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

darkwave


Mother of Cats

    Marky_Mark - UGH on being sick.  I hope it passes.

    Flavio - nice week - may the niggles hold off.

    Mick Jogger - y'know you could have headed back out for another 2K before the week was over....

     

    Will be back to post my week after I head for a swim.  Ran a 5K today in 20:06.  At least 36 seconds slower than I thought I'd run, but you run what you run.  It's a place to build from.  Race report here.

    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.

      Mark its not a great time to have a cold in NZ. You get shunned from society . I'm self isolating until I'm better which sucks as I can't work. At least I get my down week for my legs.

       

      Mick nice week and longrun.

       

      Mikkey ah good to hear from you. So are you running at all ?

      I must add Paul Marteletti onto my Strava. I added a 50 year old NZ guy called Sean Wade who lives in the US and runs sub 15 5000m  I think he has the record for this.

       

      James i keep banging into things too! Must be old age.

      Hope the groin heals soon.

       

      Flavio nice tempo. I see you adjusted after a 4.05 1st km 

      I've done that before. You see that 1st split and think damn come on wake up !

      I have that photo somewhere leading out all those kids. I ran a 17.50 that day on a hilly course while Piwi junior was 2nd in about 18.30. Ahh the good old days 😌

       

      Darkwave nice solid 5k and congratulations on the win. You get to remove your masks during the race I hope ?

      Nice feeling at least overtaking all those people.

      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 "      

       

      CommanderKeen


      Cobra Commander Keen

        DWave - 12 hours seems reasonable in that light. I'll let my wife know that if I'm driving to a 5k I'll look for races as far out as Denver, or Anchorage if I'm willing to fly.


        Piwi - You're not going to get a visit from the local police for that, are you??
        Nice week even without a LR. Hopefully society doesn't completely ostracize you (or Mark) for having a cold.


        Zebano - That's freakin' hilarious! Many times I've thought of jumping into the mile race attached to a 5k, but the possibility of that same thing happening has always prevented me from doing so.


        Mark - Feeling better yet?


        MJ - Get out there for another short run!!


        Feels pretty good to have a regular week again. Good workout on Tuesday, then a solid TT Friday. Plenty of room to improve on the 5k distance, but I like where I'm at for now.
        Just under 2 weeks until my half. Any suggestions for workouts this week and next? Since I should have plenty of room to recover after a big Monday workout, I'm thinking something like 3x 15 min T.

         

        Weekly for period: From: 02/22/2021 To 02/28/2021

        Date Name Distance
        in mi
        Duration Avg Pace
        per mi
        Elevation Gain
        in ft
        02/22/2021 2 rabbits & hundreds of geese on the frozen pond 10.10 01:25:18 08:27 354
        02/23/2021 2x 12 min T, 10 min T, 5 min T 11.76 01:23:35 07:06 302
        02/23/2021 Vitamin D! 2.25 00:18:20 08:09 95
        02/24/2021 2 deer (2 strides) & 1 skunk 8.30 01:08:30 08:15 397
        02/24/2021 This morning's missing miles 2.25 00:18:48 08:21 121
        02/25/2021 Moonset, sunrise, & 1 hawk 8.50 01:11:29 08:25 463
        02/26/2021 Next time I'm getting a drawstring bag to carry the fancy shoes 1.50 00:11:36 07:44 20
        02/26/2021 5,000m Time Trial, Han style 3.15 00:18:56 06:01 43
        02/26/2021 3 ducks 5.10 00:39:45 07:48 164
        02/27/2021 4 deer (4 strides) & too much fog to see anything else 16.11 02:10:38 08:07 623
        02/28/2021 1 hawk 2.75 00:22:35 08:13 112

        Total distance: 71.78mi

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

         

        Upcoming Races:

         

         

        SteveChCh


        Hot Weather Complainer

          darkwave - That is awesome and hilarious. The craziness of the participants of this sport summed up in one post.  Nice work on the 5km - a pretty good starting point.

