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

CommanderKeen


Cobra Commander Keen

    Zebano - Assuming good conditions, I do think I should be in sub 3 shape right about now. I must say it's nice to be starting a marathon block and most likely being in better condition than I have ever been.


    I actually saw the promo on Strava because RP signed up for it! I had never used SiS gels before, but had used their beta fuel drink mix - which I do like better than Maurten as well. Outside of perhaps running an ultra (since I don't bike) I don't see myself using the drink mix.
    In the challenge sign-up they'll give you a 50% off code for a bundle with 12 beta fuel gels and some drink mix right away - if you finish the challenge (which is probably the most aggressive one I've seen Strava post) you can get a code for an extra 15% off the top of that, too.


    CFarr - I'm also curious as to where you're moving.

     

     

    I chatted with my coach some yesterday regarding upcoming races and found out (early!) that one of mine is going to be cancelled today. No matter the reasoning it's a bummer to lose what's likely the fastest 5k in the state. Back to surfing the runsignup and localraces websites...

    5k: 17:58 11/22 │ 10k: 37:55 9/21 │ HM: 1:23:22 4/22 │ M: 2:56:05 12/22

     

    Upcoming Races:

     

     

    JamesD


    JamesD

       

      James Nice week.  We bought a small condo in the downtown area of Spartanburg last year.  We have been working with a GC on a complete remodel.  It's been slow but he is starting to wrap things up.  hopefully we will have our house on the market this week or next.

      As fast as houses have been selling in this market we are trying not to end up without a place to live until we are at a point where we can move in.  (Hopefully beginning of Sept.)   My Son Loved Clemson too Where is your son staying?

       

      He was in Lever during the summer term and is going to be in Gressette for the full year.  After we drop him off this week (hopefully Thursday if his covid test comes back in time - that's another story), we'll see him in September for family weekend and probably in October if I do the Aiken half.

      Post-1987 PRs:  Half 1:30:14 (2019); 10K 39:35 (2019); 5K 19:12 (2017); Mile 5:37.3 (2020)

      '24 Goals: consistency, age-graded PRs, half < 1:32

      JamesD


      JamesD

         

        ...we'll see him in September for family weekend and probably in October if I do the Aiken half.

         

        Or maybe not - the Aiken race was cancelled again because of COVID concerns.  At least they're optimistic: they've postponed the race from April 2020 to October 2020 to April 2021 to October 2021 and now to April 2022 (when it'll probably be too warm).  Time to start looking for other races.

        Post-1987 PRs:  Half 1:30:14 (2019); 10K 39:35 (2019); 5K 19:12 (2017); Mile 5:37.3 (2020)

        '24 Goals: consistency, age-graded PRs, half < 1:32

          My run yesterday went rather well, my overall pace were pretty quick for a slow run, I had no issues with my hamstring at the paceI was running.   I could tell  however if I changed gears that it would have been an issue, gotta keep working on it.  Hopefully by the Sunday I can get in another WO.

           

          James My son was in Johnston (I believe it is gone now) his first year as a freshman, he moved off campus to "The Reserve" @ Clemson Apartment complex for his remaining years.

           

          Keen We are moving about 15 minutes from our current house in Boiling Springs closer to Downtown Spartanburg, SC.  My wife and I decided it was time to downsize so we bought a small condo right in downtown.

          The start of most of my runs over the last 5 years are within a 1/2 mile of our new place. This will eliminate me having to drive to go run, I can just step out of my front door.  Should also make for easy walks to go out to eat as well or hang out at the local Brewhaus we like.  Since we will be close to the trails I hope to get my wife out for some leisurely bike rides and walks as well.

          PR's

          1m  5:38 (2018)

          5k    19:59 (2019)

          HM  1:33:56 (2018)

          FM  3:23:07 (2018)

          Running Problem


          Problem Child

            James bummer on the race. I had a friend training for CIM last year and the weekend he was deciding between taking a week off vs training through his race was canceled/postponed. I'm interested to see how he does this year following the same plan. Ideally the race won't get canceled because I'm doing the same one, but COVID concerns, and an upcoming Governor recall could change those over the next 3 months.

