The Waltons aka Advanced Half Marathon Training Thread - 2022 edition (Read 444 times)

Marky_Mark_17


    Watson - nice week and good job on that long run in particular!  Good to catch up and thanks for the pictures from yesterday as well.

     

    need2tri - on the top of cutting corners, I believe one racer was actually disqualified for exactly that!  He cut across the grass on a corner at the top of the course.  The short laps meant that it was a fairly easy course for officials to monitor, they were stationed roughly every 200m or so.

     

    Fred - glad to hear you're feeling better.  I did get some weird diaphragm niggle a couple of years back after having a cold that messed my breathing up for a few days.  Have never had hiccups when running though!

     

    James - hopefully that weather keeps heading in the right direction for you.  Tempos in the heat of summer are tough.

     

    Me - weekly below, it's back to the grind now before October races.  In hindsight I may have jinxed the race day weather with my first run of the week.

     

    Weekly for period: From: 29/08/2022 To 04/09/2022

    Date Name mi km Duration Avg/mi Avg/km Elevation Gain
    in m
    29/08 That run where weather like this would be mint for race day (but it will probably be windy) 4.48 7.20 00:31:47 07:06 04:25 12
    30/08 That run where our office does not have a jungle like the one I visited yesterday 5.78 9.30 00:36:32 06:19 03:56 30
    31/08 That run where of course I have a sick kid in race week 6.23 10.02 00:43:25 06:58 04:20 22
    01/09 That run with a glorious sunrise on the first day of spring 6.23 10.02 00:38:37 06:12 03:51 30
    03/09 That run with a course reconnaissance for tomorrow and the Champs road lap crown for all of like 24 hours 😂 3.75 6.03 00:24:40 06:35 04:05 53
    04/09 Warm up 1.39 2.23 00:09:37 06:55 04:19 14
    04/09 NZ Road Champs 2022, windy AF, 34:13 official, 8th M35+ 6.21 9.99 00:34:17 05:31 03:26 88

    Total distance: 54.79km

    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


      National Road Race Champs (10k), 4/9/22

       

      National 10k Champs are back in Wellington for the first time in a few years and fittingly, for Wellington, it is a typically blustery day.

       

      The course is just over 8 and a half laps around the new NZ Campus of Innovation and Sport.  Amongst other things this campus has a full size indoor football field on artificial grass, which was quite good for some strides to warm up.  The Masters (35+) mens race is at 12pm, and unfortunately it seems like the wind got progressively stronger through the morning.

       

      It is probably the strongest Masters field at this event in a few years.  Always a bit of luck as to who shows up, but Wellington has the deepest club running scene in the country by a long shot and have won the National Masters title at road relays every year since the Jurassic period so not a surprise that there is a good field.

       

      The race starts partway around the lap and runners are organised into lanes based on regions, with club runners on the outside.  Interestingly the layout of the course makes it pretty much all right turns (I think 4 per lap?), this messed with me for a bit as of course I'm far more used to left turns from track sessions.

       

      Anyway from the start there is a lead group of around 10-12 or so.  I sit in the middle and the wind is immediately apparent as we turn into the back straight of the course which is around 500m long.  Sitting in the group definitely helped with this, but the pace is fairly hot from the outset... around 3:15/km which would be perfect if it was a good day.  However, we were instead enjoying 45km/h winds gusting 70km/h (25 miles gusting 45 or thereabouts).

       

      There is some good support around the start / finish area, by the time we got here it was probably down to around 8 in the lead group.  I managed to hang on for another lap or so but I had dropped off by around lap 3.

       

      Honestly from there it was a pretty long and lonely day.  Paul Crowhurst (also Auckland) had also dropped off the lead group but he was probably 10-15 seconds ahead of me at that point and it just didn't feel like there was a good point on the course to try and make that up.  After the long upwind straight, it's briefly into the crosswind before turning past some buildings which effectively sheltered the course from the tailwind for the most part.  They at least provided a bit of respite from the wind but it felt like I needed that just to mentally regroup for the next upwind slog rather than burning some extra matches.

       

      Amusingly, I get some cheers around the start / finish area from people I don't know, "go Mark!" and I realise it's actually not for me (unless Wellington folks are that friendly?) but for Mark Moore who is a local runner that was just behind me at that point.  However our team manager Bruce can be relied upon to cheer for the correct Mark.

       

      Around laps 7 and 8 the wind got worse, probably more like sustained gusts.  I was lapping slower masters runners at this point and it was pretty energy sapping having to weave around them into the wind.  Along with the realisation I was gonna be unsurprisingly well off PB time given the conditions, the splits suffered and I really had to dig it in.  Coming past the start/finish area for the final lap I hear some cheers behind me "go Stephen" and I realise that Stephen Day (a former national marathon champ and NZ mountain running rep) must not be far behind me.  I'm pretty sure there's only 2 Wellington runners in front of me and there's definitely 3 Auckland runners, so we are looking good for the teams gold but I really don't want to get passed this late in the race.  However, I also operate by the rule of "don't look back" because you just don't want to give the other guy the feeling he's got a chance.

