Sub 1:30 half marathon in 2017 (Read 323 times)

 

Her knowledge of musculo-skeletal systems is freakish (and extremely helpful).  She can figure out most problems and the ultimate root cause very quickly.  She also figures out things that could become problems and sorts them out too.

 

I'm kind of adopting the approach of 'trust the process', given my coach has run marathons and coached marathoners, and I definitely can't fault the results we've gotten to date on HM and 10k distances, so I'll probably be OK with running whatever she tells me to run.  I've averaged 80km/week since May (and never dipped below 65km) which is a big step up for me, so the consistency has been there in the training and at this point the work is basically done.  I think it will be things like weight, niggles, over-thinking the race, and what shoes I should wear on the day that will bother me.  Especially the shoes thing.

I think you should go with the shoe that gives you the most confidence. I ran a lot of marathons in Nike Lunaracers...which always resulted in some blisters...but I felt ‘fast’ in them and never notice any discomfort because of the adrenalin of the race!

Permit me to indulge my weird and twisted logic on the shoe front.

There are, essentially, four options:

1. Mizuno Wave Inspire 11 (Blue).  My fifth and final pair, that I sourced from somewhere obscure (they're now up to the 13) .  I really loved this shoe when I first got them and they helped me love running; this is my fifth pair.  Did OK on my 35km long run but feel a little heavy and clunky relative to the other options (they are definitely the bulkiest of the options).  But they definitely let in less water than the other options.  Coloured blue, which is a huge plus.  All my PRs have been in blue shoes (well, my blue Wave Hitogami's).  
2. Saucony Kinvara 8 (Black).  Performed brilliantly in the Devonport Half Marathon and felt like I was flying along.  Lightweight and comfortable but enough cushioning to go the distance.  Have worn them up to 25km and they have done a great job.  And they feel fast.  BUT THEY'RE NOT BLUE.
3. Saucony Kinvara 8 (Grey/Blue).  Theoretically the same as the black ones, right?!  NO!  THEY'RE BLUE!  Which should be good... buuuuuutttt... I had a shocker of a 28km run last Sunday and I was wearing them.  That was when I managed to lock my cuboid bone up, which was definitely fatigue at fault and not the shoes... but was it the shoes?!?!?!
4. Saucony Freedom ISO (Black) - a little heavier than the Kinvara's, a little more breathable, a little more bounceback.  Breathability comes at the cost of letting water in easily.  Not blue.  I actually have a blue pair of these as well but I won't have logged enough mileage in them to really consider them as an option   

To be honest I am leaning towards getting over my stupid thing about blue shoes, wearing the black Kinvara's (race-proven) and a blue sweatband (because blue).  If there is heavy rain in the forecast, though, the Inspire's will be the go as they let in a lot less water than the other options and seem to drain faster too.  Wet shoes are the anti-blue shoes.

Mark, I had the exact same thing in my right foot a few weeks back, but by the time I saw my podiatrist it was more or less gone. And while I think it was caused by running, it hurt more when walking than during running. But he showed me how that part of the foot will get more loaded when walking than running, especially when you have a midfoot strike. I and my podiatrist attributed my pain to probably using my shoes for too long (I stupidly logged more than 700 miles in the Clifton 3s I have now retired), so if you have shoes with lots of miles on them you might want to steer clear of them.

Otherwise in my world it's finally calmed down a bit with all the work travel, and I'm back on my training schedule again. I won't name names, but those of you who have been around for a while will know what it is. While the program is often hated and dismissed, it now again seems to work for me running 3 days a week, mixed with some bike riding and swimming here and there, and I easily had my best ever mile interval workout yesterday (4 reps, close to VO2max pace). It will be interesting to see what feedback I get at my tempo run tomorrow and my long run over the weekend.

What weight are these shoes Mark ?

Tapirs are pretty cool.

Mark - I think you said it yourself regarding the shoe colors . Anyway, sounds like the Kinvaras are your winners. I always make sure to use a new pair for my marathon that has about 50KM in it. Just enough to wear it in, but still effectively new.

Rune - definitely think it's the cross training that helps you. I'm not a cross trainer at all, but my wife runs way better when she spins and runs vs just runs.

Flavio - congrats on the raise! Weather sounds rough though.

As those on this thread know, I stress dew point over humidity, as humidity is a relatively useless number (90% humidity at 50 degrees is very pleasant and doesn't feel "humid" at all, whereas 90% humidity at 80 degrees feels like the tropics). Assuming 72 degree temperature, that puts your dew point at 68. This is a combined temp+DP of 140, which is very high for a race. I recently ran a 10 mile race in exactly those conditions, and I can tell you that you will not be able to hydrate enough to offset the impact.

Based on my calculators, which worked out almost perfectly for my race, I would start out 15 seconds per mile slower and go from there. This is assuming it's early enough in the morning that you won't be in the direct sunlight the entire race. You can probably pick it up to maybe 10 seconds per mile slower in the middle third of the race if you're feeling okay, and then go for broke during the last 5K.

Make sure you are incredibly well hydrated going in, you are going to come out of this race soaked.

Have my 15K tomorrow and too much free time today, so I'm obsessing.  The racetime temperature isn't expected to be too bad - low 70s/low 20s - but the humidity is supposed to be 88%, which seems high even for this area (south Georgia).  I don't remember the numbers from my previous races, but two years ago high humidity at a half had a big impact on me & everyone else.  Tomorrow's race is a lot hillier than that one was (including an 8% incline that looks steeper for a block or two), so even though it's shorter, I think it might be about as taxing.  I'm planning to go out a little easier than I would otherwise & see how I feel after a while, but is 88% high enough that I should consider major changes?

Mark - When is your Full? You mention taper madness so it must be on the horizon.

Jmac - Good luck tomorrow!

Me - 10 days out I wanted to the do the 6 mile tempo run at race pace.  I live in a city notorious for having no long flat areas (we boast the "region's most challenging marathon").  Seeing as how it is getting cold around these parts in just months time (when the snow falls) I will be doing more treadmill workouts than I'd like, I decided to do it on a treadmill.  What are your all thoughts on treadmill workouts?

I can tell you it took a while to get used to the feel of being on a treadmill (first workout run on one in probably 7 or 8 months).  And damn I sweat way more.  67 minutes total and it looked like someone dumped a bucket of water over me.  Anyway, I did 10k at target race pace (42:30) after a couple kms warm up.  It was difficult but (as I believe Watson so aptly put it) not "seeing Jesus hard." (lol).  I finished up with an easy km then cool down jog. So I am feeling optimistic about the possibility of sub90.  I think I will need optimal conditions to do so.  8 days out now and the long term forecast is saying sunny with a high of 19 celsius.  The race takes place at 8am so that means it'll likely be 5-10 at race time and maybe creep around to around 12-14 by the finish.  Seems optimal. I hope the forecast holds!

jmac - I was stalking you on Strava, some nasty hills in the first half of the race huh?

James - how did the 15k go?

Mark - LOL, the only animals here are flies and mosquitos. I’m reading that book Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind and in it the author talks about all the big animals that lives in the australian continent that were expressly decimated upon the arrival of our ancestors haha. Some awesome giant animals.

Blair - I’m with Piwi, doing laps on a 1km course is nicer than the TM. That said, our friend Brent who used to post here would do many of his workouts in the TM, but he would adjust the pace.

Piwi - LOL that has to be the most common meme on the RW boards. I can see you’re still around after a few months which is great news.

me - I ran 20Km today, not only the longest run since september last year but also I even stopped to buy water.