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

dj_dubb


    After reading your comments about the sub 3 thread, and some spill over into here, I had to go read up. MMC - you were definitely asking for backlash from a group like them, but I will say that I'm super curious to see what you run in Boston provided a good training block. Just stay away from all those distractions like TV and such for those 18 weeks (I just had to get a little jab in too ). Outside runs I'm a minimalist, meaning most of the time zero electronics. I'll estimate an overall pace by time I left vs. time I got back. Only bring a watch for Q sessions in which I'm trying to nail a time. As for TM runs...I'll take weak minded as a result over staring at a wall for an hour or two.

     

    Jmac - knee as well now? Damn you're having a rough start to 2019. Regarding the kids question - when mine were young, most of the time their mother had flexible work schedules, so she was able to watch them while I went out for a run. I also had a TM in the living room at one point to be able to run while "watching" them if absolutely necessary. I've taken them to the track too, and let them play on the nearby playground in which I can keep eyes on them at all times. RE: US healthcare - not sure how it is other places, but I've long avoided visiting medical professionals for the complexity of it alone, dealing with insurance and such. I've found it much easier at Walgreens minute clinic that's right around the corner from me, that I can book a same day appt. online, see a NP who can write prescriptions on the spot, step out of the door to immediately retrieve said prescription, pay a copay and done. I also agree with your assessment of more days being easier. I used to run 6 days with one full rest day. Now I generally run 7 days with the same mileage and it seems easier to manage.

     

    Mark - do your quads take a hit from a hilly race? Mine are usually thrashed after something like that. Good week nonetheless. Can you explain short and long efforts a bit?

     

    Flavio - if that depiction is 5" of dorsiflexion, it sure looks like that's much more than I can achieve. Gonna have to try that later.

     

    Was out of town for the weekend (Louisiana), and found a 5k and decided a go last minute Saturday morning. Ran 16:38, which I was quite happy with, considering I haven't done a 5k in quite a while as well as recently coming off of antibiotics with strep. It was good enough for 2nd overall in the race.

     

    My week: 61 total miles

    M - 9 miles ~ 7:40 avg

    Tu - 10 miles, inc. 6400m tempo at the track (forgot watch)

    W - 7 miles recovery ~ 8:10 avg

    Th - 8 miles easy ~ 7:50 avg

    F - 5 miles, hotel TM

    Sa - 15 total miles, including 5k at 16:38, broken into several runs

    Su - 7 miles recovery in the snow, unknown avg.

    dj_dubb


      Forgot to mention: Jmac, you can chalk me up on the big board for St. Paddy's Sugar Land Half Marathon on March 17th. Goal of 1:14:59, which would topple my "certified" HM PR. Supposed to be a flat, competitive race (CR of 1:05:06), in pretty good weather conditions, so I want to give it a go.

        Not much done by me last week, My hamstring right up near my glute was/has been bothering me on off for a while, I have been managing it by resting or cutting back up to this point, but got to a point where it was sore all the time so I decided to take a week off and see if a bit of a break would help.

        Feels a bit better now got in 10 Saturday.

        nothing yesterday mainly due to being busy around the house and the 33 degrees and raining all day yesterday.

        I'll try and get back at it this week and see how it goes.

         

        Weekly Summary
        Monday, Feb 11, 2019 thru Sunday, Feb 17, 2019

        <tfoot> </tfoot>
        Day Miles Pace Description Link
        Sat 10.0 8:30 Afternoon Run strava
          10.0 8:31  

        PR's

        1m  5:38 (2018)

        5k    19:59 (2019)

        HM  1:33:56 (2018)

        FM  3:23:07 (2018)

        CommanderKeen


        Cobra Commander Keen

          JMac - Bummer about the knee, and your cycle this spring overall. I know they aren't exactly the same, but I've got the same feeling about my spring cycle as well.
          We must have different insurance - I can see a PT without a referral. I will agree that my insurance is largely worthless. I'm paying considerably more for less coverage, and with 3x the deductible compared to before an (in)famous law went into effect. I've largely taken to avoiding going to the doctor (I'm pretty sure that's why my employer's health plans are built around) and just doing a virtual/electronic doctor's visit whenever I get a sinus/chest infection that needs antibiotics to clear it up.


          Mark - Nice week. What's better about the new route? Doesn't go completely over the highest part of the hills?
          Don't worry about stroller runs while DD is asleep. In my experience the stroller is great for getting kiddos to sleep.


          Flavio - Glad you're over the cold and back at it, and that you've got some actionable info from the PR.
          I'm fortunate to have an orthopedic MD who is part of the local running club who frequently gives advice/tapes feet, etc. before/after group LRs. He's the medical director for the local marathon, plus several other races across the country. He has a knack for looking at your running shoes and being able to tell you where you hurt and what your feet look like before you say anything. He does seem to have an irrational hatred for minimalist shoes, though.
          I fail that test by about 1/4 inch on both sides. At least I'm symmetrical!


