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

flavio80


Intl. correspondent

    Zebano - that’s interesting, I hadn’t noticed that. When I did 1500m training last year I did a lot of sessions at 100, 200, 400 and 800 pace.

     

    Steve - actually I cannot work at all at the moment until my citizenship is recognized.

     

    Marco - The city is superb. I need to get used to the small town feeling, coming from a city with 10x more people.

    Life moves perhaps slower here which is actually good for me.

    But we already found our way. My wife has intolerance to gluten and lactose and we’ve already found the good places to go for that kind of food.

    I’ve already found Polenta, which was my mission #1. My next mission is to find a mosaic.

    There’s a park 1km from where I live that is great for running and workouts.

    My Italian language skills are picking up quickly too, it had been 3 years since I spoke it frequently, though I did say "Buona giornata" to a lady behind the counter the other day at 8pm  She promptly said "Buona serata". 

    The accent here is easy enough to understand,

     

     

    My week scrambled around due to traveling. I had a great workout today which is promising, it was considerably better than the last time I tried it back in late November. I'm not sure how much of that is due to better weather though. My fitness is tipping in the right direction.

    1h24 is a tall order though, I'm not as confident I'll achieve that. Race day will answer all my questions.

    M: 10ez

    T: Off - traveling

    W: Off - traveling

    T: 10ez

    F: 3x1600I

    S: 8.8ez

    S: 12x800T w 400E

    PRs: 1500 4:54.1 2019 - 5K 17:53 2023 - 10K 37:55 2023 - HM 1:21:59 2021

    Up next: no idea

    Tool to generate Strava weekly

    dpschumacher


    3 months til Masters

      Way to get some miles in despite all that is going on Flavio.

       

      My Week.  Long run was trash yesterday. The rest went pretty well.  We got out hot running in the low 6:40 range for miles over snow and ice on rolling hills.  Had to drop back to slower just to finish up and not completely burn out my legs.  Work was stressfull so I got ahead in miles cause i needed to burn off some stress and ended up feeling like junk on the long run.  I'll run 5-11 miles today (schedule called for 12 but i don't want to trash my body if i'm not feeling great).  It will be slow and easy with my dog.  Supposed to be 40 degrees F out today, so it will be practically July like weather! 

       

      <colgroup><col width="60" /><col width="73" /><col width="82" /><col width="108" /><col width="461" /></colgroup>
      M 27-Jan 13 1:31:07 13 miles in 1 shot due to life (w/ 6x 100m strides during one of the runs) tread
          0 0 It was supposed to be a 9 and 4 mile double
      Tu 28-Jan 10 1:05:13 8 x 0.5mi @ 5:50 w/ 0.25mi recovery (2mi w/u & 2mi c/d)
      W 29-Jan 8.6 1:00:00 9 Easy (w/ 6x 100m strides during one of the runs)
      Th 30-Jan 9 0:58:29 4mi tempo @ 6:05-6:10/mi (2mi w/u & 2mi c/d) (made it a 5 mile temp)
          4 0:28:07 4 mile lunch run cause I needed stress relief
      F 31-Jan 8.03 0:56:00 Lunch treadmill
          5.86 0:42:41 Lake Nokomis loop outside 5:30 PM
      Sa 1-Feb 15.35 1:48:29 Collegeville lake loops. Felt good through 10 and trash the last 5. Ahead on miles and i think it just caught up with me. Also did not really have breakfast and was up super early with my son. Should have just waited to run in the afternoon.
      Su 2-Feb 9   Easy

      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

       

       

      SteveChCh


      Hot Weather Complainer

        Christchurch 10km Series (Park) - Race Report

         

        As part of my build up to my goal race (Christchurch Half-Marathon on May 31), I picked a 10km in October that I thought would fall at about the right time in the cycle.  My training has been mainly base building with some tempo and Vo2 Max efforts in the last 6 weeks.  Overall my fitness is good, although I didn't specifically train for the 10km distance.  With that in mind, my goal was around my target half-marathon pace but it was really stepping into the unknown.  Adding to that was the fact that 90% of the race is on grass - I did a couple of km at tempo pace in the week leading into the race but the surface was also a bit unknown.

