Forums >Racing>Sub 1:30 Half Marathon in 2020
Drag increases exponentially (squared) as speed increases. If it's a straight headwind then the drag is your speed plus the wind, multiplied by some constants (assuming bike/running form does not alter).
This means as you got faster, the effect of the wind is greater.
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
Good week here after officially registering for the race a week ago.
Monday: 8 miles easy on treadmill
Tuesday: 9.5 miles interval (this was dumb, and led me to the Pfitz plan). Did 5x1 mile at 5k pace. Held it on the treadmill. But was tired after.
Wednesday: 7 easy on treadmill
Thursday: 9 miles at 8:20ish pace. Kept it easy in light of tired legs from Tuesday.
Friday: 6 miles easy
Saturday: 17 miles (endurance run via Pftizinger) - Started at 8:08 pace and slowly progressed down to about 7:30 the last few. Great run.
Sunday: 6 miles easy
Also added in just over .5 miles with my 5 year old. She woke me up Saturday morning at 7:45am and said, "Is today the day we run together?" She's been begging for the last two weeks that once it gets warm, we run together. I don't care how tired my legs are, she'll always get that.
Total: 63.1 for the week
This week, going to do easy on Monday, and then a Pftiz LT run of about 10-11 miles on Tuesday (18 @LT w/ 4 min recover//16@LT) Then, Wed-Friday to go easy because my last 5k of the spring is on Saturday. Planning to PR and then after the race next week, dive headfirst into a Pfitz plan between the 63 peak miles and 84 peak miles and use the guide for a workout and peak somewhere around 70 in late March. So...here's to nothing.
3 months til Masters
Nice Week mrakers. I have a two year old boy...it was 46 out today so he ran around the block (~1/3 mile) talking about his running shoes which happen to be a pair of sneakers that are the same color as my running shoes. Gotta live your best life with the little ones.
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
mrakers, James, Steve, DP - nice weeks.
Mark - nice race, and week.
My week - I'm now in phase 2 of my recovery of my hamstring injury. I am still not allowed to run, but I did bike on Saturday. I can now do 3 * 15 reps of single leg glute bridges on my left, two and a half weeks ago I could do zero.
Cobra Commander Keen
JMac - I've noticed his higher mileage, and I will not go gently into that good night. It'll be middle to late March before I can crank that up, though. Yeah, I remember the weather heading towards suck-ville for Dallas the closer to race day I got. The forecast hasn't changed over the weekend, though, so that seems good for now. Really nice M pace run Saturday! Just be thankful we're not bicyclists regarding the wind since wind resistance increases with the square of velocity.
James - I'm liking the mileage build.
Mark - Killer job on that 10k! Did the top runners in the 5k ever upload to strava, or do you still have those crowns?
DPS- Yet another nice week, good job.
Had a couple health-related scares over the weekend. DD1 woke up Saturday and was moving pretty slowly, then said her stomach was bothering her. No temperature. She threw up a bit later and immediately went back to feeling like herself, so I'm not at all sure what caused it. For a bit I was quite worried I'd have another sick girl to take care of. Sunday I was 1/4mi out from my house when I glanced over to my right when someone opened their garage door and something happened to my back. On my right side, from the middle of my back all the way up to my neck immediately stiffened up. No pop, no pain, but I haven't been able to properly move my head since so clearly something's out of whack. Ice seems to help some, but I'm likely heading to the chiropractor for the first time in a couple years. If I can get this lined out I should otherwise be feeling pretty good for race day. My hamstrings are feeling better (likely thanks to some strides, Epsom salt bath, and a bit of stretching/rolling of the legs).
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
3660 mile minimum.
JMac - I've noticed his higher mileage, and I will not go gently into that good night. It'll be middle to late March before I can crank that up, though.
I'm currently on track for nearly 3,900 even considering that I'm tapering. You're well ahead of that for now, though, but I think I can catch up!
RIP Milkman
Drag increases exponentially (squared) as speed increases. If it's a straight headwind then the drag is your speed plus the wind, multiplied by some constants (assuming bike/running form does not alter). This means as you got faster, the effect of the wind is greater.
Glad I wasn't just imagining that! I'll take the higher resistance for being a faster runner though
Steve - 3 months out from a goal race is a LONG time. You're going to race at least twice before then right?
Mark - as you saw in my last mini-report, I thought about darwave as well during my race. Such a good quote, everyone should remember that! Your quote of taking the win out "in the backyard" reminded me of that Piwi photo where it looked like he was literally running a race in someone's backyard.
DPS - my future is being fat and lazy on the couch, I'm retiring from this nonsense!
Makers - I've become a huge fan of those Pfitz style long runs, even though I'm a Daniels guy. Love just the slow progression faster and faster, but only as your body allows. It's like drifting with the wind: you don't really push the pace, but just see if your body will slowly get faster. If it doesn't, then don't push it.
keen - your story of your neck gives me chills. I actually VERY slowly turn my head when I'm running when I need to cross roads or look behind me for upcoming bikers, as I'm terrified of this exact thing happening. Anyway maybe you'll pull a flavio and take over the taper madness crown!
Me - I think I'm finally in shape! Had a great workout on Wednesday night. I was absolutely fried after it though, and my Thursday and Friday were the slowest I've run recovery/easy days mid cycle in years. Part of that may be because I ran my first double on Thursday in 16 years, but even the AM run was really slow (9:00 min miles). I worry sometimes that I just lock into an easy pace and don't let my body really dictate it, but those 3 runs demonstrated that I actually do run by effort.
My Saturday run at marathon pace was a huge confidence booster this early. Was able to run my current Marathon PR pace, which is not something I expected (was shooting for more like 6:05 average). I did run in an older pair of VFs, so that probably gave me a few seconds per mile compared to the Zoom Fly I usually train in, but still, really pumped about where I'm at.
This week will be my final dreaded Vo2 max workout of the cycle on Tuesday. I also will have run 4 straight Quality days on only 2 days rest (vs. the usual 2 day followed by 3 day rest over a 7 day period), so I'm going through probably the toughest patch of training here but it's almost over!
5K: 16:37 (11/20) | 10K: 34:49 (10/19) | HM: 1:14:57 (5/22) | FM: 2:36:31 (12/19)
I'm on pace for 4400
Problem Child
This is why I try not to speed up too much. The wind is a bigger problem and I'm dealing with it enough as it is.
I thought cyclists cared about the draft because it made it easier for the guy in the middle to go the same speed.I think cycling is stupid and I watch NASCAR. The Daytona 500 is identical to any cycling race. Everyone line up in two lines, follow each other with minimal passing for 450 of 500 laps and THEN maybe in the last 25 start trying to pass someone. Good think Ryan Newman survived his crash.
workouts after halfs I wouldn't ever expect a workout to be the same after a race. Maybe it is mental, or maybe it is physical. I'd just expect it to be slower.
dps 80+ for a sub 90 half? wow that's seriously impressive. I thought I was going hard doing 50 with 1 speed workout. Our sons are the same age (december 17).
JMac I seriously thought you had to be under 5:58 for a moose mug. Dad strength is coming on strong. I'm going to hate you around mile 9 of my half marathon coming up in April. I already don't like you for saying I should easily go sub 90. 6:25 miles aren't something I want to try out.
Keen I totally failed on 3T this weekend. By failed I mean didn't even attempt due to Jeep stuff. Maybe you should stay inside, and away from family members, for the rest of the week.
My week:
Big jump to 50 miles. One workout. Just didn't make time to test out HMP. I feel like I keep putting this off due to life happening so I might need to get serious about it now that it's less than 2 months from race day. The funny thing is I made sure to get this in for marathon training. Phase 3 of the JD HM training plan already had T workouts so I really need to get with it. I'm also not fully focused on racing right now for some reason even WITH the goal, and workouts I'm doing. It just all seems different this year.
M: 4.0 Thought about doing a T workout and passed because it wasn't Sunday, and there were lots of people out on the path I workout on.
Tu: 6x5 minute at 6:27/mi pace with 1 minute recovery. Didn't actually feel like much of a workout.
W: 8.0 mile at 7:25/mi. Pacing with a friend and working on controlling pace. Somehow locking into 7:20-25 was harder than a race pace.
Th: 8 miles trail.
F: 6.75 easy-ish. Group wanted to keep running faster.
Sa: 5.27 easy. I had a guy coming over and wasn't going to get a workout in. I didn't think of doing it around 3:00 because I DOUBT it would have happened.
Su: 11 mile long run. Just wanted to get the miles up and keep something resembling a long run.
51 miles for the week.
Still lacking threshold and half marathon pace work.
5K on March 15 still has me worried about holding a 6:00/mi pace. Mostly because my brain won't accept 6:01/mi as physically possible, and the amount of suck from a 5K has been burned into my brain.
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
Recovery Phenom
watson: Wow, that's amazing to have little DOMS after a full.
CommanderKeen: That forecast sounds good. It will be nice once you are done with the headwind to really crank it at the end.
James: Sounds like you have been nice and consistent with your base building. You'll definitely benefit now from adding in the faster work. I hope the knee thing is nothing and just goes away.
JMac: Holy WOW that is a fast marathon pace run. I agree that you can build a good amount of fitness in three weeks and it sounds like you are right on target. I have definitely noticed that the wind impacts you more. Greg McMillan has a treadmill video in which he says you don't need to run on an incline to mimic running outside unless you are running a sub-8:00 pace, because at that pace, you start to get wind resistance. Interesting, right!?
