Sub 1:30 Half Marathon in 2020 (Read 618 times)

Marky_Mark_17


    Steve - good week.  You've been really patient building that mileage up and it'll pay dividends once you start hitting the workouts.  There's a ton of research that has demonstrated that overall mileage is a better overall predictor of race times than specific workout types.

     

    I've always been more of a 1 decimal place guy myself, but hey you're the overlord!

     

    JMac - I'm surprised you feel that beat up!  I remember coming back after that broken toe, I felt fine, apart from being really unfit.  Maybe it was just because I was angsty to get back into it.

     

    Watson - hoping the hamstring keeps improving.

     

    Flavio - nice week.  Will you run anything longer than that before your race?

     

    Kimba - doh!!!  Fingers crossed it comes right fast.

     

    DPS - good stuff.  That sleep makes such a big difference.  Glad to hear the family are all doing 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"


    From the Internet.

      kimba - ugh frustrating!! Patience now will pay off later.

       

      Back at it! Hip thing seems to have resolved with the tools from the last time it happened. Fighting off a bit of a cold kept me from overdoing it early in the week, just had zero motivation/energy to run anyway so that worked out well. Bout 50 miles, little low but no complaints because I'm healthy!

       

      M - ~2.5ish miles easy

       

      Tu - 3.5ish miles easy. No hip nagging at all!

       

      W - testing the waters with a not-too-stressful workout. 3 mi up, 2 mi tempo in ~6:38, 6:36, 3 min jog and then 4x30 sec hard with 90 sec jog, cooldown to 8 miles total.

       

      Th - the real test: 6.2 easy miles, no hip complaints!

       

      F - 10 mile medium-long progression. 8:19 first mile to get rolling and then worked my way down from 8:00. 2 miles 8ish, 2 miles 7:45ish, and then just kept dropping a bit each mile until the end. Opened up at the end and finished it up with a ~6:52 mile. Was frustrated with GPS/Stryd pod issues at a couple of points where I usually anticipate problems due to tree cover/poor signal (no, I did not slow down by a full minute per mile on a flat stretch of road with no change in effort!!), but fixed the problem when I dove into the settings (had left Stryd on auto-calibrate, which meant it was auto-calibrating itself to my bad GPS data instead of overriding it).

       

      Sa - 7 easy miles

       

      Su - pacing a group long run, more Garmin GPS/Stryd frustrations. Think this was due to a low Stryd battery but if that doesn't fix it I'm gonna have to do some serious troubleshooting and consider whether this damn thing is really capable of doing what I need it to do for me. Fortunately my group was super consistent, the effort was good for everyone, and I had a great co-pacer. 13.6ish miles at 7:55ish average (aiming for 8:00).

      dpschumacher


      3 months til Masters

        That is a pretty good progression Lauren.  I looked at your race PR's and that was a solid workout.  Nice job.

        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

         

         

          Well, I guess here it goes.

           

          I'm Ryan, or mrakers85 here on RA. I'm 34 years old and started running in 2005 as a hobby jogger. I valeted at a hotel in Nashville, TN in 2006-2008 which happened to be the marathon headquarters. That really propelled me to be more interested in running, and that's where I decided to jump into running and doing races.

           

          In college and my 20's, I ran a lot, and would rarely race. I've done three half marathons. 2009 was 1:34, 2010 was 1:32. I got married in 09, relocated in 2010, and continued to run, but it was all just casual miles. In 2014, my wife and I had our only daughter and I decided in March 2015 I'd run a 5k and a half. The 5k came in at 19:02, which was a big PR for me. The half was short (12.85 miles) but came out to about a 1:31:30 finish.

           

          That fall, I had some health issues that sidelined me (non-running related) and it took a while to get back into running. In 2017, I looked in the mirror, decided I was too overweight (was 206 lbs) and decided to drop some weight. In the next 8-9 months I dropped 30lbs and have been able to stay between 175-180 since then.

           

          Last fall, I ran a 5 miler and it got me hooked once again on racing, and more than ever. It was my first 5 miler, and it didn't go great due to weather and probably being slightly undertrained. Did 3 5k's and ended up PR'ing in the last one on a hilly course at 19:00.5 (go figure). Also had an 8 second PR in the 4 miler I ran at Thanksgiving. I didn't think PR'ing in my 30's would happen, and yet here we are and I just feel like I'm getting faster.

           

          So here I am now, talking with my wife and eyeing a fast and flat May half marathon. Race time indicators predict based on 19 minute 5k a 1:25-1:28 half, which is exciting. But, with some very specific training, racing, and mileage, I'd love to PR in every distance throughout this spring.

           

          I haven't signed up yet...but I'm posting here in hopes of motivating myself to really get into some accountability to accomplish this goal.

           

          So, here goes nothing.

          dpschumacher


          3 months til Masters

            Awesome and welcome Ryan.

             

            Go get it!

            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

             

             

            darkwave


            Mother of Cats

              James - I'd call that a good build of a week.


