Forums >Racing>The Waltons aka Advanced Half Marathon Training Thread - 2022 edition
Waltons ThreadLord
Mike - Your training is much different than mine. I do a mix of easy runs and workouts during the week. For example, today I ran 6 x 800m at 5k pace with 400m recoveries, though I'll soon be switching to longer intervals at a slower speed. Once/week I include some miles at my target HM pace during a run. I'm running a bit more than 40 miles/week now (ran 186 in July) and will approach 50 miles/week as I approach the race (October 9 in Wildwood Crest). If you find yourself slowing and winded during the last miles of a race you're likely starting out too fast and/or need to build more endurance. This is based on my experience of what works for me - what works for you may be different.
5k 23:48.45 (3/22); 4M 31:26 (2/22); 5M 38:55 (11/23); 10k 49:24 (10/22); 10M 1:29:33 (2/24); Half 1:48:32 (10/22); Marathon 4:29:58 (11/23)Upcoming races: Clinton Country Run 15k, 4/27; Running is Back 10k, 5/12
I purposely made the kayakfishing sound bad but I really like it. I actually fish with alot of others and we pick glassy calm days usually with a beautiful sunrise. The excitement of hooking a nice fish and landing it is fun plus we love eating fish which is horrendously expensive to buy. Also it's a nice bit of exercise. I've been doing it consistently for 20 years.
I purposely made the kayakfishing sound bad but I really like it. I actually fish with alot of others and we pick glassy calm days usually with a beautiful sunrise.
The excitement of hooking a nice fish and landing it is fun plus we love eating fish which is horrendously expensive to buy. Also it's a nice bit of exercise. I've been doing it consistently for 20 years.
This sounds amazing. Plus the idea of fresh caught fish is almost enough to tempt me to fish but then I remember how often you sit there and catch nothing and I don't have the patience for that.
Mike - There's nothing wrong with your training but at some point you have to do something different (or more) to keep improving. If everything is easy paced days, the first thing I would suggest is simply doing strides after two of the 5 milers. After that I'd suggest changing one of the 5 milers to a WU + 20 minute tempo + CD = 5 miles (maybe start with 3x5 minutes, progress to 4x5 minutes, 2x10 minutes then a 20 min). Simple changes that can take you a long ways. The longer long run is a good idea though I don't know if 15 is necessary every single week. 8 weeks is absolutely long enough
1600 - 5:23 (2018), 5k - 19:33 (2018), 10k - 41:20 (2021), half - 1:38:57 (2018), Marathon - 3:37:17 (2018)
Cobra Commander Keen
James - Nice week, bringing up that yearly average. I don't see a better time to think about fall 5ks than "now".
Watson - Good week, and good that the exercises are helping.
Fred - Awesome LR!
Hashiritai - Nice week, and great placing in the race!
DWave - Way to gut it out when that M effort run got tough.
I finished with my biggest month Since October, and my 3rd highest monthly volume all-time (Sept. and Oct. last year being higher). We had a nice two day break in the heat thanks to some rain coming through, but now temps are back to what they used to be (lows around 80F/26.6). I have a 5k coming up in less than two weeks now, which I'm quite excited for. Here's hoping for a well-timed break in the weather!
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
Kyle,
Huge week (as usual) and nice month. I'm curious how long it took you to be able to double 3-4 times per week reliably. 4 runs over 10 miles must feel good.
Weekly for period: From: 07/25/2022 To 07/31/2022 Date Name mi km Duration Avg/mi Avg/km Elevation Gainin ft 07/25 9 hawks, 9 geese, 3 herons, & 1 ornate box turtle 12.01 19.32 01:41:48 08:29 05:16 443 07/25 8 buzzards & 1 hawk 4.05 6.52 00:35:57 08:53 05:31 213 07/26 1 rabbit & 1 hawk 8.01 12.88 01:13:32 09:11 05:43 374 07/27 Taking the scenic route 3.35 5.39 00:27:38 08:15 05:08 79 07/27 4x (4x 400m) 6.22 10.01 00:45:21 07:17 04:32 0 07/27 Heading home 3.15 5.07 00:27:38 08:46 05:27 75 07/27 Vitamin D collection 4.25 6.84 00:38:07 08:58 05:34 200 07/28 2 hawks, 2 rabbits, 1 deer (1 stride), & smelling the rain coming in 10.01 16.10 01:32:50 09:16 05:46 453 07/29 1 deer (1 stride) 11.05 17.78 01:36:04 08:42 05:24 433 07/29 1 blue heron 5.05 8.13 00:43:50 08:41 05:23 207 07/30 13 deer (13 strides), 1 coyote, & rain the whole way 15.11 24.31 02:06:07 08:21 05:11 758 07/31 Plenty of deer tracks, no deer (no strides) 4.50 7.24 00:41:50 09:18 05:47 276 Total distance: 86.76mi
Piwi - I'm glad you do enjoy the fishing. The freedom to run when you want must be nice too.
Keen - Thank you. Great month. I agree with Zebano about all 10+ mile runs.
Mark, Watson - It's always frustrating when something designed for good, like Strava, is put to ill use for personal gain (i.e. the reporter).
Last week it was 74º (23C) when I went out for my HM pace run and I managed to hold the HM pace for 2½ of the goal 5 miles (i.e. until I hit the long hill climb). Today it was a bit cooler at 70º (21C) and a bit less humid and so I set out to see if I could average 8:20 for the whole 5 miles, including the hill. I managed to do the HM miles at 8:18/mile average. With the warmup and cool down, I got 8 miles total. I'm really happy with this result. To break 1:50 in a half, I need to average 8:24 (and probably a bit faster since I usually run more than 13.1 miles in a half). If I can run 8:18 in this weather and on hills (and keep doing that as I add more miles to the training runs), I think I have a good shot at my goal in cooler weather on a mostly flat course.
Zebano - The doubling really wasn't that difficult. I originally used it to build up a bit to one longer run per day, then after a while added them back in just for more volume. Initially it was maybe 5-7 miles in the morning and 3 in the afternoon. A couple weeks of that and I switched to just 8-10 in the mornings. Then weeks/months later when I was used to that higher single-run mileage added in a couple 3-4 mile doubles again.
The key is to keep them really low-effort so they don't add much to the total stress for the week.
Mark, Watson - It's always frustrating when something designed for good, like Strava, is put to ill use for personal gain (i.e. the reporter). Last week it was 74º (23C) when I went out for my HM pace run and I managed to hold the HM pace for 2½ of the goal 5 miles (i.e. until I hit the long hill climb). Today it was a bit cooler at 70º (21C) and a bit less humid and so I set out to see if I could average 8:20 for the whole 5 miles, including the hill. I managed to do the HM miles at 8:18/mile average. With the warmup and cool down, I got 8 miles total. I'm really happy with this result. To break 1:50 in a half, I need to average 8:24 (and probably a bit faster since I usually run more than 13.1 miles in a half). If I can run 8:18 in this weather and on hills (and keep doing that as I add more miles to the training runs), I think I have a good shot at my goal in cooler weather on a mostly flat course.
There was NO news around that time other than daily COVID case numbers so I think it was some classic clickbait journalism borne out of desperation.
Anyways well done on the HMP effort. That is very promising given the conditions.
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: Waterfront HM, 7 Apr, 1:15:48
Up next: Runway5, 4 May
"CONSISTENCY IS KING"
Mark - I've PM'd you re NZ road champs.
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
JamesD
I finished July having either ran or swam every day*, which I think is a first. The asterisk is that one day I was kicked out of the pool after only swimming 75 meters because of lightning. I expect to get over a month’s worth of consecutive days with no asterisk before taking next Saturday entirely off to take our son back to university. My hamstrings are still reminding me that they’re there every so often, but they’re not noticeably worse after very short runs at tempo pace, which is encouraging.
Sun - 7.8 miles very slow treadmill (90 minutes) + 0:40 walk breaks/6 mins
Mon - 6.8 miles in park incl. strides & ½ mile @ 6:50, temp 95/35, TDP 161
Tues - 45 minutes swimming
Weds - 11.4 in park @ 8:32, temp 78/26, TDP 150
Thurs - 7.8 very slow treadmill (90 minutes) + 0:40 walk breaks/6 mins
Fri - 6.7 in park incl. strides & 1 mile @ 6:46, temp 93/34, TDP 164
Sat - 46 minutes swimming
Total - 40.4 miles
YTD average - 35.3 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
Normally around this point approaching races coach tends to drop the volume a bit and up the intensity. That is precisely what happened. Off to Sydney for work this week so will be nice to run in some different places. Funnily enough I haven't been in Sydney basically since I first started running in 2015.
Mark - nice week.
My week was good. It was most hours (not distance) running this year. Mainly due to Saturday's run which was a long trail race. It was a fairly windy and the ridge-line was terribly windy, especially the return which was a struggle even walking the worst parts. Wednesday's MLR went really nicely.
Kia ora, e hoa ma! (Greetings, friends!)
Zeb – Cheers, mate. Yeah, I worked hard on not going too hard too early. Which as all us runners know may actually be the hardest part of any race! A good week of cross training for you, that last week
Fred – Thanks – and congrats on the 186 for the month! Was that a big month for you, or just a regular one?
Piwi – Yep, it was a pretty nice course. Very dry under foot, and the rain stayed away. So basically totally the opposite to any XC race in Welly! Haha, yeah – took the chance for some Ohakune trails while the family visited the local burger shop
Mark – Yeah, the drainage there is world class! I swear I didn’t feel one ‘squish’ underfoot!
Keen – Cheers. Was pretty happy with top ten finish (even though a number of fast runners from my age group weren’t there, you can only race those who turn up I suppose). Great work on that big month! Looking forward to seeing how you do in your 5k (which is the equivalent of 3.106856 Imperial Geese)
James – Nice running and swimming July. You remind me that I should really do more swimming (currently averaging 1 ocean dip a month lol)
Watson – Nice week with a couple of big runs in there. Good to see you back into it!
Here's my week, which includes Sun, Chafing, and a 5km PB. Fun times!
50+ age-group PBs: Half Perish 1:24:24 (June '23 Road Race) - 10km 37:52 (2022 Local Road Champs) - Track 5km 18:49 (Aug '22) - Perish Run 3:17:42
2024 Goals: Boston Perish Run Sub 3:15 - Road/Track 10km Sub 37:30 - 5km Sub 18:20
Hash - Thanks. 186 isn't my highest monthly total, but it's in the top 10. Congrats on the 5k PB.
Watson - Nice job on notching a longest time week for the year.
Mark - Safe travels to Sydney. I presume you'll be back in plenty of time to put the final touches on your training before the race.
James - If you tried to swim, it still counts; not your fault you were kicked out.
41.1 miles for me; the 4th week in a row of 40+ miles (64km), as is usual for me when I'm this far out from a race (9 weeks). My toughest run of the week was this morning when the temp was 77º and the dew point 74º (25C/23C). It wasn't the hottest I've ever run 10+ miles, but the humidity is what gets to me, especially as I get older. I was pretty much wiped out for the morning (I lost over 6 pounds (2.7kg) during the run, after accounting for the water I drank along the way), but I survived. I wonder if I'll soon have a week where every run is at least an hour?
Fred and Hash - nice weeks.
Hash - the early XC races (Shaw Batton & Uni Relays) are often dry underfoot. Even sometimes Dorne Cup if the few days leading up are dry and Trentham Memorial Park drains well (of course there was tons of rain in the two weeks before this year).
Correction - it was my second longest week in terms of time running.
Hash - also congrats on the PB. Was that a race or just a time trial?