Forums >Racing>Sub 1:30 Half Marathon 2021 Edition
Intl. correspondent
James - It seems that despite the hamstring issue you’ve been able to keep quite a good base, that’s great news.
Steve - It’s good to hear the pain is decreasing a bit, it must be incredibly unnerving to be that long in pain. Here’s to better weeks ahead.
Kiwis - I was reading on Let's run that Hoka One One changed its name to just Hoka (which is what everybody was calling them anyway).
But in the thread they mentioned it's a MΔori name and it was not pronounced Hoka 1-1 hah. I had to read up on it and indeed it was, so I read some more about the MΔori language and it looks like it's slowly dying. Anyway all those weird names of places on the north island make a little more sense now.
Keen - If you heeded my advice and had the açaí bowl yesterday today you're likely going to run 2h55 or lower. If you didn't then you will run 3h10. I'm sure RP had 2 bowls of açaí just in case. Anyway, best of luck to you guys and to our beloved grumpy Cal π
me - A better week, almost passing Piwi now. Running was flowing this week, I guess the strength training is paying off.
PRs: 1500 4:54.1 2019 - 5K 17:53 2023 - 10K 37:55 2023 - HM 1:21:59 2021
Up next: some 800m race (or time trials) / Also place in the top 20% in a trail race
Tool to generate Strava weekly
Flavio I didn't know that about Hoka. Sounds more Hawaiian to me.
My 10k runs are turning onto 8s and 6s
RP absolutely smashed it congratulations.
Hoping for a good result for Keen.
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 "
I've started using Hoka's, gave the Rincon's a go as a potential substitute for the Saucony Kinvara (because the 12 was THAT horrible) and I've been pretty impressed so far. The Rincon is their more lightweight shoe. Very smooth ride but still pretty responsive.
Flavio - the Maori language was dying 10 or so years ago but it's made a pretty big comeback. Well done on beating Piwi!
Steve - yeah plan A is just that for now. I'm sure there'll be more spanners in the works!
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"
Actually Mark I ran 42.7kms last week so I smashed Flavio by 180m
ππππ
Was it Kiwi-measured?
Problem Child
Flavio I had Mexican food. It’s a secret I learned from darkwave. Chipotle gets championship, or in this case PRs. Also wearing orange.
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
Woah, imagine if you had had Açaí as well, you'd have beaten Jmac's PR!
Dude you ran amazingly yesterday. Big kudos to Chipotle but you'd have been faster in pink. There's a reason so many of the nike supershoes have been pink. Only the Endorphin Pros are orange and they are a pale imitation.
When I use the word "smashed" it usually means something else. I think you managed to run as far as the CIM crew!
1600 - 5:23 (2018), 5k - 19:33 (2018), 10k - 41:20 (2021), half - 1:38:57 (2018), Marathon - 3:37:17 (2018)
Alrighty, this isn't the vaunted CIM race report you've waited for but I had a successful race over the weekend! As I've mentioned before my club runs 20km / 12.4 miles every Thursday (Thorsday) starting at 4:30 or 5AM. Once a year we race it during daylight hours, codename Valhalla. I missed last year's Valhalla due to a freak blizzard shutting down the roads so I hadn't raced this in awhile. That said I did set a PR of 1:37:09 back in April so I had a natural target if my health was fine. Long story short, I've had a sinus infection since the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, I spent 3 days last week... not running because my body decided it needed to purge itself. Thankfully Friday felt better and I had a great pizza and beer dinner (the same thing I had before my best workout of the season).
The race course is pretty simple. 3 miles of running on the side of a highway with some elevation, 6.5 miles of very plain trail with only 3 hills, one of them small. Followed by crossing a rocky spillway climbing a short embankment and then hilly singletrack for 2.5 miles and a short .4 miles of flat road to finish. Overall it's not a very hilly course with between 600-900 feet of climb depending on your watch but the singletrac is technical, rolling, rooty and just really hard to move quickly on. It's a nasty way to end a 20k. Regardless, for everyone that's raced them at similar times a flat HM and this course always seem to endup +/-1 minute of each other depending on how well you run trail. I personally have been planning to use it as metric to say, yes you're finally in shape to take a real crack at a 90 min HM (one of my big 5 running goals of sub 5 mile, sub 20 5k, sub 40 10k, sub 90 HM and sub 3 M).
