Forums >Racing>The Waltons aka Advanced Half Marathon Training Thread - 2022 edition
Hot Weather Complainer
Mark - Sounds like another tough day out in store. You'll be primed when it comes to Autumn races though, with these races and such an impressive training block behind you. Our ridiculous weather continues with hot weather all week until last night and now we have Autumn like rain and cold. Perfect for running though, especially with a long one tomorrow. Not sure if my lack of weather complaining this summer has been noted...and during my hardest ever summer training block
piwi - As always, great run and chats. You're welcome back any time, although it sounds like next time will be in the North Island. JMac I'll even make you a coffee when you make your way here.
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 1:27:34
Selwyn Marathon June 2, 2024
Dunedin Half Marathon September 15, 2024
Steve - good that you and Piwi were able to catch up! Hopefully I'll see you at Southern Lakes or Christchurch depending how things go. And NZ 10k Road Champs is in Upper Hutt in Sept, near Watson's place.
I'm conscious I'm dominating the weather complaining at the moment but it's been pretty bad lately. And TBH the next week looks like it's gonna be more of the same. Like you say, maybe it'll help when it comes to making the most of autumn 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: Runway5 / National 5k Champs, 16:22, National Masters AG Champ!
Up next: Still working on that...
"CONSISTENCY IS KING"
Jmac I'd love to meet you. Unfortunately I think my next big overseas trip will be Europe as my wife is keen for France and Italy. One of my brothers moved from England to France recently. Hopefully NZ will be back to normal next year once we get over all this covid bullshit 😒 and we will be seen as a good destination again.
Mark yes you will have to have a catchup with Watson.
You are totally allowed to weather complain as you are racing. Adjust your expectations and you will do well.
Steve this mornings run went so easily. Looks like our heart rates were pretty low too. Good luck with your long run tomorrow.
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 "
Waltons ThreadLord
Mark - Good luck with your race. I've run some staggered start races and they can be interesting. I ran a 5k once where runners were set out one at a time every 15 seconds (it was a small field) so I could measure my progress by passing or being passed one person at a time? Just curious about your weather comments. What counts as humid in NZ? What dew points are you seeing?
Speaking of weather, it was 56º at 6:30 this morning with a light mist, but the forecast said it would be 36º by 11:00am, so I hurried up to get out there. I actually felt the change coming in the last quarter mile of my run as the rain got a little heavier and a cold wind started blowing. When I got home it was 50º. 30 minutes later it was almost down to 40º. I got home just in time. 5.3 miles 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: Running is Back 10k, 5/12; Greta's Run 5k, 5/19
RIP Milkman
I hope you enjoy the response. Also - me and Darkwave are signed up the Gridiron 4M in CP, hope you ended signing up.
Piwi - I would love to get to NZ (and Asia) but it feels like even 2022 isn't happening. Quite sad as we used to make an annual trip. I would meet you in England but France is a pass for me. I hated Paris. The people were even worse than NYC. Maybe it's better out in the countryside.
5K: 16:37 (11/20) | 10K: 34:49 (10/19) | HM: 1:14:57 (5/22) | FM: 2:36:31 (12/19)
Yep, I'm running the Gridiron and bringing my 15-year-old along (he highly approves of the 9:00 am start vs. the usual 8:00 am gun).
It's currently 6F with a "ReelFeel" of -3 here and I'm sick of it. Peak ReelFeel is a whopping +1F today so I guess it's another treadmill day.
1600 - 5:23 (2018), 5k - 19:33 (2018), 10k - 41:20 (2021), half - 1:38:57 (2018), Marathon - 3:37:17 (2018)
The dewpoint the last week or so has consistently been around 20-21C (~70F).
This actually feels warmer than the equivalent dewpoint in North America because we are far more exposed to UV radiation in New Zealand. The relative lack of air pollution in NZ means that there's really nothing blocking UV radiation from the sun. For example, in NY, the average daily maximum UV index in summer is around 6-7. Here in NZ, in the upper North Island it's more like 11-12. That's the difference between getting sunburnt in 30 minutes (without sunscreen) versus 10 minutes.
