Forums >Racing>Sub 1:30 Half Marathon in 2019
JamesD
Legs were still tired this week, so I took it relatively easy, only running 4 days instead of 5. Had hoped to do a 3-mile tempo Monday, but after a 6:35 first mile, my second one faded to 6:40 without my lungs feeling tired, so I stopped, figuring that two miles at decent speed would provide some leg turnover benefit anyway. Swam instead of running Tuesday, and did a long run of 9 instead of my usual 12 on Wednesday. By Thursday’s easy run, my legs felt better, but I still faded in the last mile, and Saturday was a little better. We’ll see how my intervals go on Monday.
Heat may be part of my problem, as I’m dropping my son off at the daycamp where he's working and not getting out to run most mornings until around 10, when it’s usually in the mid-80s/30 and humid. He gets his license in two weeks, so I won’t have that excuse much longer.
Sun - off
Mon - 6.6 miles including 2 @ 6:37.5 - speed ok, legs tired
Tues - 39 minutes swimming
Weds - 9.3 easy, legs somewhat tired
Thurs - 6.2 easy, legs fresh most of the way, faded last mile
Fri - off
Sat - 8.1 easy to moderate
Total - 30.2 miles
12-week average - 37 mpw
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
Watson - hope the XC went well.
James - nice week, in summer I always get out early as it's just too tough running in the heat and we have much more moderate temps than you.
JMac - yeah fair call. There's a couple of hairpin turns and some areas with tree cover that could throw the GPS a bit, but 80m short on the watch is a bit much. I'll probably chalk it up as an unofficial PB as Parkruns aren't quite the same thing as actual races. In contrast it's pretty hard to argue that 12.5 laps of the track isn't 5000m.
Me - overall a good week, the 5k was definitely a good option to shake out the post-race cobwebs and I'm looking forward to having a good crack at sub-34 for 10k in a couple months. I remember running a 5k TT around a similar time last year, on a quicker course, and it was a good 30 seconds slower than yesterday's time. Legs were a bit tired for today's long run which was still surprisingly enjoyable despite rain most of the way and a headwind coming home which got worse as I was running up the 2km hill. Good to get the mileage building again as well, hopefully close to 100k again this week.
M: weights
T: 14.1km easy
W: 16.7km w. intervals (AM), 7.1km easy (PM)
T: 16.1km easy with hills
F: weights
S: 8km incl. 5km(ish) Parkrun - 16:13
S: 28.1km long run
Total: 91km
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"
On very small course you can pretty much run the shortest route. There is a summer 5k series here which is small and legit length. I have had my GPS do 4.98km some races and 5.04km other races.
Cross country went well. Deliberately did first km slow (too many races I have started too quick). Ran 35:40 for about 8km. Oddly my two warm-up laps were exactly 2km each But my race read 7.91km. Most GPS was 7.9km, so each lap must have been just short of 2km
Am off to Brisbane now for work. About to board plane. Hope to get an easy 30 minutes run tonight. And a Monday and Tuesday morning run over there, before I fly back.
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
And my easy Brisbane run is done, has is my week. It was ok, life got in the way Friday. Was hoping for more km's today, but too tried from yesterday plus the travel.
Intl. correspondent
Keen - August is 2 months away, you can put in a very good training camp for that.Perhaps make sure to schedule a backup 5k race a week later in case conditions are not good?Around here, most racing events are a 5k/10k combo, with some also having the 3k option.
Mark - nice race and cute tutu.
Unfortunately your outfit was not approved by my wife. Her words: "If you're gonna do it, then really do it!"
I'll confess I was out of the loop, I thought my knowledgeof Peppa Pig and Masha and the bear was enough to talk to kids these days.Fun fact, when in St Petersburg, we went to the toy store to find some Masha and the bear gearand the staff lady told us it's not appropriate for children
That lady liked your legs, it's just her gawking face is not the best she's got.
Marco - nice workout and nice to see you back at it. With your crazy schedule it willalways be a good challenge.
Watson - nice racing and I'm glad you got it under 36 min.It looks to me like all Australian cities have awesome names, I've got to go down theresome time.I'll probably visit you guys then, since we all know New Zealand is a village in Australia.
