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

    Mark - Sheesh, save some mileage for the rest of us, will ya! The countdown to SL is on!

     

    Flavio - Cheers for nutrition info and encouragement! Absolutely agree about creating habits. One of the keys to me running more was when I decided to run 5km a day for Lent a few years ago. From there the habit of running more was created.

    My wife and I like to support local chocolate, rather than the cheap 'child slavery' chocolate that is out there. A small amount of really good chocolate is a lot more satisfying that a big block of the cheap stuff! I generally do have pretty good nutrition, as I'm a big fan of fruit, veges, nuts & seeds, but fuelling and re-fuelling for big training runs is something that I know I can improve. My wife still teases me though about the time we went on holiday to Fiji and all I ate for breakfast was cinnamon doughnuts. But they were soooo good.

     

    Piwi - Yeah, it's definitely not a wise thing to increase mileage rapidly. I planned my increase over a number of months, as I knew I wanted to get a bit more training in this year.

     

    DW - Looking at your training week I am wondering if you have a full-time job?! Good luck with the 10 Miler - looking forward to hearing how it went.

     

    Mi Semana:

     

     

    Weekly for period: From: 18/04/2022 To 24/04/2022

    Date Name mi km Duration Avg/mi Avg/km Elevation Gain
    in m
    18/04 Scenic McScenicFace 6.23 10.02 00:55:52 08:58 05:35 402
    19/04 Afternoon Run 0.97 1.56 00:08:07 08:22 05:12 40
    19/04 Tuesday Track - Hard but controlled 3.93 6.33 00:38:28 09:47 06:05 170
    21/04 Kila Kilo Loops +1km Track 10.61 17.07 01:45:37 09:57 06:11 463
    22/04 Where does the wind come from? 4.36 7.02 00:41:56 09:37 05:58 195
    23/04 To the Track! 1.69 2.71 00:17:06 10:07 06:19 42
    23/04 Around the Track! 3.14 5.06 00:18:59 06:03 03:45 126
    23/04 Away the Track! 6.53 10.51 01:03:53 09:47 06:05 317
    24/04 Ratio of Sanding & Painting to RunningToday 5:2 14.33 23.06 01:54:13 07:58 04:57 288

    Total distance: 83.35km

    50+ age-group PBs:  Half Perish 1:24:24 (June '23 Road Race) - 10km 37:52 (2022 Local Road Champs) - Track 5km 18:49 (Aug '22) - Perish Run 3:17:42

    2024 Goals: Boston Perish Run Sub 3:15 - Road/Track 10km Sub 37:30 - 5km Sub 18:20

     

     

    Marky_Mark_17


      Caitlin - really good to hear your reset week went well!  If you can keep that plan up, that's a really solid amount of time to be putting in.  And yes, I'm looking forward to tapering now.  Nice to know the work is in the bag.

       

      Piwi - nice job.  Sounds like you are back to normal now?

       

      Flavio - nothing like a nice long climb at the end of a long run to build character.  Most of my long runs end with roughly a 2km climb.

       

      Fred - well done on the race.  4 miles is kind of an unusual distance!  Good effort from your son too.

       

      Darkwave - always good to get some quality shoe talk!  I tried out the Endorphin Speed last week and really liked it.  It actually feels nicer than the Endorphin Pro which is noticeably firmer, albeit it is a little slower.  I guess it's just the difference between something that is more intended as a trainer versus a race shoe but the Speed is a nice shoe to wear.  Anyways good to hear you were pretty confident on some challenging terrain, that's got to be a good feeling.

       

      Steve - good to hear you've been able to wrap that saga up, that will help the stress levels for sure.  I'd just say go out and have fun at Southern Lakes.  Hard to gauge where things are at given your training has been a bit disrupted, but it is beautiful running for sure.  Normally 3 weeks out from a HM is my biggest training week, winding back to 70-80km this week.

       

      Hashiritai - nice week.  Honestly if you're on holiday anything goes!  I only really eat the hardcore dark chocolate these days, like 97% so kinda like eating dirt.  But I do enjoy a good donut or two haha.