             

            SiS promo I saw it from someone else. Actually, the guy I trained for Revel Mt Charleston with used their gels and I was hoping he would see it. He hasn't been on strava much anymore. I think he unfortunately was the "one and done" runner. I'm glad he reached his goal of getting a pint glass from the local March race.

            Many of us aren't sure what the hell point you are trying to make and no matter how we guess, it always seems to be something else. Which usually means a person is doing it on purpose.

            VDOT 53.37 

            5k18:xx | Marathon 2:55:22

            Marky_Mark_17


              Sorry, was a bit slow on the forums while on holiday, so just catching up on a few things.  Apologies if I've missed anyone, good to see a lot of chat on here!

               

              SIS gels - I rate them a lot and used them exclusively before I discovered Maurten.  They are a bit bulky but not having to take them with water is a huge plus.  I still use them on my LR's and just save the Maurten ones for races, since they're pretty expensive.  I haven't tried the beta fuel gels though.

               

              Gels in a half- JMac is of the view that a sub-1:30 half runner doesn't need gels.  I'm of the view that a hard race effort over an hour is the point where you need to put some fuel back in and hence I do use gels in halves.   It's a pretty individual thing I guess and everyone has to figure out what works best for them.

               

              Darkwave - this was a relatively small race even by NZ standards, I think around 400-500 in the half and 250 in the 10km.  Having said that, it was well-run and better organised and marshalled than some larger races, so kudos to the race director on that front.  All the profits actually get reinvested in trail development in this area, which is quite cool too.  They also had prize money which is increasingly less common in races here except for the very big ones - personally my opinion on that is that if a race that is community run and is reinvesting profits in stuff that benefits runners (trails), I don't see why larger races that are trying to turn a profit for the owner can't pay a bit of prize money too.

               

              Hoping that new medication works out for you.

               

              Steve / JMac - for half training, my long runs are generally pretty cruisy, occasionally with some tempo work but normally not (I run them on Sunday and typically have a hard track session on Saturday).  Having said that, almost all my LR's end up with a beastly 2km hill climb home so I'm always having to dig deep with 25-26km in the legs already.  I'd be more inclined to put tempo stuff in my LR's if I wasn't generally already doing 2-3 workouts a week.  By the time I hit that Sunday run, my legs are happy to cruise but not a lot more.

               

              Steve - I would also add that HMP is tough for me personally.  During training I tend to run my HMP session at HM effort rather than pace, if that makes sense.  By the time I hit the race, the combination of taper, race day adrenaline, new-ish VF's (I have some old slightly dead pairs I use for workouts), is good for 5-10 secs/km for me.

               

               

              Corey - sounds like a nice spot.  Don't get a lot of trails in Auckland and I really enjoyed running them while on holiday - they're a great change from running on the road and nice to get out in nature.

               

              James - bummer on the race.  I've got 4 (!) races in the next 2 months and I'm crossing my fingers we are OK here.

              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: Maraetai HM, 10 Mar, DNF

              Up next: Waterfront HM, 7 Apr

              "CONSISTENCY IS KING"

              SteveChCh


              Hot Weather Complainer

                Mark - Welcome back.  Looks like you had a great trip.

                 

                On using gels in a half, I probably wouldn't try it if I hadn't had 5 fades/crashes in a row in races so it's clearly time to change something.  Of course, if I have a good race it will be easy to say it's just because of the gels when it may be down to my marathon training base, better pacing or a number of reasons - I'm not willing to do a multi-variate analysis over lots of races though!  My coach wants me to try them though so I'll go with his plan, which is to take one at 30 minutes then one at 60 minutes.

                 

                My coach looked back over my weekend runs and noted due to cricket and other factors, I hadn't done many long run workouts so agreed the workout he gave me was too big.  He wants to try something similar in a couple of weeks but if he makes it as big as that again, I will ask to reduce the 4:30/km block.  I think 4km @ 4:30, 4km @ 4:15 (HMP), 2km @ 4:05 is a good half workout.  I'm only doing workouts twice a week, one built into my long run so it makes sense that I should be able to cope with a decent workout on the weekend.

