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

JMac - I'd love to do Boston some day but it won't be next year.  Budget definitely won't stretch that far having just bought a house (plus I have a half marathon series title to defend!).

Keen - hope you're feeling better.

Me - realised I never posted my weekly for last week.  Taper was pretty much bang on, I think.

M: weights

T: 10km with a few short efforts

W: 10.8km easy

Th: 8.2km incl 4 x 500m efforts

F: rest day

S: 7.4km incl. 6 x 45 sec hard effort / 3 min easy

S: 22km incl. Dunedin Half Marathon

Total: 58.3km

Piwi - I saw that missed encounter on Strava, that's too bad. Remember when you were running 50-60 MPW every week earlier this year? What happened to that man?

 

MJ - Always up for a beer or a run. If you come before my marathon, it'll be a run. If you come in November or December, it'll definitely be a beer 

 

Marco/Corey - Nice weeks.

 

Flavio/Rune - Nice that you guys got to meet up. Flavio, you're going to need a nice raise if you want to afford the bay area, that place is nuts now.

Jmac my fire has been slowly extinguishing since 2015. High mileage and chasing PBs has a finite time limit and deep down I dont feel its fun or healthy for me anymore. I still enjoy running for fitness. Maybe I will crank it up again one day. 30 mpw is really enjoyable with no workout pressures thrown in.

Enjoy it while you are still keen though its very satisfying getting faster.

 

Yeah I hear you. I can honestly see that I may shift focus after Boston next year. I certainly have some more PRs to grab, but after that, once the ability to get them dies down I may move into other activiities. I can’t see myself putting up 2K miles a year after 2019. But for now, I’ll keep focusing on getting those PRs.

 

Certainly glad that you’re sticking around even though the fire is dying down. This board wouldn’t be the same without your banter 

Yeah, I can see how that could happen.  The PB thing can be pretty all-consuming and I've had to snap myself out of that at times too.

When I reflect on the reasons I enjoy running, they include:

• It's fun
• It's the best way I've found to clear my head, other than snowboarding (which isn't an option 98% of the time!)
• Setting PBs
• Testing myself over different distances (I reckon the HM is my favourite, though)
• Good way to explore new places
• Checking out new races and events
• Race day atmosphere and competition
• Camaraderie with other athletes (in person and online!)
• The satisfaction of a race well-run, or learning how you could improve for the next one
• Good discussion topic at work (there are lots of runners there!)

I know I will hit the PB wall at some time in the not-too-distant future, although my 5km and FM times have definitely got improvement in them.  But, irrespective of that, there's still a lot of things I'd like to do, like one of the big half marathons in Australia (e.g. Melbourne), a major marathon and/or Boston, as well as just checking out new races and events.  I figure this gives me at least a few years more and who knows, by that stage my daughter might be into running (or something else entirely - but I'd still love to do some events with her).  Also I still don't have an 80th percentile age-graded result which would be nice, although my 10km time is exceptionally close (79.7%).

Anyway I think we all agree we need Piwi here for the banter even if he's not posting big miles!

Ha it's not being a downer, I'm talking about quitting in a couple of years. I'm such an internally competitive person that I imagine I will struggle with not being able to hit PRs. I guess there are always Masters PRs to hit, or Moose Mugs, but otherwise I will find it challenging. I also think that the level of running we do, especially marathon training, isn't exactly healthy. Piwi, your level of running is probably right, just going out there every once in a while for 45-60 minutes while also balancing with other activities, especially ones that are strength based.

In happier news, I'll be signing up for Boston tomorrow. The turnaround between NYC and Boston is only 5 months, so it's going to be a short break. I've never trained for a marathon in the dead of winter, so I'm a little curious how that will go.

This is a really interesting topic.  I've often wondered what I'll do when I notice I'm getting slower.  At the moment I'm still hovering around PB shape but at 41 and with a few niggles creeping in, I can see it's not far away.  I see a lot of older guys who still run good times who must have been really quick back in their day, so I might have to chat with them.  Everyone must deal with it at some stage, so there must be a way to adjust.

I started in 2001 and first broke 90 in 2004 but then focused on football and got a serious knee injury so from 2009-2014 I was running with no realistic goal of getting close to a PB again and I did still enjoy it.  Maybe I knew I still had it in me if I stayed injury free and that kept me going.

Keen - I like training in the winter, but I've never done anything north of 40 MPW. Also, remember that NYC generally gets into the teens and 20's in the winter so it's pretty brutal getting out there. I do think training in the 40s and 50s though will be amazing. I just don't know how you do speed work when it's 20 degrees out and you're bundled up so much you can barely move your legs beyond easy pace.

Yeah, for me when it gets really cold, it's also harder work just to turn the legs over (regardless of how much I'm wearing!).  Snowy and icy footpaths are also not really ideal.

Piwi: the single fastest growing supplement in the US I believe is testosterone. Everyone is running an ad with some former football player saying they are taking it and back to their old fitness and energy levels (when they were juiced ). You will most likely lose all your hair but us here on RA wont care no more shampooing. Remember the ripped guy in his 50s racing in the UK? Thats what you are going to look like! Other than that: yes I can see how grumpy teenage kids can be a bit of a drag too Not looking forward to that!!!

Keen: I know that microclimate from the bayarea around SF and always thought how crazy it is. You arent anywhere close to the crazy windstorms? There was one that made landfall in the gulf of mexico and tracked north and the other one, francine, is making millions evacuate. Crazy nature. And you do a lot of treadmill miles in winter dont you?

General: so Jmac and Keen are going to Boston 2019? Whats up with our 2018 hero Jaime? I see he ie back on the horse and slowly coming back? Rune if you kill it in Amsterdam, can you qualify still for Boston?

Hi,

just checking, I remember chatting on this forum with a guy from North Carolina (Charlotte I think). Hope everybody is safe in the US and Florence doesn't give you too many troubles.

I am flying to North Carolina (Raleigh Durham) on Sunday and I will spend the rest of the week there. Hopefully I will manage to run my taper in a safe environment... and will get back on time for the race on Sunday the 23rd (I am flying back on Saturday landing in Belfast at noon... )

stay safe in the US... all the best

Marco

PS. I had a bit of a downer my self the other day, I went out to do some intervals (5X1,200) I did my first 2 in 4:26 and 4:24 and I was feeling ok, but I had too many things going on in my head at work etc and I had to stop 400 meters in my third one... I was not in pain or anything, just was not there with my brain... I hope it's just a day... today I went for a 6 miles with 4 miles race pace and it went ok, so probably I will be ok in a couple of weeks time (I'd really like to get that sub90' in the HM, it's not Mark's pace but it would be my goal achieved for the year