Forums >Racing>Sub 1:30 Half Marathon in 2018
After catching Trent at 17 km I think Mark is aiming for 4th place! 18 seconds up to Robert Humby!
5k: 20:32 (1/17) | HM: 1:34:37 (2/18) | FM: 3:31:37 (3/18)
Getting back into it
Those 18 seconds are staying constant. Does Mark have a last kick to catch Humby?
Uh oh, what happened to Steve? A 7 min km at 16, hope he's not injured
Mark in 5th in 1:16:08! Holy crap that's fast, excellent race!
Steve seems to have gotten up and going again! 3 more kms to go and he's in!
Hey guys - thanks so much for the support, pretty much the race of my life, did 1:16:08. Full RR later, saw Steve at the start so hope he did ok.
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"
Loved that km by km tracking Mark, it was pretty cool to see you chase people down. Am I right you took home the series championship, it looks like it from the results I can see? Very impressive if that's the case!
Steve just finished in 1:38:37,but it looks like something happened during km 16. Can't wait for the race reports.
Mark wow so fast but I knew you had a 1.16 on a flat course. looks like 1.15 not far away ! Great job if you take the series too, very consistent.
Jaime that is a lot of runners !
Steve hope you are ok let us know how it went.
My week. Just did a 22km run with a couple of mates which felt real easy so I think my fitness is coming back.
Weekly SummaryMonday, Apr 02, 2018 thru Sunday, Apr 08, 2018
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 "
Hot Weather Complainer
Great work Mark, that's amazing. Those 2 at the front looked to be flying.
Feeling too sick for full RR but short version is started okay but knew I had issues at 8km. At 15km legs went wobbly, world started spinning so I sat down a bank. Actually lay down. Decided to pull out of the race. Eventually got up and started walking towards 17km which was also the start/finish then decided to see if I could jog. Managed to jog to the 17km and then though that was close enough to the finish to at least try. Had to stop again at 18km then jogged very slowly to the finish. Most of it is a haze, all I really remember is the stops. So actually this might be my full RR. Stopped my watch when I decided to pull out so no idea what my time is (have avoided looking above). My mates tell me there was a 7min km - I thought I stopped for 20 mins so it must have only been a few mins. Never blown up like that in my life, even in training. I was ready, and training suggested approx PB. Ankle was fine for whole race.
I bought an event t-shirt and when I started jogging again, not really believing I'd finish, I told myself I can't wear it if I don't finish. So I'll wear it with pride for making the finish line if nothing else. It was nice and cool for 5km but did heat up. I don't think that was a factor. Having said that, I am absolutely soaked which doesn't usually happen.
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
RIP Milkman
Mark - amazing race! Really motivating to all of us (me at the minimum). Looking forward to the RR
Steve - that sounds awful. Had an experience like that in my first half and I never want to feel it again. It’s super smart that you stopped. You could have pushed that and easy fallen and hurt yourself. I actually would like to hear more about how you felt the next few days, and also what you think may have caused it (pacing, food, etc.)
Me - Here’s my 10K race report:
I arrived not as early as usual, since this is a smaller race where I can just walk up to the start line 3 minutes before. I have a good 2 mile warmup, my quad feels great, and my calf soreness is much better than it has been the past few days after my 10x4 workout.
Once the horn goes off, I feel great. I keep looking at my watch and notice that I’m a 5:40 pace, which is way faster than I wanted. I do my best to dial it back for the remaining first mile and come in at 5:56. However, at this point, I feel so good and start thinking that maybe it will be one of those great days where I run way better than expected.
Once we make a turn after mile 1, I realize why I ran the first mile so fast: there was a tailwind the entire way. I knew that there was wind in the forecast around 15 mph, but it wasn’t breezy before the start so I thought maybe the forecast was wrong. Well, from the 1 mile marker until about the 5.5 mile point, it felt like the wind was in my face the entire time. It must have been swirling because that obviously is not possible, but still, I was battling it the entire way.
