Forums >Racing>Sub 1:30 Half Marathon in 2020
Intl. correspondent
I apologize in advance for becoming so monotonic these last few days. The new virus took a hold of our lives here. I promise I'll go back soon to my goofy self.
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
RIP Milkman
No need to apologize. We've been in self-isolation for 10 days so far and I'm finding it tough. I think people in houses with yards have it easier because you can just take a step out for fresh air, but living in a 700 square foot apartment is rough. I've definitely been way crankier than usual. It's hard to be in a good mood during all of this, especially when you just know the worst is still ahead of us here in NYC. I think Italy is right at the peak. Hopefully in less than 7 days, you'll see that you're coming back down the curve. That's about the best positive we can take at times like this.
5K: 16:37 (11/20) | 10K: 34:49 (10/19) | HM: 1:14:57 (5/22) | FM: 2:36:31 (12/19)
Mother of Cats
Flavio - are people even allowed to walk outside? That's where I think it's an overreaction. Everything else makes sense. But if you can't walk outside and keep 6 feet from others, then I think governments have gone overboard.
I also think that what restrictions will be tolerated depends on the country. In the US, restrictions on the ability to leave one's house at all can raise both Constitutional issues and political challenges. Some of our politicians may not care about Constitutional restrictions, but they will definitely care about not alienating voters.
I've seen discussion elsewhere of a country-wide mandate in France on not running more than a set distance from one's home. I see that being very hard to mandate in the US - it requires people to carry ID showing where they live (very problematic here) and we are a very large and diverse country - you can get a lot done in NYC or DC within a mile of your home. Not so much in Kansas or Wyoming.
The longer these restrictions last, the greater the likelihood of Constitutional challenge in the US. Requiring someone to shelter in place could be construed as imprisonment, and so you had been have a darn good reason or process behind it.
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.
When you look at New Zealand's official reaction:
1. Close the border to non-resident and non-citizen: huge call, but a good call given how almost all known transmissions were from flights/boats from overseas.
2. Sports and many activities have stopped: minor pain, but ok.
3. Some workplaces are working from home: not mandated by officials, so very doable.
The over reacting has been personal behaviour like over buying at the supermarket.
Glass half full - April, May and June monthly train tickets are half price
The counties who acted slow have hurt the worse.
Also Flavio definitely does not need to apologize.
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
Cobra Commander Keen
Flavio - Sounds rough all around, mate. Hopefully everything turns around sooner rather than later.
DWave - You're certainly right about the legalities of the lockdown. I'm sure there will be legal challenges filed soon, if there haven't already been. There's a huge difference between "please don't gather in large groups because of this" vs "no large groups at all". Not a lot I can do within a mile of my house. There are 2 gas stations, 3 restaurants (one only open evenings a few days per week), a couple boutique shops, and a car wash within that radius.
I felt pretty good on my run this morning. Not sure if it was due to being another day away from that 50k or if the temp was 20* lower than what it has been. I used the MTB mode on my watch for a bit of a test. Mostly seeing if/how I can properly re-adjust the activity to a run after the fact. The reason behind this is that in bike mode I can create and execute workouts with targets based on power, which I can't do in a run mode. It worked just fine, but did require me changing the activity type in a few websites/analysis tools. I'm now wondering if pace/distance were coming from GPS or from my Stryd (as it usually does in run mode).
Flights to Seattle in mid-September for a marathon that is small enough to get around the "no groups larger than 250" limit currently in Washington dropped by $3 today...
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
When you look at New Zealand's official reaction: 1. Close the border to non-resident and non-citizen: huge call, but a good call given how almost all known transmissions were from flights/boats from overseas. 2. Sports and many activities have stopped: minor pain, but ok. 3. Some workplaces are working from home: not mandated by officials, so very doable. The over reacting has been personal behaviour like over buying at the supermarket. Glass half full - April, May and June monthly train tickets are half price The counties who acted slow have hurt the worse. Also Flavio definitely does not need to apologize.
It’s not just supermarket madness though. A lot of local businesses are extremely quiet when there’s no reason for people to stop going to their local cafe and restaurant. We went out last night to a local place which should have been humming on a Friday night and instead it was dead quiet and the owner told us he’d had to lay off 5 staff. I know plenty other local businesses in the same position - there’s no logical reason for people to bunker down in NZ but that’s what they’re doing.
If we had done (1) right at the start we would be able to carry on life as normal, basically. And even then, I’m not convinced that was necessary. Singapore and Japan are two examples of countries that had very early cases and life there is basically carrying on as normal with a few restrictions.
Anyway Flávio, you are doing it tougher than the rest of us buddy, hang in there - it won’t last forever.
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: Runway5 / National 5k Champs, 16:22, National Masters AG Champ!
Up next: Still working on that...
