Sub 1:30 Half Marathon 2021 Edition (Read 448 times)

Jmac that sounds terrible. Meanwhile we have a cold front hitting us. I even had to wear thermals underneath yesterday 😩

That same race I did the 10k last year and even that was way off 9.8X kms. The half is over $90 kiwi earth credits too so not cheap.

JMac - Awful conditions.  When I was in Florida I scaled back my expectations with almost every run and in the end accepted even very easy paced runs would cause suffering.  Maybe if I hadn't just come from Christchurch winter I would have adapted better but I decided if I lived there I'd never train for a race.

I also would get really pissed off at the end of a race if it was obviously short.  Multiply that by 1000000 if I was close to a PR.

piwi - Yep, first real cold weather this year.  I'm glad it was a rest day yesterday - I usually don't mind that weather occasionally but with a slight hit to motivation it would have been a struggle dragging myself into 50-60km/h winds at about -5C (23F) with ice and snow stinging my face.

me - Thanks all for the support, it means a lot.

I got chased by a dog yet again on Monday - I entered the domain and saw a woman running with her dog (off leash) and when it saw me it took off in my direction and started nipping at my legs.  I was fine with its initial excitement but when it started going for me and not backing off I got really pissed off (possibly over the top) and yelled "FFS" at the lady.  She did yell sorry and was trying to get him to come back.  After he'd given up I had gone about 30 metres when he came for me again.  This time I turned and ran straight at him and told him to "f**k off".  He freaked and took off.  I do get sick of owners having no control of their dogs but he was probably just playing and I felt bad for possibly seeing red more than required.

My knee has calmed down a lot, although still some minor soreness.  The coach is waiting to hear how it feels today before constructing the workout for tonight, but I've told him I think it should be easy or moderate at most.  He will definitely listen because it's not often I say that.  I'm starting to feel the motivation build for the South Island Half-Marathon in 4.5 weeks.  It's a bonus that I get to use this fitness for a real crack at a half.  I don't have much speedwork behind me in recent months so I'm not sure how ready I'll be to go fast.  I expect to be able to hang in without fading, unless I go way too fast.  I was ready for a crack at a PR in this race last year but got a minor cold 2-3 days out and decided against racing.

JMac - "Domain" is an old school name for park which is used in countries which use the English language correctly 

We also use "reserve" which I guess is land reserved to be used as a park, or at least, not to be developed.

So basically domain = reserve = park.  No wonder non English speakers, and even some english speakers get confused.

Mark - The coach has come back with a shortish run tonight with a few short HMP repeats.  I'll pull up if I feel any unusual soreness though.

CK - Can you please update the front page with my "Postponed" result and South Island Half-Marathon August 1?  Goal is TBD, but if I recover and get some good speed done in the next 4 weeks it will be a PR goal race.  Also, please remove Melbourne Half.  I'm just not going to risk it while we're still so vulnerable to border closures.  My partners' parents are stuck in Perth for the foreseeable future.  They may get back in time for her (surprise) 40th party in 3.5 weeks if they're lucky.

I'm not decided on what to do about Wellington on October 10 or 17.  I also have the option to defer to next year, or downgrade to a half.  I guess I'll wait and see what the confirmed date is.  Wairarapa will not be happy with those dates because it will cost them a lot of runners.

 

I'm not decided on what to do about Wellington on October 10 or 17.  I also have the option to defer to next year, or downgrade to a half.  I guess I'll wait and see what the confirmed date is.  Wairarapa will not be happy with those dates because it will cost them a lot of runners.

I do feel for the smaller event organisers in situations like this.  There's been a few instances where lockdown-driven postponements of bigger events have created clashes with smaller events and the smaller event organisers have been forced to pull the pin.

 

 

DW - my friend gave me a p90x workout of legs to do once. No weights and I've never felt as hobbled as I did the day after that, and I've done a lot of weight-based work previously. You just have to do the right stuff at the right intensity.

 

But getting sore isn't the same as effective. Sometimes the two overlap, sometimes not.    In the US there is a chain of workout studios called Solidcore.  I tried them out, and basically it's a workout designed to make one as sore as possible - very minimal warm-up, and then all the exercises are eccentric.  So all the regular attendees rave about what a great workout it is, because they are so sore the next day.   But as far as I can tell, people don't get long term results (other than a sense of accomplishment from getting sore a few times a week).

I've also discovered that I can make myself very sore with kettlebell swings.  But incorporating them into my routine has never resulted in improvement in my running, which is my ultimate metric.

Steve - it's good to see you have things to look forward to after the post-poned marathon.

Badwater was required to change start times to an evening start (because of the heat) a few years ago. It’s also 135 miles and walking is normal even in a 50k with elevation changes. The women hiking are probably around 2700m on elevation. The other guy walking...is a pretty impressive runner from Mexico going up what looks like an 8% grade for 5 miles.  I’d walk that even at night on a cool evening.