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

Fredford66


Waltons ThreadLord

    Keen -I also go with vasoline on the exposed areas, mainly nose and cheek bones.  Lip balm helps.  I sport a goatee, so that helps with my upper lip and chin.  I only resort to that when it's really cold or there's a biting wind, and I'm going to be out more than 30 - 45 minutes.

    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


      OTOH You can just tough it out, you'll be fine I promise, you just get really pretty eyelashes: -12F with a windchill of below -30. I wish I was half as tough as I used to be we got 15 miles in that day. Fred is right though, a beard is a good investment

       

      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


        Ha, classic shot!

         

        I remember on our first ski trip to BC, there was a particularly cold snap - cold enough that my eyelashes frosted over while sitting outside in the spa pool.  It was like -30C / -22F with wind chill on top 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"

        Fredford66


        Waltons ThreadLord

          OTOH You can just tough it out, you'll be fine I promise, you just get really pretty eyelashes: -12F with a windchill of below -30. I wish I was half as tough as I used to be we got 15 miles in that day. Fred is right though, a beard is a good investment

           

           

          Nice photo.  And as to the beard, I usually trim it short, but in winter I let it grow thicker just for this reason.

          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

           

          darkwave


          Mother of Cats

            Vasoline on face - I swear by this, and do it not just in very cold weather, but also whenever it's raining, or very windy, to protect my facial skin.  It's a vanity thing.

             

            Treadmill speeds - I have a Runn Sensor.  It measures the speed of my treadmill belt directly, and syncs with my Garmin as if it was a foodpod.   Really handy.

             

            Old Garmins - I had to pull out my old 305 last year for a run - wow that was a shock after so many years with smaller Garmins.

             

            ***

             

            My back/injury/weirdness/wobbliness stuff.  As you guys may recall, so far I've seen my primary care, a neurologist, a rheumatologist, a cardiologist, an ART specialist, and PT.  I've gotten an EMG/NCS, a neurological exam, all sorts of bloodwork, and a brain/cervical spine/thoracic spine MRI.  Nothing significant on any of them.  Everyone, save the neurologist, thinks my issues are likely neurological.  The neurologist thinks I have an orthopedic issue.

             

            Two weeks ago, I got another MRI of my lumbar spine and pelvis.   Saw the physiatrist today to discuss and....MRIs look good - pretty much unchanged from the lumbar spine MRI I had 18 months ago..

             

            There is some slight narrowing where the nerves exit the spine at L5, so the physiatrist is going to give me an epidural injection there next year to see if it helps.  But...the physiatrist told me that he thought I should go BACK to neurology....

             

            I am going in circles.

            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.

            arunnerd


            Roads Scholar

              jeff - Welcome!  That is quite a run streak you have going there.  I have a similar streak going with a cardio workout every day for 15+ years.  Of course, exercise isn't everything.  I can eat more than I can exercise -- with predictable results.

               

              zebano - Like fred, I too sport a goatee.  Mine often ends up with ice caked like that.  I tell myself it is my moist breath, or perhaps even sweat.  Anything else would just be gross.  Those eyebrows in your pic must be sweat, so I'm going to just say my icy goatee is too.

               

              I logged only 26 miles of easy running last week.  I backed off from scheduled base building due to some "jumper's knee" pain.  It hasn't been pain exactly, more of an ache.  It doesn't affect my stride and it goes away after a couple of miles, but I don't want it to get worse.  In addition to backing off the mileage, I also took all of my worn shoes out of my rotation, and have begun working on some strength training.

              I strive towards laconic wit, my wife says I'm halfway there.

                

              arunnerd.blogspot.com

              cc4life07


              Wind is not my friend.

                DW - Sorry to hear about all the doctor stuff.  Hope you can get it all figured out!

                 

                Temps - I wimped out today.  Supposed to be close to 0 and I hit the treadmill.  I can get out and do the runs in the low temps but if we hit any wind, I'm a baby.  I don't regret doing a fartlek workout in the 60 degree gym instead of the craziness outside.  Small beard that is more of laziness during the winter than something that is planned.  However, I do let my hair grow out a bit longer and so when I get that cut, I'm usually freezing for several weeks!

                 

                I'm never done vasoline.  Worst I've gone out in was -20 F and sported the balaclava.

                "Current" PRs

                5K - 18:00 (4/19)   |   HM - 1:19:28 (4/22)

                Next Race: A 5K of some sort (Goal: Sub 17:30)

                JamesD


                JamesD

                  James, that seems really extreme, what prompted you to do such in an depth study of the TM?

