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

Fredford66


Waltons ThreadLord

     

    Fred - For what it's worth, I set my half PR at 56, which I think is what you are now or will be soon.  If not for bad conditions at the one half I've run since then and two years of covid race cancellations after that, I'm pretty sure I would've beaten that PR at an older age.  So don't sweat your age just yet.

     

    Yep, 56. Thanks for the encouragement.  

    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

     

    Fredford66


    Waltons ThreadLord

      Marco - Glad that your training and gradual distance increase is working out.

       

      James - Good to hear you had a good week and that your hamstring is better.

       

      Steve - Thanks, and yes, I'm looking forward to what I can do when healthy and in cooler weather.

       

      Watson - Great job on the marathon, especially the even pacing.  Good job recognizing so early what the smart target would be.

       

      Mark - It's always good to know our bodies, when to push and when to ease off.

       

      Sorry if I missed anyone (though it seems some comments here may have been responses to postings on other threads).

       

      A cutback week for me, but with my cough I cut back a few more than planned.  The 10-miler today went really well; my easy run endurance seems less affected than my speed, and the meds seem to be helping, so confidence is returning.

       

      Date Workout Type Distance Duration Pace Temp
      9/12/2022   Easy   7.0 mi 1:16:07 10:53 68
      9/13/2022   Easy   5.0 mi    52:45 10:33 71
      9/14/2022  2 x 2 miles (almost) @ 8:10 Interval   9.5 mi 1:37:21 10:15 60
      9/16/2022   Easy   4.9 mi    49:45 10:10 78
      9/17/2022  3, then 2, @ HMP Pace   8.5 mi 1:18:17   9:13 66
      9/18/2022   Easy 10.1 mi 1:42:15 10:08 62

       

      45.0 miles (72.4km)

      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

       

        Hi from hobby jogger land 

         

        My local city marathon was on yesterday and to add fuel to the fire of short NZ courses it showed 1km short in the full and 500m in the half 

        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


          That is really bad.  One of the guys I was running with on Saturday (Rotorua), had a mate supporting him for the race.  With the Sunday (Piwiland Tauranga) having the roles reversed.

          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

          SteveChCh


          Hot Weather Complainer

            That's quite a big race isn't it piwi?  That's really not good enough.  That race is added to my list to never do...

             

            The Hutt Marathon was on yesterday too, a race I considered doing and even booked flights for in my desperate hunt in March to find a replacement race.  I'm so glad I didn't go with it - weather sounds reasonable for Wellington but I would have come about 6th with 15 minute gaps each way to 5th and 7th.  Yuck.  I'd much rather have my 700th placing in Melbourne.

            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

            Marky_Mark_17


              Mark - I wish I had your flexible outlook.  I get myself (mentally) locked into a schedule months ahead of time and on top of that I want to run a sub-1:50 half and am very aware that at my age time is not on my side.  Get well soon.

               

              Thanks Fred.  I am very much the same as you in terms of having an extended race schedule planned out (typically around 12 months rolling...) and it takes a lot for me to change that.  But I also know that sometimes being a bit flexible has paid huge dividends... when everything was getting cancelled due to COVID (before lockdown) in March 2020 I jumped at literally the last race that was available (NZ 10,000m Champs) where I managed to score an entry 3 days beforehand, but with no taper and no prep I ran a huge PB.  Similarly, I was in pretty bad shape in Nov-Dec 2020, canned some races (and that REALLY hurt after already losing a bunch of races due to lockdowns), took some downtime, and ended up running a sub-1:10 half in early May 2021.  I mean those might be the two best races I've ever run and both came from adjusting plans.

               

              And I do think James makes some good points around not being too worried about age - I have seen Masters athletes older than me taking down multiple PB's over the last 12 months and that is quite motivating.

              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


                That's quite a big race isn't it piwi?  That's really not good enough.  That race is added to my list to never do...

                 

                I was down in Tauranga on Tues for work (sorry Piwi, calendar was very full or else I would've offered a catch up!) and saw the signs for it.  The guys that run it are the Running Events guys who run a lot of races around Auckland.  They do have some certified courses (Coatesville, Waterfront), but it's a bit of a lottery on their other courses.

                 

                Between this and the Mount Half, I think Tauranga might actually be the epicentre of short courses.

                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

                  +1 to planning things out and being very reluctant to change things up...but I find if I've been sick or a niggle has disrupted training, when you make the call and take the pressure off, it's a big relief.  If you have that feeling of relief it's a good sign you've made the right call.

                  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

                  darkwave


                  Mother of Cats

                     

                    darkwave - ...A question for you - how much & how long before a goal race do you cut back your swimming during your taper?  In a normal 45ish-minute swim for me, 20 minutes include kicking.  Seems like I should be ok to do half to ⅔ of my usual on the Monday or Tuesday before a goal 5K and just not swim at the end of the week, but I’ve seen recommendations that crosstraining be reduced two weeks before a goal race and eliminated the week before.  Do the lungs need rest before a race too, or is it just the legs?

