Forums >Racing>Sub 1:30 Half Marathon in 2020
Hot Weather Complainer
Happy new year everybody!
As is tradition for the new thread leader, I must thank the previous thread leader, JMac. There was concern it would be a reign of terror but apart from posting in miles and fahrenheit and complaining about weather complaining, he had a great year not only as leader but in smashing PRs.
For those of you that are lurking, now is the time to join! This group is very friendly with one another, and we always love having new people join. You will find that we quickly embrace newcomers if they are positive contributors to the thread. We had many new folks join up in the last year. We currently have regulars from New Zealand, Brazil, USA, Italy/Northern Ireland and drive by members in England, Switzerland and others ....if your country didn't get a mention you need to become a regular!
Here are the basic rules for the thread, mostly copied from last year:
There is also a Strava club: https://www.strava.com/clubs/sub90HM
The link below can help outputting weekly summaries, if you use Strava. http://rwol-weekly.appspot.com/
Miles/KM converter, because we have too many non-Kiwis in this thread: https://www.depicus.com/swim-bike-run/pace-conversion-chart
Flavio has created an app to generate your weekly training in a nice table, for those on Strava:
https://strava-weekly.herokuapp.com/
Cancelled
More like 7.6km, average pace per km = 3:59
PR!
Memorable quotes:
darkwave: In every race, there is a point where you ask yourself a question, and then answer it. Racing regularly lets you practice answering that question correctly. Using races as workouts does not.
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 1:27:34
Selwyn Marathon June 2, 2024 DNF
Dunedin Half Marathon September 15, 2024
I'm Steve, 43 years old. I was born in Auckland, New Zealand and moved to Christchurch as a kid. Post-university I lived in quite a few places around the world, before landing in Christchurch again 4 years ago. It's a great place to live (still slowly recovering after the devastating 2011 earthquake) and very good for running with parks, bike paths, trails in the surrounding hills and a good climate albeit a bit hot in summer (if I'm going to mention weather, it is compulsory that I complain about heat - I don't make the rules, I just follow them. EDIT: this was copied from the 2019 thread. In 2020 I DO make the rules).
I didn't run a lot at school, besides the compulsory cross country every year. I played cricket and football (soccer) to a reasonable level up until around the age of 30. I started running when I was 25 after an ex-girlfriend told me she'd run a half-marathon and I figured if she could do it, surely I could. I'd also got a bit out of shape one winter when I couldn't play football due to travelling so I needed to sort that out.
My first race was the Christchurch Half-Marathon in 2002 which I finished in 1:34. I ran the same race a year later hoping to go sub 90, but blew up and really suffered for at least the last 5km. I finished in 1:33 but I was losing time very quickly in that last 5km. I returned a year later with a very good build up and ran to how I felt. I was 40 seconds down with 5km left but flew home to go under 90 minutes by 17 seconds - I was a bit conservative about when to lift the pace after the pain of the previous year.
The next decade was dominated by injuries before I finally went sub 90 again in 2016 (after adjusting my training with the help of a coach). 2017 and 2018 were both interrupted with niggles which stopped me getting back to where I wanted to be, missing out on another sub 90 by 29 seconds in 2017 and 2 mins 39 seconds in 2018.
2019 started well with a solid training block leading into a 1:30.49 in the Auckland Waterfront Half-Marathon which was a failure in that I felt in better shape than that but a success given that it felt like a bad day and I really had to dig deep to get to the finish without a complete blow up. I got injured in June and lost the best part of 3 months before beginning to re-build a good base. I feel like I've done that now and I'm aiming for a sub 1:30 on May 31 in Christchurch with a 10km race in February as a tempo run stepping stone.
Intro:Name: ChrisLocation: Greater Wellington, New ZealandAge: 42
I've been racing since 2011. My first half I ran 1:45 and was really pleased. I kept running and was pretty consistent. From the mid 2014 to mid 2016 was my best volume period and is where I got my half PR of 1:26:16. I also got my full PR of 3:09:28 then too, and 5k PR of 18:43.
Training since then has been off and on. I managed a 3:16 marathon in October 2017, and just went sub 1:30 for the half in June 2018.
2019 was an OK year. Training was pretty good April to August. I also joined a club and had quite a few cross country races. The highlight of 2019, was the Wellington Road 10km Champs in August where I managed a 11s PR with 40:28. I started a litle quick, so could/should have ran a little quicker.
