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

darkwave - I wasn't really serious.  I'm lucky enough to have a partner who is nothing but supportive too - she's into equestrian so understands being passionate about something and the time that is required (and doesn't consider $300-400 on shoes to be significant at all, given what equestrian costs!).

My wife is generally very supportive, but was rather dubious when I mentioned the Vaporflies cost NZ$350.  Maybe I should encourage her to take up horse riding again!

Funny, about the comparison of Vaporfly costs with equestrian costs.  My prior sport was also horses, and that has similarly tinged my views on costs.  Even to this day, I spend less annually on running than I do supporting my retired horse (amazingly foaled in 1991 and still kicking - I never thought I'd be supporting him this long).

In the US, horse shoeing can run well north of $250 a set, depending on what you're getting.

Okay this connection between horses and running is very weird, and we've had a lot of weird conversations in here.

I took my first spill on a run today in years! I was doing a 5 mile recovery run with the dog (no, she didn't come back from the grave, she's still around). She did a great job this morning, more than usual, as she usually is pulling me all over the place to smell things, interact with other dogs, etc. We were heading back home on the sidewalks and I went around a group of 2 men. I was running directly into the rising sun, so I couldn't see perfectly, and ended up tripping on one of those raised pieces of sidewalk. I've tripped on those things plenty of times, but this was the first time I've tripped on one and fell. In one way, I was lucky it was winter: my legs and hands were completely covered, so I only got some relatively minor scrapes. However, I was unlucky because my absolute FAVORITE gloves I've ever owned were torn to shreds (note to folks: if you find your hands run a lot of different temps, getting gloves with mitten flaps is an absolute must and I'm so upset I only discovered that this winter. I've had so many runs where my hands were hot early on, but then it got cloudy and the wind picked up and they were frozen, only to be saved by the flaps). Also luckily my dog was just sort of confused as to what had happened and just stood there while I gathered myself even though I dropped the leash.

So since we were just talking about costs related to running, this run cost me about $40 in gloves and $5 in a dog poop bag holder, since that broke too. Going to be hard to ever top Darkwave's running injuries though.

Keen - you know what solves that for me? Strides. Make sure to keep doing them. They feel awful at first, but eventually the loosens things up for me without doing damage. Normally I stop doing them with about a week to go before a marathon, but you may need to keep at it.

ETA - about the flap gloves, they aren't necessarily meant to be warmer given temperatures, but rather they help when it gets windy, which is when hands can get real chilly when it's in the 30s.

Elisabeth yea sub 20 is still “for the fast guys” and a 6 minute mile was my goal for the mile I raced a few years ago. I remember it from the Presidential Physical Fitness tests in middle school and I thought it was crazy fast.  The 5k im doing I never entered due to scheduling and also thinking 6 mph was pretty fast for running about 8 years ago. Time really does change things and perspective DOES matter.

 

Ah, I misinterpreted that. Regardless, I definitely think you can run a sub 20 5K given your 10K PR.

The cost of Vaporflys: I see them as actually more expensive than $250 because they last half as long. So the cost per mile is 4x that of a normal running shoe. Regardless, I have the hot pink and the hot green Next%.

Horses: My dream is to have a zebra one day.

JMac: Sorry about the fall. My favorite pair of gloves was damaged the same way but I still wear them. They are the convertible mittens. Given that you can put the hand warmers inside them, they are truly the best option for winter running.

CommanderKeen: Epsom Salt Bath, massage, massage gun (if you can get access to one). Stretching could be making it worse and I think if you aren't careful you could hurt yourself that way if they are really tight.

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Me: So, I did the dreaded 3 x 3 miles at half marathon effort this morning with 3 minute recovery jogs in between. I averaged that magical 6:52 pace and I felt strong the whole way. Splits were: (6:57, 6:50, 6:50), (6:52, 6:48, 6:50), (6:52, 6:52, 6:55). That last mile was rough but I think it was mostly mental because I kept having to dodge a garbage truck which meant I couldn't keep an easy rhythm going. Including warm up and cool down it was 13.6 miles total. I am pretty sure this indicates I have the fitness for a 6:52 half marathon pace next weekend, but it's cutting it so close to 1:29:59/1:30:00 that if I get it I will just barely be squeaking under. Pacing will be important, as will the tangents. If I run 13.15 miles then my 6:52 pace won't do it.

Elizabeth - That workout suggests you can definitely go under 1:30 next week.  How far into the pain cave were you?  You'll probably find a bit extra in a race so I'm predicting you'll do it with 15-30 seconds to spare.  Which race is it?

Thanks for the encouragement. I was not in the pain cave until the last 1.5 miles, and even then I was more annoyed at the wind and the garbage truck. The first two sets of three felt really smooth.

It's the Newport News One City Half Marathon in Virginia. Same race as Darkwave's full. Flat course, and as of now, the weather is looking great.

Steve- that story is gold!  Do you get ice much around CHC?

Yep, May - August it's pretty common on a dry morning which is a reason not to run first thing.  In the evening it doesn't usually start icing until 9pm or later, although on a particularly cold day last year it didn't really thaw all day and I put my foot in the middle of what I thought was a shallow puddle.  Turns out it was ice so I slid and expected to land on my head but came out of the slide just in time.  Generally the climate is perfect though.  Because it's not NYC, I don't really equip myself properly for cold running when there are definitely some days when it would be wise to wear more than just a t-shirt and shorts..  Like when it was -8C (17F) and I decided not to wear gloves.  Not smart.