James - you've been very consistent, got any race lined up?
me - a nice week and the mileage is slowly creeping up again with the extra fast stuff in there.
M: Functional trainingT: 3x 100 200 300 400 - I must say anaerobic work is awesome, even though I ran these at almost the same pace, when obviously the shorter distances should've been faster.100s avg 20200s avg 41300s avg 1:00400s avg 1:20
W: 10ezT: 1000 400 1000 400 1000 200 - 3:22 1:17 3:40 1:24 3:37 0:34F: Functional trainingS: 11 moderateS: 1k ez 1k fast - fast avg 3:40/km
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
Marc: epic tutu, thats really strong!
HM: 1:47 (9/20) I FM: 3:53:11 (9/23)
2024 Goals: run a FM & HM + stay healthy!
Flavio/Mick - To be honest I am not much of a fan of dressing up for races but the tutu thing was a volunteer acknowledgement thing, and as we know most races around wouldn't exist without volunteers. Also my daughter has a plentiful supply of them! But yeah fair call from your wife Flavio, I could've taken the outfit a lot further!
Flavio - those 400's are pretty sharp in terms of time especially when you already had some sprints in the legs.
Watson - enjoy running in Brisbane, probably quite nice this time of year. I always enjoy running in new places when I'm travelling for work.
Flavio - nice week. How long will you be doing the low volume with high quality weeks? Is your coaches plan to keep your speed increasing until improvement stops, and then change your training?
Did my first track and field event (a team trophy) yesterday!
great fun, but not really done for results, and today I am really sore... cannot walk properly...
races to cover team needs for a team trophy: High and long jump, shot put (7,26kg, I could not even grab it with one hand... but I managed something... 3,000 steeplechase, and 4X100 after...
after the high jump my legs were already done and in the steeplechase I had no reaction in the ankles... but it was great fun!!
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=494895044581846&set=a.494895711248446&type=3&eid=ARD5LEtLx9NWvEehlrfMpg_JOoSH399OM8915YW5jnfA007tEzozzFJj9WDpcKLlN8gHCOtzeK8F2vNX
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:
???
Watson - I'm not sure what the coach had in mind next. After the 3000 PR, I've decidedto train for the 1500m, and the lower volume higher intensity + stronger strength trainingare consequences of that decision.Factors: - 1500 is by far my favorite distance - I didn't manage to shed weight as I had planned - 1500m training is a variation of what I had been doing for years and it sounded very fun. And honestly it is super fun! Marco - A lot of competitions on the same day, holy moly.1 - does that mean the shot put weighed 7.26kg? What's the negative sign for? 2 - Did you use your hands to help leap over the hurdles? I was considering racing one a couple years back and I could not see how I could jump over it without using my hands
Flavio - the negative sign was a mistake, I am going to delete it. Yes the ball in the shot pus weighted 7.26 kg and I was so tired after high and long that it was actually difficult to grab and hold it...
For the hurdles, I use to run 100 and 300 mt hurdles when juniors, s my brain has impressed the proper technique, I used it (Although it wasn't great I managed to avoid stepping on the hurdles). For the water jump I steeped on it. However, the high and long jumps drain all my ankles strength, so it was much more difficult.
I would love to actually compete on a 3,000 s without all the other races one day, it was fun
Cobra Commander Keen
Mark - It was great seeing that race (and the pics!) on Strava. Is there a proper RR coming?
JMac - You may disagree, but just doing easy miles can be nice at times.
James - Running in those temps and humidity really does just drain you.
Flavio - I hadn't thought about another race the following weekend, but now that I check there wouldn't be one until about a month later! This 5k won't be fast - it's a loop around a park that has some good hills in it. Fortunately, I think the loop will be run clockwise, which should be the "easier" of the two with a flat finish. The best 5k in the state is actually the same day - I just didn't know that when I said I'd run this one.
Marco - The track and field thing sounds fun - I'd like to give steeple a chance some day. At least that's what I tell myself.
