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

    There is a hill in there but his average pace went from 4.40km to 5.30km average over a 5km portion. Sorry about the metric units

    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 "      

     

    Fredford66


    Waltons ThreadLord

      There is a hill in there but his average pace went from 4.40km to 5.30km average over a 5km portion. Sorry about the metric units

       

      No worries, I can do the math.  Keeping my fingers crossed for Steve.

      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

       

      Marky_Mark_17


        Just catching up now... doh looks like Steve might be suffering a bit out there late in the game.

        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"

          3.35 looks like a tough last half. Congratulations though on gutting it out.

          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 "      

           

          Fredford66


          Waltons ThreadLord

            Steve - nice job on sticking to it.  Congrats.

            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


              Steve - sorry you had a bad day.  I hope you overall enjoyed your first marathon, and a big one at that being Melbourne.  Glass half full - next marathon you have a good chance of a PR!

              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

                Thanks everyone. I feel massively blessed for the support here and from my mates out in the course.

                 

                I felt a niggle in my quad yesterday and thought nothing of it except taper madness. Felt it after 2km and mentioned it to my mate at 15km. But energy wise I felt fantastic. Everything felt easy. Felt signs of cramp about 24km, and didn’t believe it. I thought it couldn’t be possible. By 27.5km I saw another mate and said I’m cramping already. I knew it was over. I couldn’t believe it, because I felt great. 

                I still can’t believe this happened. 

                I don’t know where I go from here with marathons. 

                Had many beers with Marby who is an absolute champion.

                 

                I’m going to bed now

                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

                Fredford66


                Waltons ThreadLord

                  Thanks everyone. I feel massively blessed for the support here and from my mates out in the course.

                   

                  I felt a niggle in my quad yesterday and thought nothing of it except taper madness. Felt it after 2km and mentioned it to my mate at 15km. But energy wise I felt fantastic. Everything felt easy. Felt signs of cramp about 24km, and didn’t believe it. I thought it couldn’t be possible. By 27.5km I saw another mate and said I’m cramping already. I knew it was over. I couldn’t believe it, because I felt great. 

                  I still can’t believe this happened. 

                  I don’t know where I go from here with marathons. 

                  Had many beers with Marby who is an absolute champion.

                   

                  I’m going to bed now

                   

                  It's been my (limited) experience that no decisions made immediately after a marathon, or indeed in the days following, should be taken too seriously.  Give yourself time to get perspective.

                  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


                    Thanks everyone. I feel massively blessed for the support here and from my mates out in the course.

                     

                    I felt a niggle in my quad yesterday and thought nothing of it except taper madness. Felt it after 2km and mentioned it to my mate at 15km. But energy wise I felt fantastic. Everything felt easy. Felt signs of cramp about 24km, and didn’t believe it. I thought it couldn’t be possible. By 27.5km I saw another mate and said I’m cramping already. I knew it was over. I couldn’t believe it, because I felt great. 

                    I still can’t believe this happened. 

                    I don’t know where I go from here with marathons. 

                    Had many beers with Marby who is an absolute champion.

                     

                    I’m going to bed now

                    Oh man sorry about the cramps but  congrats on finishing your first marathon. They really are a different beast.

                    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


                       

                      It's been my (limited) experience that no decisions made immediately after a marathon, or indeed in the days following, should be taken too seriously.  Give yourself time to get perspective.

                       

                      100% this.

                       

                      Especially when you've come off such a long stretch of training.  I rushed back into things too quickly after my last marathon and paid for it pretty badly.

                      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"

                      JamesD


                      JamesD

                        Steve - Sorry about the cramps, but congrats on persevering.  I hope feeling so good except for the cramps gives you motivation to try again once you've recovered.

