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

flavio80


Intl. correspondent

    Steve - I've just realized to lord something over does not mean what I thought 🤦‍♂️

    I just wanted to say Portugal is thankfully doing well and I hope it stays like that

    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

    watsonc123


       

      Ah yes, sorry to confuse you two.

       

      ...

       

      Separately, I was playing around with rehab exercises and noted that I really struggle with Bulgarian split squats (where the back foot is elevated). If I'm doing a normal split squat with my back foot on the floor, I'm OK. But elevate that back foot, and I get very wobbly. I'm wondering if this is related to how I feel most stable running uphill (where the ground behind is lower than the ground in front) and least stable when I'm running downhill (where the ground behind is higher than the ground in front).

       

       

      Given we're both from New Zealand, white, male, in their forties, it's understandable you get us mixed up.  For next time, remember I'm much better looking.

       

      Split squats are easier than Bulgarian squats. With split squats, the back leg inevitably does a moderate amount of work.  Whereas it's much less in Bulgarian squats.

      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

      flavio80


      Intl. correspondent

        Separately, I was playing around with rehab exercises and noted that I really struggle with Bulgarian split squats (where the back foot is elevated). If I'm doing a normal split squat with my back foot on the floor, I'm OK. But elevate that back foot, and I get very wobbly. I'm wondering if this is related to how I feel most stable running uphill (where the ground behind is lower than the ground in front) and least stable when I'm running downhill (where the ground behind is higher than the ground in front).

         

        Is that perhaps something related to those injections you took at the ankles ? Maybe a nerve is not broadcasting the correct signals back to your brain? Do you notice any difference between left and right side on the Bulgarian split squats?

        Do you also have issues standing on a single leg with the other one having the knee elevated? Similar issues with the airplane/single leg deadlift?

        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

        darkwave


        Mother of Cats

           

          Is that perhaps something related to those injections you took at the ankles ? Maybe a nerve is not broadcasting the correct signals back to your brain? Do you notice any difference between left and right side on the Bulgarian split squats?

          Do you also have issues standing on a single leg with the other one having the knee elevated? Similar issues with the airplane/single leg deadlift?

           

          With regard to the nerves in the ankles, that's what the EMG/NCS testing was checking.  My right ankle (the one that had the PRP injections) was great on the nerve study.  The left ankle had some slight issues, but nothing too concerning.

           

          Right leg forward is slightly worse for Bulgarian squats, but both are bad.

           

          I can do all the other single leg balance stuff (tree pose, single leg deadlifts, half-moon pose) totally fine - I do all that stuff religiously.

           

          I do wonder if maybe there's part of my core that I'm not activating, that only comes into play when the torso is upright with one leg behind.  Or perhaps that motion pinches a nerve somewhere.

          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.

          zebano


            Steve  sorry about the shingles, that's absolutely brutal. Hopefully the codeine has no side effects for you (I can't take it because it makes me so nauseous) .

             

            DW  I'm not sure Bulgarian split squats are easy for anyone but is it all single leg balance stuff or just the split squats (i.e. 1 leg deadlifts, 1 leg squats, or balancing  on an unstable surface like a pillow ) ?

             

            I'm very very glad I've never refereed sports, it's brutal.

             

            James ugg damn hamstring.

             

             

            My race ... yeah, nothing went well, but nothing went terribly either. My hamstring niggled but didn't lock up. I started too quick but reigned things in, my stomach wasn't happy but I came nowhere close to vomiting. The weather was bad, but even the sections with the wind weren't run particularly strong. The course was long, but that's a feature. I finished strong, but it was only the last KM that was strong, KM 4 was slow. My RHR was high for a number of days but I never felt actually ill.... so many things it could have been but ultimately I just didn't execute. I somehow ended up beating my son's XC coach and placing second in our age group, but I don't feel I deserve an award for that effort. My honest assessment is that I'm lacking both desire and confidence. I like to run, but I more enjoy running trails than I do racing on roads and frankly I'm afraid to really let it rip and blow up spectacularly...  which was not the case 2 years ago.

             

            Club Championship 20k is next weekend so I'm going to race that and I'll reassess after. Frankly I'm looking forward more to the post-race party than the race itself.

             

            edit: My week totaled 38 miles and everything post-race was running with my dog which meant it was way too fast. Oh well.

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

            SteveChCh


            Hot Weather Complainer

              Thanks guys.  It's easy to feel like there's no light at the end of the tunnel when I have yet another bad night and start every day in pain, but it's like an injury I guess, when you're in it it feels like forever but things can change quickly.