      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"

      flavio80


      Intl. correspondent

        Fred - thanks for the race report. That was a big race if just your corral had 4500 runners.

        I suppose having your kiddo leading by a few seconds (80m) was good motivation all the way.

         

        Caitlin / Steve - I’m going for sub 90 minutes. Just because.

         

        Caitlin - That’s a lot of time on your feet, 10h30 of work. Only marginally more than what you just did last week, so I suppose it could be doable and theoretically the walking breaks would become shorter over time.

         

        DW - It did feel controlled with a slight heart rate spike at the end, likely because I was speeding up. Last time I ran 9km at HMP, it felt very controlled and the pace on my time trial was spot on the same of the workout. I do tend however to run a few seconds per K faster on race day when there’s an actual race.

        Not sure what’s gonna happen though, very low mileage of late. I did run 1h30:14 back in 2013 off of similar mileage though.

         

        Steve - that is great news and hopefully not having to manage all that (and have useless family members criticising your every decision while doing nothing) should help going forward.

         

        Mark - “building character” is a perfect way of putting it. You’re already a bit tired and got no way but climb up.

        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

        zebano


          shoes/Darkwave:  Always happy to hear about supershoes, Have you tried the Metaspeed Sky at all? how do they relate to the Edges? I think the Commander likes the sky but IIRC those were two shoes where you're supposed to decide between them based on your stride?. Mark I'm a broken record now but the Endorphin Pros are fast but beat up my calves. The Endorphin Speeds right now are the one shoe to rule them all (i.e. if I had to pick one shoe to wear for the rest of my life it'd be the Speeds you can race, workout, run long or just jog in them and they feel great in all cases).

           

          Darkwave - Kudos on the Sunday run. I think that's the first time I remember seeing you actively seek out a trail run type experience and I'm glad you're healthy enough to handle it well. I've also noticed recently that you really like descending ladder workouts on the track with long recoveries. Is there any particular reason for that? I'm more curious about the recovery time than the format.

           

          James I wish you luck but my initial reaction to your taper was this:

           

          Fred Nice race and congrats on the course PR! You really seem to know your fitness and pace pretty darn well. I'd bet on your son at 5 miles however. Do your legs feel like they've bounced back from your half finally?

           

          CC Nice week. How did Sunday feel with 5hours of running over 3 days at the end of it?

           

          Flavio great tempo. You haven't lost any speed

           

          Piwi solid week. Are you feeling healthy finally?

           

          Mark How is that man running so fast? Impressive week.

           

          Steve Very good week even if the effort was a touch high. I'm glad you finally have that house off your todo list, that should help your overall stress levels a lot.

           

          Hash  Good week and nice job on the sub 19. I like the chocolate habit, that sounds fun.

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

          flavio80


          Intl. correspondent

            So now I can wear cheater shoes as well!!!!! 😎

            https://www.runningwarehouse.eu/Altra_Vanish_Carbon/descpage-AMVCCOB-EN.html

            Altra Vanish Carbon

             

            Altra Vanish Carbon

            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

            zebano


              Date Name mi km Duration Avg/mi Avg/km Elevation Gain
              in ft
              04/18 40' E, strides 4.86 7.82 00:43:34 08:58 05:34 230
              04/19 Last workout before GBM 8.01 12.88 01:01:47 07:43 04:48 230
              04/19 Do you even lift Dad? 0.00 0.00 00:20:00 00:00 00:00 0
              04/19 Recovery effort spin (bike) 0.00 0.00 00:22:02 00:00 00:00 0
              04/20 Back at it (swim) 0.61 0.98 00:22:11 36:22 22:38 0
              04/20 Rec run, 4 strides 4.18 6.72 00:40:44 09:45 06:04 154
              04/21 Thorsgret 6.83 10.99 01:01:26 09:00 05:35 118
              04/21 Grant wood trail 10.53 16.94 00:47:17 04:29 02:47 190
              04/22 Grant Wood Trail in the 🌧 (bike) 11.29 18.17 01:34:44 08:23 05:13 676
              04/24 Opting down to an easy run 4.43 7.13 00:40:20 09:06 05:39 187