                   

                  Last year was the first time I had used the treadmill regularly, initially at my PT's suggestion when I was recovering from injury.  After several weeks at what it said was 10- to 12-minute mile pace, I went outside and immediately was running my normal 8:30-45 easy pace at what felt like the same effort.  Later, when I tried some progressions, what it said was 8:20 pace felt harder than that.  I actually was surprised my measurements showed the display was only ~3.75% slower than my true pace, so what it said was 12-minute pace was really around 11:30.

                   

                  The measurement was useful, because it convinced me that the TM is better for me than running outside on recovery days.  Outside I can't go slower than 9-minute pace without my form falling apart, but since I can go slower on the TM, there's less stress on my legs, so I can go farther, and since I'm going farther & slower, I get in lots more time at an low-but-useful HR (100-110, according to the TM's sensor).

                   

                  Or it could just be that I'm OCD, but I doubt I'm the only one on the board.  Running 7 halfs in 7 days, cardio every day for 15+ years, and running outside when it's so cold your eyelashes freeze all seem much more extreme to me, and that's just what's been posted today.

                  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


                    Jeff - welcome!  That 7 HMs in 7 days in 7 states challenge sounds fun.

                     

                    DWave - ugh. Sorry to hear that things seem to be going in circles and not progressing as we'd all hope.  How is the body feeling now?

                     

                    Me - in the spirit of trying something different, think I might try the Luxmore Grunt at the end of the year.  It's a 27km trail race on one of NZ's most famous walking tracks.  There's a 60km as well (the Kepler Challenge) but no way am I doing that.  It's normally the first weekend in December which is ages away but the entries tend to sell out ridiculously fast when they go on sale so you kinda have to commit early.  TBH it's one of those races I'd do for the experience rather than going in with any objectives around time or placing.  Partly for the beautiful scenery, and partly because there's around 1000m of climbing (3,300 ft), most of which occurs in just 5km in the middle of the race!

                    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"

                       

                       

                       

                      Or it could just be that I'm OCD, but I doubt I'm the only one on the board.  Running 7 halfs in 7 days, cardio every day for 15+ years, and running outside when it's so cold your eyelashes freeze all seem much more extreme to me, and that's just what's been posted today.

                       

                      Haha good call James and so true 👍

                      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 "      

                       

                      flavio80


                      Intl. correspondent

                        Jeff - Thanks for the intro. It seems you are on the right track, consistency is king!

                         

                        Keen/Zeb/Fred - It still blows my mind that there are places on the planet where the weather can easily kill you any moment of the day and people insist on living there 😁

                         

                        DW - Hopefully the ART can help alleviate the symptoms if not solve it. It looks like you’re going to have to go to medical school to have it solved. is there a real life Dr Gregory House...

                        Have you considered putting them all on the same room at the same time and let them know they can only exit the room if they solve it?

                        I’m sure you can find a lawyer-y way of saying that without sounding like a kidnapper.

                         

                        me - This week I've been starting to work more and more time standing up. I've gotten up to 2h30 so far, in 2 or 3 blocks of time.

                        It's no wonder I can't run a marathon when I can't even stand still for 2h30. Mileage will remain low for the next few weeks while I adapt to working standing up a couple of hours a day and the impact from that. Ideally I'd like to get closer to 6 hours a day standing up over the next year. We shall see, I'll likely come out much stronger on the other side.

                        PRs: 1500 4:54.1 2019 - 5K 17:53 2023 - 10K 37:55 2023 - HM 1:21:59 2021

                        Up next: no idea

                        Tool to generate Strava weekly

                        cc4life07


                        Wind is not my friend.

                          I think it's all a matter of boredom, tbh.  If I was just standing there, 2h30 is a long time, no matter how you break it up.  As a teacher, I'm probably easily standing 3-4 hours a day just walking around the room.  Then during coaching, its another 2+ hours.  But the job lends itself to standing and walking around.  I'm not sure I'd be able to happen a desk job just standing there.

                           

                           me - This week I've been starting to work more and more time standing up. I've gotten up to 2h30 so far, in 2 or 3 blocks of time.

                          It's no wonder I can't run a marathon when I can't even stand still for 2h30. Mileage will remain low for the next few weeks while I adapt to working standing up a couple of hours a day and the impact from that. Ideally I'd like to get closer to 6 hours a day standing up over the next year. We shall see, I'll likely come out much stronger on the other side.

