Forums >Racing>Sub 1:30 Half Marathon in 2020
Cobra Commander Keen
Flavio - Turning on beast mode all around. I like to seek out segments when I can, but most of the local ones are owned by college level runners and are out of my reach. But there's always the new local legend I can go after!
DWave - Best of luck getting this latest development sorted out. Good catch, though.
~39 miles for me last week. I figured I'd feel better after having a good amount of rest, but it's just the opposite. My legs are heavy, I feel like I now lack speed and my typical 11 miler now sounds like a REALLY long way to run. We have multiple cold fronts coming in this week, so temps should drop and we should get some rain. Supposedly cooler weather is going to be a fixture, so I'm hoping that helps.
Any thoughts as to why my running seems to have gone downhill after plenty of down time?
5k: 17:58 11/22 │ 10k: 37:55 9/21 │ HM: 1:23:22 4/22 │ M: 2:56:05 12/22
Upcoming Races:
OKC Memorial 5k - April 27
Bun Run 5k - May 4
Intl. correspondent
Zebano - Yeah, the difference in strength between humans is incredible. I always watched the movies where the one guy gets into a room and just pushes everybody to the wall with punches and thought,
Well that only happens in movies. But there really is a huge disparity.
Darwave - I should clarify that I’m not taking over that segment. On a great day I can run 800 in 2:30.
Dunno on the exercise name, I've always known them like the picture below:
Piwi - that’s a ton of pushups. Have you considered trying pike pushups?
Pike Pushups Gif
Keen - low iron/ferritin levels, lack of sleep and lack of meat are some reasons I can think of.
Was your heart rate higher than usual this past week?
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 my neighbors will be in hysterics if they see me doing that
2nd run today in the New Balance Beacon 2s. These are a fail for me so far. They feel as hard as concrete and my legs feel beat up fairly quickly. Most reviews on them were very good even for long runs.
One YouTube review did however say he felt beat up in them.
Might have to use them for beach and trails only.
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 "
Mark - I’m fully expecting you to move out of Auckland in the next couple of weeks to ensure you can run one of those races heh.
I have given serious thought to a contingency plan on this front.
Keen - that's a bummer, are you sure that you don't have some weird virus lingering or something?
Piwi / Watson - I'm sure Whanganui can't possibly be that bad? Although I said that about LaGuardia Airport 5 years ago and was proven quite wrong. Let's hope it doesn't come to that haha.
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"
RIP Milkman
Keen - as the king of down weeks, aka I'm lazy, this is totally typical for me. You never feel good right after time off. It takes at least a week to come back. You need to think of this as paying dividends in the long run. Your body is not used to you just cutting out mileage like that, but it will thank you in the long run (in the idiom sense, but I guess in your actual long run too)
DW - I do not envy the puzzle you are always trying to solve. FYI - I took the credit for the NJ Marathon. I just can't see how they run that given the approach to COVID in the northeast. NJ is tentatively opening indoor dining this week. Large running events seem like they won't come back until next year.
Piwi - how many types of shoes do you own? I think you need an intervention
Steve - 23C in August. You guys are blessed in the winters.
Flavio - I always love the random things you're doing outside of running. Good luck with the move. I also don't even attempt Strava segments because they're all sub 5 miles near me, but I am apparently a local legend which I think is an error. There's no way I've run the most of any segment in Central Park over the last 3 months.
Zebano - alcohol on weekends is always tough. It's always nice and even though I don't get those hangover like I used to when younger, they definitely impact your quality days over the weekend.
Mark - we're going to going back and forth on this until you actually run a marathon. The only thing I worry about with you in the marathon, which I've mentioned before, is you tend to positive split a decent amount. We'll need to really talk about marathon strategy once you get closer because 5:50 pace is going to feel like a joke to you around the 10K mark and it's really hard not to slowly pick it up closer to 5:40 pace. It took me until my fourth marathon before I really learned what I should feel like at each stage in the race. We'll also have to talk about the dark place most folks go into around the 15K mark. If you prep for it, you'll get through it easily.
Me - Started a 5K/10K block. Given how I've only been doing easy runs for about 10 weeks now, pretty happy with the effort. Think I have a good shot of hitting at least one PR this fall in either the 5K or 10K, even in a TT. Not crazy happy with my MP run on Sunday, but then again, averaging my marathon PR + 15 seconds only averaging about 40 miles per week over the last few months with zero quality, I shouldn't be too upset.