               

              39 miles running

              1h 10m bike

              22m swim

               

               

              My week was ... fine. Tuesday's workout went well even though we were lamenting having to do it by GPS on not quite flat roads. Mi in 6:32, 600ish in 2:08, 3x300 ish in 62, 60, 59. Followed by a longish run on Friday, Camping for 2 nights with a ton of hiking and being on my feet Saturday and a really short shakeout when I got home Sunday. Grand Blue Mile is Tuesday and while I'm not sure I can PR, I'm also not sure that I can't. I'm excited and hoping that the competition takes me to a new level.

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

              flavio80


              Intl. correspondent

                Zeb - A mile race sounds awesome! You're super strong so should be able to handle well those last 300m.

                 

                Upon thinking a bit more, these Altra Vanish Carbon are based on the Vanishr, they might be too narrow and too low for my feet 🤔

                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

                ccoakley


                  Hashiritai, very nice week.  Always good to support local food artisans.

                   

                  Mark, thanks.  Enjoy your taper!

                   

                  Flavio, yeah us slower runners tend to have more time running if we want decent mileage.  Looking back at my logs I’ve had a lot of 10 hr weeks which is why I think it’s doable.  Awesome that you’re going to go for it!

                   

                  Zebano, I still felt really good at the end of yesterday’s run.  Both Sat and Sun I was tempted to go longer but cut myself off at the 90 min mark.  Nice week working around the camping trip.  A race on a Tuesday?  Good luck!

                   

                  My plan is not off to a great start.  I’ve been running through a weird calf irritation and it’s not getting better (but also not getting worse) so taking today off.  I’ve never had anything like this before but the calf feels like it’s partly cramped all the time.  It usually goes away after the 1st mile when running or at least subsides to where I barely notice it.  This morning was absolutely gorgeous and it killed me not being out there!

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

                   

                   

                  darkwave


                  Mother of Cats

                    shoes/Darkwave:  Always happy to hear about supershoes, Have you tried the Metaspeed Sky at all? how do they relate to the Edges? I think the Commander likes the sky but IIRC those were two shoes where you're supposed to decide between them based on your stride?. Mark I'm a broken record now but the Endorphin Pros are fast but beat up my calves. The Endorphin Speeds right now are the one shoe to rule them all (i.e. if I had to pick one shoe to wear for the rest of my life it'd be the Speeds you can race, workout, run long or just jog in them and they feel great in all cases).

                     

                    I think the Edge is for "runners who increase their cadence" and the Sky is for "runners who increase their stride length."  But the thing is - all runners increase both.

                     

                    The Sky seems to be very Vaporfly-ish - high stack height, rocker sole, low heel-toe drop.  The Edge is much lower with no rocker sole and a higher heel.  I haven't tried the Sky just because I can't run in the VF right now - it's just too unstable for me.  So why try the Sky?  The Edge is a lot more stable, so I don't have that same issue.  It just is awkward if you aren't running pretty fast (significantly faster than tempo pace).

                     

                     

                     

                    Darkwave - Kudos on the Sunday run. I think that's the first time I remember seeing you actively seek out a trail run type experience and I'm glad you're healthy enough to handle it well. I've also noticed recently that you really like descending ladder workouts on the track with long recoveries. Is there any particular reason for that? I'm more curious about the recovery time than the format

                    To be clear - it wasn't a "trail "per se.   This is a paved multi-use trail.  It's just in lousy shape.  And most normal runners wouldn't have any trouble with it.

                     

                    As for the workouts and recoveries - I train with a team on Tuesdays and just do whatever workout is announced - so not my choice.  As for the long recoveries - that's a sore subject.  I personally believe in keeping recoveries to about 60-80% of the interval duration during a track interval (VO2Max) workout.  But we're supposed to be running in groups, and sometimes some of the people in the group really slack off on the recovery (stop their watches, stretch, drink water, etc), and the coach makes us wait to start the next interval until they catch up.    I try to work around this by hopping onto the back of a faster group, so that when that group slacks off on the recoveries my recoveries are still of the correct duration.