Second mile came in at 6:03. Right after this point, I knew I was done. I felt way too tired for where I was at in the race. My legs felt great, which is the opposite of what should be happening in a 10K. I realized that it’s the complete lack of threshold work to date since coming back from my injury that will do me in, along with only 3 runs greater than 90 minutes in 5 months.
I absolutely battle my way through the next 3 miles at 6:14, 6:18, and 6:14. I feel like garbage and really contemplated just walking or slowing down to a death shuffle. This race was also WAY more hilly than I expected. But, the thought of reporting back to this board with over 40 minutes in a 10K horrified me, so I just kept going. Seriously thought about the Gaga costume and the thought made me even sicker than I was at that point.
Surprisingly had something left in the tank at the end to pick up the pace, but overall, it was a very rough race. It was my first positive split race in over 2 years. I probably deserved it after going out too fast, but it just shows how difficult it was for me.
Final time was 38:22, almost exactly on the pace I said I would do of 6:10/3:50.
In the grand scheme of things, can I really be upset? Looking back at my logs, I’ve only done 280 miles YTD. At this point last year, I was at 555. If you go back to the marathon on November 5, I have averaged exactly 17 miles per week. How can I possibly expect to run something like a PR on that kind of mileage?
My biggest takeaway though: keep at it. Just keep hammering the miles, the workouts, and keep up the motivation to get back into the shape I was. I will say that Mark’s running lately is inspiring as well. So I’m taking both the good (Mark) and the bad (this 10K) to get me back into PR shape.
5K: 16:37 (11/20) | 10K: 34:49 (10/19) | HM: 1:14:57 (5/22) | FM: 2:36:31 (12/19)
Waterfront Half Marathon 2018 (inaugural)
I was definitely in super-hyped race mood for this one - I was buzzing from the moment I woke up (too early, at 3:30am, but hey, I’d slept well the rest of the week).
The race takes place on one of Auckland’s best stretches of road for running - Tamaki Drive along the coastline between the city and St. Heliers. I’ve run along here hundreds of times - it’s a great, long, flat, uninterrupted stretch of footpath - or in the case, road, because they’ve gotten road closures for the event. Weather is near perfect at the start at around 15 degrees, and only a light SW breeze - but I expect it’ll warm up fast once the sun comes out. I make a late call to wear sunglasses which was a good decision as the sun was reflecting off the water.
What’s on the line today? Well, a potential half marathon PB, and the Auckland Half Marathon Series title. It’s basically winner takes all between me, Chris Trent and Brad Luiten. I haven’t gone full tilt at all 5 races (Devonport was only 4 weeks out from the marathon last year, and Orewa was straight after I got back from holiday), but I’m feeling good at the right time. A light 1.3km jog will do for a warm up.
As expected a few very sharp racers have shown up for this one with Jono Jackson and Mark Boyce both likely to be at the pointy end of things as well as several others. But I’m just racing the clock today - I’m just gonna run my best race and the series placings will be what they are.
I see Steve at the start along with a few other guys I haven’t seen for a while like Julian Ng. After the anthem we’re basically straight off (hooray, no standing around waiting!), I’m keen to find some other guys to work with as it’s helped me in other recent races. The super-fast guys are already pushing the pace, with Jono Jackson and Mark Boyce cruising ahead, and then there’s a pack of three with Chris Trent and two others, followed closely by me and Brad and a couple other guys.
The first km is way too fast at 3:22 - Brad says something which I can’t quite hear and immediately slows down - unfortunately I guess the injuries are still giving him problems. The next couple are still pretty sharp at 3:31 and 3:31, but the HR is tracking fine and I’m feeling good so I’m not too worried. At this point it’s basically me and a green singlet guy trailing Chris’ group of 3. There is music and drums and bands at regular intervals along the course which is pretty cool, although some of the music does suck.
Coming along the Ngapipi Bridge (the only ‘hill’ on the entire course and towards Mechanics Bay), km 4 comes up at 3:42, so a little slower. At this point I made probably my most important call of the race. Chris’ group of 3 are probably only 15 seconds ahead, but I resist the temptation to push it and catch them up. I’m trusting my endurance to come through because I figure they’re going at something like my 10km pace and I don’t want to get sucked into that at this stage. Chris is clearly going for broke, who wouldn’t.