5K: 16:37 (11/20) | 10K: 34:49 (10/19) | HM: 1:14:57 (5/22) | FM: 2:36:31 (12/19)
Hot Weather Complainer
Steve - 23C in August. You guys are blessed in the winters. Me - Started a 5K/10K block. Given how I've only been doing easy runs for about 10 weeks now, pretty happy with the effort. Think I have a good shot of hitting at least one PR this fall in either the 5K or 10K, even in a TT. Not crazy happy with my MP run on Sunday, but then again, averaging my marathon PR + 15 seconds only averaging about 40 miles per week over the last few months with zero quality, I shouldn't be too upset. Date Name Distancein mi Duration Avg Paceper mi Elevation Gainin ft 08/24/2020 6x200 + 6x400 + 6x200 10.39 01:26:51 08:22 144 08/25/2020 Afternoon Run 6.19 00:48:05 07:46 148 08/26/2020 4x200 + 4x1T + 4x200 10.47 01:16:51 07:20 299 08/27/2020 Afternoon Run 7.73 01:01:35 07:58 348 08/29/2020 Evening Run 8.27 01:07:02 08:06 325 08/30/2020 Afternoon Run 12.00 01:24:01 07:00 479
Nice week, and good to see you building back up.
Spring is a bit volatile - it's 2C with sleet and snow flurries today but this is as bad as it's been all winter. Definitely blessed compared with the eastern states of the US.
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 presume the 15km dark place is a typo by Jmac. If you're in a dark place at 15km in a marathon, you are in trouble!
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
Nope, meant that. I think there are two dark places in a marathon. One is 15K. The other is 35K. I generally feel great between those two points. The thing with 35K though is you know you're supposed to be hurting. That's why the 15k point sucks. All of a sudden, you don't feel great, mainly because you think I'm not even at the halfway point, and I'm not feeling as good as I should. Maybe others have it at slight earlier, or slight later, but this is my point. I remember at my last marathon I felt terrible at this point (relative of course). It's different than even a half. But it's all mental, because it really isn't a tough spot.
The point I was making is that there will be a mental barrier you need to get over at that point, where you tell yourself "shut up, you're fine." if you let those demons creep in, you're in major trouble.
As the other marathon expert here, I'd ask DW if she has a rough patch early in marathons too.
Jmac nice improvement in your paces recently. Steve and I live in fairly different climates. Ours is pretty moderate while his is up and down.
I have Nike Pegasus, Adidas Takumi Sens, New Balance Zantes, New Balance fuelcell Rebels and New Balance Beacons. The Beacons are presently sucking
When I ran 2.54 with Rachellara in Melbourne in 2014 i remember saying to her at 10k it didn't feel easy and she replied it shouldn't. Got into a groove after that but I agree marathon pace does feel tough.
TBH, I haven't positive split a race in quite a long time. I've learned that one of my strengths as a runner is the ability to hit an innate rhythm and lock the pace in - with maybe just enough extra for a final kick. Having said that, I haven't got the same feel for the marathon yet on account of having only run one (which was a pretty rough positive split). I *think* I know what it is from running long MP tempo blocks but that's sure not the same thing as holding it for 42.2km in a race. Only one way to find out for real!
On the 15km / 35km point... I can recall last time I had a sinking feeling around the 20km mark (oh crap I'm not even half way there) and then things started getting rough around 35km. Aside from the fact that the last section is gonna be tough regardless, I think we've probably all got different points in the race where we'll go through lows. I know you'll say 'it's not the same as a marathon' but running 10,000m races is outstanding prep for this. You hit lap 6 or 7 and maybe feel slightly off for a bit and then realise you've still got 19 laps to go - and when you're running the same 400m every lap, you have a LOT of time to think. You've just gotta be able to shut the door on anything negative and focus on putting one foot in front of the other.