       

      That final upwind stretch sucked particularly bad, even if the wind had perhaps dropped off a fraction.  I snuck a look over my shoulder rounding the second to last turn and can see Stephen is probably 10 seconds back, so with 300m to go I figure if I power it home I should be OK.

       

      And OK I was.  34:13 (official) was good enough for 8th masters overall, 4th M40-45, and as it turned out a pretty comfortable gold medal for the Auckland M35-49 team too (22 points to Wellington's 30).

       

      Kinda mixed feelings about that one.  I really would've liked to take down my 10k road PB this year and that was probably my last shot at it for 2022 - on a good day that would definitely have been a reasonable course for it (and I definitely had some good training behind me).  But everyone was slower than their regional champs performances, in some cases by up to 2 minutes, so I guess I just have to accept it was a tough day and move on.  8th overall in a strong field and a national champs gold medal for the team is a pretty good return.

      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"

        Darkwave are you suggesting the deer were using condoms ? 

         

        Mark great read thanks for posting. Look windy races are slow there is nothing you can do but hope for a race with better conditions next time.

        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 "      

         

        watsonc123


          Mark - nice RR.  And it was good to have lunch the day before.

           

          It looks like people were up to 2:30 worse than their regional times.  A few people such as Hiro were only a little bit slower (12s) which might have been as he was able to be in the pack.

          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

          CommanderKeen


          Cobra Commander Keen

            Watson - Nice week, and it's got to feel good to improve on how that workout went.


            Fred - Feeling better after that cold? Hiccups while running? I can honestly say I've never had that. I have, however, sneezed during a run. I cannot recommend AGAINST this enough.


            DWave - Really solid week! So you also have issues with long progressions this time of year? That makes me feel better!
            Also, ew. Gross. From what I've seen deer in urban areas just act strangely, as you've seen. In more rural areas like where I run, they frequently don't know how to react. They may run off a short distance and then watch me, often after having let me get quite close. I think they just don't know how to react to a human running. They're either exposed to 4-legged predators or 2-legged ones trying to sneak around.


            Mark - Excellent job on the race, and congrats on the team win. RR in queue!


            I had a pretty solid week, bumping up my mileage just a tad. My workout didn't go so well - I had 7 @ HMe planned and pulled the plug after mile 6 because the difficulty was a good deal beyond what it should have been. Hopefully tomorrow's workout goes better despite similar weather to last week, if only because it's broken up into 1 mile repeats instead of a continuous block. 
            It's still way out there, but the forecast for my race in a couple weekends looks like it could hold promise for some pretty decent racing temps.

             

            Weekly for period: From: 08/29/2022 To 09/04/2022

            Date Name mi km Duration Avg/mi Avg/km Elevation Gain
            in ft
            08/29 8 deer (8 strides) & 2 rabbits 12.00 19.31 01:39:22 08:17 05:09 430
            08/29 And the thunder rolls... 5.01 8.05 00:42:39 08:31 05:18 213
            08/30 1 armadillo & 1 rabbit 8.00 12.88 01:11:58 09:00 05:35 394
            08/31 6 @ HMe 15.31 24.63 01:58:14 07:43 04:48 374
            08/31 2 buzzards 4.05 6.52 00:36:37 09:02 05:37 177
            09/01 23 geese 8.00 12.88 01:12:53 09:07 05:40 361
            09/02 Sticky 10.00 16.10 01:26:37 08:40 05:23 492
            09/02 1 news chopper 5.05 8.13 00:44:11 08:45 05:26 384
            09/03 10 deer (10 strides), 3 quail, 2 coyotes, 2 owls, & 1 jackrabbit 17.00 27.36 02:23:19 08:26 05:14 932
            09/04 2 hawks 6.10 9.82 01:00:18 09:53 06:08 354

            Total distance: 90.53mi

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

             

            Upcoming Races:

             

             

            zebano


              Mark, nasty conditions but a good race anyways (as expected of you).

               

              James - congrats on the sub 20!

              1600 - 5:23 (2018), 5k - 19:33 (2018), 10k - 41:20 (2021), half - 1:38:57 (2018), Marathon - 3:37:17 (2018)

              Marky_Mark_17


                Entered something a bit different to finish the year... a trail half.  A casual 750m (2,450 feet) of elevation gain along with a stream crossing and some sand dunes.  For anyone interested... it's the Speights West Coaster on Dec 10.

                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"

                SteveChCh


                Hot Weather Complainer

                  Mark - That looks like an interesting race, nice to try something different.  Will you head to the Waitakere Ranges for some training runs for that? My Grandma had a farm in the Waitakere's in the 80s when I was very young, I used to love exploring around there, although I have no idea which part of the ranges that was now.

                   

                  Even though Queenstown was a bit of a disaster for me in 2020, I'm looking forward to mixing it up with a (kind of) trail run.  Obviously nothing like the one you're going for though!

