Forums >Racing>Sub 1:30 Half Marathon in 2020
Cobra Commander Keen
Steve - On track to eclipse your old yearly mileage by 700k? Nice! That's huge.
Flavio - It has been a good while since I've done a tempo run, but for those my HR usually climbs really slowly. Particularly in cooler weather, it might take a full 20 minutes or so for my HR to get to what would be considered "tempo" level. After that (whether I'm doing a longer tempo or I'm adding another tempo interval) HR kinda levels off for the effort and doesn't move much. 5k HR during a tempo run - I'd think the HR reading is off. Did it feel that hard?
Zebano - I see nothing wrong with marathon base mileage for a while, then backing off that and adding HM workouts. That's probably what I'd do if I were to start training specifically for a HM right now. I'm pretty certain that you'll wind up winning our current game, though I might have a glimmer of hope. Dropping that knight sure wasn't my best move ever...
For far too long now I've had some lower back/hip/adductor(?) issues. Mostly just the muscle feeling tight for the first so many minutes of a run, and perhaps my low back/left hip feeling a bit "out of whack" or "uncomfortable". Usually just a quick stop and a twist of the hips cleared that up, but I hate having to do that. I've been meaning to see someone about it all, but just haven't been able to yet. Then for whatever reason Wednesday of last week that all started to clear up to the point that today I don't think I would have noticed anything if I hadn't specifically been paying attention to it. So, yay for that!The city also just put in a paved path from my neighborhood across town to another neighborhood, which is perfect routed so that I can avoid all school traffic if I want to (zero sidewalks on my roads).
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
Keen, yeah dropping the knight was no Bueno, glad the back cleared up! Have you been doing any non running strength or mobility work ? or did it just happen?
RP What was the purpose of the 10x400? I only ask because that much rest can really change things. It seems like it potentially went from a VO2 or tempo workout to a Running Economy style one. Regardless, I think the first workout back after not doing any usually makes me sore. Good job getting back on the horse.
I'm really glad that I slept well last night. I got 8.5 hours and felt great this morning and my lunch shakeout reflected that as my WU miles were at 8:30/mi pace and my 3 min @ goal pace felt smooth and almost effortless. I'm ready to race tomorrow but while the forecast says 1-2" inches of snow, the radar shows a 4-8" of snow zone that's going to pass awfully close to us. Oh well, time goals are out, now i just have to run hard and leave 100% on the course. Work is probably wondering why accuweather is getting refreshed every 2 minutes.
1600 - 5:23 (2018), 5k - 19:33 (2018), 10k - 41:20 (2021), half - 1:38:57 (2018), Marathon - 3:37:17 (2018)
Zebano - No strength or mobility work (bad Keen!). It's probably just coincidence, but I did go over my left leg in particular pretty good with a percussion massager a couple days before things started feeling better. The leg was initially a bit sore from all the work I did on it, but perhaps that loosened something up that helped with the whole chain.
Snow is supposed to hit my area on Sunday - up to 3.1", which is a ton for central OK. That forecasted amount has done nothing but go up since yesterday, but no matter how much we get it won't stick for more than a few days.
Best of luck with the race tomorrow!
Problem Child
zebano It was a VO2 Max workout based on the Jack Daniels book. Running a 400m for 3:30-4:30 vs walking for the same period to me served the same purpose. The purpose of the recovery is to be able to run fast. (rolls across room to grab Bible)
*The purpose of (R) training is to improve anaerobic power, speed, and economy of running....in order to run fast you have to be recovered enough to run fast and with good technique."
So you're 100% correct and I'm 100% wrong and my running problem of thinking I know what I'm doing continues. Good catch. I thought all the R paced stuuff was to increase speed and it is, just in a different way than I thought. At least I got the "recovered enough" part done. Typically I'd jog the recovery and get the extra mileage. I didn't feel like the overall mileage was important for the week and I might just do two 10 milers this weekend to get the overall weekly mileage up to 40. Weather is going to make that not fun. Also a "less than imaginary friend" coming to town might put a dampner on it....unless I go right now.
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
No race today... ugg. It happened but the roads were too nasty for me to get there. =( I'm over 2020.
Zebano sorry to hear. Good riddance 2020 ( middle finger salute
My week below. I'm in jog mode but still managed to run every day. I realize if I don't I feel out of balance and fat
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 "
JamesD
Zebano - Too bad about the race.
More very gradual improvement for me. Was sick at the start of the week and haven't yet felt up to going to the pool, so I jog/walked on the treadmill three times and then outside today since it's warmed up. I'm now up to half-mile jogs at a time, except for quarter-miles the first one or two, as the shorter start seems to help me loosen up. On my Wednesday & Friday treadmill jogs, my glute barely hurt at all, though it was sore afterwards. Even on Tuesday and today, the soreness generally went away about 30 seconds into the walk breaks.
Sun/Mon - off sick
Tues - 4 miles jog/walk treadmill (37 minutes jogging @~9:00/mile effort)
Weds - 5 miles jog/walk treadmill (46 minutes jogging @~9/mile effort), glute ok
Thurs - off
Fri - 5 miles jog/walk treadmill (46 minutes jogging @~9/mile effort), glute ok
Sat - 5 miles jog/walk in park @8:54/mile, glute sore
Total - 19 miles
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
Just easing back into it the last 3 days so won't bother posting my weekly (if you add the first half of last week to the second half of this week, it's probably one semi-respectable week!).
After a week off, with weeks of very inconsistent training before that, I gotta say it's been hard going! Feeling very out of shape - I ran 15km easy this morning and the body feels like it's run twice that far. I suspect it's just a lack of conditioning and some general inertia after a week off but just have to remind myself to be patient while I build back up.
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"
Mark hang in there im sure you will be back to normal soon.
My son rang me up for a run so I couldn't refuse and did 10kms more to my Sunday tally above.
Intl. correspondent
Thanks guys for the feedback on tempo HR. I’ll try to slow it down a bit this next week and see now the HR reacts.
Zeb - ugh, tough luck, I guess that’s the first time I heard somebody DNS because they couldn’t arrive at the start area.
Steve - Over the last 4 years every time I’ve gotten in great shape I’ve gotten to roughly the same place with low 18’s for the 5k and the other races are equivalent.
So I guess I’m managed to counter Father Time.
RP - 10x400 seems to be a bit long for anaerobic work (R pace) if you haven’t done it a lot. I’d think 5 or 6x400 would be a better start.
Keen- yah for paved path which is good especially in the cold and wet days.
James - it’s good to see you’re slowly coming back.
Mark - A period of base building would help you out now, some 3 or 4 weeks.
me - tough week, it's been a long while since I've run 80km in a week. Yesterday I was feeling run down with a sore throat, so I've ordered a napolitan pizza for dinner and then of course everything was back to normal. Tough going for 2hours today with some heavy hips towards the end, but gotta pave the way for longer weeks ahead. Next week coming back down a little though to recover.
I'm trying to find a Tuesday to run a 5k time trial and it's been proving difficult. I wanted to be rested for it but then I have to give up mileage.
I'll see, if this Tuesday I'm feeling light and bouncy I'll just give it a go, if not maybe next Tuesday when I'll hopefully be better rested after an easier 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 I had a Domino's pizza Saturday. I bet yours was better
My heartrate during tempos is about 160 and 170 during 5k and 10k races. I think I touched 180 in the last km of my last 5k race.
I volunteered to pace sub 20 at our local Parkrun. I'm not sure when but I thought I better get some practice in as I've been slacking lately with no speed work.
I managed 6kms at sub 20 pace today. Effort was about 10k pace so not easy
Hot Weather Complainer
piwi, flavio - Nice weeks. Piwi, very cool that you'd double up to be able to run with your son.
zebano - Ugh, that sucks.
James - Good to hear there is positive progress.
Mark - Good to see you stuck to the plan to take time off, you'll feel great again before you know it.
Another week of the slow return to training for me. A few niggles that I'm needing to ice. Very nice running in Akaroa over the weekend, went away to celebrate my partner finally getting a new job after 9 months of Covid induced frustration. I rarely run along a waterfront these days, I'd forgotten how nice the air and (most of the) smells etc. Quite windy obviously but nice and cool.
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
Mother of Cats
Keen - really glad that the hip/adductor/back thing is clearing. And....great news about the trail!
Running Problem - I was confused by your reference to combining my advice with Jmac's. While doing hard repeat 400s with walking rest.
Zebano - really sorry about the race. It really sucks to have that pulled away from you.
Piwi - nice consistent week of jogging
James - I'm glad the glute is trending upwards.
Marky_Mark - I'm sure a lot of it is inertia. And also that when you don't run for a week, you lose some neuromuscular coordination that is very quick to come back.
Flavio - some good work there.
Steve - congratulations to your partner!
And...question for the group since it's the middle of December. Any thoughts about combining the two training threads into one next year? It seems that there are a lot of us in both groups, PLUS the marathon group has been (understandably) low action.
***
My week:
52 miles, 1000 yards swimming, and 2:30 hours of pool-runningM: 50 minutes pool-running in morning; streaming yoga in evening.T: 8 miles very easy (9:10), drills, and upper body weights/core.W: 10 miles very easy (9:19), drills, and streaming yoga. Th: 50 minutes pool-running and upper body weights/core.F: 5 miles on brand new treadmill (9:14), streaming yoga, and 6 miles on brand new treadmill (8:59)Sa:11 miles, including a track workout of 2x3200m, 2x200m in 13:05 (6:34/6:31); 12:58 (6:32/6:26); 43, and 42. 6 minute recovery after each 3200m (had to retie shoes); full recovery between 200s. Followed with leg strengthwork, streaming yoga, and later 1000 yards recovery swimming.Su: 12 miles very easy (9:01), streaming yoga. Later did 50 minutes of pool-running.
Just one workout this week, since I spent the first half of the week recovering from last Sunday's half-marathon. I usually do tempo workouts on the roads, but did this one on the track so I could compare it to a similar workout on the roads. I confirmed that a) my footpod is measuring accurately at tempo effort and b) I much prefer tempoing on the road.
Also got my treadmill delivered on Thursday. I named it "Fluffy" because it amused me to do so. Now to start the hard work of developing mental weakness via treadmill use. (a reference back to the previous year's marathon training thread, where a poster cautioned that running on a treadmill would make one mentally weak if one listened to music or watched TV while doing so)
We're supposed to get a snowstorm here on Wednesday, and I am sure that our trails will not be cleared of ice and snow the way they have been in years past. So good to have the treadmill.
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.
darkwave - Nice week and great news that Fluffy has arrived.
I agree that one thread would work, especially since I'll be attempting both distances in 2021. Making sensible suggestions like this could lead to a nomination as Inaugural Combined Thread Leader though....
My week was a strange combination of Recovery from my Time Trial with reallly light workouts and my legs generally telling letting me rip faster than normal easy paces but I kept the workouts short because I could just feel some underlying fatigue of my legs saying"we can do this but it' won't last". As you all know, it was still snowing and roads weren't clear when my race happened. oh well, it's my club's home course, I'll race it some Thursday morning when conditions are better. The other side of this is that sine I only ran 25 miles I had a nice proper recovery. and I can start building my base for next year whenever I feel like it. I think I have 75 miles left to hit my goal of 2000 miles which should be trivial.
1 thread is fine with me