Sub 1:30 Half Marathon in 2019 (Read 641 times)

SteveChCh


Hot Weather Complainer

     

    No kidding?  When was that?  That AKL-LAX-LHR service was such a long-running one (and carried the NZ1/NZ2 flight numbers!) that they must've had to swallow a bit of pride to can the LAX-LHR leg.  I worked with the UK sales team a little bit and I guess they'll all be out of jobs which is sad too.

     

    Air NZ probably figured it was only a matter of time before someone launched an AKL-NYC service (or SYD-NYC) and it's always a lot easier to get the service up to scale when you're the first mover.

     

    This was way back in 2005 - 2006.  I also spent a bit of time in the Hammersmith office - it started as a temp job when I first moved to London.  My flatmate worked in Hammersmith and got me the gig just doing basic admin at LHR for NZ1, then they started to use my software development skills a bit too.  Very interesting seeing how things operate (especially on the day that Liquid bomb scare broke), and knowing the people running the flight got me upgraded any time I had to take it.

     

    I can see the reasoning for canning it.  There's a ton of options for LAX - LHR, but none for AKL - JFK.  We probably have more mutual friends - Nathan Jones never worked for Air NZ though, but he is at PWC I think.

    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

    Selwyn Marathon June 2, 2024

    Dunedin Half Marathon September 15, 2024

    JMac11


    RIP Milkman

      I'm only coming to New Zealand if I get to run with Piwi with the sheep.

       

      Also Steve the comment is for the men too. New Yorkers are a good looking bunch, but that's mainly because we have so much diversity so it's like we get to claim other country's beauty for ourselves.

       

      Mark - I'm probably signing up for NYC next year. No idea if I'll actually run the thing, but that would be amazing if you made it!

       

      Planes - This actually just happened yesterday for Sydney/NYC, so looks like that market is heating up:

       

      https://www.nbcnews.com/business/travel/doing-macarena-2-m-quantas-record-breaking-19-hour-flight-n1069746

      5K: 16:37 (11/20)  |  10K: 34:49 (10/19)  |  HM: 1:14:57 (5/22)  |  FM: 2:36:31 (12/19) 

       

       

      Marky_Mark_17


        I can see the reasoning for canning it.  There's a ton of options for LAX - LHR, but none for AKL - JFK.  We probably have more mutual friends - Nathan Jones never worked for Air NZ though, but he is at PWC I think.

         

        I notice they didn't mention where in NY they'd be flying to.  It certainly won't be LGA (thank god) but I wouldn't be surprised if they went for EWR over JFK because it's a major alliance partner hub (United).

         

        And yeah, the joy of automatic upgrades was a wonderful thing.  I had to travel between AKL and LAX a bit and ended up business class every time!

        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"

        watsonc123


          The Qantas test flight was to JFK.  Although the commercial flights might be different.

           

          I have seen quite a few presentations on what Qantas does on their flight path dynamic optimization.  They have 500-600 developers / engineers / data scientists working on it.

           

          Life's been really hectic (mainly work), so training has been not great. 

          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

          dpschumacher


          3 months til Masters

            So how long until treadmills are available on these 19 hour flights? Also does that count as altitude training?

            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

             

             

            CommanderKeen


            Cobra Commander Keen

              So how long until treadmills are available on these 19 hour flights? Also does that count as altitude training?

               

              Being able to get in a run on a long flight would be awesome! And why wouldn't it count as altitude training? Airplanes are usually pressurized to ~8,000 feet. It was nifty to look at the barometer-based altitude chart on my watch during the last flight I took and see that it stayed at almost exactly 8,000' for the entire duration.

              5k: 17:58 11/22 │ 10k: 37:55 9/21 │ HM: 1:23:22 4/22 │ M: 2:56:05 12/22

               

              Upcoming Races:

               

               

              dpschumacher


              3 months til Masters

                I was joking but that is good to know. I knew they were pressurized but had no idea at what level.

                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

                 

                 

                  Actually on the Qantas test flight they did have a stretching  class at the rear of the plane. The test looked like it was done with business class though as they had sleeping areas etc. I want to see cattle class tests 

                  I did Auckland to Dohar which was around 18 hours anyway.

                  It sucked but the whole airport travelling thing does. You just have to embrace 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 "      

                   

                  JMac11


                  RIP Milkman

                    Obviously a bit early, but weather forecast is looking rough for Sunday. A nor'easter is moving in on Sunday morning, which is going to result in rain totals around 1 inch (25mm) for the day and wind, with sustained winds around 15-20mph (25-32 kph). Unfortunately, those winds are also going to be a headwind for the entire second half of the race, as the course is an out and back. 

                    Still a few days for the forecast to improve. As I learned with Boston, nor'easters in the northeast can drastically change in terms of forecasts over a few days, but this one seems to be getting worse. I'm okay with running in the rain, although the Vaporflies are notoriously bad in terms of a) traction and b) sucking up water. I ran last night in the ZoomFly, which are pretty similar, and the foam was absolutely soaked (and heavy) when I took them off at the end of the run.

                     

                    The bigger problem is having a headwind. Hopefully I can at least get the wind to become a sidewind, since that's something I can deal with. I also ran in a very similar race to this in 2016 and I have never been so cold in my life as I was at the end of that race. Will definitely finish the race, say "I don't care about awards" and just jog the 1 mile to my car as fast as my legs will allow.

                     

                    I'll refine my goal as I get closer, but may be one of those "just go out and run your best" type of days rather than trying to hit a goal. I actually looked around for a half marathon near me on Saturday, but there are none. Additionally, there are no half marathons in 2 weeks, which is the next time I could run one and the last weekend before I run out of time before CIM.

