Forums >Racing>Sub 1:30 Half Marathon in 2018
Flavio - That's a great race by you, consider me very impressed. Between you and Piwi I'm getting pace envy here right now. Definitely a fade at the end but not too bad though. And nice work by your girlfriend too!
Marco - You're getting good advice from the other board members regarding your training and races.
PIwi - The drills are challenging but I think they will help over time. And the coffee reduction has made a huge overall change for me. Both my longest runs this week were completed with no need or urge to stop. I was actually wondering how I would be able to deal with the long midweek workouts in the 2Q program before this, but now it looks a lot better.
Watson - Nice week. I bet the speed will come back quickly with a couple more good weeks under your belt.
I decided to rest today. With the introduction of the reps workouts in my schedule as well as the upcoming travel I'm stepping down to 40 miles for a couple of weeks, and then going back up to 45, and hopefully I'll touch 50 before the real work starts.
5k: 20:32 (1/17) | HM: 1:34:37 (2/18) | FM: 3:31:37 (3/18)
Getting back into it
RIP Milkman
James - I agree with pretty much everything you've said. I generally just do 2 mile warm ups and cool downs because that's how long it takes me to get to the best part of the park to do intervals. But if it's a race, the shorter the race and the colder it is, the longer I warm up. For a 5k in below freezing weather, I might warm up for a good 3 miles. But for a half marathon in 65+, I may just do half a mile.
Piwi - You are KILLING it with consistency right now. Mark really has inspired you huh?
Rune - Those 200 meter repeats in his plan are actually pretty easy. They're just meant to get you used to running fast, but they're not really taxing workouts. Those come in Phase III where the old bastard destroys you (see below)
Flavio - Big congrats on the race, so much progress over the past 12 months or so. I was afraid we were going to have to boot you out of here! I am dreading seeing Jesus in my 5k next week, but I think he's going to be making a trip up north after visiting you this weekend.
Waston - Big increase in mileage, just keep it there around 45 mpw for a while and you will see some big gains, no need to push further.
Me - I am finally done with Phase III, and right in time because I am pretty burned out. My long run today actually went much better than last week, which I didn't think would happen after how hard my workouts were this week, but I think a recovery run and a day off really helped out. My times in my workouts indicate I'm probably in sub 18 shape, but it may not happen this upcoming weekend, which I'm completely okay with given I know I'm pretty run down. Wednesday's VO2 max was especially difficult and I really struggled to get it done. HOWEVER, I think about this board a lot and the though of coming back with cutting a workout short often pushes me through to getting it done.
I think I've put a lot of hard work and mileage in and probably need a good 2-3 weeks of easier stuff before I will see the pop in performance. But that's the point of running two 5k's in a short time frame for me as I know you can't put all your eggs in one basket at races this short. I will still be completing some big workouts in the next few weeks, but no more back to back Quality days and I'm going to limit my long runs to about 12 miles instead of the 15-16 I've been consistently doing. This upcoming week will be very easy going into the race though and down in mileage to try to regain some energy in time for Sunday.
Weekly SummaryMonday, Apr 30, 2018 thru Sunday, May 06, 2018
5K: 16:37 (11/20) | 10K: 34:49 (10/19) | HM: 1:14:57 (5/22) | FM: 2:36:31 (12/19)
Wednesday's VO2 max was especially difficult and I really struggled to get it done. HOWEVER, I think about this board a lot and the though of coming back with cutting a workout short often pushes me through to getting it done.
Confession: my coach actually had included 3x10 min @HMP in my LR yesterday. I didn't read properly, got excited about taking a new route I'd planned for the LR, and totally missed it. However, had I seen it, I probably still would've skipped it, body was fine to run the LR yesterday but I don't think including efforts would've been great due to a bit of tiredness.
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"
Mark - It's definitely a point: how do you handle being tired during a workout? I don't know that there is one right answer here on what to do. I tend to slow down the intervals instead of bailing on reps. You could also increase rest, but I think that ruins the point of the rest. Instead, I go by effort: that 7x3 minute workout was much slower in terms of pace than what I was putting in a couple of weeks ago because I knew that there was no way I could try to hit the same times I was hitting in those workouts. I have no issue with running workouts slower than I did previously because I know that the body isn't a metronome that operates on some set pace. It's one of the benefits of having run consistently for a few years now. It's probably most evident with tempo pace: I know what a tempo feels like. Some days it's one pace, other days it's plus or minus up to 15 seconds. Same is true with easy pace: my easy pace can vary by over a full minute per mile depending on how I feel.