          DJ - Nice week, and congrats on the podium finish.


          CFarr - Glad the hamstring is feeling better, hope that continues. I was having possibly similar issues earlier in the year and stretching my hamstrings and quads helped, along with some rolling.


          Me - Decent week at a touch over 50k on 4 days, all easy. I managed to make it to the local running club group run (a bit late), but still managed to find someone I knew to run a few miles along the river trails with. It was nice to have someone to run with again.
          Conditions were a bit interesting - ~20* with a bit of a north wind. Nothing too bad to run in (though I wish I had better mittens), but fog and mist rising off the river ended up freezing to all of the trees on the south side of the river, while the north side was clear. Typically the club does most of their runs on the south side of the river (no idea why, since they're essentially the same as the north side), but we were on the North side Saturday and running conditions were quite a bit different for the different paths.

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

           

          Upcoming Races:

           

           

          runethechamp


            Mark - Great race for you! I really enjoy reading your race reports as well.

             

            Corey - Great work in your 5k! It must feel really nice to go sub-20!

             

            JMac- Careful about that tendinitis. You want to make sure it heals so you don't end up like me. I'm now looking at 4 months with no running. A couple of years back I had some heel issues and my primary physician referred me to a podiatrist at a local center for sports medicine. When I got my hamstring injury I went straight to their website to find a doctor with expertise in running and she's been really good so far.

             

            So yeah, I'm still injured. Had a slight setback right after my last post when I had to run a short distance due to an emergency. The good news is that I'm starting to get some slight consistency to my swimming training and I feel like I'm getting better at it. Hopefully the work I do in the pool will pay off when I get back to running again.

            5k: 20:32 (1/17)  |  HM: 1:34:37 (2/18)  |  FM: 3:31:37 (3/18)

             

            Getting back into it

            watsonc123


              Mark, JMac & DJ - nice weeks
              James, Flavio and Keen - good weeks too.

               

              My week ended up very light.  Tuesday's (slow) race knocked me around a bit, so I took Wednesday off. Life got in the way Friday and Sunday.  So it ended up a very light week.  It started to cool a bit now, so running is getting easier (the race was still quite warm), I'm really hoping that some cooler weather will get me a 19:59 or better 5k, as Tuesday's was the slowest 5k race I've done.

               

              <tfoot> </tfoot>
              Day Miles Pace Description Link
              Mon 4.4 8:21 Evening Run - Incl. Striders strava
              Tue 1.1 7:59 Warm up 1 strava
              Tue 0.8 7:43 Warm up 2 strava
              Tue 0.1 8:39 Warm up 3 strava
              Tue 3.1 6:48 Trentham 5k Series strava
              Tue 0.6 8:45 Cool down strava
              Thu 3.9 9:01 Evening Run strava
              Sat 7.4 7:20 Afternoon Run - Incl. 6 * (800m & 200m Easy) Intervals strava
                21.4 7:52  

              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

              Marky_Mark_17


                DJ- nice week and looking forward to seeing how you go in that race in March (coincidentally I'm racing the exact same day!).  I think what killed my quads in the Coatesville Half last year was the 2km downhill at the end of the race.  You've pumped the legs uphill for long stretches, then you just end up with an absolute rollercoaster downhill to finish.  The shorter efforts I mentioned were basically just strides..  Longer efforts is normally tempo blocks of 8-15 minutes, in this case they were 15 minutes.  Then in-between that sometimes I'd do something like 1k or 800m reps.

                 

                Corey - hope that injury is nothing serious.

                 

                Keen - so there's either the long grind up the hill (Wairau Road), the really short, brutal horrible way up the hill (Archers Road), whereas this one (Chivalry Road) kind of cuts around the side between the two.  It's less of a grind than the long way, and much less steep than the short way, plus it levels out about halfway along which provides a brief respite.  The start and end point is the same regardless but it's surprising how much easier Chivalry Road feels relative to the others!  That mist freezing on the trees would've been something to see.  Probably nothing amazing for you but we just don't see that sort of thing here - it doesn't get cold enough!

                 

                Rune - great to see you around!  The pool work will definitely help when you get back to running.

                 

                Watson - I find efforts in warmer weather definitely take it out of me a bit more too.  I've been making sure that the electrolyte levels are topped up as sweat is a big part of that.

                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"

                  Rune Yes felt great to get that monkey off my back I have been chasing that for a few years...I wasn't feeling the best but looks like I finally put in enough work to get there.  I hope you get back on track soon sounds like you are coming along aside from the minor setback

                   

                  I put in 5 on the treadmill last night I can still feel a dull ache I'll continue to try and manage with rest when needed...trying to put more time in post run to stretch.

                  PR's

                  1m  5:38 (2018)

                  5k    19:59 (2019)

                  HM  1:33:56 (2018)

                  FM  3:23:07 (2018)

                  JamesD


                  JamesD

                    JMac - Please put me down for the Albany (Georgia, not NY) Snickers Half on March 2.  Goal is 1:31:52.  The Snickers connection to the race seems to be that most of the peanuts used in Snickers candy bars are grown nearby,.  The race is flat but has lots of turns.  Weather may be cold & rainy or may be fine, and based on previous years, I may or may not have anyone to run with, as there are usually only 1-2 people per minute finishing between 1:28 and 1:33.

                     

                    I'm not sure what to expect, since this is my first half in almost 16 months.  Even with missing a week to illness, my mileage is up about 20% compared to the last cycle, and I've done somewhat longer tempos and interval workouts, but my speed is still down.  Yesterday's interval workout went pretty well: 5x1200 with ~3:15 rest at 4:33 per set, or just over 6-minute mile pace.  My sets were 4:45-4:33-4:29-4:30-4:31, so my initial speed is still weak but my stamina seems pretty good, although I expect the two caffeinated gels (to make sure my stomach can handle them on race day) helped.  Looking forward to a big race again.

                    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

                    JMac11


                    RIP Milkman

                      Healthcare - My coverage usually allows me to see "specialists" without a referral, but most PTs around me want a prescription so they know what to work on. It's pretty broken. I can tell you exactly what I have 90% of the time, I just need you to do some massaging and working on any broader issues in the chain! I also agree with you guys, avoid going to the doctor if I can. Luckily I have 2 friends who are doctors and when I need a prescription, I just ask them to write it up for obvious issues. I broadly don't trust general practitioners, the overprescription of antibiotics for viral illnesses being one reason for that.

                       

                      DJ - That's a fast time after your sickness! Very impressive.

                       

                      Keen - Why does your DR friend hate minimalist shoes? Given all of my injuries this cycle, I'm going through the shoe crisis of "maybe I should change things up!" so I'm interested in all the feedback I can get.

                       

                      rune - Thanks for checking in. Hope to have you back here soon, and I will certainly heed your advice on tendonitis! It's a tricky injury because sometimes it heals quickly (my PTT was 12 days) and sometimes it can take months, or even years.

                       

                      Corey - Whenever i get random soreness/tightness, I work on it like crazy with lax balls, hard foam roller, the stick, heat, etc. It's not going to magically heal it, but it really helps! I've never found straight rest to work with anything. "active rest" is key.

                       

                      James - That's a great pace for 1200s. If you can get some quality threshold workout that shows you can do something like 3x2 miles at 6:40ish pace, it'll indicate you're up for sub 1:30.

                       

                      Me - I miss Piwi 

                      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


                        Me - I miss Piwi 

                         

                        Yeah, me too.

                        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"

                        Mikkey


                        Mmmm Bop

                           

                          Yeah, me too.

                           

                          #MeToo

                           

                          I’ve “known” him since about 2010 on the old RWOL Sub3 thread and always loved his chilled out attitude and was really looking forward to seeing him at Brighton this year!  Hopefully that will still happen, I could always use Brighton as a last long run before London at 8 or so pace...which is what I was intending to do if it was windy conditions.

                           

                          Piwi - Let’s run. 👍

                          5k - 17:53 (4/19)   10k - 37:53 (11/18)   Half - 1:23:18 (4/19)   Full - 2:50:43 (4/19)

                          JamesD


                          JamesD

                            JMac - Thanks for the encouragement.  As for threshold work, I did 5 miles @ 6:49 at the start of last week.  That's longer than I"ve gone before at supposed-to-be-tempo-but-really-a-little-harder pace, but not quite fast enough to give me confidence about going under 1:30.  I think that if everything goes absolutely perfectly, I might have a shot, but perfection across multiple variables doesn't seem likely.  I guess that would make sub-1:30 my A goal and 1:31:52 (PR) my realistic B goal.  Lots of uncertainty, though - if my 5K last month is any indication, I could just as easily finish in 1:35 or so.  We'll see.

                            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

                            Marky_Mark_17


                               

                              Piwi - Let’s run. 👍

                               

                              I might start tagging him on my Strava feed in the hope of a notification luring him out of hiding.

                              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


                                I kind of wonder if he would have been better off doing regular low key races of 5k to half for a long period.  And not got too worried about volume and marathons as he's just burnt out.  Racing regularly can really help - in 2017 I only raced twice (one half and one full), 2018 only thrice (one 20k, and two half's), this year I've already raced two 5ks.

                                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