                    5K: 16:37 (11/20)  |  10K: 34:49 (10/19)  |  HM: 1:14:57 (5/22)  |  FM: 2:36:31 (12/19) 

                     

                     

                    Marky_Mark_17


                      Piwi- given the range of those flights (AKL-NYC / SYD-NYC), it's highly likely the aircraft will be payload-restricted in at least one direction (i.e. they cannot fly a full aircraft and they will need to drop some weight to ensure they can make the full range if there are headwinds etc.).  This means they'll probably use an aircraft that's got a much higher weighting to business class / premium economy (less people = lighter aircraft, but the premium ones are paying more).  This is why the Singapore-NYC service that Singapore Air just re-launched doesn't even have an economy cabin (Business and Premium Economy only).  The Air NZ fleet is a lot smaller and they can't afford to have an aircraft with such a specific layout that can only be used on one route but they'll definitely have something with less economy than usual and more business/PE.

                       

                      JMac- bummer on the weather.  Still quite a lot of time for things to change, though.  Also, I noticed with the VF Next%'s at NZ Road Race Champs where there was still a lot of surface water around the u-turn that I had no issues with traction.  I didn't notice the foam absorbing water either but there was only one wet area on the course.

                      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"

                      Marky_Mark_17


                        Haha I just read the news this morning.

                         

                        The Air NZ service will fly into EWR (Newark) because it's a partner hub, and it'll be a premium-focused configuration of the 787-9.

                         

                        3 years since I worked for Air NZ but I guess I am still a bit of an aviation geek hahaha.

                        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"

                        JMac11


                        RIP Milkman

                          Ugh, Newark. Almost as bad as La Guardia in terms of airports. Also agreed with Mark, it will definitely be fewer seats. I guess the idea is that if you're willing to fly across the world non-stop, you'll be able to fork over a few extra hundred to get premium economy seats. I will say that premium economy is almost a necessity for me now when flying to Asia. I'll give up $200 each way to be able to enjoy myself a bit more. it's great that so many more airlines are offering something in between "this is going to be the worst 12 hours of my life" in economy and "you are a king in the skies" business. I had a horrible experience flying Johannesburg to JFK in economy where the guy behind me was so large I literally couldn't recline 1 inch on a 16 hour flight! That was so miserable I said I'm never doing that again on flights longer than 8 hours.

                           

                          Mark - they apparently added much better traction in the Next%, as traction in the rain was a complaint about the 4%. Oh well, I'll make it work.

                          5K: 16:37 (11/20)  |  10K: 34:49 (10/19)  |  HM: 1:14:57 (5/22)  |  FM: 2:36:31 (12/19) 

                           

                           

                          Marky_Mark_17


                            Ugh, Newark. Almost as bad as La Guardia in terms of airports. Also agreed with Mark, it will definitely be fewer seats. I guess the idea is that if you're willing to fly across the world non-stop, you'll be able to fork over a few extra hundred to get premium economy seats. I will say that premium economy is almost a necessity for me now when flying to Asia. I'll give up $200 each way to be able to enjoy myself a bit more. it's great that so many more airlines are offering something in between "this is going to be the worst 12 hours of my life" in economy and "you are a king in the skies" business. I had a horrible experience flying Johannesburg to JFK in economy where the guy behind me was so large I literally couldn't recline 1 inch on a 16 hour flight! That was so miserable I said I'm never doing that again on flights longer than 8 hours.

                             

                             

                            It can't possibly be as bad as LGA.  That is easily the worst airport I've ever had the misfortune to travel through.  There's such a difference in the US between the older airports and the newer ones.  DEN, which was purpose-built in the late-1990's, is really good (even if it is in the middle of nowhere).

                             

                            And I hear you on Premium Economy for longhaul.  It's a bit different if it's only a 3 hour flight, but for long-haul it's so good.  We're flying to Canada in January on regular economy and I'm not sure I'm going to cope well with that!  I have upgrades I could use but I'm pretty sure my wife, daughter and in-laws would not be thrilled about me abandoning them for the comforts of the premium cabin.

                            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"

                            JMac11


                            RIP Milkman

                              Mark - they're completely renovating La Guardia right now. Which is both awesome and awful. One of the new terminals opened and it is absolutely beautiful. The problem is that the traffic is the worst nightmare you could ever imagine. We parked at one terminal and had to get to another terminal via a shuttle. It took us ONE HOUR to go 4 KM. Yes, 4 KM. They wouldn't let us get out and run, so we missed our flight. I mean, what's the point of all this training if I can't use it in a real world situation?

                              5K: 16:37 (11/20)  |  10K: 34:49 (10/19)  |  HM: 1:14:57 (5/22)  |  FM: 2:36:31 (12/19) 

                               

                               

                              CommanderKeen


                              Cobra Commander Keen

                                Lots of aviation talk for a running forum! I don't mind it at all, I'm an aviation nerd myself.
                                Has anyone here gotten any time in the left seat of an aircraft? I got all of an hour in a Cessna-172 ~7 years ago when I was strongly considering getting my private pilot's certificate. I even have the same number of successful landings as I do take-offs (two each). Not every pilot can say the same!


                                JMac - DWave added a bit of a traction pad to the bottoms of her VFs a while back that did well. I'd have to ask her or peruse her blog some to find out exactly how, though.

                                No real world application for running? One of the race signs I've found most amusing was at OKC a couple years ago and said "Your ability to run 26.2 miles will come in handy never".

                                5k: 17:58 11/22 │ 10k: 37:55 9/21 │ HM: 1:23:22 4/22 │ M: 2:56:05 12/22

                                 

                                Upcoming Races: