Sub 1:30 Half Marathon 2021 Edition (Read 447 times)

Greetings, all and Happy New Thread Year!

First, thanks to Steve, our previous thread leader. Steve did a great job, but it's high time we have Freedom Unit-oriented leadership again, so I'll do my best to be a benevolent dictator leader in his stead.

Second, if you've just been lurking around the forum/ old thread, now is the time to join! Yes, "Sub 90" is in the thread title, but that's mostly a hold over from the Olden Days. We welcome all regardless of if 90 minutes for a half is easy pace or if it's an "A" goal-level aspiration, so don't let the thread title scare you away.

A few (largely copy/pasted) rules from previous years:

1. All welcome!! This thread is for anyone AIMING to run a sub-1:30 half marathon in 2021. It’s also for anyone racing other distances below marathon that are looking for a great community to be with. You might be a bit faster, you might be a bit slower, but if that's your goal, this is the thread for you. 
2. Start with an introduction... name, age, gender, location, running history and goals, favorite races, etc.
3. We strongly encourage everyone to post their weekly training, it can lead to some very helpful discussions and insights.
4. If you have an upcoming race, let me know and I will add it to the table below.  Note that we expect posters to post weekly mileage for 3 weeks before adding races (the regulars - you know who you are - are exempt), this is to encourage people to get involved in the discussion.
5. We also highly encourage you to get involved with other people. If you only dump your weeklies and ask questions about yourself, you won’t get as much support. This is like give a penny, take a penny. Nobody likes people who only take a penny.
6. Stick around - even if you're injured or your motivation is low. We all go through these spells and it’s good for people to know how you’re doing.  Others on the thread may have input on both mental and physical rehab from injuries.
7. Banter and bad jokes are required and encouraged if only to get piwi out of lurk mode.
8. Do not sandbag your goals. You will have been posting your training weeks so others on the thread will know if you're sandbagging!  Seriously though, this is about achieving your goals and discussion on setting appropriate goals is part of that.
9. Some people in the thread like to complain about weather conditions - not just for races, but for EVERY TRAINING RUN.  This isn't to be dismissed even if the runner in question lives in a mild climate, like New Zealand.
10. Taper madness is a real thing, but it should definitely be made fun of.  The more extreme the case, the bigger the mocking.  

There is also a Strava club.

Flavio has created an app to generate your weekly training in a nice table for those on Strava.

Miles/KM converter, because we have too many Kiwis in this thread.

Kiwi Point (Temperature + Dew Point in degrees F) pace adjustment chart:

100 or less:   no pace adjustment

101 to 110:   0% to 0.5% pace adjustment

111 to 120:   0.5% to 1.0% pace adjustment

121 to 130:   1.0% to 2.0% pace adjustment

131 to 140:   2.0% to 3.0% pace adjustment

141 to 150:   3.0% to 4.5% pace adjustment

151 to 160:   4.5% to 6.0% pace adjustment

161 to 170:   6.0% to 8.0% pace adjustment

171 to 180:   8.0% to 10.0% pace adjustment

Above 180:   hard running not recommended

Whining Index for the above:

Pace Adjustment x 3.5 x [If Kiwi = "yes", then 343,234; otherwise 1]

Here's hoping we all get to race more in 2021 than we did in 2020!

Memorable Quotes:

Running Problem - They make a fruit out of an endangered species? Man people are weird since COVID 19 started.

Steve to Flavio - Nice week and good tempo run.  Hope the niggles clear up.  Have you considered strength training?

JMac - ..."mate it was brutal out there, reached almost 20 today, felt like a kiwi roasting on the barbie"

Watson - "Even if it was short, we would still count it as a New Zealand record, right?"

DWave - "If you live in an area where there is no Chipotle, then it sucks to be you.  And it's entirely understandable why you'd run only downhill courses to compensate."

Zebano - "Hey now, we still have 3 days (and Watson has at least 1 more year)"

Just a quick intro/bio of your Friendly Neighborweb Thread Leader for anyone who doesn't know me or is otherwise curious:

Kyle here. The Once and Future Mileage King. 36 years old and from flyover country (Oklahoma) USA. Married (11 years in March) with 3 daughters (ages 3, 6, 9). I'm an adult-onset runner, starting in July 2015. I jumped in to running headfirst after doing a 5k with my wife's family and discovered I loved it and wondered just how fast I could end up getting at the distance.