              Marky_Mark - nice week (I also commented on the other thread)


              SteveChCh - I like the balance of your week. Will not comment on the decimal points.


              watson - I hope it clears soon.


              flavio - hopefully your legs will respond well to the long run, and be better for the half.


              kimba - I'm sorry. Running is a cruel sport. I hope it's just soft tissue, and easily mended.


              dps - I hope the improved sleep trend continues!


              Lauren - glad the hip is improving. I've actually found the Stryd to be decently accurate (I haven't calibrated mine, so it's not perfect). I still use GPS, primarily so that I can have a map of where I run. Supposedly you can set your watch to use Stryd for distance, but GPS for the map, but I haven't figured that one out yet.


              mrakers - welcome!

               

              ***

               

              As for me:

              54 miles, 12 "miles" of pool-running, and 3000 yards of swimming
              M: yoga and 8 "miles" pool-running.
              T: 4 mile warm-up, then attempted workout of 1600, 4x800, 2x400. Pulled plug during 1600 due to left hamstring spasm. Sports massage in afternoon.
              W: 6 miles very easy (9:11), DIY yoga, 3 miles very easy (9:32). PT for hammy in afternoon.
              Th: 10 miles very easy (9:12), drills, 4 "miles" pool-running, and then lifting, core, rehab exercises.
              F: 8 miles very easy (8:54), drills, 4 uphill strides, and then 2000 yards swimming with 2x5x100 yards on 2:00; 1:00 recovery between sets. Split between 1:37-1:39 for each rep. Then rehab and leg strengthwork.
              Sa: 10 miles (8:36), drills and four strides, DIY yoga, core, and rehab work.
              Su: 12 miles progressive, split as first 3 averaging 8:53, next 5 averaging 7:27, last 4 averaging 6:54. Followed with leg strengthwork and rehab, and 1000 yards recovery swimming.

               

              I had a scare with my hamstring this week, but it seems that I caught it early enough and acted aggressively enough (plus was lucky enough) to get it under control.  I had to skip Tuesday and Friday's track workouts (did a thrashy splashy but got my HR up swimming workout on Friday to make up for the missed tempo) and also cut back Sunday's long run from 16 to 12.  I also skipped yoga class (wanted to do yoga at my own pace) and pulled back on the pool-running since my hamstrings sometimes cramp up while doing that.

               

              All of that seems to have done the trick, as it held up fine on today's not-so-long run.  I should be good to go for the Houston Half next weekend.  And no, I have no idea how fast I will run.  If I had been able to do a four mile tempo on Friday, that would have given me some sense (running off of effort, I usually tempo 4 miles at around HM pace).  But I didn't.  And I have no idea whether I will be faster since I've effectively rested more for Houston than I planned, or slower since I missed two workouts this week, 13 and 10 days out from the race.

               

              I guess we'll see.  For those of you who don't know me well, I always race with my watch face covered, just off of perceived effort.  One of the advantages of that is that I don't need to have a goal pace set before the race - I'll just go out there and find out when I cross the finish line.

              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


                Darkwave - one of NZ's best distance runners, Jake Robertson, is in the Houston Half.  He won it in 2018 I believe.  It's so impressive that you race without being able to see the pace on your watch.  I know now how I should be feeling at 5k, 10k and HM pace, but I don't have the guts to try and do it without looking at my watch.

                 

                Lauren - nice week and nice progression run.  Frustrating how easily GPS gets thrown by trees sometime!

                 

                Ryan - welcome!  We've got quite a few runners on this thread that started late (like me) or have been getting back into it with new goals (like DPS).

                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"

                kcam


                  I had a nice 57 mile week with the vast majority of that at very, very easy pace.  I'm back in base-building stage.  The only non-easy miles were 4X1K intervals at about 4:20 per interval.  This was on a hilly loop so a tough challenge.  I've got a 10mile road race coming on 1/25 but I'm not expecting anything impressive but it will be all out racing.

                  All in all a very encouraging week.  Onward.

                  watsonc123


                    Lauren - nice week, I'm glad your hip is good.

                     

                    Darkwave - nice week.  I'm glad your hamstring is good.  Good luck for Houston.  I couldn't race with my GPS watch with tape on it, I'd would certainly get too obsessed over what my km split was, and would rip off the tape.

                     

                    DPS - nice week again.  You might be the 2020 thread's mileage king.

                    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

                    watsonc123


                      Steve - you need to add Darkwave and the Houston Half to the list on page 1.

                      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

                        JMac I'm sure you'll be back to normal soon

                        James nice week

                        Mark Nice week looks like you are starting to up the mileage.

                        Steve nice week

                        Watson how's the hamstring coming?

                        Flavio nice week

                        Kimba sorry you are having issues seems like it's going around.

                        Darkwave  hope it's nothing serious and good luck in Houston.  I don't think I could manage without my watch

                        Kcam nice week

                        DPS nice week as well hope you continue to get some sleep!

                        Lauren  glad your back at it nice work on that  progression run.

                         

                        for me I had a big reduction from last weeks 73 miles, down to 42.4 so back in line with normal.

