2013 Sub 1:30 Half Marathon (Read 1808 times)

Dreamn


    I don't want to count the chicks before they've hatched, but after my 1:24:55 at Saturday's 20k, I think I'm pretty solid for a sub-1:30 in a few weeks.  I averaged 6:50/mile and I'm pretty sure I could have held at least 6:45/mile, which is what I'm going to shoot for at the half.

     

    How have you become so fast so soon? Smile

     

    I lurk in this thread, although I have no business doing so.  I'm just trying to go sub-1:45, but there's no thread for us Smile


    Mmmmm...beer

       

      How have you become so fast so soon? Smile

       

      I lurk in this thread, although I have no business doing so.  I'm just trying to go sub-1:45, but there's no thread for us Smile

       

      Excellent question, I have no idea. lol I haven't even been running a year yet (April 4th will be a year).  Just having good newb gains I guess.  I was able to ramp up my frequency and mileage fairly quickly, I think that has helped.  I also recover pretty quickly, like right now, I'm just about fully recovered from my race on Sat.

      -Dave

      My running blog

      Goals | sub-18 5k | sub-3 marathon 2:56:46!!

      Gunnie26.2


      #dowork

        Dreamn - feel free to join us here. I am not going for a sub1;30 this year. More the merrier is what I say.

         

         

        How have you become so fast so soon? Smile

         

        I lurk in this thread, although I have no business doing so.  I'm just trying to go sub-1:45, but there's no thread for us Smile

         

        C-R - nice job on the 1;38. Still a solid time.

         

        Dtothe2nd - solid 20k. Looks like you're primed for a sub1:30.

        PR's - 5K - 20:15 (2013) | 10K - 45:14 (2011)  | 13.1 - 1:34:40 (2013)  | 26.2 - 3:40:40 (2014)

         

        Up Next:

        ???

        Gunnie26.2


        #dowork

          Good luck to Cecil57 and setatae this weekend on their HMs.

          PR's - 5K - 20:15 (2013) | 10K - 45:14 (2011)  | 13.1 - 1:34:40 (2013)  | 26.2 - 3:40:40 (2014)

           

          Up Next:

          ???


          Walk-Jogger

            Good luck to Cecil57 and setatae this weekend on their HMs.

             

            Thanks, Jedi, and good luck, setantae! After months of wintry weather here, it looks like the weather gods are smiling on us today and tomorrow, and we might get a window of near-perfect weather for my race here, low 50's and not too windy, and a bit of rain today to clear the air for tomorrow morning. Last weekend was snowing and nasty. Tomorrow I'll have no weather excuses, it appears.

            Retired &  Loving It

              Ran a 10-mile race last weekend in 1:07:46, and I left some meat on the bone.  I gotta find a HM race around here somewhere ...

              "I want you to pray as if everything depends on it, but I want you to prepare yourself as if everything depends on you."

              -- Dick LeBeau

                Good luck to Cecil57 and setatae this weekend on their HMs.

                 

                Thanks very much.  Think timezones will have Cecil57 up first, although mine is apparently a 9am start which I'm sure I would never have signed up for!

                Do what you want, just how you like. Nobody has to know.

                martinanso


                  Will now miss my planned end of March HM due to a holiday back to New Zealand (gee, priorities, priorities... Big grin).

                  My target HM will now be the Singapore Marathon in early December. Blessing in disguise, as I would've otherwise probably only be in sub 1:40 condition....

                  jedigunnie26.2 - can you please help update the list? Cheers


                  Walk-Jogger

                    1:26:09.  Goal was <1:27:00, so mission accomplished.  31st O/A, "1st A/G M55-59" *

                     

                    This was a flat, out and back course,  with a headwind all the way out today. It was not as warm as the forecast at 47F at the start, but better than some years. The course was 13.02 miles on my Garmin, so possibly a bit short, and I was very careful to run all the tangents as short as possible. Overall pace was 6:37.0 per mile, which would extrapolate out to 1:26:44 at a full 13.11 miles. There were 700 runners, and I think I finished 31st over-all, and *technically 2nd in my age group although I was awarded 1st A/G since the local guy who beat me was also first place Masters 40 and up over-all. Not bad for him at the age of 56. He ran 1:21 and change, which makes my time look rather trivial. 

                    Retired &  Loving It

                      Excellent result, and well done on the age group win.

                       

                      10 hours until mine, should probably attempt some sleeping.

                      Do what you want, just how you like. Nobody has to know.

                      rainmakerrc


                        Great racing, C-R and Cecil57!  Good luck, setantae!

                         

                         

                        I wrote a race report earlier this week for the half I ran on the 17th, but I neglected to post it here if anyone was interested in reading.

