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

What is wrong with a table in Microsoft word? It's good enough for the marathon thread.

Asked and answered.

JMac - Congratulations!  One suggestion that may help with traveling:  Have two or three stories that you often, and only, read to the kid at bedtime.  Having certain stories associated with going to sleep was a big help for us.  When our son was ages 1-4, we lived in Mozambique and had annual 29-hour trips back to the U.S.  When we wanted him to sleep on the plane or after we arrived in a new time zone, it didn't matter what time it was or whether the sun was shining, we would just whip out "Goodnight Moon" or "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie," and he'd be out by the time I finished reading.  Most of the time it worked on DW too.

"Goodnight Moon"  Lol - that is one of the the go-to stories we read to our 2 year old grandson when it's time to take a nap or go to sleep.  He knews it by heart (so do we)!  Now that he's 3 we'll still read it but he likes certain Thomas the train stories for bed now, but they work as well.

 

"Goodnight Moon"  Lol - that is one of the the go-to stories we read to our 2 year old grandson when it's time to take a nap or go to sleep.  He knews it by heart (so do we)!  Now that he's 3 we'll still read it but he likes certain Thomas the train stories for bed now, but they work as well.

Love the parenting tips I'm getting on RA. This community is great! Never would have thought of that, but makes complete sense.

Steve - what temp will the race be when you actually start? I assume 34 is the high temp. I will tell you those 5ks I ran this summer were all in 150 TDP or higher, and I was absolutely COOKING by the end of the race. Wind is actually an okay thing when it's hot as it keeps you cooler. I would say once you get to 150 TDP you can't race anything well outside of a mile.

Kids Books and stuff Mother Bruce. I call it the ender. You pull that one out and it's the LAST, or only, book before bed. Santa Bruce, Hotel Bruce, 1 Grumpy Bruce (Lots of animals having fun...) are all good ones too. Oh and keeping baby wipes in the car is cool because they double as a "shower" when you're in a pinch after a run. I learned this from a trail runner and people don't ask why you have a roll of wipes in your car if you have a kid. Blue Scott shop towels too because they're thicker than the regular ones.

DPS Dumpster fire kind of describes my training. Also my stomach during some races.

JMac If you're lucky one of those weird people from the internet will send you a care package of Maurten gels and/or kid stuff. The awkward thing will be when you're looking at both wondering which one you're more excited about. A new book, or some snacks for training. Oh and make sure you threaten grandparents to drop the kid off after giving him "one of my gels I use for races" when they comment on loading the kid up with sugar. I have a few good photos of my son with gels in his hand/mouth because the cheap toys are the best ones.

 

It won't be 34 by the start (8am) - the overnight low is 20C and the sun rises about 5am at the moment so it will be heading towards 25C with the sun high in the sky.  The wind will be a very warm nor-wester (well known to have a psychological impact in Christchurch).  The race is in Hagley Park, which as Mark pointed out, has great asphalt paths and hard dirt tracks everywhere and these are all under tree cover.  For some reason, this race is mostly on the grass at Hagley Park which is not under cover.  I really hope the forecast improves.  Tried to explain to my gf the frustration at the current forecast but she's not quite there "you did 25km at Hagley Park last Saturday in the same weather, this is only 10km".  When I explain that I wasn't racing the 25km, "you get too intense about races".  Luckily I have this forum

 

Note:  Hagley Park is in central Christchurch and is reserved forever as a park.  It is 1.61 sq km, although split into North and South with a road running between the 2.  Central Park is 3.41 sq km by comparison.  Having run in both I'm actually surprised Central Park is more than twice the size - there must be corners I didn't find.

Weather Underground's hourly forecast for Christchurch predicts 72F at 8am and 74 at 9 (22-24 C).. Humidity will be around 53%, and TDP will be just under 130, so not impossible conditions for a 10K.  They also predict 70% cloud cover, which could be helpful, but lots of wind.

My just-made-up rule of thumb is that a warm temperature in a 10K will affect you about as much as a temperature 5C lower would affect you in a half.  My 10K last September was that warm with more humidity and I thought it wasn't bad, so adjusting for the fact that I like hot weather and you don't,.my guess is that you'll find it unpleasantly warm but not impossible.

 

Weather Underground's hourly forecast for Christchurch predicts 72F at 8am and 74 at 9 (22-24 C).. Humidity will be around 53%, and TDP will be just under 130, so not impossible conditions for a 10K.  They also predict 70% cloud cover, which could be helpful, but lots of wind.

This is what we need, more fact checkers! 130 TDP, although not perfect, has little impact on a 10K. I ran the Boston Marathon last year at 135 TDP, and it was fine until about mile 20. Granted, you will heat up quicker in a 10K, but I would not worry at all for any distance under a half. At most you will be impacted by about 10-15 seconds.

 

 

Pro parenting tip from the woman with no kids:

 

Do NOT give your kids the 100 mg caffeinated Maurtens right before bedtime.

 

You're welcome.

Correct.

Give them a GU, because it is cheaper and Maurtens are for race day. We don't waste those on kids.

Do it in the morning when you're in the car on the way to drop them off. By the time you get there Grandparents will be excited to see the kid and the gel will have kicked in about 10 minutes after you leave if you time it right.

It's an excellent revenge/threat for them dumping the kid on you right before bedtime and forgetting to tell you "oh yeah (gender) slept on the 40 minute drive over here so (gender) won't be going to bed for at least 2 or 3 hours from now." You know...because that wasn't important and it made the drive to YOUR house easy because the kid was finally quiet and your problem now.