Obviously not much of a racing year in 2020. I did get in a marathon (Cowtown in Ft. Worth,blew up in unseasonal heat) and a 50k (Landrun, 2 weeks post marathon, and at the very start of races really shutting down for the year). I planned on running a small marathon in November, but ran into a back/hip/leg issue that, while I'm confident wasn't caused by running, did severely impact my running - both mileage/workout wise and desire, and so skipped the marathon. Right now I'm building back and thinking of targeting a HM in March. I'm not sure I can be in PR shape by then, but I'm going to give it all I can. After that I'll just see where things (my fitness, the racing calendar...) are before making more plans/goals for the year. Oh, and I want to finally win that blasted HM in Texas that I've placed 2nd at 4 of the 5 years it has been run. Oh, and run MOAR miles. That goes without saying.

Mileage/training time history:
2015: 558 miles, 85:52:07 h:m:s (starting from July)
2016 1,912 miles, 252:01:07 h:m:s
2017: 2,242 miles, 298:12:13 h:m:s
2018: 2,931 miles, 388:49:29 h:m:s
2019: 3,172 miles, 429:32:07 h:m:s

2020: 3,353 miles, 463:06:50 h:m:s

Thanks Steve and hail Keen!

Mark, 39, from Auckland, New Zealand.  I have a wife and a 3-year old daughter who tolerate and even encourage my running obsession from time to time.  I started running in mid-2015 (never realised it was almost exactly the same time Keen started!) after rehabbing a very serious knee injury I copped play field hockey, and then things kinda escalated from there.

In 2019 I had an absolute banner year, where I hit most of my current PB's, and smashed my HM from 1:16 down to 1:10 (net downhill course) over the course of four extremely good races, one of which saw me take out the Masters grade at National Half Marathon Championships.  2020 was a lot tougher, as it was for most of us.  Started extremely well when I ran 32:34 in National 10,000m Champs, and then I was targeting a marathon.  It turns out that me finally attempting a second marathon caused Covid around the world, delayed/cancelled races all over the places and also caused me to be very overtrained by the time I was finally able to run a marathon in October.  I hit a good PB but spent the next 2 months feeling pretty broken.  Inspired by JMac, I took a week off (my longest break from running since breaking my big toe in early 2016) and now Running is Fun Again (yay!).

We are pretty lucky here in NZ that Covid has been contained at the border and races are currently going ahead as normal.  That could all change of course but at the moment I'm optimistic that most races should happen in 2021.  At the moment the goal race is Southern Lakes Half Marathon on May 1 (I've wanted to do this race for years and would've run it last year but for Covid), and then I'll likely target National Road 10k Champs in early September.

Mileage history:

2015: not much (didn't track it)

2016: 2,686km / 1,669 miles

2017: 3,612km / 2,244 miles

2018: 3,613km / 2,245 miles (not an accident)

2019: 4,146km / 2,576 miles

2020: 4,436km / 2,756

Goals for 2021:

1. Have fun

2. Don't get injured

3. Run at least one new race

4. Beat my 10k road PB

I'm Flavio, 40, originally from the south of Brazil, currently living in Bologna, Italy.

Wife, no kids.

I've started running about 10 years ago and I have probably tried every wrong choice there is. Up until 2019 I had never done workouts safe for a quick training block in 2016. I was always getting injured when I tried. It turns out I just needed strength training. Once I started that I could do workouts just fine. That's why I'm such a PITA in preaching that people stop being lazy Lucies and start doing proper strength training (not a couple rounds of planks and crunches). It turns out strength training is the answer to 90% of the questions.

The 1500 is my favorite distance, I hope to run one more in 2021, hopefully in a proper race, not running by myself like the last time.

I'm currently targeting a potential half marathon in early March, though it will most likely be a solo time trial.

I'm also planning intermediate time trials for the 5K (this Sunday) and for the 10k in a few weeks time.

I'll repeat my quote from last year:

"Here's to a year without injuries, with a lot of strength training, running and PRs all around."

Bit of a recap from last year:

- Moved to Italy in late Jan

- Ran a half marathon PR in mid February - 1:23:30

- Locked at home by government decree and public pressure from March 18th to May 4th, with zero runs during this period.