Watson thats a solid week nice job. I see you did a nice 18km run today too.
Rune its mid afternoon here and im only at coffee no. 2 which is pretty good for me.
Jmac nice week and you are showing your experience knowing when you are pushing too much and when to hold back. Your VO2 intervals were really good at 3.32/km which is easy sub 18 and Im sure you will do well in your 5k somewhere near 18 mins. I slowed my last intervals from 3.35/km to 3.40/km and was much less killer but was actually my race pace and I think I will stay with the same feel on these in future.
I watched Rupp at the Prague marathon last night. He ran a nice 2.06 flat with a lovely power chuck as he crossed the finish line
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 "
Piwi - thanks. It was a Sunday run, just slow uploading it.
I agree on the drop pace when tired approach to intervals and tempo runs. Occasionally I have bailed early when I have faith off the pace cliff.
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
Intl. correspondent
Piwi/Watson - Garmin had it at 20.9, other people too, somehow Strava decided to round down.
It was certainly at least 200m short. It’s an open area by the lake, no tall buildings or trees.
MJ - Girlfriend is smart and is following advice from the nutritionist, quickly shedding weight and improving body composition. She ran a similar pace at a 5K a couple weeks ago so she was certainly sandbagging that one (even if unintentionally).
Mark - great idea to compile the quotes on the front page.
Jmac - in my experience in 5Ks I only start seeing Jesus after the turn around point or even at 2 miles. Quite comfortable if you ask me haha.
Nice decision to run 2 5Ks in sequence, these short races take a while to get right.
me - I might be running a couple more HMs this year.
I think I should focus on tempo workouts. I clearly lack endurance at this pace.
I might not increase weekly mileage as much, but insert some nice 5 and 6 mile tempos, maybe some cruise intervals per Hansons (10s per mile faster than HM pace), done like 6x1 mile, 3x2, 2x3.
I’ve been running mostly easy running so I’ll have to be conservative on my approach to fast stuff.
What do yall think?
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
Cobra Commander Keen
Piwi - Your old-man PR is far faster than my young-ish PR! Well done. Nice week overall, too.
James - Good week. My warm-ups are typically whatever the plan says (ha!). Before using the plan I'd usually do 1-2 miles easy, maybe some strides if I was doing something beyond 5k pace. Same 1-2 miles cool down. During my plan that didn't really change. I'm a few AG's below you, though.
Rune - Solid week as well. I've done that 2x8x200m workout before but had an E mile in between rather than just 800m. Enjoy Panama.
Marco - It certainly is a challenge balancing family+work+running, but it is doable.
Flavio - Awesome job! Sounds like the GF needs to go run a 5k and update that PR again. I think you have a good plan overall. Maybe add some M-pace stuff (8-10miles)? I know those efforts have helped me this past cycle.
JMac - Great workouts.
Me - Nothing really worth posting training wise. A whopping 30 miles post-race, all easy. I had Monday off, then Saturday/Sunday as well since DW and I went on a little weekend getaway and left my parents in charge of the kids. Good workout this morning, though (8 @M-effort). I do love using Stryd to help pace segments on hills. GAP was spot on to ~4sec/mi fast on pretty much each workout mile, even though actual pace was up to 15 seconds/mi slower than goal.I'm wanting to work in a bit of speed this week and early next and possibly target a new 5k PR weekend after next, and may be go for a flat HM June 3. The big issue with that race is that it could be hot and humid, so that'll determine if I do it and at what pace. This race also has odd age groups. 25-32, 33-39, etc. That would actually put me on the younger end of my AG instead of the older, which would certainly be nice.
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
Flavio - Strava always seems to round down to one decimal. If the distance is 12.89 miles, Strava will take that as 12.8. I therefore like to end my runs with my Garmin saying x.x0 or x.x1 miles to get as much credit as I can on Strava for the real distance run . When they add up weekly mileage I think the second decimal somehow goes into the equation though.