I try to grab a cup of water and totally drop it at the first turnaround at Mechanics Bay, there was a weird grass section that kind of distracted me. At this stage green singlet has pulled ahead of me but I’m firmly in the ‘run your own race’ zone. The pace and effort are definitely tough but manageable. Km 5 is 3:41.
Heading back towards Mission Bay, there’s a lot of runners coming in the other direction and I more or less just locked it in for the next 5km. I run this section of road so damn often that I wasn’t even looking at the landmarks, just focusing on getting through the work. Km’s 6-10 were 3:37, 3:42, 3:33, 3:40, and 3:32. I’m way into PB territory on these splits and so I’m just focusing on keeping the effort at a consistent level - it’ll be tight to hold it to the finish but I reckon I can do it. Green singlet has faded though, so I'm back to solo running. I'm OK with this but my fastest times have generally involved working with a group. I drop my first gel at around 8km. At the first turnaround, my family is there as well as some work colleagues and so I get a big cheer which is really neat. Then we’re back out towards Mechanics Bay again - this is a two lap course but the second lap is slightly different to the first. There are runners heading back in the other direction and it’s nice to get some support from some people I know, and I think quite a few that I don’t!
I timed Chris’ group of 3 at the turnaround and they have about 40 seconds on me, I think. It’s a lot and it feels like it’s been slowly getting bigger and just to complicate things another guy in a yellow YMCA singlet has just come past me too. I decide to keep an eye on it just in case I need to make a move sooner rather than later.
Chris has been hanging off the back of the group of 3 and coming up to Kelly Tarlton’s they drop him altogether. Coming past Okahu Bay I go past yellow singlet again and wonder who is the one with the variable pace out of us! And then coming up to the 14km turnaround I clock Chris at around 20 seconds ahead of me, so I’m definitely reeling him in. Km’s 11-14 were 3:44, 3:38, 3:38, 3:31 so maybe the competitive element helped! However this is where things could get interesting as the next 3km we are lapping slower runners. From what I’ve seen so far, they are spaced enough that it shouldn’t take too much extra effort.
Sure enough, it’s basically a case of either stay to the outsides, or pick a line and go for it. There is very minimal weaving required so it doesn’t really slow me down at all. In the end my watch actually measured the distance at 21.3km but I was measuring long well before this so I don’t think this impacted it. Head up, pick your line, execute. I watch Chris but more to see where the spaces are and where he’s running than anything else. The sun has come up now and it’s definitely warm, but still possible to stick to the shadows on the edge of the road to cool you down. I take my second gel and surprisingly my stomach is fine to just take the whole thing - sometimes I’ve had to phase that second one. And then there is a pipe band playing Chariots of Fire. I kid you not, this is way less ridiculous and way cooler than it sounds!
I’m definitely catching Chris and as we approach Mission Bay for the second-to-last time, I catch him pretty much bang on the 16km mark (kms 15 and 16 were against very steady at 3:41 and 3:35). I’ve run him down before and he’s normally quite nice about it but he says nothing today. I didn’t say anything either but what would you say when you pass someone at that point in a race with the series on the line? I mean, you could say the nicest thing in the world and it’s probably still gonna come across wrong! And I respect him too, he won the series last year and I couldn’t even get close to him.
I definitely got a surge of energy from that, and I needed it. At this point the course takes us out towards Kohimarama for the final turnaround. I have a few bad memories of races on this stretch of road from last October’s Marathon Death March, and it’s also the scenario where every step you take is a step then you then have to take again on the way back. So mostly I just focus on keeping strong, and getting to that turnaround without overdoing it. I also realise from the average pace on my watch that I’m deep into PB territory here as well. The course did drag at this point because even though I knew the turnaround was at 19km it felt like it took forever to get there (and I realised my watch was about 200m long at this point, too). Mentally I was just in the zone and not thinking about anything other than keeping the effort and cadence up. I’m working hard but I can hold this. Finally as we turn the corner towards St. Heliers I can see the arch. Thank god for that. Turnaround, 2km to go, keep strong. I’ve pulled out a decent lead on Chris of maybe 20 seconds and then I see Brad as well who is full of encouragement. I really appreciated that and it gave me a lot of respect for him, he’s had a tough time with injuries in the last few weeks and no one would wish that on another runner (well not unless they were a total ass).
