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

Rune awesome job on that longrun. 17 miles is no easy task. Ive been watching the rugby sevens on TV which is at your big baseball ground in SF.

Steve/James hope those injuries get better soon.

Flavio you beat my mileage this week 

Mark exciting times with your new home. We built here in Papamoa 19 years ago ! We did a big add on at one stage so we have 5 bedrooms, 3 toilets, and an office. Problem now is loads of things need upgrading like carpet, paint etc and need another mortgage to pay for it all.

Great job on the 5k TT. You still have some PR improvements on your current fitness for sure.

Jmac congrats on another blistering 5k.

Cfarr nice job on 4 runs !

Watson great mileage. I saw that tempo and figured you werent feeling it.

Marco nice week and good job on the intervals.

Mick/Jmac I played one game of touch rugby last year as my sons team were short. I thought I would be the man with amazing fitness but I was a total embarrassment as my sprint speed is pathetic. All the sprinting forwards and backwards totally trashed  my legs for days after. Running makes you fit in a very limited way !

Mick i took your advice and stopped buying Heineken for some local craft beer.

Ok my week was crap. i only ran about 26kms. Those runs felt lethargic and horrible so I didnt stress the rest of the week. I also had 3 surfs and one kayakfishing trip so plenty of upper body exercise to supplement the running.

Monday today and i ran up Mount Maunganui as slowly as I could which is still bloody hard as its so steep !

Mark - Yes, good luck with the new house and the moving!

Piwi - Maybe your week was bad but you did a sub-40 10k tempo the week before! Hoping for a better week this week.

This was my week.

Weekly Summary
Monday, Jul 16, 2018 thru Sunday, Jul 22, 2018

Mark - My wife and I just bought a new home!  Congrats!  Lots of renovations for us coming because we want to flip it for profit.  Our area is seller's market for sure.  And what a ridiculous time trial you ran last week.

So I raced yesterday morning.

Race Report:  Portland Relay for Life Half Marathon.

I had a bit of a unplanned taper due to the fact that I smashed my hand working on our new house and it required stitches, we are in the process of moving, and we've had a lot of other unplanned things pop up that have sort of wrecked my training.  I had this race on the calendar for months because I was determined to race a half in prep for the Chicago Marathon.  

We get to the race about 40 minutes before the gun goes off.  It's a very small local race with a 5K as well.  I warm up for about a half mile with some strides and I feel pretty decent and not nervous at all.  It's lightly misting and a bit humid but good running weather.  I get near the front, make some small talk....and off we go.

Miles 1-4 (6:44, 7:09, 6:58, 7:04)
Felt amazing in the first mile and I'm in the lead.  I've lead a few races before, losing a few and winning others. A girl followed me for the first 2 miles and then she disappeared. 

Miles 5-7 (7:15, 6:57, 7:18)
Still in the lead.  This course is not "flat" like they advertised, but it is entirely on a paved bike path.  There are lots of gradual inclines and declines at mile 5 and at mile 7.  At mile 6, we hit an out and back section of the race and I see that I've got at least a 2 minute lead on the second and third place guys.  The 7th mile contained several more hills which destroyed my pace.   

Mile 8-9  (7:14, 7:01)

Feeling still pretty good but I've thrown out the idea of running sub 1:30.  The hills are wrecking my legs and I'm feeling a little tired...and a little nervous that someone might start closing on me.   Front running is sort of stressful and exciting at the same time.  

Mile 10-12 (7:22, 7:26, 7:42)
The wheels start coming off and my legs get heavy.  Mile 12 was almost entirely a gradual incline and was I wishing it would be over.  Every half marathon I've run I've always died at mile 10.  I'm not sure why I can't get it together or why I can't break through that wall.  It's at this point that I start wondering why so many people are good at half marathons despite running less mileage than I do.  I'm so much better at the shorter races.   

Mile 13 (7:43)

I see the school/finishing line finally, no one is visible behind me.  I feel like I'm jogging, but I know I'm going to win.  I round the corner after the 13th mile and start hammering away.  The last .23 was 6:03 pace.

Final time: 1:35:08 (1st place) 
It's a neat feeling to win a half marathon, but leading one is very nerve wracking.  You never know if you are going to really blow up and have the second place guy gradually roll up on you.  I kept looking behind me, but the trails were empty.  I'm disappointed in my time, and at this point I have no clue what it's going to take to get me under 90 minutes.  I'm thinking maybe something like 13 mile runs with the last 3 miles at tempo? 

Thanks for reading!

Corey - that was a great week with a sandwich long run. Those are great for endurance. I know ideally you wouldn’t have the weekend weigh so much on the weekly mileage but we do what we can to accommodate changes in life.

Steven - I see you run even duration for uneven distance. At first my OCD was attacking me, but then I realized that I run uneven duration haha. That looks like a well balanced week. Have you commented on your weight routine yet?

Rune - if you have heavy legs now, a well thought out taper will make sure you arrive in top shape at the race. Watch out for taper madness though.

Piwi - lots of surf and kayakfishing to keep you entertained.

Bro - awesome job at the race with winning it all. The time does not matter when you’re fighting for positions. Eliud Kipchoge ran 2h08 on the Rio Olympics marathon, I’m sure he does not mind that one bit.

I have only won one race ever and I still remember that feeling. Unfortunately it was part of a series so there was no podium at the end.

Mark - Good week, yet again. Nice 5k TT, too. And are there plans for another kiddo?

Watson, Cfarr, Steve - Good weeks all around.

Mick - How's the ankle doing now?

Flavio - Good luck building back after that vacation.

Piwi - I caught just a bit of rugby yesterday - USA vs Scotland. Far more entertaining to watch than American football, even without knowing much in the way of rules.

Rune - Good week as well!

Bro - I liked the RR. I haven't won a HM yet (hoping to in October), that must have been great.
So far as improving, slow down. I'd recommend 8:30's at the fast end for easy runs and LRs. This will help with aerobic development. Based on the HM time threshold pace should be ~7:05. It looks like you're training at paces faster than your current fitness, which is short-changing your ability to run longer distances.

Me - Week one is in the books! Felt really good all week. My LR wasn't particularly well-excecuted. I finally drove into town to try getting some miles in with a group, rather than a solo LR around a lake. I started the first few miles with a buddy who is coming back off a couple ankle injuries and has also been hitting the weights a lot, so he's a good bit slower now than he used to be. All my middle miles were solo and most were a bit fast while I tried catching up to someone else to run with (turns out it was impossible since the path the group ran split into many possible directions ~ mile 3 and the group fragmented). The last 5 were with my local fast guy who cranks out 7:50's all the time. It was good to have some company, and even the faster miles felt good.

DD3 is crawling now! Sorry, couldn't help myself - proud dad shout-out.

Weekly Summary
Monday, Jul 16, 2018 thru Sunday, Jul 22, 2018

Keen - nice week.

Bro - congratulations on the house.  I agree with Keen, you must slow down your tempos, if you are consistently fading then they are obviously too quick, 6:30 is far too quick for a 1:35 guy.

Also, in the race, starting with 6:44 is a bad idea, that is 1:28 pace.  You would be much better off with a 7:15 first mile.  Look to negative split.

Steve - Thanks.  I had the dry needling today in both hamstrings.  The PT suggested it to address my chronic left knee issues, but we hope it will help my balky right hamstring as well.  I'm a little sore now, but we'll have a better idea in a few days whether or not it helps.

Bro - For me, running alone in a race is much more draining than running with others.  That certainly won't be an issue at Chicago.  If your problem is holding pace in tempos, can you find someone to run them with occasionally?