Mother of Cats
TBH, I haven't positive split a race in quite a long time. I've learned that one of my strengths as a runner is the ability to hit an innate rhythm and lock the pace in - with maybe just enough extra for a final kick. Having said that, I haven't got the same feel for the marathon yet on account of having only run one (which was a pretty rough positive split). I *think* I know what it is from running long MP tempo blocks but that's sure not the same thing as holding it for 42.2km in a race. Only one way to find out for real! On the 15km / 35km point... I can recall last time I had a sinking feeling around the 20km mark (oh crap I'm not even half way there) and then things started getting rough around 35km. Aside from the fact that the last section is gonna be tough regardless, I think we've probably all got different points in the race where we'll go through lows. I know you'll say 'it's not the same as a marathon' but running 10,000m races is outstanding prep for this. You hit lap 6 or 7 and maybe feel slightly off for a bit and then realise you've still got 19 laps to go - and when you're running the same 400m every lap, you have a LOT of time to think. You've just gotta be able to shut the door on anything negative and focus on putting one foot in front of the other.
I agree with the comments both about there being a bad patch early in the race, and about it varying for some in where it is. I think it comes from that weird blend of mental approach and physiology that is the marathon. As we run, we tend to constantly compare how we feel to how far we have left to go. When you get to 15K, that's just far enough that you are starting to feel the work some. But still early enough that the finish seems impossibly far away.
FWIW, when I ran my PR at CIM, I hit my first bad patch at 8K...
Also worth noting (and it sounds obvious, but when you reflect, is less so) - the faster one's marathon pace, the harder it is. Holding the pace you can sustain for 2:30 is a harder effort (and closer to lactate threshold) then holding the pace you can sustain for 3:30. I suspect from this that runners with different marathon goals are going to have different experiences in terms of how hard marathon pace feels and when/where their bad patches are.
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.
Flavio - Turning on beast mode all around. I like to seek out segments when I can, but most of the local ones are owned by college level runners and are out of my reach. But there's always the new local legend I can go after! DWave - Best of luck getting this latest development sorted out. Good catch, though. ~39 miles for me last week. I figured I'd feel better after having a good amount of rest, but it's just the opposite. My legs are heavy, I feel like I now lack speed and my typical 11 miler now sounds like a REALLY long way to run. We have multiple cold fronts coming in this week, so temps should drop and we should get some rain. Supposedly cooler weather is going to be a fixture, so I'm hoping that helps. Any thoughts as to why my running seems to have gone downhill after plenty of down time?
tl;dr; a big down week explains some of my own slowdown and may just be normal.
<RAMBLING>
Not sure but I went through something similar. The week of the derecho I ran only 20 miles and the week after I tried to do a simple workout. 800s starting at 3:30 and getting faster until I failed on min rest. This was plenty slow as I had recently done 6x800 in ~3:11 on min rest. Anyways the cutdown went terribly 3:31, 24, 21, 19, 19 which I considered a spectacular failure. All my workouts since then have gotten steadily better and today I did 7x800 on min rest in roughly 3:17... clearly slower than I was 2 months ago, but doing 7 reps faster than or equal to what I did 2 weeks ago is huge progress in essentially no time. Anecdotally my body seems to respond similar to yours on off weeks.
I guess my big question is can we avoid by doing some lighter workouts during recovery weeks to maintain that legspeed.
I'm glad to see JMac has similar experiences and to him I say, the beers haven't been limited to the weekend, ergo the need for change I don't have Piwi's consistution.
1600 - 5:23 (2018), 5k - 19:33 (2018), 10k - 41:20 (2021), half - 1:38:57 (2018), Marathon - 3:37:17 (2018)
All good point DW. Also hitting a rough patch at 8K, that certainly is rough! I've never hit it that early. My worst experience though was when I had stitches start around the 10K mark and never went away. That was a damn battle. Horrible memories.
Mark - I do think there is something to be said about a track 10K and the mental aspects of that which could prepare you well. Also it's easy to negative split races when they are 1,000 meters downhill in the 2nd half
Steve - that's pretty good. I've found with myself that 40F isn't too bad, but once you get below 30F I really don't do so well. Probably need to move somewhere warmer when I retire.
I think this is what the kids call " roasting "
Zebano beers only in the weekend? Man that's tough
DW good point about faster runners during marathons. Slower marathon runners are way closer to their easy pace.
Also, our club has its road champs this Saturday. We can keep numbers 100 or less, so it will be on. It is 7.4km, last year I did 29:56, so aim is 29:55
Steve - please add to page one.