               

              darkwave - Another easy way to tell us apart is to remember one of us has gone sub 1:30 this year and one hasn't....

               

              (sorry watson but you did fire the first shot )

              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

              SteveChCh


              Hot Weather Complainer

                darkwave - Great to hear you're making progress, what a frustrating time.

                 

                zebano - It sounds like you're being a bit hard on yourself for a solid result when it sounds like something wasn't quite right with your health.

                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


                   

                  darkwave - Another easy way to tell us apart is to remember one of us has gone sub 1:30 this year and one hasn't....

                   

                  (sorry watson but you did fire the first shot )

                   

                  *grabs popcorn*

                   

                  So now we are moving to this new traffic light framework, and Auckland is apparently going to be at red to start, while most of the rest of the country is orange.  As yet it hasn't been well explained as to how the muppets in Wellington decide on any changes between the levels other than some opaque references to hospital capacity and vaccination rates.  For the benefit of those not in NZ, red = probably no races / only small races, orange = races.

                   

                  But at least if we can travel, that means I can do races in areas that are at the orange level (or the mythical green).  It probably means I'll just need to have a decent contingency plan in place (again!) to cover for the risk of races not being able to go ahead.

                   

                  So first half of 2022 is looking like, hopefully, North Shore 10k Run Series, Omaha HM, Southern Lakes HM.  And failing that, it'll be Christchurch HM, Huntly HM.

                  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 - I just have no faith in this new system or, more accurately, the people executing it.  The criteria for Green is supposedly:

                     

                    "The green light is for when Covid-19 spread is isolated, with hospitalisations at a manageable level."

                     

                    So why is the South Island in orange?  Why create a system and then the first time you use it, ignore the criteria you yourself set up??  It's maddening.  I reported my Shingles where you can report potential vaccine injuries and did get a call from someone at the MOH within 48 hours who said she has dealt with quite a few cases of young, healthy people (who are outliers when it comes to Shingles).  There is still no way of knowing if it's more than a coincidence but it doesn't improve my mood, especially with the amount of vaccine cultists around*.  And it makes me very wary of the next booster.

                     

                    *I'm no anti-vaxxer but people who refuse to accept any possibility that there may be negatives to vaccines are very annoying.

                     

                    It will be cool if you do the Christchurch half.  You could do a warm down when I come through the first lap, or on the second lap after the Hagley Park loop.

                    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

                    Mikkey


                    Mmmm Bop

                       

                      *grabs popcorn*

                       

                      So now we are moving to this new traffic light framework, and Auckland is apparently going to be at red to start, while most of the rest of the country is orange.  As yet it hasn't been well explained as to how the muppets in Wellington decide on any changes between the levels other than some opaque references to hospital capacity and vaccination rates.  For the benefit of those not in NZ, red = probably no races / only small races, orange = races.

                       

                       

                       

                      I think you have to start focusing on the positive things about your government. I saw a clip of Jacinda saying that you are now allowed to visit a friend/relative and do a wee in their toilet. That’s progress!

                      5k - 17:53 (4/19)   10k - 37:53 (11/18)   Half - 1:23:18 (4/19)   Full - 2:50:43 (4/19)

                      Marky_Mark_17


                         

                        It will be cool if you do the Christchurch half.  You could do a warm down when I come through the first lap, or on the second lap after the Hagley Park loop.

                         

                        Yeah that would be good.  It's far from certain but definitely a possibility.  Be nice to repay the support that you gave me on that completely miserable day back in 2019 when you had every right to stay nice and warm at home!

                        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"

                        CommanderKeen


                        Cobra Commander Keen

                          DWave - I commented on your weekly in the marathon thread, but now that I'm catching up here I have some funny mental images in my head regarding steering ponies. I was on a horse quite a bit as a kid (doing "cowboy" stuff), but didn't know that about polo steering.


                          Steve - Sorry for the health issues cropping up. DW had a case of shingles a couple years ago and had that same pain for a week or two. It's certainly something I'd never want to deal with.


                          Mark - Four workouts, plus a LR? Dude, that's insane. And getting near/possible surpassing your all-time yearly mileage high is certainly a feather in your hat.


                          Watson - Nice week.


                          James - Sad to hear about the hammy/glute issue, I know those typically take a while to heal. It's a definite positive that you're maintaining your aerobic fitness, though!


                          Zebano - Bummed to hear the race didn't turn out at all like you wanted. Is there anything in particular that you can identify as impacting the RHR and motivation?