I ran two half's in 2019. One was in June in Christhurch, which was very cold and wet. I had a small fade over the last 5km (also into the wind) and went about 1:30:12 (I think). My other half was in November which was windy and far too hot, I was cooked by 12km and faded bad for 1:32:56.
This year will be about 2700km / 1700 miles. I need more mileage in 2020.
My 2020 goal races are:31 May, Christchurch Half MarathonSometime August, Wellington 10km Road ChampsSometime October, either Hamilton Half Marathon or Wairarapa Half Marathon.
I have 2020 monthly mileage aims. January and February I have some work exams which I need to spend time on, so they will be low months. And December always ends up low. So that will be low too. My aims are:Jan 200kmFeb 200kmMar 300kmApr 350kmMay 350kmJun 350kmJul 350kmAug 350kmSep 350kmOct 350kmNov 350kmDec 200kmTotal 3700km
I'll figure out goal times closer to my races.
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
Mother of Cats
What the heck - I spend enough time here, I might as well intro myself. Especially since my first goal race of 2020 will be the Houston Half-Marathon.
****
Darkwave - female and 45 years old. I'm in the part of Northern Virginia that is essentially Washington DC without the negatives of living in DC proper. About 50% of my weekly mileage is run in DC or Maryland, not Virginia.
I race pretty much everything from the mile (road only) to the marathon. I avoid track races and I hate trails - I'm an asphalt/concrete princess. I started running 11 years ago, at the age of 33, so I'm an adult onset runner. My previous sport was horses - hunter-jumper to be exact. If you want to see me riding at the age of 17, it's here.
I train with a coach and a team (same coach for 9 years now, I think). It's worked very well for me
I have moderate-to-severe asthma (that's what they call it), am allergic to a whole slew of stuff, and have a bunch of auto-immune issues to boot, including Ulcerative Colitis. I have not, as of yet, been diagnosed with hypochondria. The asthma and allergies are managed fairly well with medication (all carefully checked to ensure it's allowed under WADA/USADA); I control the autoimmune/UC stuff mainly by lifestyle (diet, etc) and occasionally meds when things flare. I'm also fun at parties..
I'm injury prone and overtrain easily (possibly age, possibly autoimmune stuff) so a fair amount of my training is cross training (pool-running, swimming, yoga, weights), and I run my easy runs very slowly relative to my race paces.
(I'm good with punctuation and grammar in general, but abuse parentheticals)
I have a law degree and do ediscovery/workplace monitoring work for a large international corporation. I telecommute full time and live very close to a track and an indoor pool - very convenient for training. If you're wondering how I fit stuff in - that's how.
I live with my boyfriend/partner of a decade plus and three cats, all defective (one has severe allergies, the other two are visually impaired). A horse that is sound enough to live happily as a "pasture ornament" but can't be ridden completes our collection.
PRs as of December 24, 2019: Mile: 5:25 (2017); 5K: 18:51 (2017); 10K: 38:56 (20:17); 10M: 1:02:28 (2019); Half: 1:24:08 (2019); Full: 2:57:42 (2018).
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.
Cobra Commander Keen
Hello, all!
Kyle here. The Once and Future Mileage King. 35 years old and from flyover country (Oklahoma) USA. Married (10 years in March) with 3 daughters (ages 2, 5, 8). I'm an adult-onset runner, starting in July 2015. I jumped in to running headfirst after doing a 5k with my wife's family and discovered I loved it and wondered just how fast I could end up getting at the distance.
Once I recovered from some sicknesses lingering in the beginning of last year, I was able to put up big miles for several months which lead to a very nice HM PR. My attempt at a sub-3 marathon was thwarted by a stomach bug hitting mid-race (children are germ magnets!). That derailed my plans for running some ultras in 2020, but getting a sub-3 marathon is definitely on the docket for the coming year. Likely seeing how far I can drop my HM PR is as well, since I know I left some time on the course. Aside from that, I want to avoid injury again this year (avoiding sickness is probably impossible!), and I want to finally win that blasted HM in Texas that I've placed 2nd at all 4 years it has been run. Oh, and run MOAR miles. That goes without saying.
