Forums >Racing>Sub 1:30 Half Marathon in 2018
I used to run doubles twice per week as on Pfitz 18/70 10km morning and 6km afternoon at very slow to easy pace. I think it was beneficial. I was fitter than ever. I didnt foam roll and had a quick washover with flannel after the 2nd run ( TMI haha ) was an easy way to keep volume up and i highly recommend it as part of marathon training 60 mpw or more.
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 "
Rune - Good luck!
Enric - Our weather has been really odd. Mild and rainy (+3 celsius) in the morning one day last week and by afternoon is was -15 and a snowstorm. Needless to say it's been a mess since with the weather switching between incredibly cold then mild. Sloppy, slippy running.
Mark - Snow! ... it's not the best. It really takes a lot willpower to get in all your mileage in winter. Running in huge amounts of snow, ice, and/or slush gets tiresome. As does the TM. I have a strava buddy that had a run the other day title "And I didn't fall once."
Me - I haven't been keeping up with tempo runs so I expected it would be difficult to get back in the groove. Add in my experiment with keto and I'm just a bit off. I planned on 2x2mi at T-pace. After last week's 3x1mi kinda not going well, I slowed it down a bit (to 4:26/km from 4:15/km as suggested by the VDOT table). I ended doing 2mi, 2min jog rest, 1mi, 1min jog rest, 1min. It was tough but tempo runs usually are at the end. I capped it off with 4x200R. I am very happy with my workout run tonight.
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 Keen Piwi James!
For me it has some practical considerations: I live around 6 miles from work and can shower at work too. Doubles would be a good alternative for those days when I have some sort of lunch commitment / business meetings.
I will try to look into that study James.
On the TMI front: I don't do laundry every day anyways and mostly spray the jacket and tights with febreeze (its winter in Switzerland). I don't really care how bad I smell and prefer not to get killed by my bw for the excess laundry.
HM: 1:47 (9/20) I FM: 3:53:11 (9/23)
2024 Goals: run a FM & HM + stay healthy!
JamesD
Flavio - I don't do much to strengthen my knees. Some of the bodyweight exercises I do to break up & slow down my easy runs involve standing on one leg with a somewhat bent knee, which may provide a little benefit, and I occasionally do backward lunges. I've never wanted to do squats, because I've been afraid of injury. What's odd is that standing in one place, especially on a hard surface, seems to make it hurt for longer than running does. We had an event last Saturday that started with an hour-long reception on a stone floor and have another one tonight, so I'll be using ice for the next couple of days.
My week went pretty well. 37 miles is slightly more than I've done before, and my legs got a little tired the second half of the week. The thigh soreness I had before has disappeared, though. Knee has been giving me some trouble, but not too bad. Today's run was faster than the same run a week ago. I'll take that as a sign that I can keep my volume the same or increase it a little next week before probably cutting back the following week.
Sun - off
Mon - 9.3 moderate
Tues - 6.2 easy, stopping every 3/4 mile for exercises
Weds - 15 minutes swimming (I'm really out of swimming shape - was doing triple that distance in October)
Thurs - 9.3 moderate
Fri - 6.2 easy, stopping every 3/4 mile for exercises
Sat - 6.2 moderate, 8:13/mile pace
Total - 37.2 miles
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
Weather update: it’s 22C / 72F, 100% humidity, and there is also a 40km/h northeasterly. The upside, if there is any, is that it will probably rain, and the wind is not the dreaded SE for the beach section.
This is going to suck.
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: Waterfront HM, 7 Apr, 1:15:48
Up next: Runway5, 4 May
"CONSISTENCY IS KING"
Rune - Nice work! I just checked out the results from his race. 1:34:37. Goal accomplished it would seem! I look forward to the RR.
Mark - You're up next. Good luck!
Me - I technically am running a half next Sunday. I was by the local Running Room today who puts it on. They are busing us out to the start line at 7:45am. It's about a 10 minute drive. 8:30 start time. But we can't bring any bags or anything with us. This is going to be an issue if it's really cold. I will be wearing some old throwaways and cheap gloves/tuque to keep warm. Given it is a "Hypothermic Half Marathon," I am not exactly racing it. But my training plan next week calls for my long run to have a decent amount of M-pace miles. Even 6-7 M-pace with the remainer easy, I should break 1:40 which would place top 3 in last year's race (no AG - only 40 competitors in total last year). I am familiar with the road that we are running the first 15kms or so on. It's not an easy run, particularly in winter. There's a nice brunch afterwards so it should be fun.
James 37 miles I like it
Rune that race looks like the most perfectly executed that I have ever seen. Congrats !
Mark excellent time and placing on a stormy day.
My week pretty lame but fun. Got stung twice on tuesdays trail run. Once by a bee on the finger and second was a wasp I think on the knee in a dark bush section. Others got stung too and my knee is still itchy 5 days later.
Weekly SummaryMonday, Feb 05, 2018 thru Sunday, Feb 11, 2018
Managed 1:25:20, which was 4th overall, says a lot about the conditions when the top 2 guys barely broke 1:20 and they would both be more like 1:16 normally on that course. I was about 5 mins slower than last year and the course is slightly quicker now, although I didn't taper at all and had a pretty solid week of training (total km for the week was 75km including the race).
