Forums >Racing>Sub 1:30 Half Marathon in 2018
Hot Weather Complainer
Happy to be the thread weather complainer! Just did an interval session in the hot sun. Not to be recommended. I love the Christchurch Half because usually it means training through January - March which is tough but then it's all worth it when it cools off and everything feels easy.
Piwi, the 4x1km was with 200 metres rest - I've only just gotten back in to any intensity after my calf issues so I'll build up to the longer continuous efforts. 4x1km leads to me going a bit too fast too.
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 1:27:34
Selwyn Marathon June 2, 2024
Dunedin Half Marathon September 15, 2024
Enjoying the much cooler temps!
Weekly SummaryMonday, Oct 15, 2018 thru Sunday, Oct 21, 2018
PR's
1m 5:38 (2018)
5k 19:59 (2019)
HM 1:33:56 (2018)
FM 3:23:07 (2018)
JMac -nice week and that workout you posted on Strava today looked pretty good. Looks like that cold hasn't really set you back any which is great. I don't have to travel too much for work but when I do running is something I look forward to. There are nice routes to run around most of the places I travel in NZ for work, don't do much international travel for work but Sydney and Melbourne are both pretty good too. I hate taking my phone when I go running so it's helpful when I'm staying near a big park like Christchurch's Hagley Park or Melbourne's Botanic Gardens because then it's pretty easy to not get lost haha.
Piwi - Gold Coast HALF marathon just to be clear
Steve - 200m rest is tough for 1km intervals. I would normally do 400m. But then again JMac is hassling me about coasting my 400m intervals on Strava so maybe I just need to pick my game up haha.
Corey - nice week.
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"
Jmac: So here is what the coach said in my own words:
- do not repeat the same type of workout within 10-14 days as your legs will still be digesting the first impuls.
The way I understood this: dont do two 12x400 within 10 days (so the typical Tuesday is my interval day) because the second interval will feel terrible and you will get more out of it if you let the first training effect settle. I guess the same goes for tempos. I dont think it applies to long runs.
It was a coach from runners.connect but I cant find the post anymore...I will add it once I do!
HM: 1:47 (9/20) I FM: 3:53:11 (9/23)
2024 Goals: run a FM & HM + stay healthy!
hi all! I am just checking in for a quick post to say that I am going through a bit of a flu with some chest complication, so I decided not to run in the last 4-5 days. I am not sure when I will start again, but with the cold we are experiencing in the mornings, I do not want to risk it... October is going to be a very low mileage month... I have no plans or schedule. I need to do some desk work and start another training cycle at some point
sorry to hear the mar didn't go as planned Rune...
I will check the posts later, I noticed lots of movement lately
PRs since re-started in 2013:
5km: 19:43 (Belfast park run Sep-16) | 10km: 40:16 (Belfast Lagan side 10K Sep-18)
HM: 1:30:09 (Belfast city Half Marathon, September-18) | FM: 3:25:05 (official chip time Belfast city Marathon, May-19, marathon was 0.3/4 longer, original time 3:27:20 for 26.5/6...)
Upcoming races:
???
RIP Milkman
Steve - I guess it depends on the purpose. 1K for V02 max should be longer than 200 meter rest, 400 is right. 4x1K if it's just LT work should be less than 200 meters, probably more like just 1 minute of walking. So you're sort of in no man's land right now.
MJ - I sort of get what they're saying, but don't fully agree. I do agree that it takes 10-14 days to realize the stimulus of a workout, which is why you should never do anything major within 10 days of your peak race as it can only hurt you. However, part of training is running on tired legs that haven't fully recovered. I can't imagine any coach would say that you can't do LT type runs within 14 days of each other, especially for that marathon, as it's the most important work you can do besides just weekly mileage.
Marco - feel better, just went through a cold myself with chest issues and a few days off will set you right.
Piwi - Are you going to officially join us in sub 3???
5K: 16:37 (11/20) | 10K: 34:49 (10/19) | HM: 1:14:57 (5/22) | FM: 2:36:31 (12/19)
Cobra Commander Keen
Mick - How'd you get those shoes that cheaply?? The conversion rate couldn't be that bad for us in the US - at that price I'd have picked up a couple extra pairs to flip them on ebay!
Mark - Nice week.
Rune - Super-bummer about the cramps. Hopefully that gets worked out and you can capitalize on your current fitness soon - I'm certain your goal was well within your capability.
JMac - Great last week before the taper.
Marco - Get better!
PR weekly mileage week from me - at least for a usual 6 day on/1 day off training week. Short doubles during the work week (sadly mostly on the treadmill) certainly helped out with this. Felt REALLY good during my workout this morning (3T, 5x 2min I, 1T), which was an awesome way to kick off my last big week of training before starting to taper.
My HR is still staying oddly low for workout intensities. During the 3T portion, it never got into the range I would consider being appropriate for a marathon, and during the intervals only rose to low tempo/threshold rates. I'm guessing it's mostly the weather (~48F/8.8C) and carryover from all my work during the heat of summer. I just got a new chair at work, too! My first such upgrade in nearly 5.5 years.
5k: 17:58 11/22 │ 10k: 37:55 9/21 │ HM: 1:23:22 4/22 │ M: 2:56:05 12/22
Upcoming Races:
OKC Memorial 5k - April 27
Bun Run 5k - May 4
Jmac: yes I know JD advocates the running on tired legs effects. This is Nate, a coach from runnersconnect:
Ideally I like 12 to 14 days so you can fully absorb the last session.
