6; Clinton Country Run 15k, 4/27

             

            Fredford66


            Waltons ThreadLord

              How's this for a wonky GPS track?

               

              5k 23:48.45 (3/22); 4M 31:26 (2/22); 5M 38:55 (11/23); 10k 49:24 (10/22); 
              10M 1:29:33 (2/24); Half 1:48:32 (10/22); Marathon 4:29:58 (11/23)

              Upcoming races: RunAPalooza (Asbury Park) HM, 4/6; Clinton Country Run 15k, 4/27

               

              CommanderKeen


              Cobra Commander Keen

                To you non-Americans: Thanks for some of your various cultural references. I dropped the term "sticky wicket" into a conversation with a potential client at work today (a Canadian firm) and it went over REALLY well. Unbeknownst to me at the time a couple people from that firm are/were cricketers.

                 

                "What does this piece of your software not handle? You've said it does what we've asked about, but what are some things other firms have asked about and it doesn't do?"

                 

                "That's a bit of a sticky wicket, as I've never been asked if this handles something or not and the answer was "no", so while there might be something it doesn't do I can't answer what that would be. I'll look into it for you, though."

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

                 

                Upcoming Races:

                 

                 

                SteveChCh


                Hot Weather Complainer

                  Fred - really nice race.

                   

                  Keen - Great week and well done on the 5km workout.  I actually think you should be gunning for 17:30.

                   

                  That's a really weird question from those clients.  I guess they're asking if you've got some new features on the backlog coming soon?  Just tell them that for their needs, your software will hit it for 6.

                  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

                  CommanderKeen


                  Cobra Commander Keen

                    Steve - They were asking about billing their clients for certain types of expenses, but those expenses (what they are and how much they cost) are setup in the software by whoever is using it. So if it can't handle what they want then they probably have a major inefficiency in how they bill those things to begin with, and would be better served by changing their own processes.

                    I'll see if I can find a spot to use "hit it for 6" in a conversation, thanks for that one.


                    17:30??? If I actually am able to hit that this year I'll buy you a pair of your choice of running shoes just for putting that possibility in my head.

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

                     

                    Upcoming Races:

                     

                     

                    SteveChCh


                    Hot Weather Complainer

                      I don't see any downside for me in that deal.  Your half time from earlier this year and your current form is what I'm basing it on.  McMillan Calculator has you bang on 18 mins but that doesn't know about your mileage.

                      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

                        Keen - Here in NZ you need a lawyer to be able to complete the settlement of a property purchase or sale.

                         

                        EDIT: Ideally you'd use a lawyer that specialises in conveyancing, but I think that any actual lawyer can legally do the job. Darkwave mentioned a while back that they were called something else in the States.

                         

                         

                        By the way, does anyone else start singing the "12 Days of Christmas" song whenever they see Keen's weekly runs??

                        50+ age-group PBs:  Half Perish 1:24:24 (June '23 Road Race) - 10km 37:52 (2022 Local Road Champs) - Track 5km 18:49 (Aug '22) - Perish Run 3:17:42

                        2024 Goals: Boston Perish Run Sub 3:15 - Road/Track 10km Sub 37:30 - 5km Sub 18:20

                         

                         

                        watsonc123


                           

                          "What does this piece of your software not handle? You've said it does what we've asked about, but what are some things other firms have asked about and it doesn't do?"

                           

                          Just do what the big ERP salesman do - state that "a little bit of custom code will be needed for that, but it will be straightforward", and then after your client has spent two years and $20m, the customization will be complete.

                           

                          I'd say 17:30 is a stretch target for Keen.  Possible, but things will need to go well.

                           

                          Keen - another impressive week.

                           

                          Fred - do you think your better time was solely through it being milder than expected?  Or is some of it due to being in better shape than you were?

                          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

                          darkwave


                          Mother of Cats

                             

                             

                            EDIT: Ideally you'd use a lawyer that specialises in conveyancing, but I think that any actual lawyer can legally do the job. Darkwave mentioned a while back that they were called something else in the States.

                             

                            Settlement attorneys is what they are called here.  Or real estate attorneys.

                             

                            Interesting point about any lawyer being able to do it in NZ.  In the US, that's not the case.  First of all, you have to be a member of the bar of that state before practicing in that state.  Second, lawyers have an ethical obligation of competence, and real estate settlements are a very specific area of practice.

                            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.

                               

                              Settlement attorneys is what they are called here.  Or real estate attorneys.

                               

                              Interesting point about any lawyer being able to do it in NZ.  In the US, that's not the case.  First of all, you have to be a member of the bar of that state before practicing in that state.  Second, lawyers have an ethical obligation of competence, and real estate settlements are a very specific area of practice.

                               

                              Yeah, nah I'm probably telling fibs there. You probably do have to be an actual 'property' lawyer.  That's just my bias coming through, because those are the only kinds of lawyers I've dealt with. Not sure if it's the same over in the US, but 'Settlement attorneys' over here would also help you with your Will, Trust, Relationship Property Agreement, Enduring Power of Attorney etc.

                              50+ age-group PBs:  Half Perish 1:24:24 (June '23 Road Race) - 10km 37:52 (2022 Local Road Champs) - Track 5km 18:49 (Aug '22) - Perish Run 3:17:42

                              2024 Goals: Boston Perish Run Sub 3:15 - Road/Track 10km Sub 37:30 - 5km Sub 18:20

                               

                               

                              Fredford66


                              Waltons ThreadLord

                                 

                                 

                                Fred - do you think your better time was solely through it being milder than expected?  Or is some of it due to being in better shape than you were?

                                 

                                Watson - I'd like to say both.  I have been setting some new PRs lately, which speaks to better fitness.  On the other hand, I'm in my mid-50's and there comes a time when age takes over and people stop getting faster.  I just don't know whether that time is imminent for me, or if I have a few years yet.  Given I only started in my late 40's, I hope I still have room for improvement.

                                 

                                Steve - Thanks

                                 

                                Keen - Good luck on your pursuit of sub-18

                                5k 23:48.45 (3/22); 4M 31:26 (2/22); 5M 38:55 (11/23); 10k 49:24 (10/22); 
                                10M 1:29:33 (2/24); Half 1:48:32 (10/22); Marathon 4:29:58 (11/23)

                                Upcoming races: RunAPalooza (Asbury Park) HM, 4/6; Clinton Country Run 15k, 4/27