                         

                         

                        Locomotive Half Marathon, February 17, 2013

                         

                        About the Race/Training/Expectations:

                         

                        The Locomotive Half Marathon is a small, local half in Kennesaw, Georgia in Northwest Metro Atlanta. This was my second year running this race, though the organizers held it on a new course this year. This wasn't a goal half;  just a tune-up for the Publix Georgia Marathon on 3/17 (my second marathon). After a strong start to the current  marathon training cycle, I was looking forward to seeing how this tune-up race would turn out. For the 12 weeks prior to this race, I averaged just over 64 MPW, and I was hitting my workout targets consistently and with more confidence compared to my first cycle of Pfitz 18/70 back in the Fall. The week of the race had 65 miles scheduled, but I trimmed that down a bit to 60 and front and back-loaded the week to give me a slight taper for the  race with minimal compromise of mileage. Heading into this race, my PR for the half was a 1:30:59 I ran back in  October at the Allstate Atlanta 13.1 Marathon (which was a tune-up race for my first marathon at Chickamauga in  November). I felt I had a decent shot at sub-1:30 at this race based on a local 5K I ran on MLK Day just a few  weeks before (19:25, a new PR by 18 seconds). A sub-1:30 half is one of my goals for the year, so if I didn't hit  it at this race, I wasn't going to be too disappointed (BS). Hitting that goal, though, would be a big confidence boost en route to the marathon.

                         

                        Pre-Race:

                         

                        With a start time of 7:30, I was up just before 5:30 for my usual pre-race breakfast of a PB&J, a bottle of water, and coffee (which had to wait until Starbucks on the way to the race, since i didn't want to wake DW and the kids making coffee at home; unlike newer models, our K-Cup machine is freaking loud. Temps were in the 20's at the start, so I was dressed in layers I planned on discarding pre-race. I picked up my race packet, visited the portalets, and hung out in the comfort of my car for awhile before starting my warm up a little before 7:00 (a couple of easy miles with surges at GHMP and a couple of strides). I had a sip of water, ditched the warm-up pants (should've ditched the 1/4 zip pullover as well), and jumped back in the portalet line. While I waited, I set a slow pace alert of 6:50/mi on my Garmin to give me some indication of where I was pacewise during the race. The lines moved quickly, and I got over to the starting line with a few minutes to spare. With a small race, it was easy to line up at the front. After a low-key start (no gun or bell, just the guy saying, "go"), we were off.

                         

                        The Race:

                         

                        Here's the elevation profile of the race:

                         


                        (all mile split times were manual laps at the posted mile markers)

                         

                        Miles 1-6, 6:56, 6:59, 6:46, 7:02, 6:40, 6:39:

                         

                        At the start, I went out with a cluster of five or so runners in front. I didn't want to go out too fast, and an early climb helped to rein me in back towards my goal pace. I ended up a little behind pace the first couple of miles, though I actually didn't mind, and I figured that would give me a little more push for the later miles of the race (unlike the last half I ran in October, which had a slight fade at the end). I was passed by a couple of people during the first couple miles, but there would be some jockeying back and forth among those of us in 4th to 7th place over the next several miles. I passed a younger runner early in mile 3, and I was tailing the female leader heading into a long, steady climb near the airport in mile 4. I pulled even with her at the crest of the hill near the start of mile 5, but she built a significant gap on me on the ensuing downhill. I pushed the pace a bit to keep her from getting too far ahead, but it was too early to start making a move, especially with several climbs left in the race. With some flatter and downhill terrain, miles 5 and 6 ended up being my fastest of the race, and I started to slowly gain some ground on the female leader.


                        Miles 7-12, 6:53, 6:45, 7:03, 6:52, 6:58, 6:51:

                         

                        Mile 7 started at the bottom of the second hill of a set of rollers on an out and back stretch. I went for even effort on the climbs and gained some time back on the downhills as we made it back to the main road. A little more rolling terrain followed in mile 8, but I was getting closer to the female leader, and we were both gaining ground on the guy in front of her. I eventually caught them both at the start of a steeper climb late in mile 9. They were both breathing pretty heavily, but I was feeling great and kept my breathing very relaxed. I fancied it as a mental tactic, but they were probably too focused on their own efforts to notice what I was trying to do. Both the female leader and I pulled ahead of the guy (who was in 4th place, by my estimation) shortly thereafter. As we continued up the hill, she seemed to be fading a bit more, and at the crest of the hill at the start of mile 10, I pulled ahead of her. Mile 10 was one of the longer downhill stretches of the race, and I suspected that she would make a move to catch back up. But it wasn't long before the sound of her breathing faded off, and I ended up putting a big gap between us by the start of mile 11. The race leaders were well ahead of us, so I no longer had a rabbit in front of me (a somewhat unfamiliar position for me in the races I've run so far). Since the course was going to loop back around to some of the earlier climbs in the course, I knew I needed to continue pushing if I wanted to hold my position. Don't look back, just push ahead. During mile 11, I passed by one of the volunteers who confirmed that I was in 4th place. Early in mile 12, I passed by a runner all by himself. I briefly thought that it must have been someone at an earlier point in the half, since the course had now looped back around to what was originally mile 2, or perhaps someone running the 5K (which started half an hour later than the half and also shared this stretch of the course). Or did I really just move into 3rd place? No time to figure it out. I just continued pushing uphill, knowing that after 11.5 miles, the course would be downhill most of the rest of the way. Near the end of mile 12, a volunteer confirmed that I really was in 3rd place!