Mileage history:2015: 558 (starting from July)2016 1,9122017: 2,2422018: 2,9312019: 3,172
5k: 17:58 11/22 │ 10k: 37:55 9/21 │ HM: 1:23:22 4/22 │ M: 2:56:05 12/22
Upcoming Races:
?
Hi everyone. I'm Paul, 51 year old male, married, father of two girls 11 and 14. I live in Southern California outside LA. I've been running (off and on since 1993 when I started after college to lose weight. I had modest results for years until 2012 when I decided to make a big jump in mileage. I got my first BQ in 2012 at the Philadelphia Marathon, then improved my marathon and HM times over the next few years to 2:53 and 1:21:30. I don't think I can reach those times anymore, but maybe if I buy a pair of Vaporfly. I've also taken up ultramarathons in the past few years completing Western States 100 in 2018 and Angeles Crest 100 in 2019. I do one HM a year, the Santa to the Sea HM in Oxnard, CA in December. This year I ran a disappointing 1:28 (goal was sub-1:25).
Also, I am married, with two girls aged 12 and 8 years old.
I'm Mark, 38 years old, married with one almost-3-year-old daughter. I work at PwC, as a director in the corporate finance team (valuation and strategy stuff). I don't love it, but it pays well.
Started running in 2015, after rehabbing a serious knee injury that I got from playing field hockey (fractured kneecap, ruptured patellar tendon). Ran a 1:27 half in my first race off some fairly terrible training and decided I should probably take running a bit more seriously.
It'd be fair to say I have no intention of playing hockey again! After knocking the HM PR down to 1:18 in 2016, I decided to do a marathon in 2017. Got the sub-3, but hated it (and injured myself), so I've spent the past two years focusing on shorter distances. And just enjoying running.
That turned out to be the right call, as my HM PR went from 1:18, to 1:16, to 1:15 in 2018, then 1:14, to 1:12, to 1:10 by the end of 2019 (yes that last one was a bit downhill but I've no doubt it was a PR effort). Along the way there's been National Championship medals (10k and Half Marathon), a sub-33 10k, and a sub-16 5k. Also a few more 4am runs than I'd like, 2019 was a bit nuts with my wife working weekends. Looking after a toddler for a weekend is still a tougher endurance challenge than smashing out a 30k long run at 4am. But it was an awesome year of running that I'm really grateful to have had.
I still don't really know what my limits are, and the improvement over the last two years is really just down to consistent training, slowly building up the mileage and staying injury-free. What I do know is that my marathon time is seriously in need of improvement so I've finally built up the courage to have a good crack at that in 2020. I'll probably double-post on this thread and the Sub-3 Marathon thread. This thread has been awesome source of inspiration and ideas and I love seeing others smash their goals, there were a few on the 2019 thread.
Looking forward to the usual banter, and seeing how many of my 10 predictions for this thread in 2020 come true!
Goals for 2020:
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: Runway5 / National 5k Champs, 16:22, National Masters AG Champ!
Up next: Still working on that...
"CONSISTENCY IS KING"
Kim - Female, 44 (45 in March - getting old!). I live in New England so I automatically get a free pass for complaining about weather. I have 2 kids, work as a physical therapist.
I'm basically a life long athlete. I always enjoyed running and used to be the fastest one in my class at the 50 yard dash which we did in gym every year during elementary school. However, despite that, I was never a pure runner before adulthood. I played competitive soccer for a long time and my speed was used in my position as striker to score all the goals. Once I was done with soccer I switched to running to stay in shape. Like some others have mentioned, my first runs were pretty pedestria,n, but I always knew that I had more in the tank.
In 2008-ish, after having 2 kids, I finally joined a running club and had a coach. I loved being able to compete again, and I loved having some guidance in my running. I first did 5Ks and got that time down to 18:32 in a few years. In 2012 or 2013 I ran my one and only 1/2 marathon in 1:28. I don't remember exactly when I was introduced to indoor track, sometime in my mid 30's, but that quickly became my love, specifically the 800 and mile. Those events seemed to mesh well with my power and speed background from soccer. I ran several indoor seasons to get PRs of 2:20 in the 800, 5:13 in the mile, all in my late thirties and early 40's.