- Started back slowly

- Stole a Strava crown

- 5k PR 18:02 in early September in solo time trial (Lots of people said it's not a valid PR because it's not an official race, but they can go lick a nail till it becomes a pin for all I care)

- Almost 10K PR in mid October in the 2nd proper race of the year in Pisa, if only the course wasn't short.

- Stole a couple more Strava crowns.

- Quit a 5k time trial in early November because it wasn't going to be a PR (stupid, I know). Now I need to run another 5k time trial to the end to erase that memory.

Scott

Reno, Nevada (NOT pronounced ne-VAH-duh in case you were wondering. It pisses off locals)

39...no....Thirty SIX years old. One 3 year old son and another due in 2021.

PR'd the marathon (2:59:10) in 2019, got pumped about 2020 being a banner year because I FINALLY BQ'd (minues 5:50) after three serious attempts and learned a LOT about running over the years from this forum and the last. Lost ALL desire to run or even maintain fitness in 2020 for various reasons (mostly self inflicted) and went down a really dark hole of anger and self pity. I DID finally break 20 minutes in a 5K/3.12 mile flat loop time trial in 2020. I've not been able to do it since I started running because I was drawn to the marathon just because of the weekly training demands showing improvements and my goals being accomplished again, and again, and again.

Started running about 10 years ago I think and never wanted to run a marathon. It was cheap fitness. Did three tough mudders and moved on to road runs (5k-half marathon) and entered my first marathon because I figured "okay I'll do one to say I did it". It ended up being my second and my first was the cliche "went out too fast, hit the wall, training was garbage and I didn't respect the distance" race. I still hold on to those memories from being a 3:56 marathoner at heart and still consider anyone who is a sub 3 marathoner (or close to it) elite and 2:56 or faster makes you pratically an olympic record older in my biased opinion towards those faster than me.

I helped a former forumite for Western States pacing (29:26 thank you very little) and wrote a three part story about it (lightly edited, stream of consciousness is my style), met a few along the way at CIM 2016, and now get to wait until my ultimate goal (run the BOSTON MARATHON) actually happens. Looking forward to meeting whoever is going to be there.

I'm on strava. I title everything "that time ____" and it has been a fun experience doing it for however long I did it. I started out with one run, then carried it a week, and slowly realized there is always something I can find to make a title. Some are better than others.

Currently there are no races in my hometown and I'm not involved enough to find them online so without COVID 19 vaccines allowing mass gatherings (county said no to the Governor's allowed 250 person limit and race organizers have said they doubt they'd be issued a permit) I'll have to stick with 5k-10k training and see how it goes. Maybe I'll get to run my favorite local 5k on St. Patricks Day. At this point my ONLY expectation is to run Boston in September, and requalify for Boston at CIM 2021. If anyone wants to run CIM I'm a BIG fan boy of the race and might even be willing to put aside my son's birthday party to run it again.

fun facts:

I hate trail running and hills, and have completed two ultra marathons on mountainous single tracks.

I also own a 1989 Jeep Cherokee that will eventually be sitting on axles from a 1989 F350 and 40" tires.

I believe public lands should be open to the public regardless of your opinion/feelings of the activities others participate in.

I run with sunglasses because they are my security blanket. I'd probably run without a watch before I ran without my sunglasses.

Oh and because I'm married I order SWEET POTATO FRIES  with KETCHUP and share them.

Zeb if you want to drink less beer maybe check out this company.  Without knowing what kind of beer you like (In a previous life I ran marathons and brewed beer along with traded beer across state and country lines) I can tell you the stout, Pale Ale, and IPA are good enough to pass most people's perceptions of what a non-alcoholic beer would taste like. The IPA I poured even looked like a regular beer with foamy white lasting head and golden yellow color. Pretty sure they're using Cascade but not like Sierra Nevada Torpedo levels. It might cut that "post run" beer edge a lot. Down side is they can be out of stock, and they're about the same price as a normal 6 pack. MY wife enjoys the wines.

Posted my recap in the 2020 thread, but because I'm superstitious, I won't post my intro in this thread before it's actually 2021.  If I did, 2021 might never happen, you see.  It'd be like wearing the shirt you get at the race expo with your bib before you've finished the race.  So you can all thank me on January 1.