Forums >Racing>Sub 1:30 Half Marathon in 2019
Nice job on the Time trail Keen!
I also try and buy last year model shoes off of Running warehouse or Kellys Running Warehouse.
PR's
1m 5:38 (2018)
5k 19:59 (2019)
HM 1:33:56 (2018)
FM 3:23:07 (2018)
Cobra Commander Keen
Buying cheap running shoes doesn't actually save me any money - I just end up with more shoes!
Thanks, all!After thinking some about it over the last day, I've decided I am pretty happy with where I'm at right now. While I would have liked to have run faster given that it was on a track, conditions certainly weren't ideal (though they were the best I've seen in quite a while), I had a lot of down time in the winter and I am just now stringing together my best 4 week stretch this year (assuming I didn't just jinx my LR!). I still have about 79 days until my race, which gives me a lot of time to improve and weather will certainly be better then. One of the reasons I chose to target a half instead of a full this fall is that I want to be able to race a couple 5ks in November and December, so I think I'll certainly be closing out the year with a couple new PRs from all this.
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
RIP Milkman
Shoes - I still think the VFs are worth the $250 given you only race in them. We're all willing to spend so much money on entry fees, it seems crazy not to spend the money on a pair of shoes that are good for at least 10 half marathons.
Keen - 79 days is a long time. You'll be good.
Me - everything lining up for a disappointing race (flavio I hope you like this sandbagging!): a) dew points will climb the rest of today from about 66 degrees up to 72 by race time and (b) my legs have never felt so bad during a taper. I know "never" is a strong word, but I just have no idea what is going on this week. They feel like I've been marathon training even though I'm barely running. Usually my legs feel like crap in the taper until my 3-5 mile shakeout the day before, at which point they feel like they're ready to go. Not this morning, they felt terrible. The only thing I can point to is that I've been exhausted all week, so maybe I just needed a couple of nights of 10 hours of sleep to knock all of this out? Otherwise, I have nothing I can point to. I even ran less mileage than I was planning to try to get over this, and it hasn't done anything.
My prediction: I will either run a 16:53, or a 17:33. Nothing in between. I am so excited for fall weather to come though, I'm done running in this crap. I plan on running 2 different races in prep where I may get a new PR: a 10K on October 5 and a half marathon on October 27. I'll be a little rusty for my 10K as I won't have enough workouts under my belt at that point, but my current 10K PR was during a half, so I should have a good chance. Then, I should be in pretty good shape for my half where I can take a good crack at going for 1:15. Then 3 more solid weeks of training before tapering for CIM. It's a very short marathon cycle (only 9 weeks of quality), but didn't' really have a choice with my upcoming vacation.
5K: 16:37 (11/20) | 10K: 34:49 (10/19) | HM: 1:14:57 (5/22) | FM: 2:36:31 (12/19)
My prediction: I will either run a 16:53, or a 17:33. Nothing in between.
Quoted for posterity!
I've always thought junky taper legs are just a thing. Sometimes mine have felt kinda worthless even race morning, but then surprise me once the gun goes off.
Today is a great day for mail deliveries! New Stryd, new shoes, and a new (to me) book.
Mother of Cats
Observation 1: My previous sport was horseriding. And...a set of horse shoes can easily cost $250 US or more, depending on what you get done. And those have to be redone every 4-6 weeks.
Observation 2: I've happily plunked down $250 for a pair of shoes, but I'm having heartburn right now over having to pay the same amount or more for a hotel for one night. Not sure if my priorities are right or wrong.
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.
Are horse shoes what you wear, or the shoes the horse wears, or are they BOTH called horse shoes? Very confusing...
Anyway, I think shoes are different. If the Vaporflies legit can give you 5 seconds a mile let's say in a marathon, how could you possibly not be willing to pay $150 more than the next pair of shoes for that? A hotel room is a place to sleep, not sure how that makes much of a difference than any other hotel. Of course, maybe it's worth it if it lets you sleep another hour race morning, or prevent hypothermia on the way back in case of Boston.
Observation 1: My previous sport was horseriding. And...a set of horse shoes can easily cost $250 US or more, depending on what you get done. And those have to be redone every 4-6 weeks. Observation 2: I've happily plunked down $250 for a pair of shoes, but I'm having heartburn right now over having to pay the same amount or more for a hotel for one night. Not sure if my priorities are right or wrong.
1) Everything about horses (including the horse) is expensive! I was a bit of a cowboy in a previous life.
2) I'd be feeling the same. You'll likely end up spending more time in the shoes over their lifespan than you will in the hotel room for the same money.
Are horse shoes what you wear, or the shoes the horse wears, or are they BOTH called horse shoes? Very confusing... Anyway, I think shoes are different. If the Vaporflies legit can give you 5 seconds a mile let's say in a marathon, how could you possibly not be willing to pay $150 more than the next pair of shoes for that? A hotel room is a place to sleep, not sure how that makes much of a difference than any other hotel. Of course, maybe it's worth it if it lets you sleep another hour race morning, or prevent hypothermia on the way back in case of Boston.