"CONSISTENCY IS KING"
Mark I went and got Indian takeout last night. I managed to push the first door into the restaurant with my foot but the 2nd door was a pull one
If I watch too much tv on this it drives me crazy so I'm trying to just catch up on the latest once per day.
Jmac I see New Yorks air is clear for once. Yeah apartment confinement would suck.
Rest day for me so went kayakfishing and got a haul of fresh fish.
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 "
Problem Child
(Insert comment about high population density from the past)
Hard to play in a yard buried in snow. At least Central Park has a maintenance crew to keep the place looking nice, right?
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
I think this is a big part of what is driving the hysteria. People are on social media and news sites constantly looking for the latest information. Something gets a bit of momentum on social media and then people unquestionably accept it as fact. My dad is one of the people at high risk for this as he had an illness a few years ago which permanently affected his lung function. Unfortunately this means my mum is driving herself nuts sitting on social media hitting refresh every 5 seconds, when all they actually need to do is stay at home (they live in a semi-rural area anyway) and pick their moments to go out for groceries etc. (or just get me to deliver them).
I've gotta admit, there's been a few times lately when I've been out running and I've wondered if this is the beginning of the end of the world. Maybe I've just played a bit too much Fallout, or The Last of Us, but the mind wanders a bit sometimes.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to the Last Race in the World tonight (AKA NZ 10,000m champs).
Mark good luck on the 10 000m look forward to your result.
My wife's mother in Taihape was a chain smoker her whole life now a vapour user and sleeps with a breathing machine. Also obese with high blood pressure....
Jmac is your time trial still a goer ?
Jmac - Hopefully you can still get your time trial in time.
Mark - I’d say your parents should be worried about receiving their groceries from you hahaha. Good luck tonight!!!!
Ramblings - Another country flying under the radar so far is Germany. They've got great labs, a huge amount of test kits, speedy test results, a lot of ICU beds for worst case scenario, and a compliant population. They saw the writing on the wall and prepared, unlike all of their neighbours.
It will be interesting to watch as this unfolds in the next few months if they continue to have a negligible effect like so far.
In Israel it seems you get a text "hey dummy, you've been close to a positive covid patient, stay the fuck home!". That's based on your smartphone's GPS location the past few weeks.
I wonder why the US is not using their massive surveillance powers to keep people apart like South Korea and Israel are doing.
I mean, everybody knows they’re doing it, so what if they’d use for the greater good for once.
It’s possible this one will not make the list of Notable outbreaks
I was watching a YouTube video about geopolitics yesterday and the guy said it’s possible it won’t even be what this year is remembered for.
When you guys think 1918 do you think about the big influenza pandemic or the end of world war 1?
Anyway, wouldn't you say the virus is doing a lot more in the fight against climate change than anything ever before?
As usually I hope I'm wrong, but Unfortunately, as soon as we remove the current restrictions ,Italy is not at his pick... the north might but until we have a vaccine everybody can get it and the numbers in many regions are not yet up enough to talk about pick. I think the uk government has been honest: there are no ways out of social distancing until we have a vaccine or accept other waves...
The major problem with this situation is that people (and governments) are not ready to take drastic actions until they feel a crisis or an emergency and at that point is too late.this is a huge metaphore for climate change if you think about it
This said, I hope italy is going to be out of this situation soon but I doubt it.we cannot compare to China,the situation there was different,they could quarantine people much more effectively
PRs since re-started in 2013:
5km: 19:43 (Belfast park run Sep-16) | 10km: 40:16 (Belfast Lagan side 10K Sep-18)
HM: 1:30:09 (Belfast city Half Marathon, September-18) | FM: 3:25:05 (official chip time Belfast city Marathon, May-19, marathon was 0.3/4 longer, original time 3:27:20 for 26.5/6...)
Upcoming races:
???
Flavio - the issue with climate change here, is if once the virus is under control, then life goes back to normal then it just delays climate change a year or two.
The current decree still does not ban outdoor running, though it states one should remain close to home.
I'm taking this day by day and I'm initially planning to stop running for 2 weeks (till March 29th) and reassess from there.
If the national numbers are trending down considerably there will be less peer pressure to ban outdoor running.
Marco - I do not see a complete easing of the restrictions, but a gradual one. I'll be happy if in 8 days some business can reopen so long as they use drastic measures of social distancing.
Eventually the economy implodes, society collapses and this will turn into Yemen. That will be worse than the pandemic.
Not sure what official time was but I ran 32:34 on my watch, 1st Masters. Super happy and I really pushed the last 2 laps hard... it's gonna be a long few months of training and it’d be even longer if I felt I hadn’t run my best race out there tonight.
It's totally nuts to think that I'm currently the National Masters Half Marathon champ and the National Masters 10,000m champ.
Even better, Miss 3 wanted to run an entire lap of the track with me after I finished my race.
I know this is all pretty trivial in the global scheme of things right now, but you gotta enjoy the moments, now more than ever.