                  5km: 18:34 11/23 â”‚ 10km: 39:10 8/23 â”‚ HM: 1:26:48 9/23 â”‚ 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

                  Marky_Mark_17


                    I'll probably chuck in a bunch of training runs out in Riverhead Forest.  Some nice long climbs through there, terrain pretty similar to the race, and not too far from my place.  It's all road racing up until early November but I'll probably do all my Sun long runs out on the trails after that as prep.

                    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"

                      Nice RR Mark, thanks! and great week everyone else! I am trying to get back on some miles, but I don't want to overstress my legs and feet (which are the problem everytime I go above 6-7 miles ... ). It was one of the very few weeks I managed over 25 miles and I could still walk, and I even included a small interval session 2X(4',3',2') with short recoveries, so I am happy enough.

                       

                      Weekly for period: From: 08/29/2022 To 09/04/2022

                      Date Name mi km Duration Avg/mi Avg/km Elevation Gain
                      in ft
                      08/29 Morning Run 5.10 8.21 00:43:55 08:37 05:21 348
                      08/30 Morning Run - interval 6.73 10.82 00:56:00 08:19 05:11 377
                      09/01 Morning Run 3.88 6.24 00:34:31 08:54 05:32 285
                      09/02 Morning Run 3.96 6.38 00:34:01 08:35 05:20 128
                      09/03 Morning Run 5.28 8.49 00:46:15 08:46 05:27 279

                      Total distance: 24.95mi

                       

                      Hopefully things will get better in a few months, now that I can actually run a bit Wink

                      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:  

                      ???

                      Fredford66


                      Waltons ThreadLord

                        Mark - Nice race report.  That's a lot of laps for a road race, but I guess the benefit is you know what's coming after the first lap or two.

                         

                        Keen - Nice week of running.  Are you hoping to get into the NYCM via one of your halves, or from you time at CIM?  Yeah, I've sneezed while running too; not fun.

                         

                        Marco - I hope your trend towards improvement keeps going.

                         

                        DW - The deer where I live are also pretty brazen.  They'll stand their ground until I'm less than 10 feet away.

                         

                        James - Solid week.  Good luck training for your next 5k.

                         

                        My first track workout in three weeks was today. I woke up tired after a night of cough-interrupted sleep and didn't know what to expect. My warmup run was slow and laborious. The workout was 4 x 1½ miles (well, 6 laps) with 800m recoveries, targeting 12:12 for the hard intervals. The first one was a bit of work, but I hit the target time. The second one was about 5 seconds fast for some reason. The third one was back on target. In the last interval, I was 3 seconds behind after two laps and tried picking up the pace, but for the next three laps all I could do was keep from falling behind, then in the last 200m I was able to speed up and finish on target. Then I still had to run 1½ miles home. 11 miles run for the day.  I'm completely spent, tired and still coughing a bit, but feeling very encouraged by today's workout. Good thing tomorrow is a rest day.

                        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: RunAPalooza (Asbury Park) HM, 4/6; Clinton Country Run 15k, 4/27

                         

                        CommanderKeen


                        Cobra Commander Keen

                          Fred - That's a really solid workout, well done.
                          My plan/hope was to hit the NYC qualifier at CIM and my second HM of the season (the first is going to be hot and hilly, so that's a no-go). I did notice yesterday that my coach has a note indicating "95% effort" for that second HM, which would almost certainly be slower than the qualifying time.

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

                           

                          Upcoming Races:

                           

                           

                          Marky_Mark_17


                            Ugh, picked up a cold.  I took an unscheduled rest day today and tomorrow is my normal rest day anyways, so hopefully I can knock it pretty quickly.  I guess the silver lining is that timing was about as good as it could have been, coming just after a race in what was a quiet-ish week anyways before training starts to ramp up again.

                            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"

                            Fredford66


                            Waltons ThreadLord

                              Ugh, picked up a cold.  I took an unscheduled rest day today and tomorrow is my normal rest day anyways, so hopefully I can knock it pretty quickly.  I guess the silver lining is that timing was about as good as it could have been, coming just after a race in what was a quiet-ish week anyways before training starts to ramp up again.

                               

                              Oh, no.  I hope you get over it more quickly than I'm getting over mine (I still cough every night).

                               

                              Keen - So the question is whether to go for it in the half, or hold back and try at CIM?  I'd be tempted to try the half with the full as the fall back attempt.

                              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: RunAPalooza (Asbury Park) HM, 4/6; Clinton Country Run 15k, 4/27

                               

                              zebano


                                That's a very solid workout Fred. Just based on that I would full send the half.

                                 

                                Mark - get healthy! You are always really good at taking that extra day off, I wish I could learn that skill.

                                 

                                I'm lifting and swimming mostly but got my first run in a couple weeks on Tuesday. Just a warmup, strides and drill and the low back is a little sore so I'm off to PT after my xray came back negative.

                                1600 - 5:23 (2018), 5k - 19:33 (2018), 10k - 41:20 (2021), half - 1:38:57 (2018), Marathon - 3:37:17 (2018)