The heat and humidity stayed throughout, the rain unfortunately stopped about 2 minutes before the start and didn't start again until about 20 minutes after I finished so there was really nothing to take the edge off the humidity (apart from the wind, which helped on the beach, but not anywhere else). It was pretty brutally tough and I dialled it back in the second half because I was confident I could hold my place (which matters for the series standings) and there was no point going too hard.
Unfortunately made a slight wrong turn at one point due to slightly confusing markings, it probably only cost me 30 seconds though and didn't cost me any places so not really the end of the world. Should still be in second place overall in the series but with only 1 point over Chris Trent now since he beat me by 1 place in this race.
[double post]
Well done also to Rune for an extremely well paced race in the Bay Breeze Half!
Yes, Piwi, I'm very happy about how I paced this race early on and how it turned out in the end. 1:34:37 was my final time as Blair noted so goal accomplished!
And great race to Mark! Those conditions sound brutal.
Everything went smoothly before the race, waking up at 5:30 (despite watching Olympics until midnight), breakfast, coffee, bathroom, all that. We had beautiful weather, sunny and calm and cool at the start, although I could feel the sun warming well once it got up. And contrary to the info on the website of the race there was a pacer there for 1:35 when I showed up this morning! I told him I'd hang on him for a long time and thanked him for being there before the race even started. I still don't get people who line up all the way at the front of the race who clearly have no intentions whatsoever to run among the faster people, not even in the beginning. There were a couple of them here who lined up alongside the 1:35 pacer and they basically started out the race by walking.
According to my watch the pacer started a few seconds fast so I just made sure to stay behind him and see how things panned out. I kept and eye on my HR and it seemed a bit high in the beginning but then it didn't seem to move for the next few miles (showed 164 every time I looked to check) so I figured I was fine. Several times the first few miles I was thinking it almost felt too easy but I kept reminding myself what my goal was and that there was no reason to be impatient.
So overall there wasn't too much excitement until right after mile 5. The path where this race is held crosses over several little channels and right before we got to one of the small wooden bridges I kicked into the ground and tumbled. I caught myself with my hands, managed to not scrape my knees, and got right up again. At this time little group I ran with was all behind me and the narrow bridge prevented anybody from passing me. Somebody asked if I was ok, I mumbled a "yes, thanks" or something like that and kept going. My hands were in rough shape and hurting a bit but I figured I could take care of that after the race.
The pacer did a great job, but it was funny to run next to him. He was running with really short steps and had kind of a limp (like Lionel Sanders in Ironman Kona last year), and when we passed mile 6 he was huffing and puffing pretty bad so I was sure he was done. I decided to pass him and go my own way, and after I passe another guy I was basically alone after mile 7. I thought I was going faster but my splits show I was just putting in some extra work to keep the pace up. At mile 9 I started to notice it was getting more difficult to keep my pace up, and at mile 11 I was slowing down a hair. And then, with a mile left, the 1:35 pacer shows up with me again. I guess the rest of the group had slowed down enough and he decided to help me out, and I have no idea how he caught up with me again after the way he sounded a few miles earlier. Either way, I more or less held his back, had to work hard to do it at this time, and managed to squeeze out a small kick at the end.
Since the course was an out and back course I knew it would measure 0.1 miles or so long on my watch so even if my watch was showing 7:10 average pace I didn't feel 100% confident I would get under 1:35. I was very happy when I saw the timer on the last stretch of the race and realized I would make it.
So this makes this my 3rd well paced race on this course, but I attribute a lot of that to the pacers I've run with. Earlier years I've left them after 3 miles, this time around my pace was just about right for the entire race. I think that if I had tried to leave the pace group early in the race I probably would have blown up somewhere towards the end, so I'm happy about staying calm and not being impatient. It's also a good reminder to me what a HM is supposed to feel like at different stages of the race. During the race I felt like I could have gone faster for the first 7 miles but in the end this turned out to be pretty much exactly right pacing.
5k: 20:32 (1/17) | HM: 1:34:37 (2/18) | FM: 3:31:37 (3/18)
Getting back into it
Rune - good race. Is there a Strava link to see the pacing?
James - good week.
Piwi - good week.
Mark - sounds tough conditions. Good thing it didn't happen for an 'A' race.
My week was good, with me hitting my volume aim. I will add 4km / 2.5 miles next week. Tempo run was solid, as this was my longest tempo of the year. Intervals were pretty good too, except the second to last which was quite up hill and I took a wrong turn as I'm still getting used to my new location. My left knee was felt slightly Saturday and Sunday, but quite minor.
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
Thanks Watson, here’s a link: https://www.strava.com/activities/1401144373/overview
Congrats Rune. Was a bit puzzled when I saw Castro on the map and then realized it happened on the other side of the area I know quite well (Daly City & Sth SF).
Great day and topped by your fellow winning gold in skiathlon!!!
Rune - your pacing was really even. Only 10s between slowest and quickest km is very even. My most even paced half had a 15s variance.