         

        Anyone who has read the last few pages will know that the weather forecast was not ideal with the hot Canterbury nor-wester due to arrive a few hours before the race.  The forecast was 36C, but only 21C at race start which is okay.  On Saturday night it was cold and windy and hard to believe it would be hot, but sure enough, the change arrived about 10pm and the temperature went from 18C up to 25C by 5am.  By 8am it was 28C which is not my comfort zone.  Added to that was the hot gale force winds.  The conditions made me decide to be conservative and start at about 4:10 pace and then see how I felt.

         

        I arrived at Hagley Park about an hour before the race and did a slow 1km warm up away from the race village then headed over and started a second warm up which included some strides - after one lot of strides my mouth was dry and I was sweating buckets (I seem to sweat a lot more than normal humans) so I decided to save my energy.  I did some stretches and had some water and headed to the start.

         

        This is a small race with about 300 runners, 200 in the 10km and 100 in the 5km.  There was no gun but a countdown from 5...some people took off at 1, while me and the rest waited or a "GO!" - one thing I would change about a well organised event.  The race starts on a field with a small dog leg.  10 or so people take off in front of me, including a kid of about 12 or 13 who was doing the 5km.  After 40 metres he suddenly slowed right down - he may have had a long day.  There was quickly a lead group of 3 and then a second group of about 10, including me.  I was checking my watch closely to make sure it wasn't too fast but at the 1km mark, up pops 4:02 which was not the plan.  By now the group has slowly splintered, after a series of passing and then re-passing.  I was at the front of the group and a guy was right next to me running stride for stride so I thought he would be good to run with....200 metres later he started to pull away so I let him go.  By the 2km mark I had caught him again and moved into 4th.  The split was 4:14 which was a bit better.

         

        The race then goes on to another big field.  A guy I hadn't seen before passes me at around the 3km mark and pulls away quickly.  The second part of this lap was into the strong wind, on grass that wasn't cut too short.  My legs started to feel quite wobbly here, but ater the next turn we head down an asphalt path for about 500 metres which helps recover.  At the 4km mark, the course goes on to another big field and straight into the wind so I feel my pace dropping again.  I can see the leading 4 runners - the first 2 are some way ahead and 4th place has already opened up about 100 metres on me.  I can see 6th place about 30 metres back.

         

        I go through 5km in 20:55 and for the next km I start feeling much better.  This part of the course is on a dirt track under some trees so it's a bit firmer but requires concentration with the tree roots.  By the 6km mark I was back to feeling very fatigued, but knowing it was a short race and with lots of 2 hour training runs behind me, I kept telling myself I could hold on.  I get back on to the big field and can see 4th place still about 100 metres ahead.  When we turn into the wind on the softer grass, I see him quickly coming back to me and by the 8.5km mark I was on his shoulder.  I'm sucking in the big ones by now but holding my pace at 4:15-4:20 - slower than the first half but not blowing out to 4:30+ which felt possible.  At the 9km mark I move into 4th place and go back out on to the grass into the wind - I know it's going to slow me down but I figured it would slow him down more after what I saw on the last field.  When we turn away from the headwind I feel him breathing down my neck again, and he goes past quite quickly - I was a bit shocked that he'd found something.  He pulled away very quickly and finished 30 seconds ahead of me which means after his pace dropped to 4:30 or slower, his last km was 3:45.  I'm not sure if that's good or bad....I dig in and make it to the finish line in 42:23 in 5th place.  I'm very wobbly and lie down in the shade for a few minutes but quickly recover.    It's not the time that I wanted but I know I gave it everything.  My heart rate steadily rose throughout the race, to a peak of 187bpm in the last km.

         

        Takeaways:  

         

        -   I'm still a long way off the shape I want to be in for the goal half - not surprising with 4 months to go!  But I'm ahead of where I usually am at this stage.

        -   A huge surprise I'm sure, but heat does affect me a lot.

        -   Grass is hard to run on!  Thanks flavio, you were right on the money.

        -   Doing a race, even a small race, is good practice.  Doing a race in conditions you don't like is very good practice.