                        Mon        5.0

                        Tue         off

                        Wed       5.5 work out 7x.25

                        Thur       3.2 wasn't feeling great after Wednesday

                        Fri           off

                        Sat         13.3 steady pace run

                        Sun        15  work out

                         

                        This week should be about the same for me 40-45 miles will have a slight bump up the following week.

                        PR's

                        1m  5:38 (2018)

                        5k    19:59 (2019)

                        HM  1:33:56 (2018)

                        FM  3:23:07 (2018)

                        JMac11


                        RIP Milkman

                          Corey - I forgot, are you running Boston?

                           

                          Kcam - I hate base building, hope you enjoy it more.

                           

                          Ryan - welcome aboard! This thread is perfect for what you're looking for: accountability. It certainly improved mine tremendously. Felt guilty reporting back to the board with a shit week.

                           

                          Mark - I completely jinxed myself a few months ago saying I hadn't been sick. Came down with a virus this weekend, definitely couldn't run. Thought it was just jet lag all week but the fever said otherwise. First time I've missed a run due to illness since October 2018.

                          5K: 16:37 (11/20)  |  10K: 34:49 (10/19)  |  HM: 1:14:57 (5/22)  |  FM: 2:36:31 (12/19) 

                           

                           

                          JamesD


                          JamesD

                            Ryan - Welcome!  This is a great group with lots of useful advice, & like JMac says, the accountability is a big help too.  Where do you live now?  I went to college in Nashville, though well before the time you were working at the hotel.

                             

                            Also, how many mpw are you running?  The equivalence tables assume you're doing appropriate training for the distance you're planning to run, so if you were slightly undertrained for your 5-miler, the forecast for the half may be optimistic.  My 5K PR isn't much over 19, and I haven't broken 1:30 for the half (yet - let's be optimistic), probably because of low mileage.  You certainly have the speed to go under 1:30.

                             

                            Finally, where is your fast & flat May half?  Columbus, OH?  I had been looking at some March & April halfs in Georgia & Alabama, but an illness has put me about a month behind schedule, and I'm basebuilding for the next several weeks.  I'd love to find a flat May half in a place that's not too hot at that time of the year (and ideally not too far away, but that may not be possible).

                            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

                            CommanderKeen


                            Cobra Commander Keen

                              DPS - Heck of a week. Don't think I'll relinquish the mileage crown without a fight, though!


                              James - Awesome with the mileage, and solid work on getting there gradually & safely. Not many have the patience to do that.


                              Flavio - I'd imagine the endurance will come pretty quickly with a little extra distance on the dailies and more LRs like that.
                              It's tough, isn't it? I've never had much of a sweet tooth myself, but to me if I eat much of anything carbohydrates-wise it makes me want more and more of them. If I get away from them for just a couple days, though, they aren't much of a temptation at all.


                              Kimba - Bummer about the leg, but at least you didn't push anything after it crept up and you have reason to think it's not as serious as a stress fracture.


                              Lauren - Which model of Stryd do you have? I've been using one for a long time now - 3 or 4 years, I think. I've really like it myself (mostly doing everything by power rather than pace), but I did recently switch over to using it for pace/distance all the time. I did do a calibration run on the track (using lane 4 since it's an even 423m per lap, and it's a little easier to run there than lane 1). Follow-up tests have all been within 1% of actual distance since then.


                              Ryan - Welcome! I have a daughter the same age as yours. 19:00:05 isn't bad - I have a running buddy whose 5k PR is 20:00:00! Definitely stick around, we can certainly help out with the accountability thing.


                              DWave - As on Strava, I'm glad the hamstring is doing well and Houston is a go.

                               

                              JMac - How was the latest trip? At least you had that long stretch sans illness! I can't even imagine such a thing.
                              I did get a Gore R7, and I have to say that thing is absolutely awesome! Doing my LR outdoors without that would have been quite unpleasant without it this past weekend (very cold for the area, with high winds and a bit of snow and sleet). Looks like it could be 40* and raining (plus a little wind) Friday, so I'll have another great opportunity to test it in those conditions as well.


                              Have any of our resident programmers given more thought to making us another Strava import tool??

                               

                              76mi last week:
                              M - 10.5E
                              T - 10.5E
                              W - 11 w/ 5 min T, 10 min T, 15 min T. It's definitely more difficult doing it this way than going from longer intervals to shorter.
                              Th - 10.5E
                              F - 10.5E
                              Sa - 20E
                              Su - 3E



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

                               

                              Upcoming Races:

                               

                               

                              Marky_Mark_17


                                Keen - You are delivering exactly as befits the reigning thread mileage king!  Also, since we are on the same team for the 2020 in 2020 game, can you check you've logged all your runs on RA?  It's currently only showing you on 53 miles for last week.  I think I sent you an invite for the team forum, but if not (or if you've got too many threads to keep up with already) let me know.

                                 

                                JMac - doh!! I guess this time it's recovery madness not taper madness for you.  Hope you're feeling better soon.

                                 

                                Corey - nice week.

                                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"