                         

                        Race Report, Mogadishu Mile 5K, Columbus, GA, Oct. 1:

                         

                        I ran this military-themed race last year and wrote a too-long RR that explained the name & described some of the unusual aspects; in case Fred, Hash or Caitlin want to see it, it’s near the bottom of this page from last year’s board, dated Oct. 3, 2021:   

                        https://www.runningahead.com/forums/topic/9a5e3146171f4aa29d7b0f3eb394c299/192?pgctx=0FKyBY6KfkmYNsZK3lmDCro5c8E

                         

                        This isn’t a typical local race, as it’s put on by a military group and attracts mostly people from the Army base south of town.  I only recognized three of the other runners by name, compared to a dozen or more at most local races.  92 of the top 100 finishers were younger than 40, with most in their early 20s.  Like last year, there were almost 500 Army Rangers running with 35 pounds (16 kg) of body armor, around 100 pushing kids in strollers, a few with dogs, and about 500 unencumbered runners.   

                         

                        Even though the race started and finished two blocks from our home, for my shakeout I drove to the park where I do most of my running so I could run on dirt and in partial shade rather than on concrete in the sun.  Then returned home for a brief rest and jogged the 500 meters to the starting area, where I did strides.  Earlier in the week rain and wind had been forecast, as we were expected to be not far from the hurricane that did so much damage in Florida, but the hurricane changed course and didn’t come close to us.  Temperatures were warmer than forecast, about 85/29 at the start, but the humidity was only 30%, so it wasn’t too bad, and I was able to stay in some shade after my strides.  

                         

                        Unlike last year, the race started more or less on time.  Even strong young Rangers can’t accelerate very quickly when wearing 35 extra pounds, so I again lined up in front of them and didn’t worry about getting trampled at the start.  I did bump elbows & shoulders a few times, as it seemed like more of them started out fast this year, or maybe I didn’t start quite as quickly. 

                         

                        I’ve done six 5Ks since the start of the pandemic, and I’ve realized that my RRs give a lot of atmospheric details since the running part is pretty much always the same.  I start relatively slowly and after the first hundred yards begin to pass people who went out unrealistically fast.  I may speed up a little during the first half-mile or so, but I try to keep a constant pace (none of the races have had mile markers, so I’m not sure, but it feels constant and the effort gets harder as the race goes on).  It almost never feels like I’m pressing to catch people, more like they’re coming back to me and I’m easing past them, although later in the race I occasionally will push slightly to pass someone decisively.  For the first two miles, I’m passing people regularly, but after that, people are more spread out.  Except for two who passed me at this race last year when I ran out of gas on the one late hill, the only people who pass me are obviously faster and either got trapped behind the strollers at the start or are young and start too cautiously because they don’t know how to pace.  If I’ve had a recent rustbuster race, I’m comfortable with a somewhat harder constant effort, and my post-rustbuster races are 30-40 seconds faster than the others.  I never really feel like I’m sprinting, and I probably won’t want to push that hard until I’m confident my hamstrings are ok.

                         

                        At the starting line, an older-looking civilian who looked competitive asked me which street we turned right onto after the start.  He started a bit faster than me and was easy to spot (mostly bald, white singlet) amidst all the young fatigues-and-armor-wearing Rangers as he slowly pulled away from me.  I figured he might be age group competition and tried to keep him in sight.  He eventually came back to me around halfway, and I eased past him.  I was right in considering him competition, as it turned out he was the out-of-town guy who beat me by a few seconds last year for first master.  He’s also 9 years younger than I am.  Oh well.  At least I still have my hair.

                         

                        The first mile-plus was east, south, and west on three downtown streets, then we turned left (south) onto a brick street in our historic district.  I’m always surprised I don’t twist an ankle or trip on the bricks, which aren’t perfectly even, but I’ve run several races on them without incident.  The street ended at our small city baseball stadium; we ran past it and then turned onto a ramp down to the river that divides Georgia and Alabama.  We made a u-turn at the bottom and headed north on a bike path by the river back towards the finish.

                         

                        The race doesn’t have mile markers, but I checked my watch near where I had checked it last year after around two miles, and I was about four seconds behind, give or take a few seconds since I’m not sure it was exactly the same spot.  That was better than I had expected and gave me confidence heading into the hill that had wiped me out last year.  The field was pretty stretched out by then, and for the last half-mile or so I wasn’t particularly close behind anyone.

