Forums >Racing>Sub 1:30 Half Marathon in 2018
RIP Milkman
Mark is a great example of consistency, he rarely bites more than he can chew and as a result he has a progressive trajectory up. I'm a great example of the opposite LOL. The best way to explain my strategy in the past is a person who keeps running themselves against a wall in hopes to cross it. I'm on the up now since starting with functional training late last year.
Mark is a great example of consistency, he rarely bites more than he can chew and as a result he has a progressive trajectory up.
I'm a great example of the opposite LOL. The best way to explain my strategy in the past is a person who keeps running themselves against a wall in hopes to cross it.
I'm on the up now since starting with functional training late last year.
I don't want to jinx it, but I think you've broken through the wall.
5K: 16:37 (11/20) | 10K: 34:49 (10/19) | HM: 1:14:57 (5/22) | FM: 2:36:31 (12/19)
JamesD
I got in 31 easy miles this week, which I had planned to be a cutback week anyway, and increased my swimming a bit, so it was an ok week. Both knees, not just my left one, are still giving me trouble, but they're not quite as bad as they were a week ago. I'm not having the quad soreness I had earlier, which is encouraging. I hope I can get through it by just taking another week or two relatively easy and then building back up to 35-40 mpw.
Sun - off
Mon - 6.2 miles easy
Tues - 6.2 easy (not stopping for exercises Tues or Fri like I usually do after longer Mon/Thurs runs)
Weds - 20 mins swimming
Thurs - 6.2 easy
Fri -6.2 easy
Sat - 6.2 moderate at 8:12/mile and 17 mins swimming
Total - 31 miles
Trying to figure out if there's a pattern to when people post got me wondering how many time zones we have represented. I count eight, but some of the following may be mistaken, so please correct it as needed:
GMT+12 - Mark, Piwi, Watson
GMT+1 - halfdecent, Mick, Enric, RoXX
GMT - kkittenkat
GMT-3 - Flavio
GMT-4 - Blair
GMT-5 - JMac, JamesD, Arvind
GMT-6 - Keen, brosendahl
GMT-8 - Rune
On the RW board, JDM was from Australia and Daan from Taiwan, but if they haven't found us yet, they're probably not going to. Surprised we don't have anyone from GMT-7, Rocky Mountain time in the U.S. & I assume Canada.
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
James - good week.
As one of the GMT + 1200 (right now daylight savings, so + 1300) I tend to be on the of the early weekly posters.
My week was good. I got in my aimed volume (2.5 miles / 4km above the previous week). Ex cyclone Gita came through on Tuesday so I ended up shuffling my week. It was going to be Tuesday intervals, Wednesday off, Thursday tempo, Friday easy. But it became Tuesday off, Wednesday tempo, Thursday easy, Friday intervals.
The storm has the really good effect on dropping humidity a lot. So running from Wednesday has been so much more pleasant. It also reflected in the intervals being much better, and the tempo a little quicker than the week before.
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
Mark - can you add my 18 March half marathon to the list? Round the Vines is the race. Aim is TBD.
Watson - I've added your race. Nice week and good to see you are building up the mileage. Conditions have been much improved from Thursday onwards in Auckland too and after several weeks of really battling the humidity, the mornings at the moment have been really nice for running.
James - I follow JDM on Strava but I know he had some injury issues and he seems to be just cycling these days. Anyway sounds like things are improving for you in terms of those niggles!
Flavio - I agree with JMac. You have been much more consistent with mileage over the last little while so hoping you are on top of it now!
Me - well as Watson mentioned the humidity finally dissipated midweek so the second half of the week reminded me why I enjoy running. A very solid workout on Thursday, a cruisy run in beautiful conditions on Saturday, and a LR with progression on Sunday (again in awesome conditions), about the only negative is a few hints of a cold floating around that I think I might've picked up from my daughter. Currently building up towards the Coatesville HM on March 18 so including a lot of hills in my runs at the moment as that is a particularly hilly course. The other positive is that everything seems fine on the ITB front, today's LR included a particularly long downhill down Gills Road (~100m descent over 2km) near the end of the run and if that didn't set it off then I don't think a lot will.