                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

                Selwyn Marathon June 2, 2024

                Dunedin Half Marathon September 15, 2024

                CommanderKeen


                Cobra Commander Keen

                  Mark - How was the holiday?
                  The SiS gels are quite a bit bigger than others, but I have found some shorts that have larger pockets or even elastic loops meant for them.
                  The beta fuel is basically their version of maurten vs a more classic gel, so checking them out may be of value to you.


                  Gels in a half - I don't think there's a physiological need for the extra fuel, but from the viewpoint of the "central governor" theory it helps just as a reminder that the body won't run out of resources (glycogen/glucose in this case). Plus, there's benefit to fueling like you plan to race a full.


                  Steve - Looking forward to seeing how you do in the race, and how those gels treat you.

                  5k: 17:58 11/22 │ 10k: 37:55 9/21 │ HM: 1:23:22 4/22 │ M: 2:56:05 12/22

                   

                  Upcoming Races:

                   

                   

                  Marky_Mark_17


                    Steve - I used to positive split halves and that stopped around the time I got my nutrition sorted.  Part of that was electrolytes, part was gels.  Whether that's real, or placebo, I don't really care!

                     

                    Keen / Steve - unfortunately I ended up having to do a bunch of work while on holiday, which was not ideal.  Still, better to be doing it in Wanaka, which is probably my favourite place in the world.  And it was nice to run down there, some brilliant mornings for it and got to enjoy some trails too.  Plus visited Te Anau / Fiordland which is one of only a handful of places in NZ I haven't been to, and even better got to do a race there, so it wasn't all bad.  We didn't get great weather for snowboarding but still a few good days up at Cardrona (and one horribly windy day at Treble Cone).

                     

                    Keen - bummer on the race cancellation (sorry I didn't pick that up earlier!).

                     

                    Me - having a bit of a phase wondering what's next on the running front.  I've tended to plan 12 months out (even with Covid, I had contingencies), and I've got a decent line-up of races through to the Nelson Half in November (if they all go ahead as planned).  But beyond that... I'm not totally sure.  2019 was about smashing my half marathon time.  2020 was about finally getting the marathon monkey off my back.  2021 so far has been about trying a bunch of fun and different races in different places, and particularly the Southern Lakes bucket list race - plus hopefully national 10k champs and national HM champs.

                     

                    But 2022... I don't know.  Might become clearer once the National Champs are announced in Jan/Feb.  Just not seeing a heap to get excited about, other than potentially the Clyde to Alexandra 10km road race in August which is a bucket list event (it starts on a hydro dam!).

                     

                    And before anyone says "do another marathon", no, I'm not doing another marathon.

                    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: Maraetai HM, 10 Mar, DNF

                    Up next: Waterfront HM, 7 Apr

                    "CONSISTENCY IS KING"

                    SteveChCh


                    Hot Weather Complainer

                      Mark - Hope you get any leave back if you had to work on holiday.

                       

                      Before I read your note I was going to say marathon...I hear the course in Wellington is nice .

                       

                      I guess there's not much point doing Christchurch since there's a similar type of race in your home town run on the same day.

                       

                      Are you looking for a brand new challenge or just a new race?  You could always work on your 5km, given what you've done over that distance while focusing more on the half suggests you could really smash it.  As for different races, in theory by 2022 there will be a lot more race options (but it wouldn't surprise me if we're still cut off).  You could test yourself in an Asian race with humidity and heat that would possibly come close to matching Auckland.

                       

                      Do you have an electrolyte drink pre-race for the half or get it handed to you by a support crew?

                      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

                      Selwyn Marathon June 2, 2024

                      Dunedin Half Marathon September 15, 2024

                      Marky_Mark_17


                        Steve - tbh I would take CHC over Waterfront HM.  Better elite field, better chance of good weather, and doesn't have the risk of having to battle congestion on the course once you hit that second lap.