In 2016, about 6 months after turning 40 , I' had a hysterectomy. That basically kept me out of running from the fall of 2016 to the spring of 2017. I made a bit of a comeback in 2017/2018 to run a 5K in 18:48 and a mile in 5:17. Then, since the fall/winter of 2018/2019 to now I've been plagued by injury. First was an oblique tear and iliac crest stress reaction in December 2018 to March 2019. Then from March 2019 to August 2019 I was re-building until a minor set back for about a month. In October 2019 I started again to rebuild, and have made my goal to re-build my base by aiming for another 1/2 marathon in May 2020. Hopefully I stay injury free and can run a decent time, hopefully near or below 1:30 again. I've been building base since October and plan to really start 1/2 marathon training in the New Year.
Welcome everyone! I hope to stay healthy enough to keep sharing my training and to learn from all the dedicated runners in this group.
800m: 2:20.3 (2015) | 1 Mile: 5:13 (2016) | 5K: 18:32 (2010) | 10km: 39:55 (2012) | HM: 1:28 (2013)
3 months til Masters
I'm Dan. Was part of the thread last year. Started running for the first time on 1/1/19 after 3 years away from running. Am finally back in shape after running for a year. I'll be racing 2 marathons this year as goal races, and a bunch of other races that are part of our local track club circuit. Former DIII college runner living in Minnesota.
3/14 O'Gara's 8k
4/25 Get in Gear Half Marathon
5/16 Uff Da Half Marathon
5/25 Brian Kraft 5k
6/20 Grandma's Marathon ??? (2nd kid due 3 days before)
7/22 Torchlight 5k
8/5 Endless Summer 5 mile ?? Unsure if I will run this as it is a trail run on a fairly technical (lots of rocks and roots) course
8/29 Rutabaga Half marathon (Going for the win after getting 2nd last year)
9/7 Victory 10k
10/4 TC 10 Mile
10/17 Mankato Marathon
Looking to go 2:45:00 at Grandma's Marathon and 2:40 at Mankato Marathon. However my 2nd child is due 3 days before Grandma's so a little up in the air if I'll actually run.
2023 Goals
Marathon Sub 2:37 (CIM) 2:41:18
10k Sub 35:00 (Victory 10k 34:19)
5k Sub 16:00 (Hot Dash 5k in March (16:48), Brian Kraft in May (16:20), Twilight 5000 in July and August (16:20/16:25 Both heat index 102-103F)
Sub 1:16 Half Marathon City of Lakes Half Marathon 1:15:47)
Sub 56:30 in 10 mile (Twin Cities 10 mile, Canceled due to weather, 56:35 as a workout)
2024 Goals
Sub 2:37 Marathon
Sub 1:15 Half
Sub 34 10k
Sub 16 5k: 16:21 BK5k (May)
Hi! I'll de-lurk. I'm Scott, from Portland, OR. I'm 49 and have a soon-to-be-six-year-old daughter, a combination I for one find exhausting. That's why I haven't been running much the last few years. But 2019 found me excited about the new Portland Marathon and getting back into it. Going back in time, I started running in 2007 and managed to get down to a 1:28:46 half at my peak in 2012. It would be great to get back to that.
My one serious goal at the moment, though, is to rehab this right ankle of mine. It's been wonky ever since I started upping my miles for running Portland this year. I strongly suspect that it's still not right after a wrenching ankle strain I incurred during an ice skating fall a couple of years back. Oh, yeah, I should mention, figure skating is the only cross-training I get. So, for the moment, I'm sticking to 30-mile weeks with no long runs.
Random bullet points:
* I complain more about hot weather than cold.
* For a living, I'm a computer programmer
* I grow a beard from September through February
* I find 5Ks terrifically painful, but I'm still glad we have a Parkrun in the area now
* I'll eat anything and run. Instead of gels, I carry fun-sized Milky Ways
* I like Nuun. Is that a problem?
* I have never tried racing shoes of any sort
JamesD
James, M57, Georgia, USA. Married 22 years, 16-year-old son. Ran xc & track for two years in high school until injuring a knee. Ran once a week most of the time from 2003 until I retired in 2013 and had more time. Because I’m injury-prone, I’ve built up very gradually from ridiculously low mileage to just low mileage.
Mileage history:
2014: 600 (usually 2 runs/wk)
2015: 694 (5 runs/2 wks)
2016: 839 (3/wk)
2017: 1,336 (5/wk)
2018: 1,190 (5/wk, missed 3 months injured)
2019: ~1,690 (5/wk)
With the mileage increases, my fitness & workout times & race performances have gradually improved. As for injuries, I have chronic knee trouble and what seems to be upper hamstring tendinopathy. I’m managing the knee issues pretty well; the hamstrings kept me out for 3 months in 2018 but haven’t been too limiting since then as long as I avoid hills.