                     

                    So.... two different answers:

                     

                    1) I absolutely reduce the volume of my cross training during taper - more than I do my running.  For a goal 5K, I wouldn't taper more than a week, but I would definitely cut back everything, not just the running.  Running isn't just about the legs - it's about your entire body and how fresh you feel.

                     

                    2) I don't cut back my swimming very much, simply because I don't do very much swimming - just 500 yards (about 10 minutes) of gentle swimming after hard workouts.  I see that as a recovery tool, not training, so I definitely keep it in.

                    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.

                    darkwave


                    Mother of Cats

                      Marky_Mark- I'm sorry you're STILL dealing with the sinus thing.

                       

                      Watson - congratulations on a very well executed marathon (that's not easy).

                       

                      Fred - I'm glad that your confidence is on the uptick.

                       

                      Piwi - how do courses that short happen?  Misplaced turnaround cone?    I would be extremely frustrated.

                       

                      ***

                       

                      52 miles running, 90 minutes pool-running, and 1500 yards swimming.

                      M: 8 miles very easy (10:16)
                      T: 9 miles, including a track workout of 6x800 in 3:28, 3:25, 3:19, 3:15, 3:14, 3:12 (recoveries between 2:3x and 3:0x). Followed with leg strengthwork and 500 yards recovery swimming.
                      W: 8 miles (9:27) and drills/strides, plus streaming yoga.
                      Th: 90 minutes pool-running, upper body weights/core.
                      F: 7 miles, including a 1600m at tempo effort (6:54), followed by injury prevention work and streaming yoga.
                      Sa: 2 miles very easy (9:40)
                      Su: 3.5 miles warm-up, half-marathon in 1:34:05, 1.5 mile cool down. Later some injury prevention work and 500 yards recovery swimming.

                      Raced the DC Half as my tune-up for Chicago. I thought I'd run about 1:32 but ran 1:34 (for a brand new lifetime personal worst - yay?). Despite the PW, I'm not that upset about running 2 minutes slower than I expected.  The weather ended up being warmer than forecast and it seemed like most people were a bit off of what they thought their fitness was. I got a good hard effort in, and that's the most important thing. I still think I can run around 3:15 at Chicago if we get good weather (which admittedly is a big if).

                       

                      Race report.

                      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.

                        Honestly I would like to say nice things about my local marathon but they also completely changed the course 1 week out which cut out all the scenic over the harbour Bridge and ocean side part and round the Mount.

                        Apparently due to lack of marshalls and increased traffic management costs.

                        One of my mates ran and in some ways luckily crashed with itbs at 28kms and walked it in. Imagine been on pb pace to finish 1km short.

                         

                        Mark no worries hope you get well soon.

                         

                        Steve you definitely made the right decision with Melbourne. That's the best race I personally have done.

                         

                        DW solid time congrats.

                        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 "      

                         

                        Marky_Mark_17


                          Darkwave - thanks.  Glad to hear you took some encouragement from your HM.  Sounds like you paced it pretty well apart from perhaps that last mile.

                           

                          Piwi - I didn't realise they'd had to make a late course change.  It happened to them with Devonport as well last year where they had to change the course a day or two before the race due to marshalls pulling out sick.  With entries down, in some cases the traffic management costs are really killing these events 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"

                          Fredford66


                          Waltons ThreadLord

                            I'm curious - are these courses falling short when mapped out on sites such as RA, Garmin, and Strava, or only on GPS watches?  Does NZ have a certifying authority such as we do in the US, were someone physically walks the course with a measuring wheel (twice) to ensure the distance is correct (which only works if the RD correctly places the start, finish, and any turnarounds at the spots marked on the certified course map)?

                            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

                             

                            watsonc123


                              We do have measuring wheels in NZ!  It's just that most organizers are too lazy to use them.  A quick and dirty option would be to run/bike with a two GPS watch on, but make it 21.2km for a half and a 42.4km for a full on both watches (i.e if one is 21.2 but the other is 21.15 then keep going 50 metres).

                               

                              Being ridiculously short is terrible.  The organizers could have figured out something such as an extra little bit there and back for 500 metres to make it up.

                              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

                              watsonc123


                                I have a club mate who did Hutt yesterday.  Tiny field of 33 (exactly what I had in 2017 Wairarapa full).  The 5km, 10km and half had much (relatively) bigger fields, and the 10km and half had good winning times.

                                 

                                Wairarapa (3:16 time in 2017) I was by myself pretty much 5km onwards.  On Saturday I ran pretty much the whole way with a group, although we spread out the last 5km.  The group was the 3:15 pacer who went a little quick, although there was 2 pacers who sort of split later on until a "let's get you well under 3:15" pacer (who ended up running back and forth a little) and a "lets get you close to 3:15" guy for those who faded a bit earlier. 

                                Vastly more enjoyable than Wairarapa.

                                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