                         

                        I like the idea of focusing on the 5km but there's so few properly measured 5k races around NZ with decent fields that it's probably in the too hard basket.  TBH I'm not sure whether I want a new challenge or a new race, I think that's the question I need to answer.  But equally, I don't need to figure that out for a few months yet.

                         

                        With electrolytes, I just drink them before the race - the same Endura Rehydration product I use during summer training that I think I put you on to.

                        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: Maraetai HM, 10 Mar, DNF

                        Up next: Waterfront HM, 7 Apr

                        "CONSISTENCY IS KING"

                           

                           Corey - sounds like a nice spot.  Don't get a lot of trails in Auckland and I really enjoyed running them while on holiday - they're a great change from running on the road and nice to get out in nature.

                           

                           Mark I should clarify the "trails" I run on, are "Urban trails" the main one is a Rail trail on an old rail bed.   There are a few other paved trails spread out on different sides of the city some run along the creek and they are a bit more in Nature but they are still city trails getting you from one side to the other.

                          Hopefully one day they will have them all interconnected, that is the "Master Plan" anyway, some progress is being made. but they have a lot of work yet to do to, so you have to hit the City Streets to get to the next trail.

                           

                          I did another easy run yesterday and while everything was fine, my hamstring is still no better off...I can handle the easy runs but it seems as soon as I try and accelerate I can feel it may tightened up again at any moment.

                          I think I have tight hip flexors any suggestion on how to stretch these muscles.

                          PR's

                          1m  5:38 (2018)

                          5k    19:59 (2019)

                          HM  1:33:56 (2018)

                          FM  3:23:07 (2018)

                          zebano


                            Steve - tbh I would take CHC over Waterfront HM.  Better elite field, better chance of good weather, and doesn't have the risk of having to battle congestion on the course once you hit that second lap.

                             

                            I like the idea of focusing on the 5km but there's so few properly measured 5k races around NZ with decent fields that it's probably in the too hard basket.  TBH I'm not sure whether I want a new challenge or a new race, I think that's the question I need to answer.  But equally, I don't need to figure that out for a few months yet.

                             

                            With electrolytes, I just drink them before the race - the same Endura Rehydration product I use during summer training that I think I put you on to.

                             

                            Mark I'm of the opinion everyone should run more trail races but what's wrong with your 10k and HM championships? Is that just not enough races on the schedule?

                             

                            You said you do electrolytes pre-race. Do you take your Gel pre-race as well or 30 minutes into the race? Just curious.

                             

                            Corey - the new house location sounds great. I cannot wait to downsize mainly because I hate yardwork, but I'm not sure Mrs. Z will go for it. Shame about your hamstring/glute/hip flexors, join the strength training club. I think your standard hurdle drills would work as would Jay Johnson's Strength and Mobility stuff. You can also get into a split squat (don't elevate the rear leg) and just hold that position as a stretch.

                            1600 - 5:23 (2018), 5k - 19:33 (2018), 10k - 41:20 (2021), half - 1:38:57 (2018), Marathon - 3:37:17 (2018)

                            flavio80


                            Intl. correspondent

                              Darkwave - Interesting, I guess your recent strength training is making the shorter stuff easier.

                              The good thing about strength training is that no matter how tired you seem to find extra gears on the last 200 of a race.

                               

                              Corey - thanks man, I am feeling better this week, had a great workout yesterday, effort was spot on (even if the paces were slower)

                               

                              Zeb - What if you suggest Mrs Z do the yard work. I mean, surely you can outrun her in case she takes it bad 😂

                              PRs: 1500 4:54.1 2019 - 5K 17:53 2023 - 10K 37:55 2023 - HM 1:21:59 2021

                              Up next: no idea

                              Tool to generate Strava weekly

                                Zebano thanks for the SAM info, I'll take a look at those as well.  I do have an Iron Strength for Runners Video I have decided to start it up again.  Just gotta find it lol may already be boxed up...

                                 

                                Great news Flavio

                                PR's

                                1m  5:38 (2018)

                                5k    19:59 (2019)

                                HM  1:33:56 (2018)

                                FM  3:23:07 (2018)