2019 has been a good year. My goals, in rough order of importance, were to avoid injury, average 30+ mpw, and go below 1:30, 40, and 19. I only missed four runs all year with niggles, so that was great, though the hamstrings did keep me from doing hill workouts. I’ve been very consistent, running five days almost every week and at least three days every week until getting sick recently, and I’ll average 32+ mpw for the year. As for the race times, I came very close to 1:30 in a March half that went really well, especially considering I hadn’t done much speedwork after coming back from the hamstring injury. Didn’t do as well in a November half when I was in a little better shape, but I think that was a result of cold (for me - I’m a wimp) weather. Broke 40 in a downhill-but-warm 10K in September, and had a good 5-mile race in July.
For 2020, I’d like to get to 45 or so mpw for a while and average 35 for the year. I think if I do that, I’ll have a chance to keep improving my times. Not sure if I’ll try a spring half, as I may prefer to take more time building a base. The November half that was my main goal race for several years has been cancelled, so I’ll be looking for out-of-town halfs. Looking forward to another good year for the board and lots of creative weather complaining.
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
Problem Child
Name: Brewing Runner
age: 35-39 M
Location: East of California.
Running History: I started running around 2014, I think, as a way to lose weight. I just broke 3 hours as my goal for the past 4 years was to get IN to the Boston marathon. Currently my goal is to get a half marathon PR outside of a Marathon. Historically getting my Half marathon PR in the first half of a Marathon PR has worked well for me.
Favorite Race: CIM. I've probably PR'd every distance there except the 5k.
Upcoming Race: Sparks Connector Run April 5, 2019. Goal is sub 1:25. I have no idea what I'm capable of as I've focused on the marathon specifically for at least the last 2 years. 1:25 is kind of based off a sub 3 marathon but the courses are totally different. CIM is not run at the same elevation I will be racing at.
I'll complain about everything. I think my running friends have adjusted their expectations of running with me to include complaining about weather, hills, pace, or distance, OR running out some pissed off aggression towards work. I'll bounce between here and the marathon thread.
Anyone have a suggestion for a training plan to follow? Jack Daniels? Hansons? Pfitz? I'm thinking 50 mpw would work well for my life balance and a half marathon. I think the last half marathon I specifically trained for was attempting to break 1:40 and that was probably three years or more ago.
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
Pretty good week, although my legs were definitely feeling a little bit out of gas after last Friday's 5000m race. No real pressure to hit any hard sessions at this time of year though so it was no big deal and probably not a bad thing to just take it a little easier for a bit. Saturday's track session was funny - started raining just after I started, absolutely poured down for the duration of the workout, then stopped as I was leaving. No complaints from me after how we fluked near-perfect weather for that race last Friday though. Sunday's run was also the longest of the year. Good practice for marathon training next year!
M: weights
T: 15.3km incl. steady efforts
W: 14.2km easy
T: 13.1km incl. short efforts
F: weights
S: 14.3km track session
S: 33.3km long run
Total: 90.3km
Ken
SF Bay Area (Cupertino)
Been running for ~35 years starting when I was 23. Ran 100% solo for many years running only 2 or 3 marathons per year culminating in a sub-3 marathon at the 2000 Boston Marathon. Thought I had hit the pinnacle of performance (LOL) and dialed back my running for several years slipping back to 3:50 marathons. Joined a running club ~2009 and immediately saw what real training could do. I couldn't believe the miles/hours these guys with regular jobs were putting in. Put in some miles and workouts (and races OTHER than a marathon) and pulled all of my times down significantly. 2:54 marathon PR down to 17:54 5K at 51. 58 now and am definitely on that long slow decline. Had a heart attack this past summer that I'm just recovering from and getting used to running again. I'll try to post weeklies but I may not as all of my runs are logged here on RA and my log is open if anyone wants to see what training produced the race results I will post. I do hope to get back to a 1:30 1/2 but that's a lot of training away. Long shot for this year.
I'll start the year off with the Rotary Mission 10miler (San Juan Bautista) at the end of January. Tough road course but good training for a couple 10milers on the schedule in the spring.
Have a great year, everyone!