         

        Some Strava stalking has made me feel a bit better - the winner who finished in 40:05 has a sub 35 10km PB (on the road).  The guy who finished third in 41:24 has a 17 minute 5km.  So I don't think it was a day for PRs*

         

        *Technically this is a PR as I've only ever run one other 10km.  I don't know if I count it though, given I ran 41:40 for the last 10km of my half-marathon PR

        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

        SteveChCh


        Hot Weather Complainer

          My week was solid, a bit down with a race included.  Body felt fine after the race but my ankle is very sore today.  I'm planning an easy run after work but if my ankle stays this sore I might just get on the bike rather than risk it for a run that isn't important.

           

          Monday:                  70 mins incl. 2km @ 10km pace on grass (3:59, 3:56).  15km @ 4:45mins/km

          Tuesday:                 Weights

          Wednesday:            70 mins incl. 2km @ 10km pace on grass (3:59, 4:03).  15.13km @ 4:48mins/km

          Thursday:                70 mins recovery pace (13.5km @ 5:22mins/km)

          Friday:                     Weights

          Saturday:                 Weights + 30 min tune up with strides (5.17km @ 6:00mins/km)

          Sunday:                   Christchurch 10km Series  (10.01km @ 4:14mins/km)

                                        30 mins recovery (5.12km @ 6:16mins/km)

           

          Total:                        63.93km (39.95 miles)

          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

          darkwave


          Mother of Cats

            Steve - I agree with all of your takeaways; including the last one about racing being good practice. And 4 months is a lot of time.  And yes, definitely baby that ankle!

             

            Flavio - that is a good week, given all the travel. Travel is tough, especially when it involve moving.

             

            DPS - the July weather comment is funny because it's true. And particularly true for our friends down under!

             

            JamesD - I find long periods of standing to be killer on the legs.

             

            Marco - your travel schedule is brutal.

             

            ***

            My week:

            56 miles, 27 "miles" of pool-running, and 1000 yards of swimming
            M: Yoga and 6 "miles" pool-running.
            T: 9 miles very easy (9:18), upperbody weights/core, 3.5 miles very easy (8:53), plus drills and strides.
            W: 14 miles, including 3x2 miles plus 1 mile in 12:51 (6:29/6:22), 12:52 (6:33/6:19), 12:40 (6:18/6:22) and 6:07. One mile easy after each of the first 2 mile reps (8:53 and 8:25); half-mile recovery between the third 2 miler and the harder mile. Followed with leg injury prevention work and 500 yards recovery swimming.
            Th: Upperbody weights, core, and 12 "miles" pool-running.
            F: 8 miles very easy (9:12), yoga, 4.5 miles very easy (8:55), plus drills and strides.
            Sa: 17 miles, including 2x5 miles in 33:13 (6:47/6:36/6:32/6:41/6:37 - average 6:39) and 32:52 (6:38/6:36/6:37/6:31/6:30 - average 6:35).  One mile float in 7:48 between the two.  Followed with leg injury prevention work and 500 yards recovery swimming.
            Su: Yoga and 9 "miles" pool-running.

             

            Just two hard days and just four days of land running, but I felt like I got in some solid work.  The 2x5 workout ended up being about 10 seconds faster per mile then when I last ran it a month ago, but felt easier.  I usually get a big fitness boost from racing half-marathons all out, and it looks like the benefits of Houston are kicking in.

             

            Of course, the last time I ran the 17 with 2x5, I then did an easy double totaling to 11 miles the next day.  And a few days later had my hamstring issue pop up.  Hence the choice to stay in the pool this Sunday rather than do an easy run on land.  I think I'm getting to the point where running the day after a rigorous long run, even if the next day running is very easy, is high risk.

             

            One more week of training, and then I taper for my marathon on March 1.

            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.

            JamesD


            JamesD

              Steve - Great job on pushing through in such tough conditions.  28C is definitely hot for a 10K.  Between the heat & the grass, your time doesn't reflect your fitness, and I wouldn't be surprised if you average faster than that pace for your half with better weather.  Having to push that hard (and surviving) will help you both physically and mentally in your goal race.

              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

              Marky_Mark_17


                I keep feeling bad for not staying in closer touch with everything going on here but... the mountain keeps calling!  Mildly frustrating day today with my ankle ratchet on my bindings seizing when I went to unstrap at the end of the last run, fortunately it was an easy fix with a new $15 ratchet rather than having to drop $400 on new bindings (although I am kind of due for some new bindings, the Department of Wife does not agree).