Even on one week if you try a similar workout, you often do poorly because you are still tired in the specific systems that you need for that session from the last session; you haven’t absorbed enough of the training effect from the first session yet to overcome that fatigue and produce an improved workout.
Remember this:
A poorer workout doesn’t do much for your training and is very disheartening.
Keen: congrats on that week. Very impressive. Same question I asked jmac last week: do you think you are at the peak of your performance level ie the highest ever? Looks great. Just 8 more and you make it 100. And then Flavio will ask you how many you logged cycling
On the shoes: yes I hope they will last long. Because I felt terribly guilty. 100 bucks is a lot of money for me since I didnt really need them. But hey life can be short and 4% is 4%. I need it
Keen- wow thats some serious mileage and you handle it so well. OKC sucked again and are now 0-3 !
Mark even the Goldcoast half is a deep field. Pulford ran it last year in about 1.08 for 18th last year. He is off to live with the Robertsons in Kenya for a few months to see if he can up his game.
Jmac yes I will be joining sub 3 thread. December 6 will be 1st week of marathon training. I got my Pfitz book out and will go with 18/70 and customize to me as i go along.
Im entered in the Brighton Marathon april 2019
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 "
Jmac: yes I know JD advocates the running on tired legs effects. This is Nate, a coach from runnersconnect: Ideally I like 12 to 14 days so you can fully absorb the last session. Even on one week if you try a similar workout, you often do poorly because you are still tired in the specific systems that you need for that session from the last session; you haven’t absorbed enough of the training effect from the first session yet to overcome that fatigue and produce an improved workout. Remember this: A poorer workout doesn’t do much for your training and is very disheartening.
Lots of issues with this, although as I said I understand the sentiment:
- The entire basis for training is specifically running on tired legs. Otherwise, it would be called racing. Why do you think 3x1 mile at 5K pace is so difficult? It's because your legs are so tired from training
- Similar point: I don't need to be FULLY recovered to train well. Should you do a V02 max workout 3 days after you just did one? No. But I see no harm in doing one one week later
- If you took this full 14 days he's saying, then if I was training for a 10K over the standard 12 weeks, I could only do about 5-6 LT workouts and 5-6 VO2 max workouts? That's crazy, and way too little work to truly get prepped for the distance if you're trying to hit peak form.
- Different systems aren't neat little boxes where you ONLY stress that system while training. The end of a LT session sure as hell feels like VO2 max because you've actually broken through your lactate threshold point. The same is even true with long runs: you may actually go past aerobic and into LT territory at the end of a progression type run. Does that mean I can't do anything approaching LT pace because I've worked that system in a workout.
Mick - Thanks! I do think I'm currently in the best shape of my life right now, but I don't have the feeling that I've hit a plateau and all I'm doing is maintaining - I think I can still improve a bit before the race.
I will say this about running big mileage. I haven't done it enough to reap any direct, physical rewards yet, but what it does do is make maintaining higher mileage seem more attainable than before. Being ok with some weeks 85-92 miles/137-148km really makes sustaining 75 mpw/ 120 kmpw seem quite doable. Basically building confidence that I can holder higher mileage for a cycle than I thought possible, while later reaping the physical rewards that comes with that much running/time on my feet.
Look at it this way regarding the shoes: You're eventually going to use them. Buying them now means that you don't have to buy another pair of shoes down the road!
Piwi - Hooray for the hometown team! To be perfectly honest, though, since the team formed they have (overall) done better than I expected. Everyone around was so excited to have an NBA team when they first got here, but I figured they wouldn't be all that great and after a few years people would be pissed that they weren't in contention for a championship.
I'm not running anywhere near the mileage that Keen is from an average perspective over the past 6 months, but I can totally agree with this. My first couple of weeks at 70 resulted in me being a walking zombie every day, feel like someone had beaten my legs in with a baseball bet. I just did 68 this week and my legs feel like I didn't even run yesterday. It's amazing how your body adapts.
Re mileage - was chatting to Brad Luiten around this on the way to Christchurch a few weeks ago. He has a theory that mileage is a bit like a drug addiction - he is getting the same results on 120km/week that he used to get on 80km/week. Now, I don't agree with this and I think it's more likely that he's overtraining or has got the effort mix wrong, but it was a different perspective.
Piwi - you've really gone all in on this race! We were all just thinking you should enter a local HM or something and here you go doing a marathon on the other side of the world! Good stuff though and looking forward to seeing how the training goes.
Marco- hope you're feeling better soon.
Keen - awesome week.
Piwi nice week
Flavio nice week as well
JMac wow another very impressive week
Keen that's crazy high, there were some months last year I didn't get the many miles in...
Do you think it's safe to jump into 4+km of continuous tempo? I see what you mean about the 4x1km I did - not fast enough or enough recovery to be considered VO2 max intervals, too fast and not long enough to be HM tempo pace. My running coach from when I lived in Melbourne was a bit careful about me jumping into longer tempo runs (along with intervals) because of my injury history. He'd generally have me going from:
- 5 x 3 minutes with 2 minutes rest (rest pace for these is my "easy" pace, 5:00 - 5:15mins/km)
- 4 x 5 minutes with 2 minutes rest
- 3 x 10 minutes with 1 minute rest
- 2 x 15 minutes with 2 minutes rest
- 2 x 20 minutes with 2 minutes rest
This is what I did leading into my PB in 2016. That was the only time I completed that much tempo without getting a niggle and needing to flag 1 or more of these workouts. My legs currently feel fine, and (I think) The Stick is helping relieve tight spots in my calves. These were supposed to be at 4:12-4:15 pace - I've gone a little bit too fast in recent training cycles.