                         

                        When I walked the bad (and only) uphill on Friday I realized how deceptive it was.  It starts as you leave the bike path with a gentle incline going to the right around a large circular fountain, then a left turn and up a short relatively steep hill, then another left turn onto a slight incline, then a sharp right turn up another steady incline before turning left for the flat final few hundred meters.  I felt much stronger on it this year and had some energy left to push to the finish, though not to sprint.  One 20-year-old sprinted past me near the end.  

                         

                        As I was looking for DW in the post-finish crowd, a civilian runner asked me in a not-from-around-here accent if there was going to be an award ceremony, as he had finished second.  His name was Rhys Cunningham, and he had come from Queenstown, NZ to the U.S. for the world obstacle running championship last weekend (in Vermont, about 1200 miles/1900 km north of us) and was visiting a mate here.  He said he wasn’t really a runner (finished in 17:50) but had wanted to do a 5K after his obstacle race.  From what I can decipher from the obstacle running championship website, he ran as a non-pro in a 15K race. I eventually found DW and our dog, and we chatted with a friend who finished a couple of places behind me and his family.  

                         

                        I finished in 19:19, 8th/1065, 1st M60-69 and would’ve been first master if they had given that award this year.  Unlike last year, two Rangers in body armor beat me, but nobody pushing a kid in a stroller did this time.  My time was only 4 or 5 seconds behind last year’s, and I was very pleased considering that I’ve run lower mileage this year and haven’t done any VO2 max work (except for two earlier 5K races, I guess) & only a few short tempos.  This also was an age-graded best at 82.16% and was only 8 seconds behind my grownup PR.  I also felt less trashed than I did after last year’s race.  This result gives me some confidence that if I can get past the hamstring troubles and get my training back to where it was last year I might have a shot at some PRs next year.

                         

                        Sun - 5.2 miles in park @ 8:39, temp 86/30, TDP 146

                        Mon - off

                        Tues - 4.2 in park incl. strides & 4x200 (approx.) @ 42.5, temp 79/26, TDP 151 

                        Weds - 4.7 miles very slow treadmill (57 minutes) + 0:40 walk breaks/6 mins

                        Thurs - 3.6 in park including 3.1 @ 8:55 & strides

                        Fri - off

                        Sat - 8.1 including 5K @ 19:19.05, 82% age-graded, temp 85/29, TDP 135

                         

                        Total - 25.8 Miles

                        YTD Average - 35.1 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

                        Fredford66


                        Waltons ThreadLord

                          Steve - Good job on the marathon.  Mile 20, 30km is often a tough place for first-time marathoners (and not limited to first-timers).

                           

                          James - Nice job on the 5k, especially in that heat.

                           

                          Zebano - You're absolute correct that marathons really are different.  Cool story about picking up some other runners for your 200s.

                           

                          Piwi - Nice play by play of Steve's race.

                           

                          Mark - The rest probably helped, indeed.  Glad the club got by without you.

                           

                           

                          A cut back & taper week for me.  Would have been 8 today, but around mile 4 the wind and rain (outskirts of Ian) picked up and I cut the run short.  42.4 Miles (66.2 km) for the week.

                           

                          The main news is I ran 204.8 miles (329.5km) in September, my first 200+ month since March of 2021, and only my sixth of all time.

                           

                          A week out and race time forecast is 48º (9C), with some light wind, which sounds pretty good to me.  This time of year, and on the shore, it's the wind that's the wild card.

                           

                          Date Workout Type Distance Duration Pace Temp
                          9/26/2022   Easy   7.0 mi 1:13:47 10:33 67
                          9/27/2022  6 x 1M @ 8:10 Interval 11.2 mi 1:47:21   9:36 55
                          9/29/2022  5 miles @ 8:18 Pace   8.0 mi 1:13:05   9:09 63
                          9/30/2022   Easy   6.1 mi 1:01:14 10:03 51
                          10/1/2022   Easy   5.1 mi    55:27 10:53 58
                          10/2/2022   Easy   5.0 mi    50:51 10:11 57
                          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


                            James - nice race.  Low 19's in your 60s is very good.