                     

                    The track on Tuesday is also pretty crowded, and sometimes the recovery gets extended simply because you have to wait until there's a gap in the traffic on lane 1 before starting the next rep.

                    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.

                    CommanderKeen


                    Cobra Commander Keen

                      So much to keep up with! Work has been pretty crazy (big conference next week) so I've missed a fair bit, but I'm trying to catch up. Sorry for anything I don't address directly!


                      Mark - Congrats on the big week! I agree with Flavio's assessment regarding your odds against a wall.
                      I'm also a fan of super-dark chocolate.


                      Steve - Great to hear that the whole ordeal around the house sale is over and closed so beneficially.


                      Zebano - Good memory regarding me and the MS Skys. Supposedly those are better for people who increase stride length more so than cadence (though everyone does increase both) when they increase speed vs the other way around for the Edges.
                      Good assessment regarding the Endorphin Speeds.


                      Flavio - On one hand I'm quite curious about the new Vanish (have worn the Vanish R up to the 5k) but I haven't heard great things about their durability.


                      82 miles two weeks ago, last week below. After a double later today I'll be perfectly on pace for my mileage goal for the year. I do plan on running when I go to this work conference (Phoenix), so hopefully I won't fall behind there even if I don't get in a workout.

                      Did a fun little town-to-town race this weekend. The coolest part of it was seeing an 85 y/o man who has run all such instances of this race (I don't know how many) finish. He started at least 75 minutes before the actual race did and I passed him right about halfway, then he rolled into the finish after what was at least 3.5 hours. Definitely impressive to me.

                      I'm not at all sad to have missed the OKC Memorial races this past weekend, even though it ended up having far better-than-typical weather. A couple records fell (1:08:35 men's HM winner & 2:41:06 for the women's full) and Joan Benoit Samuelson ran a 1:33 half there, too.

                       

                      Weekly for period: From: 04/18/2022 To 04/24/2022

                      Date Name mi km Duration Avg/mi Avg/km Elevation Gain
                      in ft
                      04/18 1 coyote 12.05 19.39 01:41:27 08:25 05:14 545
                      04/18 Runch 4.11 6.61 00:34:09 08:19 05:10 200
                      04/19 7 herons, 5 geese, & some lightning off to the west 8.10 13.04 01:12:37 08:58 05:34 449
                      04/20 3x (4' 15k effort, 6' M effort) + 4x 45" Hard 13.15 21.16 01:40:10 07:37 04:44 741
                      04/20 Heat doping 5.05 8.13 00:41:44 08:16 05:08 233
                      04/21 Leaving when I should arrive 8.00 12.88 01:09:30 08:41 05:24 371
                      04/22 1 owl & a couple mystery lights 10.00 16.10 01:24:10 08:25 05:14 787
                      04/23 Tour du Strong City 3.30 5.32 00:25:21 07:41 04:46 230
                      04/23 Old Settlers 9(ish) mile foot race 9.09 14.63 01:01:47 06:48 04:13 384
                      04/23 I can still make Cheyenne. 2.75 4.43 00:24:07 08:46 05:27 157
                      04/24 Congrats to everyone who rolled an ultra rare north wind + cold front for the Memorial 4.05 6.52 00:34:51 08:36 05:21 243

                      Total distance: 79.67mi

                      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:

                       

                       

                      flavio80


                      Intl. correspondent

                        Caitlin - Uh, careful there! Do you have a foam roller to help calm it down a bit?

                        Foam rolling the piriformis with a massage ball or tennis ball also helps.

                        Source:  A lifetime of calves that are always too tight.

                         

                        DW - I’m fully on the “Increase their cadence” club. It seems to me my brain is not capable of increasing the stride, I’ve tried longer strides before while running 200s and I ended up running 3 or 4 seconds slower.