           

          piwi - For someone with a bug, you're still pumping out some impressive numbers.

           

          CK - Wow, that is a very impressive 5km and huge week.

           

          Zebano - Great story.  I hope when you usually re-tell it you beat a bunch of hardened milers!

           

          Mark - Another tough break on your race.  So frustrating!  I know compared to a lot of the world we've had it quite good but I'm still really annoyed that the South Island is in level 2 WITHOUT A SINGLE CASE.  Ridiculous.  It has meant the postponement of a music festival this coming Saturday...and the new date is the day before the Christchurch Marathon.  I'm only doing the half as a training run but I want it to be quality so I doubt I'll spend the day before in the sun drinking beer now.

           

          James - I hope the niggle clears up quickly.  You've been amazingly consistent.

           

          flavio - Nice week and good tempo run.  Hope the niggles clear up.  Have you considered strength training?

           

          Mick - Nice week, you're building up very nicely.

           

          me - Good week with a relatively easy workout and long run in the hills.  The coach wanting to build some strength so I went up to the Port Hills and ran the Summit Road which is undulating with a few decent climbs.  Considering my lack of hills experience, I did quite well and didn't have to dig too deep.  On one of the climbs I went past a guy on a bike who said "you're giving this hill a great nudge, you'll sleep like a bastard tonight!"  I'm not 100% sure what that means, but I think he was right.

           

          Interestingly, Strava says the elevation gain was 517 metres, while Garmin says 725 metres.  MapMyRun agrees with Garmin so I'll assume it was 725!  My legs feel slightly more beaten up than usual.  I did enjoy the change but it takes up a lot of time to drive up there - not easy in Christchurch to find undulating terrain!

           

          Weekly for period: From: 22/02/2021 To 28/02/2021

          Date Name Distance
          in km
          Duration Avg Pace
          per km
          Elevation Gain
          in m
          22/02/2021 Warm up 0.46 00:02:52 06:14 0
          22/02/2021 70 mins easy pace 14.75 01:10:27 04:47 23
          24/02/2021 Warm up 0.50 00:02:57 05:54 0
          24/02/2021 16km incl. 5 x (3 mins @ 4:20/km, 1 min rest, 1 min @ 4:10/km, 1 min rest) 16.01 01:16:14 04:46 8
          25/02/2021 Recovery 10km 10.64 00:56:45 05:20 21
          27/02/2021 Warm up 0.59 00:03:42 06:16 11
          27/02/2021 24km @ easy pace in the hills and the clouds 24.02 02:01:39 05:04 517
          28/02/2021 Recovery 8.12 00:46:38 05:45 6

          Total distance: 75.10km

          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 - yeah I feel for you guys, particularly considering the ban on Aucklanders leaving the city under the current restrictions.  To be honest it's only going to worsen the level of resentment towards Auckland that often crops up south of the Bombay Hills!  Anyway nice hilly run on the weekend, I reckon those hilly long runs are fantastic for endurance.  I'm not sure what it means to sleep like a child born out of the antiquated concept of wedlock but I hope it went well all the same.

             

            Piwi - hope you're feeling better soon too.  I'm lucky that my job allows me to work from home pretty easily but it must be super-disruptive for you.  That 'gun run' was gold.

             

            James - hope that groin niggle isn't anything serious.

             

            Flavio - nice week and great tempo session.  The race organisers have another two backup dates so I'm confident it'll happen.  The bigger risk now is that it clashes with one of the two other races I've got coming up.

             

            Keen - excellent week and well done on the 5K TT.  I'm a big fan of running something like 3 x 10 min or 4 x 8 min at HMP as a key workout.  I recall Darkwave favoured a single short tempo block of something like 3 or 4 miles at HMP?

             

            Mikkey - yeah Paul Martelletti is a bit of a beast!  I'd love to know what he's training for at the moment, would be great to see him front up at Christchurch or Rotorua Marathon.

