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

Piwi - I assume the stopping reduces the cardio benefit some, but it certainly seems to help my legs recover.  I doubt I could run even my current low volume if I ran all the easy runs without stops.  That said, when I started base training in December, I seemed to do ok for three weeks doing these runs twice a week (Tues/Thurs) rather than 3x.  Pete Magill's Build Your Running Body book discusses running like this at any pace between jogging and 10K, though he does four sets of varied exercises per stop while I just do one.  The stops also are sort of like Jeff Galloway's run/walk method, though I think he would have me do walk breaks of 30-60 seconds rather than the minute or two of exercises I do.

KK & Brewing - Welcome.  You make me feel like less of a newbie, as I was one of the last to join before RW moved its message boards (where I saw KK start lots of discussions - this is good).  We have one pet, a small white half-Maltese, half-poodle that we adopted from a shelter.  We believe he was owned by an old lady, and we assume she never took him out, because the dog has no clue what cats or other dogs are, just ignores them completely.  Great apartment dog, though - he's quiet & friendly & doesn't shed.

Keen - Welcome back.

I'm just back from two weeks of vacation in Chile visiting my wife's family.  Only got in one run the week of Dec 24-30, an easy 4.7 miles that brought my total for the year over 1330 miles, a little over 25 mpw.  I I had expected the time off & had only taken a few days off after my November half.  Seeing a glacier, bathing in thermal streams, etc., was worth a low week of running.  This week was better until we got back home.

Sun - off

Mon - 5.7 miles easy to moderate, part of it in dune-y sand at a campground/vacant lot near the beach.

Tues - 5.3 moderate in Santiago in ~90/32-degree heat

Weds - 5.6 easy in similar Santiago heat

Thurs - travel day

Fri - 7.2 easy in what for here is cold weather, low 40s/5-7'.  Felt strong and not particularly cold until the last mile.  (Famous last words...)

Saturday - planned to go easy in the afternoon, but my cough turned into what feels like bronchitis, and I'm in bed.  I've gotten sick sometimes after other long trips in recent years, and I assume lack of sleep on the overnight flight back and the change from 90/32 in Santiago to 18/-7 when we landed in Atlanta and went outside to get a van home didn't help this time.

Total - 23.8 miles

The highlight of next week probably won't be running.  I'm picking up my son after school Monday & driving him to Atlanta for the college football national championship game.  It's probably a once-in-a-lifetime experience (good thing, given secondary market ticket prices), as his favorite team hasn't been this good since around 1982 and the championship game just happens to be in Atlanta for the first time in 20 years of similar games.  Since my wife doesn't like football and he's too young to drive himself, I'll take him regardless of how I feel.  So my job now is to get healthier.  Root for me (and Georgia).

Flavio thats your last injury for 2018 right ? 

Mark good news on your ITBS. It may have been the marathon and subsequent training loads but who knows !

James have you tried running recovery pace in place of those broken runs ? Really slow jog like 9-10 min/mile. I do them when needed and they are an important part of linking a week together. Some runners find them too slow but for older runners they help alot with injury prevention while still giving a fitness benefit. I usually do 4-5 miles for recovery, case in point this morning 5 miles at 6 min/km.

Sore legs today so a slow beach jog for me.

James - welcome back.

Mark - nice week.

Piwi - nice week and training half.

Flavio - fingers crossed for a lack of injuries in 2018.

Got my intended volume in.  Tuesday was hot, and was my first non-easy pace since October, so that was hard, and was only 5 * 400 metres, pace dropped a little on each set.  Thursday was also warm and humid, tempo of just 3km, which went pretty well, I sped up each tempo km.  And Sunday, was a "long" run, longest since October marathon.

This week will be a bit more volume.

Piwi - my osteo's working theory is that it's just a case of everything inexplicably turning to crap 6-8 weeks after a marathon... she has seen it before with marathon runners and Ironmen (including an age grade world champ) even with good recovery protocols.  I think the Omaha HM was pushing it, but hell I like racing frequently and I've got a podium spot to defend in that series!

Watson - nice week, good to see you on the comeback trail and hope the knee and hip are feeling OK.

Flavio - I am switching up my leg workouts to include some more functional stuff as well.

Keen - loving those TM run descriptions!

Flavio sorry how do you mean about the littering ? You lost me there but Im old haha.

Mark we might be coming up thu/fri. If so I will do one run along Tamaki Drive out to Kelly Tarltons way. Would be early before 7am.

Keen ha yes very inventive on your Strava titles. I use default Morning Run...

Watson 30 mpw is a nice number. Enjoyed watching the cricket on tv at the Basin. Was windy of course. Bails were getting blown off. We have a good international venue for cricket now at Mt Maunganui.

James I have heard others say they cant run recovery pace as their form deteriorates etc. Ive never had a problem with it and my cadence does not drop much. Its about 176 at recovery as opposed to 180 at easy.

My legs were still sore today so ran slow down the beach at a dizzying 5.30/km hehe. Sundays run was very easy on my breathing, no where near tempo lactic pace  , but still trashed my legs which is likely due to no long runs over the last few months.

James - welcome back from Chile. And headed to a college football national championship.  Living the life my man; that's awesome!

Rune - the Daniel's workouts sound tough.  I will be with you in the near future.

Jaime - I too am still confined to the treadmill.  Major snowfall a few days ago followed by another deep freeze.  Snow and ice everywhere. And -30 windchill.  It's brutal.

Me - I took a few days off as it seems I am developing Plantar Fasciitus again.  Only in both feet this time.  All the symptoms: the pain in the arches and around the ouside of my foot.  Really bad when I get out of bed in the morning.  I tried a golf ball massage the other days and it Killllled.  I have been crosstraining doing MMA class 3 times a week.  I took an incidental knee to the rib while grappling and I'm pretty sure it's bruised.  It was feeling a little better after two days full rest and I went back to class.  Of course (of course of course) it was a bad idea.  But I go stir crazy without running and this class.  The pain level is back up so I'm going to take a complete rest day and do only bag work at MMA and start jogging slowly in the next few days.  I'd like to get in a 14 week plan (abbreviated from Daniels' 16 week plan) for my HM in May.

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