Marky: Yes, I tend to vomit after the half marathon distance, but not any of the other distances. I don't think it's stomach distress because one time it was a full-on dry heave. There was nothing actually in my stomach but it was the reflex that was triggered. Congrats on the wicked fast 10K and the win. Great pacing for you to be able to speed up like that too. I used Darkwave's wisdom in a workout this morning to convince myself to not quit early!
SteveCh: To answer your question, yes I believe I could have continued to run in those half marathons when I vomited, but I would have had to have slowed a bit I think. I tend to recover quickly from workouts in general (see more about my week below). Great week for you and it's great that you are including weights!
dpschumacher: Hello! I average 2 marathons a year and have been doing them since 2006. I hope to be doing them until I am 70! Look at that high mileage week! Super impressive.
- - - - - - -
Me: I ended up with 73.5 miles last week. When it comes to recovery, I think I do seem to be a phenom. I have no idea how I was able to string these workouts together.
Thursday: the 3 x 3 miles at HMP with 3-min recovery jogs, 13.6 miles total
Friday: 6.9 easy at 8:43
Saturday: 19 mile progression from 8:37 down to 7:40 averaging 8:05
Sunday: 6.5 recovery at 9:21
Monday: 5 x 2000m at 10K effort (6:38 average pace) with 3 mins recovery in between, 10.3 miles total.
So given that I only need one easy day in between these hard efforts and I'm feeling healthy, strong, and not burnt out - I think that's a sign I am really fit right now. Tomorrow will be about 9.5 miles and then I will cut the volume back in prep for the half on Sunday.
26.2 x 31 (3:15:34 PR)
13.1 x 35 (1:30:58 PR)
Author of the book Boston Bound
Elisabeth Good luck Sunday. I think you'll pull a 1:27 with some good weather and confidence.
Mark nice way to start the year ! One of the guys I have run with here did the 5k in that race in about 17.30. Not sure where he came though. I just noticed it on his Strava.
Also I see local triathlete Hayden Wilde ran 13.48 in the 5000m in that recent big meet. Hes going to go far on the world triathlon scene.
Watson the only time I like a headwind is when it cools you down. Thanks for the science behind drag etc
Jmac that backyard photo was our local Parkrun. Usually only about 100 people mostly non serious and in a scruffy valley on a dirt track I hope you enjoyed my 2e+4E+2E run the other day.
I manage to put in the odd sub 4km at the end of my runs without much stress. I'm not sure how many I could link together though.
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 "
Hot Weather Complainer
JMac - There's a City to Surf fun run in a month that I'm looking at. It's 14km and quite a big event, but with an emphasis on fun rather than racing. Having said that, I think that's the perfect distance to try and race at my goal HMP for and there will be plenty of fast runners there (the winner last year broke 45 mins). I'll not do any taper or specific training and enter it in the final week if all is going well. I'd be happy to break 60 mins which is a good stepping stone 2 months out. That will be the only race though, I'd like 2 months of solid focus leading into the Christchurch Half-Marathon.
Great weeks for all, mrakers, elizabeth, dpschumacher, JMac, CK, Mark, Brew, James....and anyone I've missed!
Elizabeth - You are smashing your training, and I'm starting to think I might have been conservative to say you'll break 1:30 with 15-30 seconds to spare. Your workouts are pointing towards you being in shape to shave several minutes off that PR.
watson - great patience and good progress. When I had my glute last year, there were weeks when I felt like I was getting nowhere but when it came right, I was able to ramp up training very quickly.
piwi - You need to spend more time here, you are missed! We need to know when you throw 1.4567T into a workout.
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
Mrakers - nice week. So cool that your daughter was keen to go for a run. My almost-3 year old daughter really enjoyed the race on Sunday, when they had the kids 2k race she wanted to join in at the end and run to the finish line, just like you there was no way I could say 'no' to that!
Watson - good progress on the hamstring (I hope). Thanks for clearing up the physics debate too!
Keen - hope that neck is nothing serious. My osteo is brilliant for fixing random tweaks like that. The 5k winner on Sunday doesn't seem to have uploaded his race to Strava so all my CR's (and some new ones!) appear to be intact. Some local elite runners are weird like that - they'll upload some runs to Strava but not others.
JMac - Piwi was actually running in someone's backyard during that race. That tempo run on Saturday is really promising. The VF's definitely help but to hit that so early in a cycle is a great sign.
Brew - 5k's hurt but... only for the last 2k of the race and a few minutes after. Once you get that 'fish flopping around out of water' thing out of your system you're basically good as new (at least compared to after a half or a full!).
Elizabeth - enjoy the taper week! Definitely sounds like you recover quickly. It's a great attribute to have as it means you can get more quality into your training than some folk.
DPS - cranking the volume! I'm looking forward to watching this mileage battle unfold between you and Keen.
Piwi - yeah that run by Wilde was very impressive. Makes sense that triathletes would do well just given the volume of training they have behind them but there's no substitute for speed over a 5k distance. He smoked some very good runners in the process, Josh Maisey was over 30 seconds back!
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"