Forums >Racing>Sub 1:30 Half Marathon 2021 Edition
Cobra Commander Keen
Last night I got an email from the RD of my 10k tomorrow that caused some slight panic until I opened it and discovered it was only directions on how to avoid some road construction. Looking at the entrants list (5k & 10k) I only see one name I recognize - a local-ish guy who's between JMac and Mark speed-wise. The forecasted temperature is looking ever-so-slightly better than earlier in the week, but a big oversight on my part is that the dew point should be a good deal lower than typical, so the Kiwi Point should be a manageable 125-ish! Really looking forward to this one.
5k: 17:58 11/22 │ 10k: 37:55 9/21 │ HM: 1:23:22 4/22 │ M: 2:56:05 12/22
Upcoming Races:
OKC Memorial 5k - April 27
Bun Run 5k - May 4
Excellent news on the kiwi-point Keen! Go crush it, looks like your strategy is to roll with the speedster for as long as possible!
I seem to have a cold or sinus infection. Ugg. Not sure if I'm still going to race tomorrow or not. I'm strongly considering just taking 3 days off but also leaning toward racing, and then doing that.
Good luck with your mile Darkwave! Do you get to run with the elites?
1600 - 5:23 (2018), 5k - 19:33 (2018), 10k - 41:20 (2021), half - 1:38:57 (2018), Marathon - 3:37:17 (2018)
Mother of Cats
Thanks! Nope. 40-49 heat (which in 2019 included former Olympian Jen Rhines, as well as Roberta Groner, who represented the US at the 2019 World Championships in the marathon). So possibility of elite competition.
I was a bit bummed they combined men and women (and non-binary) into one heat - one of the great things about this race in years past was getting to compete in a big competitive field of exclusively my age group peers. OTOH, looks like we may have a significant headwind this year, so having a bunch of guys to block the wind won't be a bad thing.
***
Other notes: JTReeves - my comments about goal marathon pace actually were not directed at you, but rather at so many people throughout the years that I have trained with who seem to believe that if it's a "Marathon Pace" workout, and they can sustain a certain pace for that workout, then that pace is their "marathon pace." If only it worked that way.
Re: Marby's point on "which part of the marathon effort" - to me marathon effort is defined by the majority of the marathon - miles 6-20 ish. As for training for how hard things get at the end of a marathon? I don't think running your marathon workouts too hard is how you prep for that. I think doing some intervals and tempos and a race or two during your cycle is how you prep for that.
Like Jmac, I don't buy into the importance of "marathon pace mechanics." There's not that much difference, biomechanically, between 6:40 pace and 7:10 pace, for example. (I think practicing the mechanics of race pace gets more important in the short stuff - mile and shorter). And I've known a few people who have trained at a "marathon pace" that ended up somewhat slower than what they ran on race day. One recent example is a woman on my team who ran 2:43 to OTQ back in 2019. She did all of her marathon pace workouts with a friend of mine who was going for sub-3:00. I don't think her "marathon pace" was ever faster than 6:40 during any workout. And yet she ran 2:43 on race day. (and no, that wasn't a surprise at all - she was a former Division 1 runner who was running with the OTQ as her goal).
People keep thinking that it's better to err on the side of being a bit fast during marathon pace workouts. When what I've seen time and time again is that it's better to err on the side of being a bit slow - you have much more room for error there, and less potential for damage.
I think that locking in marathon pace effort (that rate of breathing, heart rate, rhythm, during the majority of the marathon) is much more important than practicing the mechanics of a certain running speed.
Everyone's gotta running blog; I'm the only one with a POOL-RUNNING blog.
And...if you want a running Instagram where all the pictures are of cats, I've got you covered.
CK- good luck tomorrow!
RIP Milkman
DW posting marathon pace comments here. The lure of the Kiwis is too strong!
5K: 16:37 (11/20) | 10K: 34:49 (10/19) | HM: 1:14:57 (5/22) | FM: 2:36:31 (12/19)
Whooops. I'll copy that over....
Darkwave will you be bringing the Takumi Sens out for this one ? They work for Nick Willis
Keen good luck. Maybe don't try and keep up with that guy if he's halfway between Mark and Jmac
Zeb hope that sinus thing clears up.
Have a great weekend everyone 😀
55+ PBs 5k 18:36 June 3rd TT
" If you don't use it you lose it, but if you use it, it wears out.
Somewhere in between is about right "
Keen - all the best for the 10k! Fingers crossed for good conditions. If there’s someone quick, it might be worth sitting on them for a minute or two at the start and then you can figure out if that’s too hot or not. For all you know he might be cruising it or using it as tempo prep for a longer race.
Dwave - FWIW I agree with you in terms of running to marathon effort rather than pace in training, the same is true for me for HM effort / pace also.
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: Waterfront HM, 7 Apr, 1:15:48
Up next: Runway5, 4 May
"CONSISTENCY IS KING"
Darkwave - good luck on the Mile? Even though the wrong thread, your post as always has knowledge. And more importantly, what shoes tomorrow?
Keen - good luck.
PRs: 5km 18:43 (Dec 2015), 10km 39:59 (Sep 2020), half 1:26:16 (Sep 2016), full 3:09:28 (Jun 2015)
40+ PRs: 5km 19:31 (Oct 2020), 10km 39:59 (Sep 2020), half 1:29:39 (Jun 2018), full 3:13:55 (Sep 2022)
2023 PRs (hope to beat in 2024): 5km 20:34, 10km 41:37, half 1:32:32, full 3:21:05
2024 PRs: 5km 20:25
Thanks, all!
Zebano - Good luck getting rid of that sinus infection, and the race as well if you decide to run it.
DWave - Best of luck in the mile! Looking forward to that RR.
My shoes for the mile...I'm going to throw a curveball and go with....
The Puma Deviate Nitro Elite.
I did a bunch of 100m strides on the track today, swapping out various pairs of shoes, and liked them the best.
Unfortunately, I do not have a currently usable pair of Takumi Sens that fit me. Just an old broken pair that fit perfectly, a pair that is too small, and a pair that is too big.
Good luck for the mile DWave. May the random pair of shoes serve you well!
Thank you!
DW good luck with the race!
PR's
1m 5:38 (2018)
5k 19:59 (2019)
HM 1:33:56 (2018)
FM 3:23:07 (2018)
JamesD
Keen/darkwave - Hope your races go/went well! Looking forward to the RRs.
Me - Nothing much noteworthy. Was surprised at how sore my legs were for a couple of days after Wednesday’s run, which was longer than I had gone in a while but not by enough that it should’ve mattered. Summer is definitely over, as morning low temperatures are now around 68/20.
Sun - 6.2 very slow (72 mins) on treadmill after Saturday's tempo
Mon - 9.4 miles in park @ 8:27
Tues - off
Weds - 11 in park @ 8:41
Thurs - 6.2 very slow (72 mins) on treadmill
Fri - 7.8 in park @ 8:43, sore
Sat - off
Total - 40.6 miles
YTD average - 45.3 mpw
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