             

            MJ - nice week, heh almost beat me.

             

            Me - feeling a lot better this morning so thankfully this cold seems to be on the way out.

             

            Oh, and in other news, it looks like September / October is shaping up nicely for races if we can maintain our relatively Covid-free status.  National 10k Road Champs are in Hamilton in early Sept, National HM Champs in nearby Cambridge in mid-Sept, and then National Road Relays in early October.  They're all spaced by 2 weeks so it's a prime opportunity to lay down some good training over winter and then have a good race season.  Plus the first two are both only ~90 mins drive from Auckland so it's likely there'll be a good turnout from my club as well.

            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"

            darkwave


            Mother of Cats

              Piwi - yes, we could pull off our masks for the race.  I think that technically we were supposed to keep them up when all grouped together, but nobody did.

               

              BTW, interesting story I heard post race.  Group of 6 women have been training together all through Covid, doing track workouts.  They are all similar paces, so were grouped up.

               

              The day after one of their longer track workouts together, one of them developed symptoms of Covid.  Tested positive.  The others immediately isolated.  But none of them ever developed symptoms or tested positive for Covid.

               

              Kinda reassuring, though it matches what we already knew about indoor v. outdoor risk.

               

              Marky_Mark - that is looking like good timing.  Though isn't 90 minutes too far to travel for just a half?

               

              Steve - I would be equally annoyed.

               

              CK - if you find a good race in Anchorage, let me know.  Maybe we can meet up?

               

              ++++

               

              My week:

              45 miles, 1500 yards swimming, and 2 hours of pool-running
              M: 50 minutes pool-running and upper body weights/core.
              T: 12 miles on the treadmill, including 6x0.5 mile with 2:30 jog in 3:09, 3:08. 3:07, 3:09, 3:07, 3:06. Followed with leg strengthwork and 500 yards recovery swimming
              W: 10 miles very easy (9:09), drills and 6 strides.
              Th: 50 minutes pool-running and streaming yoga.
              F: 7 miles, including a 1600 on the track in 6:30 (half-marathon/10 mile effort). Followed with 500 yards recovery swimming.
              Sa: 4 miles very easy (9:04).
              Su: 4 mile warm-up; 5K in 20:06, 5 miles easy. Followed with 500 yards recovery swimming and 20 minutes pool-running.

               

              So...my next race is a half-marathon on April 2.  In what is ultimately related news, my group is now up to be vaccinated (in the US, each state has their own prioritization and means of distributing the vaccine.  And then in my state, it's further divided into each county, which means that whether you are eligible to be vaccinated can depend on whether you live in one neighborhood or another).

               

              So both my partner and I got pinged on Friday to schedule our first shots.  He's going on Tuesday; I'm going on Wednesday.

               

              But...it's unknown which vaccine we'll be getting - Pfizer or Moderna.  Depends on which is shipped to the county this weekend.

               

              If I get Pfizer, then it's all good, since it's 3 weeks between shots.  But...if I get Moderna, then the second shot is 4 weeks later, which is pretty close to my target half-marathon.  So I'm crossing fingers that either I get Pfizer, or I get Moderna but don't have a bad reaction to the second shot.

              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.

              Marky_Mark_17


                Oh, and it looks like the Run the Point 10km is now on... 28th March.  Which is the same day as the Whenuapai Half Marathon (which is only 5km away and which I'd also planned to do...).  Ugh.

                 

                And before anyone asks, no the timing of event starts means that it isn't possible to run the 10km then drive 5km to do the HM (30 mins difference and it would be, though).

                 

                When the event organisers realise a number of people are registered for both, hopefully one of them might shift dates.

                 

                update: So remember how Run the Point is an option of 5k, 10k, or 15k?  Well... it might (just) be feasible to do the 5k (8am-8:17am), get in the car, drive to Whenuapai (~8:28am), and do the HM (8:30am start).  It's (probably) a terrible idea though.

