Sub 1:30 Half Marathon in 2020 (Read 618 times)

JamesD


JamesD

    79 and TDP 149 for my run this morning - much more pleasant than it was a few weeks ago.

    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

    JMac11


    RIP Milkman

      James - agreed with others. That type of workout would only be something I would try once in an entire cycle. I tend to do a lot of work around threshold, which is around HMP - 5 seconds for me. The highest I will ever do is 4x2, and that workouts kicks my ass.

       

      Zebano - nice work on the tri, jealous of anyone getting racing in in any format!

       

      Watson - another good CC race. Maybe one day I'll try one.

       

      Flavio - congrats again and great race report

       

      DW - glad you may have found the culprit here!

       

      Mark - given we keep teasing you about sandbagging your MP, what is your plan race day to know when to pick it up? It's going to be hard for you given so little experience in running marathons about how you should feel at various points. I'm also very sad you're going to break the only PR I have against you and I won't have a real chance at going back against you any time soon 

       

      Me - really back into training now. First time cracking 60 miles in 6 months! Enjoying running again, so that's nice. I've barely even started running but I may try a time trial this Saturday as a rust buster. I like doing these early in cycles so that I know if my training paces are correct. I'm using my 10K time from June, but given so much has changed since then, I have no idea if that's correct. I'm very good at running by feel for threshold, but mile pace and 5K pace are just a guess since I run so infrequently. Better to use a rust buster to give me an idea of what's right. Will see how lazy I'm feeling though come Friday 

       

      Weekly for period: From: 08/31/2020 To 09/06/2020

      Date Name Distance
      in mi
      Duration Avg Pace
      per mi
      Elevation Gain
      in ft
      08/31/2020 Evening Run 8.34 01:07:22 08:05 335
      09/01/2020 10x2min H 8.80 01:07:13 07:38 302
      09/02/2020 Afternoon Run 8.20 01:06:26 08:06 341
      09/03/2020 6x(200/200/400) 10.29 01:27:07 08:28 135
      09/05/2020 Afternoon Run 8.40 01:07:42 08:04 344
      09/06/2020 Afternoon Run 16.01 02:05:43 07:51 276

      Total distance: 60.04mi

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

       

       

      watsonc123


        Jmac - nice week.  Also, my race was on the road.

        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

        SteveChCh


        Hot Weather Complainer

          Mark - yep it was darkwave's comment.  Very well played.  Unfortunately the forecast is changing every time I look at it and now it's a range of 6-16C (42-61F) with strengthening north-west winds.  I'd prefer it to be colder and the north-west wind can get crazy although usually not at 8:30am.

           

          Looking forward to seeing your race plan.  I feel like JMac was trying to pile on the pressure in a subtle way with his comment, great mind games.

           

          zebano - nice week and well done on the tri, something I will never try..  My race is this coming Sunday.

           

          CK -  I agree with the scolding you got from JMac.

          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 Jmac would never play mind games....

             

            Keen it must be quite a void for you running only 50 mpw 

            Do you have any other hobbies you can occupy yourself with ?

             

            Zebano nice work on the Tri. It's the swimming and cycling that puts me off lol. Especially the cost of half decent bikes.

            That 42 min 10k I did was a hard effort in the 2nd half. My comment of it been a recovery jog was a troll comment as usual for me 

            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 "      

             

            Marky_Mark_17


              Looking forward to seeing your race plan.  I feel like JMac was trying to pile on the pressure in a subtle way with his comment, great mind games. 

               

              My race plan is very simple.  Start at goal MP (3:45/km).  Try and get 1-2s/km above that on the flat over the first 15km to cover for the hills.  Keep strong up the hills but don't push the effort too much.  Back to MP from km 26 onwards once the hills are done, maybe fractionally quicker if I'm feeling good. For me, running is all about rhythm.  If I get that right, I can hold it.  I'm not going to overcomplicate things.  Every race I've done well in has been about hitting my own steady rhythm and sticking to it.

               

              Honestly, after the news overnight that some of the recent cases haven't been disclosing all their close contacts, I now give Rotorua a less than 50% chance of happening.  I'm kind of furious that some people aren't taking this seriously as we could've had this closed down by now if people had been up front.

               

              That being said the race plan doesn't change a lot if I have to enact Plan C and go to Wairarapa two weeks later.  It's a simple 2-lap course with 2 short, sharp hills and one longer climb (around 30m elevation gain spread over 3km) towards the end of each lap.  I'd probably go out a little more conservatively on that course because a 3km climb from km's 35-38 would be real make or break stuff.  The overall elevation gain is a bit less than Rotorua so it should be slightly faster if I'm smart about it.

              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"

              SteveChCh


              Hot Weather Complainer

                Mark - if ever you're ready it's now.  I'm very interested to see how you go towards the end of the race.  It seems like you can keep going forever so it will be interesting to see whether you just get stronger or have to give it everything to hang on - I'm sure at some point that has happened to you but the impression is that it doesn't.

                 

                There are some spanners in the works to getting to level 1.  It's still all in Auckland so surely common sense will prevail and the rest of the country will drop to level 1 next week.