Basically all easy running last week. Bailed on one workout because my left leg seemed too tight (no pain), and then decided to just keep it all easy from there. Friday and Saturday really sucked with temps at 80F/26C. and dew points at 75F/23.8C to start the day.
Monday, Jun 17, 2019 thru Sunday, Jun 23, 2019
5k: 17:58 11/22 │ 10k: 37:55 9/21 │ HM: 1:23:22 4/22 │ M: 2:56:05 12/22
Upcoming Races:
RIP Milkman
Flavio - I agree with Watson, it's interesting the volume isn't there yet. It does seem to be working though.
Mark - Definitely no questioning 5000M PRs! I'm just hyper aware of this stuff right now because I'm running 3 charity 5Ks this summer and even though they are all "certified" I can almost guarantee one of them will be botched.
Watson - what was your time for the first page?
Keen - easy running is nice when you've been grinding away at workouts and know you need it. It's different when you feel completely healthy and are just intentionally holding back from doing any workouts. I know during my marathon training, when I got injured for a week, I really enjoyed all the easy running. Not now though.
Me - Last week of only easy running! In total, I will have run 18 straight runs of only easy pace, which is driving me out of my mind. Yesterday's LR was a complete disaster though. I had to WALK during a good chunk of it, and then slow down significantly for the last few miles. I was just mentally broken and felt horrible. It was definitely the heat though. I had run all my previous 15+ long runs without water, even when it was getting warmer, so I thought I could at least make it to mile 8 before needing to take in water. That was a big mistake, as I was just toast by mile 12 and couldn't get enough water in at each stop without feeling sick. I came home and drank 60 oz of liquids within 2 hours and I still couldn't pee. That's when you know it's bad.
First 5K this weekend. Looking like TDP will be 145 for the race, plus I've had zero speed workouts, so I think my goal of 17:29 is right on the dot. Would require an all out miracle to break 17:00 in this first rust-busting race.
Weekly SummaryMonday, Jun 17, 2019 thru Sunday, Jun 23, 2019
5K: 16:37 (11/20) | 10K: 34:49 (10/19) | HM: 1:14:57 (5/22) | FM: 2:36:31 (12/19)
Flavio - I've been planning to do our Heat Wave 5-miler on July 7. This morning's 4x1200 workout didn't go too well, though - almost 7 sec/mile slower pace than two weeks ago. Lungs aren't tired, and my last two reps were slightly faster than my first two, but my legs don't seem to have much speed even though I've cut back on the miles a little the last two weeks. Heat & humidity were both in the low 80s, but that's about the same as they were two weeks ago, and this time I ran in my racing shoes & had some caffeine beforehand. I think I'll go ahead & do the race, as I don't seem to have the speed for a decent 5K right now and there aren't any other longer races here until September. It also attracts lots of people around my speed, which is a big plus. Maybe I'll race in my RFFEs, which I really like and which have a lot more bounce than the Lunar Tempos even though they're not as light.
Marco - Those events sound like fun (even if I would injure myself in each of them). For those of us outside of MetricWorld, I assume the shot was 16 lbs.
James - heat and humidity in the low 80's would equal a TDP in the 160's which is pretty tough going. You don't always feel it straight away but it's just energy-sapping.
JMac - yeah it seems like 5km is a bit of a lottery when it comes to measurement. I would say also though that GPS does have its limitations; last year the 2x10km races I ran were Auckland Champs and National Champs which are always on properly measured courses. Auckland Champs came up at 10.13km, and NZ Champs came up at 9.82km. Sharp turns (Auckland has a few tight turns) and tree cover on parts of the course (NZ Champs) seem to stuff things up a bit.
I would say that temp has less of an effect in a 5k race than over longer distances so I wouldn't worry as much about that. I remember running a 5k race in 20C temps (and bright December late afternoon sun) in 2017, you could definitely feel it was warm but it didn't seem to slow me down a lot. I think the relative lack of workouts will have the bigger impact; but given your form over the year I wouldn't be surprised to see you run something in the low-17's (put in context, that only requires you to to be 5-10 seconds quicker than your half marathon PB pace).
Marco - sounds like fun (just don't drop the shotput on your foot...).
Keen - nice week. Yeah I should probably do a RR.