                 

                Steve - DW summed it up well, I think.  There's a lot of positives you should take from this... given the wind, heat and grass I honestly think you would be comfortably under 40 minutes on the road, which in turn is positive for your HM goals.  You often learn a lot more about yourself as a runner from the tough races than the ones that go smoothly... as James pointed out the fact that you were able to push through in such tough conditions is a big takeaway.

                 

                BTW that guy that blew past you at km 9 was certainly not pacing it well (at least not if he was running it all out)!  For a good 10k you might get that final km maybe 10 seconds above average pace... but certainly not 30 seconds!

                 

                Flavio - congrats on the move.  I'm hoping slightly more comfortable running conditions will be a big boost for you for both training and racing.

                 

                James - nice week

                 

                DPS - nice week, hope that tumble on ice wasn't anything too serious

                 

                Watson - I've found my osteopath to be FAR more helpful than a physio, but it probably depends a lot on the quality of the physio (and the osteopath for that matter).

                 

                DW - interesting that you get a fitness boost from all out HM racing.  I've always thought they'd be a slight net-negative due to the taper and recovery, but maybe I'm wrong on that.

                 

                Me - been keeping some mileage up although not a lot of workouts as the legs have been a bit trashed from snowboarding. We're at altitude here but not crazy altitude (around 4,000 feet).  Felt up to a workout on Thursday so pushed the hills a bit with 3 mins on / 6 mins recovery which apparently is a good mix at altitude.

                 

                M: 10.1km easy, some snowboarding

                T: no running, lots of snowboarding

                W: 10.4km easy, little bit of snowboarding

                T: 12.1km incl. 5 x 3min on / 6 min recovery, lots of snowboarding in the trees/powder

                F: 10.1km easy, lots of snowboarding

                S: 12.9km easy, little bit of snowboarding

                S: 10.3km easy

                Total: 65.8km, and a whole lot of snowboarding

                 

                Also, I have to say that the variability of the conditions here has given me a new appreciation for what it's like to run in places other than Auckland.  While it's generally been slightly below freezing (around -5C), yesterday was slightly above freezing so there was water and slush splashing everywhere on the roads, and today was -13C so I had to be SUPER careful of ice patches (I also wished I'd worn a second pair of gloves which was a first for me).

                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"

                zebano


                  Sounds like some good training is going on. Steve a race in those temps sounds brutal. Frankly the fact that the first KM being too fast not cratering your pacing for the rest of the race is a really good sign. My week started great but got super busy and I didn't accomplish everything I wanted to but that's life.

                   

                  Mon- Felt really run down, swam a mere 600m got out of the pool, left work early to get a good nap in and felt great after that. Ran 3 miles in the evening followed by 1 more because my son wanted me to pace him to a 7 minute mile for scouts (he had to show improvement over a 7:10 he ran a month ago).

                   

                  Tuesday - Icy outside so I hit the treadmill for 5 miles / 40 minutes including 5-4-3-2-1 minutes harder w/ 1 min jog recoveries. Lifted then did a 45 minute spin class

                   

                  Wed - 10km of Icy trails with friends. A touch too hot for recovery.

                   

                  Thursday - 3 miles w/ doggo.+ mile swim super easy.

                   

                  Friday - KM swim w/ 3x100 and 1x300 hard. I totally failed to pace the 300 well. Lifted afterwards.

                   

                  Saturday - 3.3 miles with the doggo in shorts!!! We had a heatwave and it was 40F. 1 hour Z2 on a bicycle

                   

                  Sunday - 5.8 mi including a time trialed mile which was a utterly disappointing 6:02. There are lots of excuses to be made but I wanted a fitness check and I got that.

                   

                  Run - 27.5 mi / 3:43

                  Swim 2 mi / 1:22

                  Cycle: 1:45

                  weights - 54 min

                   

                  7hr 44min

                   

                  Weekly takeaways:

                  - Mileage is coming back quickly without any foot niggles!

                  - I'm impatient and need to run where I am, not where I want to be

                  - I'm now up 7 lbs since my last race in November, it's time to fix that

                  - Running with my dog is great but she just runs too fast. She really hates going any slower than 8:20 / mile and my easy pace right now is more like 9-10. Some days (i.e. Saturday) I run ~7:50 with her.