                          "Current" PRs

                          5K - 18:00 (4/19)   |   HM - 1:19:28 (4/22)

                          Next Race: A 5K of some sort (Goal: Sub 17:30)

                          Fredford66


                          Waltons ThreadLord

                            Flavio - I agree with cc4 that standing for 2½ hours is not a proxy for running for 2½ hours.  They're two different things, though both probably need some sort of training.

                             

                            JamesD - Interesting about the TM.  I knew they're all "approximate" on mileage (and even GPS watches disclaim a +/- 3% error rate), but I didn't realize how much of an impact it could be.

                             

                            arunnerd - I've had knee pain.  No fun indeed.  I hope you get through it.

                             

                            Darkwave - Sorry to hear you're going in circles.  I was treated for a bulging lumbar disk a few years ago and every so often it still pressed on the nerve and causes me leg pain.  The doctor who gave me an anesthetic injection for the nerve said "you should find a different type of exercise than running to avoid all the pounding."  He didn't understand that running isn't simply exercise for me.  I just have to be careful of how I sit and keep stretching my back.  I hope you find a solution that works for you.

                             

                            I went out for 9 with 6 at HMP with my RP this morning and it did not go well.  The first 3 HM miles were fine. The third one was slow because it had the big hill climb, but I could not recover my speed/pace on the way down the hill.  By the last HM mile I was way off pace and my recovery was hard as well.  After the run, when I stripped of my clothes I noticed they were soaked, so I weighed myself again and found I'd lost 4 pounds on the run.  I think I overdressed for the 14º with wind chill of -2º and as a result got dehydrated and that affected the second half of my run.

                            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

                             

                            arunnerd


                            Roads Scholar

                              Yeah I am a bit OCD.  Guilty.

                               

                              Regarding the treadmill, I was in a unique position a few years back in that I wrote the software for an entire line of high end exercise equipment mostly used in rehab facilities but also in some professional sports teams, etc.  I spent a good deal of effort working on getting the calibration just right using specialized equipment.  At the time I was also training for marathons and ran a lot of miles on those treadmills.  I know for a fact the treadmills were calibrated correctly but my perceived effort was always much harder on the treadmill for a given pace than outside on the road.

                               

                              Others report treadmills are easier than outdoors.  I beIieve them even though my experience is the opposite.  I suspect it is due to running mechanics, etc. and is just different from person to person.

                               

                              We are all different and not one of us came with an instruction manual.

                               

                               

                               

                              Last year was the first time I had used the treadmill regularly, initially at my PT's suggestion when I was recovering from injury.  After several weeks at what it said was 10- to 12-minute mile pace, I went outside and immediately was running my normal 8:30-45 easy pace at what felt like the same effort.  Later, when I tried some progressions, what it said was 8:20 pace felt harder than that.  I actually was surprised my measurements showed the display was only ~3.75% slower than my true pace, so what it said was 12-minute pace was really around 11:30.

                               

                              The measurement was useful, because it convinced me that the TM is better for me than running outside on recovery days.  Outside I can't go slower than 9-minute pace without my form falling apart, but since I can go slower on the TM, there's less stress on my legs, so I can go farther, and since I'm going farther & slower, I get in lots more time at an low-but-useful HR (100-110, according to the TM's sensor).

                               

                              Or it could just be that I'm OCD, but I doubt I'm the only one on the board.  Running 7 halfs in 7 days, cardio every day for 15+ years, and running outside when it's so cold your eyelashes freeze all seem much more extreme to me, and that's just what's been posted today.

                              I strive towards laconic wit, my wife says I'm halfway there.

                                

                              arunnerd.blogspot.com

                              zebano


                                Piwi  did you get a standing desk or did you change jobs? I got a standing desk last year and was really good about using it for 2 weeks and now I barely use it, so good for you. I also figure Australia is far more dangerous than the weather here.

                                 

                                James yes, I expect most of us are OCD

                                 

                                7 halves in 7 days is simultaneously awesome, nothing compared to that stupid Vol State race and something my son asked me if I'd ever done (heck no) with wonder in his eyes as if no one should ever be able to imagine doing such a thing. What states did you run in?

                                 

                                CC4life I really really really wish I could stand to run on a treadmill but they're just awful torture devices. Theoretically it sounds much nicer than running outside today but one of those I will enjoy and one I will hate. I have found indoor tracks aren't too bad, if they're not busy.

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