                 

                The other option is to downgrade to the 10k at Whenuapai (9am start), which is totally viable even if I run 10k at Run the Point.

                 

                In summary, screw the people who broke our lockdown rules and created this situation.

                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"

                Marky_Mark_17


                   

                  The other option is to downgrade to the 10k at Whenuapai (9am start), which is totally viable even if I run 10k at Run the Point.

                   

                   

                  I may have sent this crazy idea to one of the guys at Running Events (who organise Run the Point), who may have just posted it on their Facebook page, so I think I am now on the hook for it.

                  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"

                    Darkwave you will be my guinea pig 🐖 for the vaccine then  Good luck. I don't wear a mask often but man my face heats up and my reading glasses fog up.

                     

                    Mark only in NZ is doing something like a bastard a good thing  I feel pretty good today. Yesterday was pretty 🤮

                    Today is my first non running day for a few weeks....although the day isn't over yet 

                     

                    Steve that hill run looked awesome. Sleeping like a bastard is good 👍

                     

                    Keen sounds like most like a 30 to 40 mins at hmp. I haven't run a half since 2015 so lacking in advice but a good ole 10k tempo is a good indicator if you have 2 weeks to go.

                    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 "      

                     

                    flavio80


                    Intl. correspondent

                       

                       flavio - Nice week and good tempo run.  Hope the niggles clear up.  Have you considered strength training?

                       

                      Keen - This is front page worthy 

                       

                      Piwi - If I remember correctly your lifetime PR is low 17s isn't it? Re: the tempo I have disabled auto laps, so I just check the pace once in a while, I was quite surprised when I saw the 3:55 average in the end.

                       

                      Darkwave - It's super cool that you guys are getting vaccinated already.

                      It's also awesome that you guys have races ongoing. Kudos on the win! You left it all in the tank due to that first mile at HMP. Such a shame, you could've avoided the gaga outfit 

                       

                      me - I forgot to mention, in completely boring news I've purchased a GoPro as my family was asking me to film some of my runs for a while.

                      Thoughts so far:

                      1 - I've got the head mount that straps around your head. Do not recommend, it's heavier than it seems and my neck was stiff the whole time.

                      2 - I'll get the chest mount and see if that's better. Some sales director at GoPro is probably smirking right now and thinking: Sucker!!!

                      3 - 2x speed is best for watching the video.

                      4 - I've chosen one of the least interesting and pretty roads in Bologna because I wanted to show a waterfall (roughly 31 min), but the water level is super low right now for some reason and it was just a waterfa at the moment.

                      Running in Bologna - Leandro Alberti, Augusto Murri, Toscana

                       

                      I think this might come in handy the next time I have to run in snow, or when we're traveling, cause we run through some very pretty places and I always wished to keep a record.

                      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

                         So both my partner and I got pinged on Friday to schedule our first shots.  He's going on Tuesday; I'm going on Wednesday.

                        Nice!!    I think you'll find a big psychological relief getting it done.

                        zebano


                          Mark I continue to be impressed by how some of you handle being sick. I just run through that crap and it takes longer because of it. I hope you double race just so I can read the report. That sounds awful.

                           

                          Piwi was that the last time you beat JuniorPiwi? That sounds like a great photo to frame lol.

                           

                          DW - Solid first race in awhile but I agree with your assessment that you left a lot of time on the table. Those negative splits look like an intentional progression run, not a race and that last mile was super solid. I too hate 180 turns, they're just the worst. Good week overall and awesome that you can get your shot so soon.

                           

                          Keen 3x15' sounds about right but I'd run it at goal pace rather than T. I don't feel like checking last years thread but I seem to recall 6 miles @ goal pace is about the longest suggestion I've seen while 4 is more common but I've always preferred 3x2 or 2x3. You'd be doing a bit more than that but with some breaks so (shrug). Strong week (as always).

                           

                           

                          James You've had a rough half year or so, I hope things clear up.

                           

                          Mick - you had time you should have beat Mark !!