                           

                          Umpiring - I did this for baseball for a couple summers. $60-70 per game, usually, which was largely eaten into by gas costs as most places I travelled to were 30-75 minute highway drive one way.
                          I don't understand any of these cricketing terms as being related to sport at all!

                           

                           

                          CIM - I think I'm going to start off around 2:58 pace and see about cranking things down a bit around mile 18-20 depending on how I feel. I'm certain I'm capable of a good deal faster than 2:58, but my current thought is to go after a somewhat more conservative time to get that first sub-3 under my belt and go for broke another time.


                          Half of my taper is in the books! Things got a little crazy here one morning due to a sick puppy (parvo, but doing very well now) and so I missed a run, but otherwise zero issues. Had a great time at my first turkey trot. RR to follow!

                           

                          Weekly for period: From: 11/22/2021 To 11/28/2021

                          Date Name mi km Duration Avg/mi Avg/km Elevation Gain
                          in ft
                          11/22 1 great horned owl 8.05 12.96 01:12:38 09:01 05:36 410
                          11/23 3 rabbits & 1 heron 10.30 16.58 01:26:53 08:26 05:14 364
                          11/24 Weird day 5.25 8.45 00:44:33 08:29 05:16 269
                          11/25 Midtown wanderings 4.11 6.61 00:32:52 08:00 04:58 157
                          11/25 OKC Turkey Tracks 3.14 5.05 00:18:14 05:48 03:37 102
                          11/25 Cooling down 3.69 5.94 00:31:08 08:26 05:14 105
                          11/26 May I never refrain - Watopia 10.06 16.19 01:21:30 08:06 05:02 0
                          11/27 8 deer (8 strides) 6.05 9.74 00:50:33 08:21 05:11 420
                          11/28 A nice trip to town 14.06 22.61 01:57:18 08:21 05:11 735

                          Total distance: 64.72mi

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

                           

                          Upcoming Races:

                           

                           

                          zebano


                            Zebano - Bummed to hear the race didn't turn out at all like you wanted. Is there anything in particular that you can identify as impacting the RHR and motivation?

                             

                            Umpiring - I did this for baseball for a couple summers. $60-70 per game, usually, which was largely eaten into by gas costs as most places I travelled to were 30-75 minute highway drive one way.
                            I don't understand any of these cricketing terms as being related to sport at all!

                             

                             


                            Half of my taper is in the books! Things got a little crazy here one morning due to a sick puppy (parvo, but doing very well now) and so I missed a run, but otherwise zero issues. Had a great time at my first turkey trot. RR to follow!

                             Total distance: 64.72mi

                             

                            Wow, my chance to run more than DD1 (Deer Dictator) and I missed it! Glad you're feeling positive about CIM and kudos on the great race. I think you're in much better than 2:58 shape but you've got a smart plan if breaking 3 is the big goal. You know you can't mention a puppy online without paying the proper toll(we want pictures)!

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

                            CommanderKeen


                            Cobra Commander Keen

                              OKC Turkey Tracks Race Report


                              Prior to this year I have never done a turkey trot (aside from run/walking one with DW maybe 5 years ago) or even a 5k with anything resembling a taper. Turkey trots always interfered with in one way or another by a race - either it's 1 week post marathon or it just didn't fit with training for another marathon, and I've always ran 5ks while training through for anoter race, so I was looking forward to this for many weeks after seeing it during my first week of taper.


                              There are two main turkey trots in the OKC area - one on the north side of town (the one I did with DW), and the other in the midtown area. I had done some asking around and heard the midtown one was supposedly faster, so that's what I signed up for.


                              Race day dawned as cold (mid/upper 30s) and windy (17-10mph) as forecasted. I managed to secure a nice parking spot just a block from the start/finish and went on a random 4+ mile warmup after picking up my bib. Side note: There are ALWAYS hidden port-o-johns around a race.
                              While taking off my warmups and switching shoes the wind completely died, so I opted to ditch my gloves and the arm warmers I had on under my jacket before heading to the start.


                              I chatted with a few people in the start corral (like the local jr high xc/track coach who was gotten obnoxiously fast in the last year), did a few strides with other runners, lamented the wind picking back up, then lined up behind all the people who looked faster than me.


                              The gun went off and immediately there was a lead pack of 6-8, then another 6-8 of us kinda strung out in a line behind. The race opens up going a bit uphill and into a wind coming from about our 11 o'clock, so straight drafting behind someone didn't work too well.
                              I set off going by feel and thought I had this about right when I heard one of a group of three runners from a local women's college XC team say "we're going 6:something-5 per mile, we just need to hold this". Hearing this I thought "If I'm going 6:anything per mile I need to hurry up a bit" and sped up a little to try catching up to a guy a little in front of me. I catch up to him and recognize the guy wearing a beanie with a pompom on top who is immediately in front of him as well. I had finished ahead of Beanie Guy during my HM this spring, he finished ahead of me during a later 15k, and I finished before him in my 10k a few weeks ago. Hmm. A rival has appeared.