                        Mile 13 (6:43) and the Final .11 miles (0:38; 5:51/mi pace):

                         

                        I wasn't about to lose my first opportunity for an OA placing, so I found some extra push in the last mile. Mile 13 was one of those teases where you have to run past the turn where you know the finish line is for a short out and back. I saw one of the leaders coming back on this stretch, and I guessed he was probably a few minutes ahead of me. After the passing the turnaround, the next runner behind me was the female leader (and the second-place female). I still had a gap, but I still needed to push. The finish was slightly uphill, but I dug deep for a little more to kick to the finish at the mile 13 marker. When I saw the finish line clock still in the 1:29's, I knew that I'd have that sub-1:30 to go along with the OA placement.

                         

                         

                        The Finish, Post-Race, and Final Thoughts:

                         

                        I got my medal and a few kudos from the volunteers for finishing in 3rd place. After grabbing a couple of cups of water and a banana, I ran a short cooldown. There were some tasty looking post-race food, but I stuck with another banana and cup of water (I'd really love to slim down a bit more before the marathon). It was still pretty damn cold, so I hung out in the car while waiting for the awards presentation for the half, and I called DW to share the good news. I got a nice little trophy for my 3rd place finish at 1:29:51.

                         

                         

                        It was my first time placing in the OA standings in a race, as well as my first award for a half marathon (my two previous AG awards had been in 5K's). The female leader finished about 30 seconds behind me in 1:30:XX, and the 2nd place female was another 20 seconds or so behind her. The male masters winner was another 15 seconds behind her, so there was a cluster of us around the 1:30 mark. No time to spare.


                        My final results were as follows:

                         

                        Chip Time: 1:29:50 (PR)
                        Gun Time: 1:29:51
                        Overall: 3/340
                        Gender Place: 3/163
                        Division Place (M35-39): 1/30
                        Pace: 6:52/mi


                        I was happy with the effort for this race and was thrilled with the results. It turned out to be one of the better executed races I've had. I am anxious to see how the gains I've made this training cycle will translate for next month's marathon. I am feeling pretty good about my prospects! Not to lose sight of my immediate marathon goal, I am also looking forward to a goal half in the Fall and seeing what I can do with some HM specific training and focus.

                         

                        Thanks for reading.

                          Thanks rainmakerrc; great report and better result!

                           

                          I don't have an official result yet but my Garmin read 1:29:14 so I am claiming victory on this.


                          Official time of 1:29:14 in 112th place.

                           

                          Good race and I felt strong after the first three miles (I had been digging a hole in a floor and so squatting all day yesterday, so my calves and shins were not happy to begin with) which was a good thing because after the turnaround there was a fierce headwind and nobody to run with for about 3 miles.  Finished strongly too and feeling like there was more in the tank.


                          Really didn't expect to hit this target today so very pleased indeed.  Plan now is to attempt sub 1:28 at the White Horse Half in five week's since I now have nothing to lose and hopefully it will be not be quite so windy.

                          Do what you want, just how you like. Nobody has to know.

                            Congratulations to all three of you! Inspiring stuff!

                             

                            How big was your race setantae that a 1:29:14 was 112th? That would get you top 50 at a lot of races around here!


                            Walk-Jogger

                              Setantae, nice work on breaking through the <1:30 mark! Especially with a headwind part of the way. I was lucky to have someone in front of me all the way out at my race when we were running into the wind for the first half.

                               

                              Rainmaker, nice work on your <1:30 race too, and great race report!

                               

                              Who's up next?

                              Retired &  Loving It

                                Thanks both!

                                 

                                How big was your race setantae that a 1:29:14 was 112th? That would get you top 50 at a lot of races around here!

                                 

                                This race would have pulled in folk from across the whole south of the country. It was 2500 entrants, I believe; not sure how many started.   Friend of mine was 33rd in 1:21:something, the winner did 1:12:19.

                                Do what you want, just how you like. Nobody has to know.