Australia is a little warmer than NZ and has similar UV exposure but is far drier. A 30C day in Sydney or Melbourne doesn't feel as bad as a 25C day here in Auckland for this reason. Just ask Steve - he's spent plenty of time in both Melbourne and NZ. Unlike JMac who has yet to experience a part of the world where you actually cannot go outside without sunscreen in the middle of summer for any length of time without getting sunburnt.
That falls into the range of pretty bad for running (though folks down on the Gulf coast live with that). I had no idea NZ gets that uncomfortable in the summer. (Another benefit of running - learning about other climates.) The UV issue is something I was aware of - I certainly don't envy you that problem.
Mother of Cats
Since this is officially the weather whining face-off thread, I'll note that our dew points will get into the mid-70s, and occasionally the high 70s, in the summer. Such is life in DC.
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.
Well the forecast for Monday's 10k looks like a continuation of the recent hot, windy, humid garbage. Luckily there is rain in the forecast for Monday morning which would be ideal given the temps. They are running the starts in 5 -10 minute waves, I actually quite like this because they've done it on expected finish time. It's a two lap course so this will mean everyone gets spread out more which should reduce any possible congestion on the second lap. And it means your competition is always in the same wave as you as well. Given the course (a few hills, some trail, and a u-turn) and the weather I think it's gonna be a slow day again but it's still infinitely better than virtual races or no races.
Well the forecast for Monday's 10k looks like a continuation of the recent hot, windy, humid garbage. Luckily there is rain in the forecast for Monday morning which would be ideal given the temps.
They are running the starts in 5 -10 minute waves, I actually quite like this because they've done it on expected finish time. It's a two lap course so this will mean everyone gets spread out more which should reduce any possible congestion on the second lap. And it means your competition is always in the same wave as you as well.
Given the course (a few hills, some trail, and a u-turn) and the weather I think it's gonna be a slow day again but it's still infinitely better than virtual races or no races.
Regarding staggered starts, there are a few races around here, maybe mainly trail races including the (in)famous Dipsea race, that use handicapped starts based on age, gender, and the corresponding age group percentages. So if everyone were at an equal level according to the age group charts, they would ideally cross the finish line at the same time. The overall winner is then whoever crosses the finish line first even if the 80-year old racer started 20 minutes before the young 20-year old. Makes for interesting results and ends to races since the really fast people will have to pass a lot of people, often on narrow trails.
5k: 20:32 (1/17) | HM: 1:34:37 (2/18) | FM: 3:31:37 (3/18)
Getting back into it
It was interesting the other day - went outside for a walk with my partner in the midday sun and I checked the temperature because it was scorching. 23C. I couldn't believe it. My partner who isn't aware of this never ending debate said "this is New Zealand 23 which is way hotter than Australia 23..."
This morning I had to worry about the rain more than anything. For the last 2 weeks I've struggled to get the gels open with sweaty hands and I thought it may be worse in the rain so I opened them a bit before I started. When I got to them I found both had emptied completely into my flip belt. I figured I might be okay because it was cooler than last week but sure enough, at the start of my third block of MP I cramped up so kept it easy until home. I also went too fast in the first 2 blocks so it was a fail all round. Had been feeling fine all the way but the last 2km my legs were completely gone. Thank goodness I have an easy week coming up.
Ugh, that's a less than ideal chain of events! I actually dropped a gel from sweaty hands when I ran Auckland Marathon in 2017. I do find some much easier to open than others, tbh. The SIS ones can sometimes be a bit tough. The Maurten ones have a little notch cut into them which make them very easy to open.
Steve great job getting the 20 miler done. I did 16kms around Hagley this morning 1st km was about 6.25/km or 10 min mile pace 🤔 but my Achilles are achy and take a bit of warming up. I added in a 6km section at about 4.10 km pace to spice it up.
Took my wife up the Bridle path. Was pretty steep and damp but earned a feed from the Lyttelton market. Then a tiki tour over to Sumner to watch the surfers.
My week is done today Saturday or Friday for US 🇺🇸 🤔
Steve sorry about the gels but that's kinda funny.
Piwi - great week but you shouldn't be allowed to post until I've completed Saturday's run lol. I looked at the weather and pushed my long run off until tomorrow. I'm hoping to be able to fast finish a 2h run this week but the legs certainly didn't feel good today so I'll play it by ear.