                              KM 1: 3:48


                              Just prior to hitting the first km marker 5 people passed me - the three women XC runners, one guy who was WAY overdressed (pants, LS shirt, sweatshirt, buff, beanie, gloves... what's he doing up here?) and a random guy on a bike. I see the lap time and think "great. 10k pace off 5k effort. Just what I wanted", but console myself with the fact that we've all been running uphill and against the wind, plus the road was starting a bit of a downhill as well.


                              The 6 other runners and I formed a loose pack, but overdressed guy dropped back quickly. Random bike guy was holding his phone off to the side, clearly trying to video the girls running next to me. Since they didn't seem to care at all I assumed they had suckered a friend in to getting some in-race footage.


                              Just before KM 2 the XC runners started to fall back a bit, leaving myself, Beanie Rival, and Unknown Guy by ourselves.

                               

                              KM 2: 3:28


                              At this point all I know is that the downhill helped make up some time and that KM was MUCH faster, but I don't even try doing the math to see where I'm at pace-wise. The three of us make a right-hand turn, blow past the water station, then make another right-hand turn and start heading up a bit of a hill.


                              The crossing tailwind helped some going up this hill, but by memory it was MUCH steeper than the elevation chart shows. Clearly my watch barometer was malfunctioning during this one, specific part of the course.


                              Unknown Guy fell back while Beanie Rival opened up a bit of a lead on me, but we could now see a few runners who had fallen from the lead pack ahead of us, so we were clearly moving up.

                               

                              KM 3: 3:57


                              Great. Back to slow again. "You were going uphill, it's not that bad". Exactly nothing exciting happened during this next kilometer. Beanie Rival and I made up a bit more ground on the guys ahead of us and he kept his few seconds lead.


                              KM 4: 3:36


                              Better. Beanie Rival and I are a good deal closer to the guys ahead of us - there's maybe 5 of us strung across 50 meters or so. We're getting close to making the last left-hand turn on to the final straight and every single one of the runners I can see ahead of me moves off the road onto the sidewalk ahead of the turn, while I stick to the road. That slight course-cut didn't change anything with regards to finish order, but likely did put a second or so between myself and Beanie rival.


                              The last 800m of the course is slightly downhill and now aided by the crossing tailwind. I'm trucking along as fast as I can make my legs move but no matter what I do it seems that the gap Beanie Rival opened up halfway through the race stays about the same.
                              I see the race clock at 18:10 and think "hey, I'm not coming in all that far from my original goal!", push a bit harder, and stop my watch after crossing the mats.

                               

                              KM 5: 3:25
                              Total time: 18:14 (?)


                              The question mark is there because I don't have a real chip time - and I wonder how many people actually do. When I first checked the results my time was 17:45 and I finished several places higher than I actually did. I checked again after a cooldown and my time was over 40 minutes. I asked the timer guy about this and he admitted there were some issues but that I did finish in 17:45.
                              As much as I would have loved that, it simply didn't happen and I pointed out that my watch time was nearly 30 seconds slower. He tried attributing this to me starting my watch when the gun went off and taking that extra time to get to the start line, but I had to respectfully disavow him of this notion. In the end he set my "official" time as my watch time. In talking to several people I knew after the race, their times were similarly affected.


                              In any case, I was thrilled with the PR (original goal was 18:10, but given the wind and course hills I revised this down to 18:20) and a little annoyed at the guy who told me this was the faster of the two local courses (I heartily disagree). It was certainly good to finally get to run a turkey trot and see what I could do with a bit of a taper before a race. On to CIM!!

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

                               

                              Upcoming Races:

                               

                               

                                Kyle congratulations on a tough 5k but you still nailed it. Some of your strava splits are quite different to above.

                                Sub 3 looks good for you.

                                 

                                Steve how are you progressing with the shingles?

                                Good to see you and Watson roasting each other 

                                 

                                Zeb still a good time in that race. I lost the ability to go to the well in 5ks too. I end up running closer to 10k pace.

                                I'm blaming my age and not been able to get my heart rate up enough 😪

                                 

                                I only ran 30kms last week. Spent alot of my energy surfing though as my 16 yr old son is learning and addicted so twice a day is wearing me out.

                                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 "