                           

                          Steve  great work giving those hills a nudge!!

                           

                          CK/DW I once read a race report from Alaska and the guy talked about carrying a gun because Bear near the marathon course were incredibly common. Hopefully his experience isn't common.

                           

                          me I removed cycling from my week and only swam twice and this feels more sustainable. I did a strange time trial where everything went wrong, so at least I got that out of my system. I estimated I was in ~12:20-30 2 mile shape and asked a clubmate to pace me at 6 /mile and I'd just hang on as long as I could and then fight my way to the end (side note: I feel like I've been sandbagging my start and leaving time out there). Anyways it felt crazy fast and I glanced at my watch and saw 4:50 pace. I gasped "too fast" and we slowed to 5:15 pace.... anyways we slowed a little more and I hung on for a 5:45 mile but didn't fight for the second mile as I should have. The good news is this is roughly where my fitness was last summer before my ultra and I'm 10 lbs heavier.

                           

                          Mon 2 easy runs 40, 32min + shovelling

                          Tue 25min AM shakeout + drills, Noontime tempo 10@HM + 8'@HM + 4'@10k

                          Wed 33' + 42' easy runs + 6x:08 + 2x:15 hill sprints, 1300yd swim

                          Thur 18' shakeout (missed my club run so impromptu taper)

                          Fri 30' ez run + 10 min bodyweight work + 1000yd swim

                          Sat mile in 5:45

                          Sun 2 hour run/walk in melting snow up to my knees at points + 4 mile jog mostly on pavement.

                           

                          49.9 miles (Oh no, I pulled a Mick) / 7h 52m Running

                          1.3mi / 58m swim

                          58m weights

                          = 9h 48min

                          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

                            Flavio - I tacked that one on the front page as well.
                            Have you given any thought to using a handheld grip or gymbal for the gopro?


                            Zebano - Whew, a little hot at the beginning of that trial, indeed! It would certainly be tough fighting through a second mile after starting that fast. Also, shoveling as cross training??


                            4 miles at HM effort today, which ended up a bit faster than I anticipated. Based on input here and in the marathon thread I'm thinking maybe 6x 1k at ~10k effort later this week, then some 400s at 5k effort next week.

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

                             

                            Upcoming Races:

                             

                             

                              Flavio my race times from past are fraudulent on uncertified short courses. Thats what we could get away with before strava etc 

                              But seriously I used to run the thursday evening 5ks sometimes put on by the local Athletics/running club. I always got it short at 4.92 kms but the organizer assured me he wheel measured it. I wanted to believe him as he is in charge of all athletic and x country meets etc and was hungry for PBs but in reality the course was short. My best time on that course was 17.15. I estimate I was a 17.30 to 18.00 min runner back in 2012 to 2013 but have no official certified times.

                              My 2 marathons at 2.59 and 2.54 are certified and showed the usual 42.7 or so. My fastest certified half was a low 1.22. I ran a 1.20.20 on a course that I got at 200m short. Most of my 10ks have been short except a 37.07 10k on a certified course in 2012.

                              I have a 10 000m solo time trial with photo evidence from 2014

                              I have an old gopro but it would shake around too much for running footage. I like youtuber Kofuzi who uses the selfie stick that you cant see.

                               

                               

                              Zebano heres my photo with hordes of kids at the start of a 5k. Piwi junior is in the red. He has never beaten me as doesnt do the required training. I think he could take me in a 400 or maybe an 800m right now.

                              Nice time trial too !

                               

                              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 "      

                               

                                Did you guys see the Lake Biwa marathon in Japan ?

                                40 dudes under 2.10  mostly Japanese with winner in 2.04 a Japanese guy.

                                Flat fast course with perfect conditions, strong marathon culture even for young runners in Japan, able to be paid for running by large companies, super shoes, and a good body shape for long distance seem to be all contributors. Course looks legit based off a strava entry I saw. Also not many other races for them lately so lots of focus on this one.

                                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 "