Horse shoes are what the horses wear. Surprisingly complex, once you compete at a high level. They're not just U-shaped bits of iron, but custom-fit orthotics made out of metal, combined with a pedicure before application.
Now....riding boots.....my last pair cost nearly $1000 back in the 90s. They are custom made, and I had to wait 4 months between getting measured and getting them, and then another 6 months to break them in properly. The good news was, if you took care of them and didn't lose or gain a lot of weight, they could last you a good long time - much cheaper over time than VFs.
But I'm with you on shoes (and am fortunate to be in the financial position where I can be that way). If I'm going to compete in a sport, I'm going to set myself up for success, and part of that is giving thought to my equipment.
The hotel room I was thinking of specifically is the one that I now have to get in NYC, since I now have to stay overnight before the Fifth Avenue Mile. Pretty much every hotel is $200 or over, with most over $250 a night.
If I was around that Saturday night, I would offer you my couch for free, but alas I am out in NJ all day Saturday and won't be home until very late.
Problem Child
Can it be called lurking if you've never posted this year?
Shoes - I still think the VFs are worth the $250 given you only race in them. We're all willing to spend so much money on entry fees, it seems crazy not to spend the money on a pair of shoes that are good for at least 10 half marathons. Me - everything lining up for a disappointing race...
Me - everything lining up for a disappointing race...
JMac If you'd just quit finding excuses and run your best the day of (sorry....had to be a dad for a minute) you will probably surprise yourself. Just quit thinking about it and go run the damn thing. Ever read the book Endure? If you have this seems to be a great time to go re-read the first chapter where Alex talks about the first 4:00 miler and how much is possible when you stop putting up mental barriers. IS it going to be fun? no. it's going to suck. It's going to hurt. You're going to be miserable about 30 seconds into the race and the last minute you're really going to hate your life. You can either be miserable for the next few days, or for about 17 minutes (because it's still going to stuck for a bit when you're finished). 17 minutes sounds WAY better than two or three days to me.
I agree about the shoes. Add in traveling, hotels, training, and race souvenirs for some races and $250 is just another night in a hotel. NOW...$250 can be a lot to some. It could be a week of eating. I'm not ready to drop that much on a pair of shoes mostly because I don't think I'm to the point where there is nothing else I can do personally to get better (cross train, new training plan, cherry pick races, troll social media profiels of elite athletes training, etc.) to get my best times so I'll go for the less expensive Zoom Fly Flyknit for $100 on clearance. Two of those are less than one pair of "percentage" shoes. This Indian is still some of the problem and a better arrow would probably have more of an impact at a different point. I can have stomach pains or leg cramps in $250 shoes just the same as $100 sale shoes. Now...if they legit took my PR and took 5 second off for ONE race...I'd have to wonder how many miles those shoes work for but that would be a 3:03:05 for me and right now I'd wonder if it was enough for my actual goal.
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
Jmac good luck hopefully all this fatigue will disappear once the gun goes off.
Keen 5k pace takes practice so I would keep a vo2 max workout in your weekly routine before you try another 5k.
Dark wave horses scare me. My sisters had " ponies " when I was a kid and I fell off while been doubled a couple of times. My mum got kicked quite bad once too.
I wont spend $200 on shoes but I will enter a marathon on the other side of the world for $200 and not run in it....
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 "
Brew - trust me, I know how to deal with the pain / mental barriers. After experiencing what I did at Boston last year where I legitimately considered just quitting for good because of the awful pain I went through, even days after the race, I get it. I'm just more frustrated with having 4 shitty weather days in a row for a race. It's not a "suck it up and do it" I know how to do that.
piwi - I totally forgot about that! But hey, that $200 forced you to go meet mikkey so I guess that was worth it?
Jmac - thanks for the thought. I actually did get an offer for a couch in Manhattan, but I'd really rather have my own bed (which I know sounds crazy, since my prior plan was to sleep on a train, but the train is surprisingly comfortable). Plus...with a 7:45 am start, I now need to be up at 4:30 am, and I hate to impose that on my hosts.
Yeah I figured. You post just reads like you're defeated before the race happens. I mean, you could roll your ankle or have a serious injury take you out of this race and CIM instead of having bad weather this week. Optimism my (imaginary) friend. Don't be a Bruce (which is a child's book where everyone is happy and it always ends with "and one grumpy Bruce").
No, I’m just annoyed at 0-4 timing with weather. I already decided I”m going out at 16:59 pace no matter what the damn conditions were, I stated that earlier. It’s a 5K, the blow ups are minimal if you miss. If you read the rest of my post, you’ll see my optimism for the rest of the year.