                  -It's going to be really hard to maintain the crosstraining volume when mileage gets back up above 40mpw. and will only get worse.

                  - I'm actually making progress on my deadlift and squat. I'm never sure how important that is to running but subjectively hills are always much easier when I'm stronger.

                  1600 - 5:23 (2018), 5k - 19:33 (2018), 10k - 41:20 (2021), half - 1:38:57 (2018), Marathon - 3:37:17 (2018)

                    My training week: the week of treadmill running. So ready for Spring to get out for morning runs.

                     

                    M - 7.5 miles

                    T - 9 miles total (2 mile warm up, then 7x800m at 5:55 pace w/ 2:25 recovery + cool down)

                    W - 7.5 miles

                    Th - 9 mile progression (Started at 8:30 and increased 10-15 seconds every mile, finished at 6:22 pace for the last .5 mile before .5 c/d)

                    F - 5 mile easy

                    Sa - 16 mile long run, outside

                    Su - first day off since September, feels good

                     

                    Total: 54 miles

                     

                    Running a 3 miler this Saturday morning. My hope is <18:15. We shall see.

                     

                    Will be outside today, but more winter weather comes tomorrow through Thursday. So...running is stupid.

                    CommanderKeen


                    Cobra Commander Keen

                      James - Nice that you're a bit above your longer-term average even on a cutback week.


                      Watson - Hate to hear about the injury. Hopefully you get that straightened out soon.


                      Flavio - Sounds like you're rapidly blending in to the local scene. With some solid training I certainly think you can pull off 1:24. You have more speed than I do, it's just a matter of holding on to it for a bit longer distance.


                      Steve - I've got that RR queued up for when it gets slow at work later.


                      DWave - You're easily the best person I "know" with regards to listening to her/his body and knowing how to adjust training for it.


                      Mark - Awesome job keeping up some mileage with all the time on the slopes!


                      Zebano - Have a tri coming up? You're certainly hitting all the disciplines.


                      Rakers - For a necessary evil, treadmills can certainly be awesome, huh? Mine has saved multiple entire training weeks as well. Bravo for getting in those miles.
                      Based on Tuesday, I'd expect you to be able to go sub 18:15 for 3 miles.


                      Not happy with what was supposed to be alternating HM effort + 5k effort intervals workout on Friday - my legs just didn't want to move fast at all so I pulled the plug on the workout early. Tuesday was good, though. Happy with my LR this week and last, which is a nice little confidence boost for me.
                      We had some great weather over the weekend, and today will be really nice, though. Temps should peak this afternoon (~67F/19C), then start a steady drop to 18F/-18C on Wednesday -  with rain tomorrow turning to snow on Wednesday. Gotta love Oklahoma weather!
                      DD1 turned 9 this past Saturday and had a sleepover after school Friday. Having an additional 5-6 8-9 y/o girls running around the house was a bit stressful for an extreme introvert like myself who likes his quiet. Why do girls just start squealing/yelling at the top of their voices on a whim??

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

                       

                      Upcoming Races:

                       

                       

                      JMac11


                      RIP Milkman

                         

                        Also, I have to say that the variability of the conditions here has given me a new appreciation for what it's like to run in places other than Auckland.  While it's generally been slightly below freezing (around -5C), yesterday was slightly above freezing so there was water and slush splashing everywhere on the roads, and today was -13C so I had to be SUPER careful of ice patches (I also wished I'd worn a second pair of gloves which was a first for me).

                         

                        You will quick forget this in about 4 months when you complain that it's "very cold" at 4C 

                         

                        Flavio - how's the terrain where you are? Flat, or hilly? I always imagine Italy to be a fairly hilly place.

                         

                        DPS - getting up to 56 today here! I'm very excited. Our winter has been great, January was amazing. I'm of course fearful that means old man winter is going to kick us right in the face for February and March, but so far the 10 day forecast says no. How has your winter been, similar?

                         

                        Steve - great race report under tough conditions. I refuse to sign up for any race that isn't all road. Time is against us in 5K/10K land once we pass age 25, so I'm not wasting time running very slow courses. Also, have you switched over to the VaporFly? Now that they've been declared legal, you must 

                         

                        Makers - even with a good winter, I'm still looking forward to spring. I think April and May are my favorite running months. Abundant sunshine, temps perfect for training.