                         

                        Keen - Yeah, these carbon plate shoes don’t last, I think it’s standard for them to last only 150 miles.

                        The one thing that drew my interest (And might interest Darkwave) is that it’s more stable than the VaporFlies, with one runner commenting that on the Chicago Marathon all the vapor fly runners were unstable on the turns and lost 2 or 3 seconds every time navigating them while he could just keep the pace. I wonder if the wider base has to do with that.

                        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

                        Marky_Mark_17


                          Flavio - Hooray!! I think it's primarily the stack height on the VF's that causes the awkwardness on turns.  The Altra looks to be slightly lower from what I can see.  Anyways I've had quite varied experiences with lives of carbon shoes.  The NB Fuelcell TC was still going well at around 400km - admittedly it is more designed for training though.  I tend to get a reasonable race life out of VF's up to around 120km but they're still good to train in up to around 300km (at that point it's normally my quads that tell me to retire the things).  The Endorphin Pro's still feel good and I've got them up to 170km now (and I can totally see how Zebano would get beat up calves from them, they are on the firm side).  I'd imagine the Speed's will go for longer just because they're designed as a trainer.

                           

                          Zebano - have fun at the mile!! Good luck!!

                          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

                            Flavio - The Endorphin Pros work well for me, my first run in them was a bit unstable on the sharp turns but miles better than the vaporflies which I could barely walk in.  Welcome to the cheater club.

                             

                            Thankfully during the house sale I had no input from either sibling, even when I asked for help for a pretty big job.  In the end it was probably easier to do it myself.

                             

                            Keen - Great week.  I'm with Mark, your runs don't seem to consistently appear for me on Strava.

                             

                            Caitlin - I'm with Flavio, get some rolling going.  I bought "The Stick" which was a recommendation from JMac and previously I had consistent calf issues, but since using the stick I've had none - I have made other changes/improvements too but I'm sure the consistent rolling is a factor too.

                             

                            If I have a major blow up at Southern Lakes it probably won't impact Wellington - I find if I crash and burn in a race my legs recover quicker because I'm less capable of smashing them towards the end of the race.  Mentally though, it could take a toll.  If I'm sensible and keep a consistent solid, but not PR, pace I think that will boost my post-Covid confidence.  Wellington is really supposed to be part of marathon training and the potential for horrific weather makes it a bonus race.  I'm mainly doing it because I have an entry rolled over from my cancelled marathon last year (downgraded to the half).

                             

                            zebano - Nice week.  Good luck for the mile!  I used to love that distance (and 1500 metres) at school.

                             

                            Hash - Nice week.  That's a beautiful part of the world to run, albeit very exposed to the harsh weather.

                            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


                              If I have a major blow up at Southern Lakes it probably won't impact Wellington - I find if I crash and burn in a race my legs recover quicker because I'm less capable of smashing them towards the end of the race.  Mentally though, it could take a toll.  If I'm sensible and keep a consistent solid, but not PR, pace I think that will boost my post-Covid confidence.  Wellington is really supposed to be part of marathon training and the potential for horrific weather makes it a bonus race.  I'm mainly doing it because I have an entry rolled over from my cancelled marathon last year (downgraded to the half).

                               

                               

                              Really weird how that happens huh?  I've had races that were slow, horrible struggles and I seemed to recover (physically, at least) much quicker than the races where I really smashed it.

                               

                              Keen - sorry, missed your weekly on that last post.  Those old athletes are absolute legends in my book.  I hope I am still chasing after it at that age.  There is a local guy, Garth Barfoot, who would be a similar age.  He has an artificial hip after being hit by a car on his bike a few years back but he still runs a bunch of races up to and including marathons.  Pretty inspirational.

                              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"

                              flavio80


                              Intl. correspondent

                                Maybe Strava has a Spam checker now, I mean Keen runs 20 runs per week 😂

                                Keen - Great week.  I'm with Mark, your runs don't seem to consistently appear for me on Strava.

                                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