M: weights
T: 12.6km with a few hills
W: 12.2km with 3x 8 min @ HMP (~3:45-3:50/km) / 3 min rest
T: 12.0km incl. 5x 1km hard / 200m jog
F: weights
S: 14.3km easy
S: 22.5km progressive LR (with some hills)
Total: 73.6km
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"
Intl. correspondent
Jmac, Mark - yeah late last year I went 15 weeks without injury averaging 48k per week. Now I'm on a 12 week streak averaging 43km per week. But last year I had 70k weeks followed by a row of 30k weeks. Now it's more consistent
My week was 62km in 5h55 + 2 days of functional training. I tried to run a 4k tempo at 4:15 (sub 1:30 hm pace) at the second half of my long run today but bailed after the first km was a 4:26 and the second was getting slower. Temps were over 25C/77F and 70% humidity so in hindsight it was a poor idea haha.
James - you are progressing nicely.
Watson - I'm watching you post some nice weeks over 70km for a while now. That will surely bring fruits once the heat of summer is over.
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
Thanks all for the warm welcome! Seems like it would be a good idea to try and get in more runs/week with lower mileage on each and build up from there. My week:
Weekly SummaryMonday, Feb 19, 2018 thru Sunday, Feb 25, 2018
Hot Weather Complainer
Hi All,
I'm a 41 year old living in Christchurch, New Zealand. I'm a Kiwi but have lived and run all around the world. I started running about 17 years ago, and for a few years I made my own training programmes and in hindsight was pretty clueless. I had no injury issues to start with and first broke 1:30 in the Christchurch half-marathon in 2004 and set a PB of 1:29.43. I spent the following few years not too focused on running as I played other sports. I came back seriously about 2009 and quickly started getting injuries to my knee and calves mainly.
I ran a few half-marathons on limited training and hovered around 1:35-1:40. Finally after one injury too many I saw a running coach and started following a proper programme (I'd never done intervals or tempo runs, or slow longer runs). We set a conservative target to break 1:35 with my first race under his regime which I did by 12 seconds in 2015.
After another niggle I had a great period of 9 months leading into the 2016 Christchurch half-marathon and went under 1:30 for the second time and set a new (and current) PB of 1:29.25.
I had another crack in 2017 after a slightly less great build up and was on track until 5km to go when I really felt it and finished in 1:30.29. Since then I've had 2 more niggles but I'm 6 weeks into a 12 week build up for the Auckland Waterfront half marathon and due to the recent niggles I've rolled back my training to just the 3 important runs each week (intervals, tempo and long easy run with some race pace). I also do a couple of sessions on the stationary bike each week along with 3 weights sessions.
Last week's training (running only):
Monday 60 minutes with intervals of 2, 4, 2, 4, 2, 4, 2 with 1 minute recovery each (intervals at 3:50 - 3:55 pace)
Wednesday 60 minutes with 4 tempo segments of 5 minutes with 2 minutes easy pace in between.
Saturday 90 minutes with 3km race pace (4:10, 4:11, 4:16)
My target for the Waterfront Half Marathon on April 8 is 1:29.24. I don't know if this is possible but should have a better idea in a few weeks. I'll have done far less training than my last few races but hopefully focusing on the key elements will get me there.
The thread is a great read and it's awesome to see so many amazing times and goals on it.
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
Jmac - nice to hear about the tempo run.
James, Mark, Watson - good weeks
Flavio - good to see consistency in the mileage! Definitely a positive.
Roxx - I think more runs would be key before building. Maybe 5 runs a week with similar mileage then start to build. But the others are way more experienced than I am so keep that in mind if anyone else offers their thoughts
Steve - You've been sub90 (and I have not) so take this advice with (possibly) a grain a salt, but have you considered more runs each week? Also, we have a couple other Kiwis here!.Welcome
My week: Lots of tortuously easy running. My maintenance miles were all done in "Zone 1" (<70% HRR). My long run today actually went really well. I did a 6k loop three times. My plan was to stay in Zone 1 the first two laps (thinking I'd be stuck in mud at around 6-6:30/km) and then up to LR or Zone 2 (<77% HRR) for the last lap. My pace was actually nice. It was never too quick but not excruciatingly slow (for me) and I managed to meet my goal and didn't come too close to exceeding 77% (164bpm). Felt great afterwards.
Monday, Feb 19, 2018 thru Sunday, Feb 25, 2018
4x1mi T + 4x(200R/200jg)
(HR separate link - starting at mile 2)
strava
strava - HR
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
Thanks Blair - yep, I'll usually do at least a 4th run (probably just an easy 60 minutes) and sometimes a 5th run (easy 45 mins the day after the long run) but at the moment with a recent calf injury I'm being extra cautious. For now I've replaced them with the bike sessions on Thursday and Sunday.