                         

                        Which brings me to a point - my perfect training weather is about 10-15 degrees warmer than my perfect racing weather. I love training in the 55-75 degree range (assuming low humidity), but my ideal racing range is in the 40s.

                         

                        Zebano - "I'm impatient and need to run where I am, not where I want to be" Probably the most important thing said for this week's training logs. We all fall into the "goal" trap rather than the "current" trap, which I almost did this week (see below).

                         

                        Me - first big week of training and it didn't go great. VO2 max and MP workouts didn't go so well this week. My legs are completely dead. Going to race this week to get some rust out, but also cut back 20% in volume to give my legs a chance to get some freshness in them befor pushing ahead with higher volume. My Sunday @ MP was around 6:12 on average, which means I need to find 20 seconds per mile over the next 11 weeks. Shouldn't be too difficult right? 

                         

                        For this thread, I think you run a 7 mile race like a 10K but back off 3-5 seconds per mile. So I'm going to shoot for something like 5:45 for pacing. So I guess the goal is to break 41? I know from my workouts this week that I'm not in great shape right now, so I think this is realistic. Just need to convert this 5:45 into marathon pace 

                         

                        Day Miles Description
                        Mon 0.0  
                        Tue 11.5 EZ + Strides
                        Wed 11.0 EZ
                        Thu 16.0 6E + 5x1000 + 5x400 + 3E
                        Fri 7.0 Recovery
                        Sat 11.5 EZ + Strides
                        Sun 17.0 10 @ Current MP (6:10)
                        Total 74.0  

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

                         

                         

                        darkwave


                        Mother of Cats

                            My Sunday @ MP was around 6:12 on average, which means I need to find 20 seconds per mile over the next 11 weeks. Shouldn't be too difficult right? 

                           

                          FWIW, I ran my first marathon effort work of this cycle on December 8, averaging 7:04 pace for 4 miles.

                           

                          On January 4, I did 2x5 miles averaging 6:45 and 6:46 for marathon effort.

                           

                          On February 1, I did 2x5 miles averaging 6:39 and 6:35 for marathon effort.

                           

                          All three runs were good weather and run off of perceived effort.

                           

                          Improving by 20 seconds per mile over 11 weeks for marathon effort doesn't strike me as improbable.  Of course, it's easier and quicker to return to a fitness place you've been before than to climb to a new rung on the ladder.

                          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.

                          zebano


                            CommanderKeen solid week! I'm always impressed when anyone gets over 60mpw mostly in singles.
                            Yes, I'm doing a tri in late May but mostly because I was cross training enough when injured that it seemed like a good idea. Also if I'm spending time on the bike and swim I'll be slower about ramping up the running which is something that has caused me to reinjure myself in the past.


                            mrakers -- what prompted the day off? I don't advocate streaking but I'm always curious why people stop them.


                            Darkwave -- good luck with the race. Hopefully the taper will freshen up your legs.

                            1600 - 5:23 (2018), 5k - 19:33 (2018), 10k - 41:20 (2021), half - 1:38:57 (2018), Marathon - 3:37:17 (2018)

                            SteveChCh


                            Hot Weather Complainer

                              Thanks for all the support, definitely helps me put it in perspective.  I did manage to run last night on my ankle.  It's very very painful to touch and changing direction when walking, but basically fine when running in a straight line.  I think it's just a hangover from running on a slightly uneven surface.

                               

                              Which brings me to a point - my perfect training weather is about 10-15 degrees warmer than my perfect racing weather. I love training in the 55-75 degree range (assuming low humidity), but my ideal racing range is in the 40s.

                               

                              This is a great point.  Last night it was 30C but was fine for a training run.  I'd prefer about 20C for training, and 10C for racing.

                              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

                              SteveChCh


                              Hot Weather Complainer

                                JMac -  I missed your Vapor Fly comment.

                                 

                                I haven't paid much attention to the discussions - are they race only shoes?  I think they're up over $300 so I'd want them to last.

                                 

                                If I wear them, do I get as much focus and interrogation as Mark did for his downhill slalom race Smile

                                 

                                I noticed your comment on the date format over on the marathon thread....I'll let it slide because it seems you're in enough trouble over there as it is

                                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