                             

                            Steve - as other's have stated, don't make any decisions too soon.

                            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

                            darkwave


                            Mother of Cats

                              Fred - that forecast does look good.  I hope it holds for you.  I have a feeling you're primed for a big race.

                               

                              Steve - again, I'm sorry for how this one played out. Marathons can be so cruel sometimes.  I agree with Fred on no major decisions in the next few days (I try to wait 10 days, FWIW).

                               

                              James - great race and great race report.  I am truly impressed by how well you are racing despite your hamstring troubles.

                               

                              Zebano - it's good to see you posting again!

                               

                              ***

                               

                              My week:

                              51 miles running, 3 hours pool-running, and ~1000 yards swimming.

                              M: 90 minutes pool-running
                              T: 12.5 miles, with 2000, 5x800 in 8:47, 3:21, 3:17, 3:15, 3:13, 3:13 (recoveries of 4:00 after the 2K, and 2:2x-2:4x after the 800s)
                              W: Yoga and 8 miles very easy (9:51) and drills/strides.
                              Th: 90 minutes pool-running, upper body weights/core.
                              F: 10 miles, including a track 5K tempo in 21:49 - splits of 7:18/6:57/6:44/0:50). Followed with 500 yards recovery swimming.
                              Sa: 8.5 miles very easy (9:44), with drills and four hill sprints, and yoga.
                              Su: 12 miles progressive - first 3 averaging 8:57, next 9 averaging 8:13. Followed with 500 meters recovery swimming.

                               

                              This was my second to last week of taper. With the exception of the Tuesday workout, every run was 2-5 miles shorter than it would have been during my training cycle, and I cut 30 minutes off of each pool-running session. Tuesday was my last "real" workout; Friday's tempo workout was limited to 5K, and Sunday's run was not long and had no marathon effort work.

                               

                              It's late enough in the year that I'm now starting track workouts in the dark again. My dystonia/balance issues are much much worse when visibility is poor, and it shows in my workouts. It was particularly notable during Friday's tempo. I did not intend to speed up that much over the course of the tempo, it was just that I couldn't get my legs to work well for the first 6 laps (10:47 - 7:14 pace). And then the sun rose and I could see and I ran the next 6 laps in 10:11 (6:50 pace).

                               

                              I'm really glad that Chicago is not an evening race.

                              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.

                              ccoakley


                                James, great race!  I hope you can put this hamstring injury behind you soon.

                                 

                                Fred, looks like you're having a great training cycle.

                                 

                                Zebano, glad to see you on the mend.

                                 

                                I've been casually lurking for the past few months but didn't realize not everyone made the merge.  So I'll try posting here again too, I finally felt 90% normal this past week and had super steady energy levels.  I racked my brain trying to figure out exactly what I did to see such a huge improvement and the only thing I could come up with is I got the new booster shot 2 weeks ago.  Whatever it was I'll take it.

                                 

                                Now I have a decision to make.  I'm registered for the Richmond marathon Nov 12 and while the full is clearly not happening I have until Oct 31 to decide if I want to switch to the half or defer to next year.  Normally I wouldn't think 6 weeks would be enough to attempt a PR given my 4 month set back but....my HM PR is from 2019 when I was solidly a 30mpw runner with very little speedwork so maybe?

                                 

                                Weekly for period: From: 09/26/2022 To 10/02/2022

                                Date Name mi km Duration Avg/mi Avg/km Elevation Gain
                                in ft
                                09/27 8 x 1' hard 2.72 4.37 00:27:50 10:14 06:22 49
                                09/28 Morning Run 6.60 10.62 01:16:04 11:32 07:10 115
                                09/29 20 min progression 3.40 5.48 00:31:41 09:19 05:47 72
                                09/30 Morning Run 10.51 16.91 02:00:31 11:28 07:08 240
                                10/02 Morning Run 6.01 9.67 01:08:44 11:26 07:06 98

                                Total distance: 29.24mi

                                5k 24:53 (2020) |10k 52:24 (2021) |HM 1:57:14 (2019) |FM 4:24 (2007) |50k 5:57 (2022)