I expected to be slowing a bit here but kms 17-19 held pretty well at 3:29, 3:37 and 3:40. Losing maybe a couple seconds a km, but not enough to be a worry. Just after the turnaround, the guy ahead of me in 4th looked around - maybe he felt he was fading. Now we’re on the home stretch and I’m excited to be only 2km’s from a PB and the series title. Km’s 19 and 20 were 3:40 and 3:37, crazy to think these were two of the slower km’s but turning the corner into Mission Bay I’m tired but excited. Just keep it going.
The final section coming towards the finish line involves a 90 degree right turn followed by a hard u-turn on grass. The potential for rolled ankles is high, especially on tired legs. I kinda threw caution to the wind a bit because I just got excited. I can hear cheers as I scream up the finish chute but no idea where they're coming from, I cross the line and… BAM! PB and the series title.
The winner (Jono Jackson) did a smoking 1:10 and Mark Boyce was not too far behind him either. In the end I was only a minute off third place, ended up 5th.
Overall I actually can't quite get my head around it. I've just knocked 36 seconds off a PB I only set 3 weeks ago (admittedly on a much tougher course). I've won a series that, honestly, I didn't think I'd win given last year's winner and Brad were both there. When I think back, I'm running far better now than I was even at Devonport back in September - I guess that's the endurance a marathon brings. I didn't actually think I was good enough to take this series out but I guess there is a lot to be said for being consistent and managing your effort across the series. Just feeling lucky to have some talent and the opportunity to make the most of it and also grateful for the support of all the guys on here. So cheers, everyone!!
Official time: 1:16:08, 5th place
Steve - tough day and hope you're feeling better now. It's never fun having those races where things just don't go as planned, hoping the next one turns out better.
Piwi - nice week and nice LR.
JMac - nice job, as you say you just don't have the consistency of volume yet and it'll take time. That is a really solid effort in the circumstances and on a hilly course. Get the consistent training down and the times will get there. And thanks, too - humbling to think I can inspire others (to be honest your NYC marathon effort was inspiring for quite a few of us too!).
Intl. correspondent
Mark - once again great job! You describing being over energetic on race day just made my day haha.
Charriots of fire from a pipe band sounds awesome!
How exactly do you pronounce Julian Ng’s last name? Is it like Ang?
Steve - Sorry to hear that, it looks like you bonked hard. Wait a few days before taking any conclusions.
Jmac - Awesome race report. I’m glad the Gaga challenge motivated you!
Piwi - that’s a bigger week!
PRs: 1500 4:54.1 2019 - 5K 17:53 2023 - 10K 37:55 2023 - HM 1:21:59 2021
Up next: some 800m race (or time trials) / Also place in the top 20% in a trail race
Tool to generate Strava weekly
Flavio thanks i will try and stay consistent at 70 kms for a while.
Jmac 38 min 10k is so good on that mileage. You will be in the 36s once you get volume up.
Steve thats a huge bummer. You must have been ill or dehydrated or something unless you went out crazy fast !
Mark really good race report once again. I think I mentioned earlier you would run 1.16 on a flat course and that the series outcome could be yours if injuries hit the top guys so I guess I was right . Now we expect you to run 2.42 at Auckland no pressure haha. Seriously great race enjoy the buzz.
Mark: fantastic! So glad to hear you ran your best race when it mattered most. And honestly my highest regards for Brad Luiten - what a great person to cheer you on! Thanks for the race report too.
Rune: almost as good as the race report! Thanks I actually fell asleep shortly before the race started. Bummer I really missed out!
Steve: Holy cow that sounded like a tough one...sorry to hear that. Good to know that it wasnt injury related though!
Piwi: nice LR & week!
HM: 1:47 (9/20) I FM: 3:53:11 (9/23)
2024 Goals: run a FM & HM + stay healthy!