                 

                me - Last reasonable workout today and I felt comfortable and was around 4:02/km - 4:06/km where I was aiming for 4:10/km.  It is 23C (73F) today and I did feel it towards the end of the run.  Over night there is a change due and tomorrow will be 9C (48F) which is much nicer but I have some concerns about the NW wind forecast for Sunday.  It seems like a sudden jump in the temperature lately, my body is used to running at a maximum of 10-12C (50-54F) so the jump to 23/73 is a bit of a shock.  In a few months I'll be happy with 23C.

                 

                While I'm on taper week, for about 5 mins today I got a sore ankle and actually said out loud "there's the taper madness!".  Last race week I was feeling sick by now and no sign of that this time.

                 

                My race strategy is to dial in to 4:20/km for at least the first few km, then ease into 4:15/km.  If I can do that, and it's not another off day, I should be able push the pace in the last 5km.  Whether I can make up enough time to go sub 1:30 will be a close run thing, but I'm going especially conservative to avoid the misery of the last few races where at least 10km of the race was spent on Struggle Street.

                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

                Marky_Mark_17


                  Steve - I totally agree with you re the rest of the country going to L1, but the problem that's been cited with dropping the rest of the country to L1 is that everyone just buggers off out of Auckland and potentially takes the virus with them.  Having said that I don't think it's really that different to the current situation where everyone buggered off out of Auckland once we came out of Level 3.

                   

                  The silver lining is that Wairarapa Country Marathon today updated their website to say they will cap entries to ensure they can go ahead at Level 2, which I am taking to mean that as long as we're at Level 2 the race is on.  So the odds of Plan B (Rotorua) have gone down (at least in my head) but Plan C is firming up.

                   

                  Also all this fun and games has led me to decide that once I get this marathon under my belt, there is basically no chance of me attempting another marathon until the uncertainty about races going ahead is gone.  A marathon takes so much investment and it's just not worth it if there's a real risk that the race can't go ahead.  I'm lucky that I've got a few fallback options in the current window.

                   

                  Anyway for your race I wouldn't worry too much about the wind.  It looks relatively light and on a loop course like that you won't be dealing with it for too long at a stretch.   At the Christchurch half last year - which was much windier than the forecast is showing for Sunday and had much longer upwind stretches - I got pretty demoralised with my upwind pace but then we hit the downwind and it changed rapidly.  The bigger challenge will be mental - accept you might be fractionally behind pace going into the wind, don't fight it too hard, and then enjoy the boost once you're downwind.

                   

                  As for hanging on late-race... well my first marathon was the definition of that!!  I felt like complete crap for the last 6-7km and my pace gradually dropped from about 4:10/km to 4:35/km over the last 10km - but somehow the wheels never totally fell off.  Those last couple of km in Kerikeri HM were real redline 'hang in there' territory too.

                  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"

                  watsonc123


                    That last hill on the Wairarapa marathon is hard when you're fading.  It is not big, but big enough when you're fading into the pain cave.  First lap it was a small hill, second lap felt much harder.

                     

                    Auckland Covid cases keep happening.

                    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

                    Marky_Mark_17


                      That last hill on the Wairarapa marathon is hard when you're fading.  It is not big, but big enough when you're fading into the pain cave.

                       

                      That was my read on it Watson.  It's only around 10m per km (33ft for the Imperial Luddites on here), but for 3km at that stage of the race, if you're fading then it's gonna hurt.

                      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"

                      watsonc123


                        So you are going to Rotorua even if cancelled?  I will go regardless.

                         

                        Unless we hit Level 3

                        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

                        Marky_Mark_17


                          So you are going to Rotorua even if cancelled?  I will go regardless.

                           

                          Unless we hit Level 3

                           

                          Yeah we are planning to go regardless (assuming we can leave Auckland haha).  Our Airbnb is fully refundable but that option expires tomorrow and the decision on the race is not until Monday.  We need a holiday and have already had a few planned trips scuttled this year.  If the race does not happen, we should try and catch up for an easy run or something.

                           

                          Seriously annoying - the continuation of this current cluster appears to be solely down to a church group flouting the Level 3 lockdown rules and some of the new cases not disclosing all their close contacts.  The Mt. Roskill Evangelical Fellowship are possibly the least popular group in the country right now.

                          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"

                          watsonc123


                            Super frustrating how the cluster keeps growing.

                             

                            I think we should catch-up if the race does happen too!  A

                             

                            lso, thanks for the heads up the Level 2 set-up for Wairarapa.  I hadn't registered for the half, and have done so just now, so I'm booked for that.  Barring Level 3+

                            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

                            Marky_Mark_17


                              Super frustrating how the cluster keeps growing.

                               

                              I think we should catch-up if the race does happen too!  A

                               

                              lso, thanks for the heads up the Level 2 set-up for Wairarapa.  I hadn't registered for the half, and have done so just now, so I'm booked for that.  Barring Level 3+

                               

                              Haha I assumed if the race did happen we would catch up there regardless.


                              Wairarapa have said they will refund all entries if the race is cancelled due to Covid so it’s kind of a no brainer. I think for the next little while those smaller races that have the ability to go ahead even with some gathering restrictions in place will be the way to go.

                              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

                                A lot of NZ and COVID talk that I am just glancing over, sorry if there was something in there.

                                 

                                Steve - for temperatures for a half, I think you're right that 50s is perfect for a half. It does depend on sun and other factors, but that would be a great race day if it comes to fruition. If I've been training through the winter, 60s for a race is too warm. 70s is death. Your race is definitely happening?

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