Steve - welcome. I live in greater Wellington. I used to live in Christchurch, my parents still do. For some people, the quicker stuff is more likely to invite, than easy runs, but don't take an internet posters advice too seriously.
Blair - good week.
Flavio - nice week and I definitely think consistency is the key.
Steve - Welcome! Always good to see another Kiwi on here. I live in AKL travel down to CHC sometimes for work, have really enjoyed running there when it's been an overnight trip, Hagley Park in particular is a great spot for running. I'm doing the Waterfront Half too - it should be a really quick course as long as it's not windy. My aim is to PB there too but I've yet to get within 2 minutes of my HM PB since I set it in October 2016 so who knows.
You will definitely get some value from cross-training on the bike so it's probably a smart option if you're managing injury niggles. But worth adding runs back in once you think the body is up to it.
Blair - well done with your patience with the easy stuff. I really struggle with that! But it is a very worthwhile attribute to have.
Roxx - yeah gradually building up the volume is the key. Maybe add an extra day and then slowly build up the mileage. Keeping some days off running in between will help you recover. I found going from 4 days to 5 to be no problem, but then going to 6 was a bit of a challenge and I only kept that up during marathon training.
Blair: I did the same workout you did on Friday yesterday but just 3×Tempo & 4x200R/200jg. First real quality session after my Patella injury back in October. I slept like a baby. Plus it was like minus 10 Celsius here. I am looking forward to slowly building up to more quality.
Steve: Welcome. Only know Christchurch from the news...hope you were all safe. Good luck with your race and keeping the calves healthy.
Me: Another 30miles week which is surprising since I was in a hotel until Saturday but managed to use the treadmill for some shorter runs. My Suunto is definetly not calibrated enough as there was huge disparity between the tm miles and the watch...ran on 6 days, did a few tempo runs on the tm and then as mentioned above the first real quality session. Legs are tired today. Great feeling.
HM: 1:47 (9/20) I FM: 3:53:11 (9/23)
2024 Goals: run a FM & HM + stay healthy!
Cobra Commander Keen
James - Good that your knees are feeling better. Hopefully you're back to 100% soon. You nailed my time zone, btw.
Watson - Nice week.
Mark - Solid week. I think I've picked up a bit of a cold from one of my daughters as well, though it hasn't been too bad so far.
Flavio - Nice to have the consistency. Those are less-than-ideal conditions for a tempo run. Heat/humidity like that typically just drain me.
Blair - Good week. How have you been feeling after those <70%HRR runs?
Mick - Nice that you were able to get those TM runs in like that. I've been getting distance/pace from Stryd for my TM runs (without calibration) and it has been really good so far.
Lots of bad weather last week (except for Monday) with a bunch of sleet and freezing rain, so I only managed one run outside. It was certainly nice to get back out on the roads today. It'll take a few days for the dirt roads I like to do a lot of my running on to dry out, but the paved roads have the benefit of being a bit hillier.
Looking forward to my 15k next Saturday. I've never raced this distance, it's a new course for the race, and I'll have a solid fitness test to verify my training paces.
My week:
5k: 17:58 11/22 │ 10k: 37:55 9/21 │ HM: 1:23:22 4/22 │ M: 2:56:05 12/22
Upcoming Races:
Steve: Welcome!
Mark: Glad to hear your ITB seems to be left behind.
I didn't know I had to ask a race to be on the first page... I'm running Hampton Half, next Sunday (March 4). Goals are:
Target: PR (1:28:31) with the following ranges Min: sub1h30 (acceptable) Stretched: 1:26 (jumping in happiness to outer space)
James: I'm also in the EST timezone. Wise from you to keep those knees under control
Watson: Nice week. What are your doubts related to target pace in the HM?
Flavio: You are now in the 60+ KPW, and a good streak of running weeks. It bodes well, for your autumn.. Any races?
Blair: Patience is rewarded! and HR is coming down.
Mick: Nice job saving the week
Keen: That's a huge week. Good luck for your race
Piwi: Chime in!
Me: I took Saturday off as I was tired from skiing and running on Friday, but I'd have preferred to include a 10K... Weather was OK though, it was me being lazy
Weekly Summary Monday, Feb 19, 2018 thru Sunday, Feb 25, 2018