To close the loop on my marathon ion March, there finally is a certification available at USATF for the Oakland Marathon that admits that the course was long, and measured at 26.293 miles. Except the certification course forgot a short out and back that adds another .35 miles to the course or so. So it seems safe to say the course was about 26.65 miles. With my watch measuring 26.8 it now all pretty much adds up.
Flavio: gf is clever & disciplined - congratulations thats a great catch She has a great running career ahead of her with those attributes.
Rune: is your fm pb time in your signature based on the full distance or the normal gps based marathon distance. The difference is a couple of minutes... And I wonder how all the runners feel who wanted to qualify for Boston and got cheated...
Me: I hobbled around for some 25k this week and mostly a relay race that I wasnt brave enough to cancel in view of my stress reaction plagued left calf. i am an idiot. my leg hurt really bad afterwards especially since it was a constant up down up down....the hop test was clearly negative the day after the race. So now I will completely rest the leg until I don't feel anything anymore and then start crosstraining. I will see the doc again in 2 weeks time. This time it was too much easy running besides the heavy quality workouts. Last year I got injured because I was doing too much quality. I will have to take it easier on those old bones as I wanted to race in June but that won't happen. So with my goal half in mid September I have plenty of time to recover and get as close to the 90 minutes as possible in order to justify my presence here.
HM: 1:47 (9/20) I FM: 3:53:11 (9/23)
2024 Goals: run a FM & HM + stay healthy!
Mick, it's based on the full distance, so my official time. If I assume the course was .45 miles long, which the certification and missed segment now indicates, I passed the "actual" FM mark at 3:27:48. At least I didn't miss a BQ or anything like that on the error. I find it amazing that they have managed to screw this up several times now, with their certification still not matching the actual course.
Ok well that looks much better and so I guess this is the benchmark for Amsterdam then!
Rune - haha I do exactly the same thing with runs... always try and finish on x.x1 or x.x2 to avoid being robbed by Strava haha.
Speaking of Strava, some numpty on a bike has been taking down a pile of CRs near my place. I mean, I'm not 100% sure he's on a bike, but when he wipes 2 minutes off the CR and is going at sub-4 minute mile pace it's a reasonable bet haha.
Flavio - yep those tempos and intervals will be good for speed, also endurance wise I think routinely having a long run that is longer than HM distance will help a lot too. You could even incorporate a tempo block into the LR.
Keen - hot and humid is a lot less of an issue for a 5km than it is for a HM or even 10k race. It'll still slow you down a little bit, but not a lot.
MJ - hope that calf comes right soon.
Rune - so it is officially the Worlds Longest Marathon (and unofficially even longer than that haha). What a monumental screwup!
Hot Weather Complainer
Great work Piwi and Flavio on your races.
Saw Jesus riding a unicorn...sounds like my last race except I thought I WAS Jesus riding a unicorn.
My week:
Monday 70 mins easy (4:53 mins/km)
Tuesday Weights
Wednesday 70 mins easy (4:53 mins/km)
Thursday 60 mins stationary bike
Friday Weights
Saturday 100 mins easy (4:49 mins/km)
Sunday Weights
Will look at adding in some pace soon, starting with tempo then some intervals. I'm still 12 weeks away from the next race and feeling in pretty good shape. The easy runs are supposed to be 5 mins/km and I'm struggling to get them that slow. I know I need to as I start pushing out to 2 hours, but the pace I'm at lately feels very comfortable and I felt fresh after the Saturday run. Amazing what some nice cool weather can do! I'll also look to add in a Thursday 60 mins recovery run - Wednesday is usually a hard session.
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
I think I should focus on tempo workouts. I clearly lack endurance at this pace. I might not increase weekly mileage as much, but insert some nice 5 and 6 mile tempos, maybe some cruise intervals per Hansons (10s per mile faster than HM pace), done like 6x1 mile, 3x2, 2x3. I’ve been running mostly easy running so I’ll have to be conservative on my approach to fast stuff. What do yall think?
Work at tempo pace is generally the most effective running you can do from 10k up to the marathon.
Everything you said looks good except the 2x3. I don't think you really need to go that long for cruise intervals. I would only recommend 2x3 for people that can run their tempo pace around 5 minutes per mile. 6x1, 3x2, and straight 20 minute tempos should be your bread and butter, with an occasional 60 minute tempo at marathon pace thrown in.