Mile 1 starts with an unpleasant hill known as morning coffee where I just tried to run quick but controlled and after that decided that 170HR is supposed to be roughly the upper end of my LT range so I tried to keep the HR in the 160-170 range thinking that would allow me to run my best race regardless of illness. The top 25 or so runners quickly opened a gap before the top of the hill and I didn't really see them again. I slowly reeled in 2 runners who started too fast and sounded like they were already working then found myself 50m back of the first place female ("T"). I very slowly reeled her in finishing the first 5k in 22: 34 and got to the point we could chat. As we rolled off the road and onto the trail she gapped me again but Madman caught up to me and we had a nice little conversation that carried us over Opie road (the 10 km mark) in 22:58 . At this point a lady I'd never met ("L") passed us, passed T taking over the female lead and opening a big gap on us. Coming off the quarter mile stretch of road and back onto trail Madman and I were no longer able to chat but my legs still felt good and I slowly picked up the effort, catching up to T and leaving both of them behind as we hit the equalizer (nastiest hill on the course).
Post Opie road I had stopped looking at HR and just running by effort but I knew this was my favorite section of the course. Very non technical, just smooth trail winding in and out along the lakeshore so I tried to pick up my cadence and make some good time. I passed one guy who blew up so spectacularly he ran his first 10k in 40min and his second in over 70. To my surprise L came back into view and gave me some nice encouragement as I passed her. I tried to get her to run with me but it wasn't going to happen. I arrived at the start of the spillway after running 22:19 for the 3rd 5k. I skipped across the early dry stones and through the crick but slowed to a walk on the wet and slippery section. After that I did a short climb, power hiked the steps and tried to start running the technical stuff. I can't believe how slow I felt but the breathing was close to going out of control on the uphills so I just kept it as strong as I could and tried not to think about my PR slipping away. After clearing the first big segment of trail I got a huge mental boost going into double hill because I knew it was the last real challenge. I certainly didn't kill it but at the top I really picked up the effort moving super well as the last bit of trail is runnable downhill and then it dropped me on the road where I tried to really kick it in. With .25 miles to go my coach was jogging a cool down and came and ran with me until I finally hammered the last 100m. 1:32:28 a 4 min and 41 second PR!
Thought:
I told myself I'm taking a week off but I already jogged 20 minutes with the pup yesterday. It's time to see the doctor about this never-ending sinus infection then just enjoy my running for a couple months while getting into the gym to lift heavy. I'm debating next years schedule but I'm strongly tempted to begin the year with triathlon in the spring before coming back to pure running in the summer. That felt like a good way to stay fit without burning out and my son wants to step up to the Olympic distance which will take a little bit more dedication to cycling on my part.
Hot Weather Complainer
zebano - Nice race report and this sounds like a great race performance. With your on-going sinus issues and what sounds like a crazy tough course in places, that is an amazing effort. Sub 1:30 on an easier course is ready and waiting.
5km: 18:34 11/23 β 10km: 39:10 8/23 β HM: 1:26:48 9/23 β 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
Zebano - really enjoyed that RR and well done! I agree with Steve... sub-1:30 on a decent flat road course is well within your grasp. That course had some punishing hills, technical stuff and looking at the Strava, it had a LOT of turns too.
Also, my preferred pre-race meal is a burger and fries (that dates back to National HM Champs in 2018), and I'm glad I'm not the only one that names hills! There's a route I run from Takapuna to Devonport sometimes which has Cemetery hill, Sh!thead hill, Punisher, and Navy Hill.
Zebano - really enjoyed that RR and well done! I agree with Steve... sub-1:30 on a decent flat road course is well within your grasp. That course had some punishing hills, technical stuff and looking at the Strava, it had a LOT of turns too. Also, my preferred pre-race meal is a burger and fries (that dates back to National HM Champs in 2018), and I'm glad I'm not the only one that names hills! There's a route I run from Takapuna to Devonport sometimes which has Cemetery hill, Sh!thead hill, Punisher, and Navy Hill.
Ohh you've got some fun names. FTFH might be my favorite hill name, "Taylor Swift" always makes me feel slightly dirty. One of these days we're going to have to do a pre-race meal showdown. So far I've seen Burger & Fries, Pizza, Acai and Chipotle as contenders.
I do think you guys are overrating the course difficulty. We have a surprisingly large sample size that says Thorsday time plus or minus 1 minute equals flat HM time which means I'd be counting on no sinus infection for a minute fourty. Regardless, I'm pleased with this time so I'll table that sub-90 until next year.
Steve, I think I missed your sub 90 this year. Sorry about that, congratulations, I'm glad you got one awesome race in.
RP, be sure to ping this thread when your RR is up since I don't check the sub-3 often. I still can't believe you ran 2:56. That's brilliant.
Zeb great job on the PB.
Let's be honest we are all waiting with anticipation for Keens race report. That will make some good reading.
What benchpress is considered reasonable like say a 25 min 5k in running terms π€. Is your own bodyweight considered ok ?
I haven't tried a max one rep yet.
I honestly wouldn't know what to do if I could do this. I'd probably laugh about it and say "that's like REALLY fucking fast. Like....for real." I'd go back to telling the people I run with "Slow down turbo. This ain't a race. Ain't nobody need to do 7:50s today. I'm all about that 8-8:30 pace."