Forums >Racing>Sub 1:30 Half Marathon in 2020
Steve - I would say the five hour drive the day before would be significant.
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
JamesD
JamesD - good report - I enjoyed reading it. I am surprised that you consider 7 am an early start for a race. Around here, that's not unusual.
A lot of races here of 10K or shorter start at 8, and some wintertime ones start at 9. Some summertime ones will start at 7 because of the heat, and some that use busy roads do so to open up the roads earlier. One reason for avoiding 7am starts may be that we're much farther west in the time zone than you are, so 7am starts would be in darkness for parts of the year. Our sunrise today was at 7:09, and it looks like yours was around 40 minutes earlier.
The start might also have felt early to me because I've been running later in the mornings than I used to. Since our son's school went virtual in March, I haven't had to get up as early (being retired is nice). He started back 10 days ago, so I'm getting out earlier again. Not sure how long this will last, as 4 of his class of 58 have tested positive in the last week and lots of others have been quarantined.
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
Piwi- yeah... 12 hours of VC... it was a long day.
Flavio - great stuff, really good to see you logging some solid weeks consistently.
Darkwave - sorry to hear that you're frustrated with where things are at, but it sounds like you've been able to put it in perspective.
Watson - good week and nice job on the race. I don't think I could go watchless tbh.
Steve - I'm impressed you have a 'no alcohol on Friday night' rule. I'm the exact opposite (mandatory bourbon!). 5 hours of driving would definitely take it out of you and it's hard to get your head fully into a workout if you've had a very stressful period at work. Anyway - nice week, still got it done.
It's funny you mention those gradual inclines in Dunedin. I remember the half marathon course in 2018 climbed up George St. through the middle of the race. It was one of those 'almost imperceptible' climbs (<1% grade) that actually knocks you around a bit unless you realise what's happening. The guy in front of me actually stopped to catch his breath at the top, and I ran another guy down shortly after the climb. I'd kinda figured what was happening and moderated my effort a touch, luckily.
James / DWave - I feel those early starts are important in summer, even more so where you guys are. Most summer races here will start at 7:30am or 8am. Start times in cooler months are either 8am or 9am, which is mostly dependent on the extent of traffic management needed. If really major road closures are involved they are still sometimes earlier (the Auckland Marathon starts at 6am due to the partial closure of the Harbour Bridge).
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"
A lot of my running is on very small slopes of 1% - it makes a surprising difference.
Watson good 50kms on a week interrupted by life.
Flavio nice week. Lots of interesting workouts.
Steve I only dont drink if the day doesn't end in " day "
Darkwave thanks for answering. I guess my 3 x 2kms was a 10k workout. I figured 1km at 5 min pace for recovery was about 60 % of the interval time.
It's tough for you right now. It's hot, you are coming back from injury, and the whole covid thing thrown in doesnt help. Better days are coming.
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 "
Hot Weather Complainer
Yep, even if your brain doesn't notice the slight incline, your body definitely does.
Mark - you probably manage to stick to one bourbon whereas I'll have 3-4 or more...I always feel fine after that but the dehydration is the issue.
piwi - a couple of beers won't hurt each night but for me it's much safer to not even start except on a Saturday after I've done the hard workout. All rules got broken last week though so I need to get back on track!
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
Dunedin Half Marathon September 15, 2024
I wish I could stick to one bourbon...
Also, meant to say I've got a new workout to trial tomorrow. 4 x 1 mile at MP, 400m at 5k effort. I heard it on the Running Rogue podcast probably 8 or 9 months ago and told my coach we should try it closer to marathon time. The logic is that you're practising running at MP while you're a bit gassed. It should be helpful for Rotorua given the hills (specifically, getting back into the MP groove after climbing a decent hill).
Sounds like quite a tough workout, Rotorua is shaping up well (and I feel confident you will get to race).
Last week on Running Rogue was great with Frank Shorter and Ben Rosario. It inspired me to watch Without Limits about Steve Prefontaine, which Frank Shorter said was reasonably close to accurate.
Mark sounds like a good workout. Will be interesting to see how it goes.
Steve my saving grace is that once I eat I have no interest in beer. I only drink beer.
2 hours till we find out if we drop levels.
I suspect Auckland stays Level 3 - they are still getting cases.
Only other cases have been Tokoroa, so that region stays Level 2.
The rest of the country, could stay Level 2, or maybe drop with some mass gathering limits, or maybe straight Level 1. If these limits are just indoors, then Wellington marathon will be fine (they might need to change race pick to be outside or maybe courier out packs).
I suspect Auckland stays Level 3 - they are still getting cases. Only other cases have been Tokoroa, so that region stays Level 2. The rest of the country, could stay Level 2, or maybe drop with some mass gathering limits, or maybe straight Level 1. If these limits are just indoors, then Wellington marathon will be fine (they might need to change race pick to be outside or maybe courier out packs).
My money is on them continuing the current levels until next Monday.
Called it.
Fingers crossed for Rotorua Marathon.
Sort of - you didn't call Auckland being back to Level 2 on Monday. As soon as the Level 2+ announcement of fask masks mandatory on public transport (incl. planes), I was able to buy face masks online as I need them for the train plus flying to Rotorua, until we are at Level 1.
Wellington Cross Country champs has been rescheduled to 6 September, which is looking pretty unlikely. I am not too worried if it happens. But the races I hope:
19 September Wellington 10km Road Championship
26 September Rotorua* Half
11 October Wairarapa Country Half
8 September my youngest primary school greater Wellington region champs
* Not nearly as important to me as it will be for Mark for the full marathon. Although I at least want Level 2 so I can holiday there.
Wellington Marathon had to pull the pin in race week. Gutted for them, but good on them for giving themselves every chance to run the event.
Interestingly Running Events have decided that they will run wave starts for the Run Albany Lakes race (the third and final race in the comedically elongated summer North Shore Run Series) if we are at Level 2. So I'll still get a tune-up race for Rotorua (assuming the situation doesn't get worse again)... it'll just be a 10k, 2 weeks out, rather than a half, 4 weeks out.
It's really interesting how being invested in something changes your perspective. If someone had said to me at the start of the year, "basically the world will turn to crap but you'll smash out a mid-32's 10,000m", I probably would've said "that seems like a decent outcome". I'm not sure that's how I'd react now if things go sideways or backwards in the next 4 weeks and Rotorua Marathon gets canned. Fingers crossed.
Wellington Cross Country will be cancelled as I now realize that we are Level 2 until September 6, or later.
Instead our club is planning its road race (7.4km) September 5, as we can keep at 100 people or less. Two weeks before Wellington 10km road championship (assuming we are at Level 1).