Forums >Racing>The Waltons aka Advanced Half Marathon Training Thread - 2022 edition
Waltons ThreadLord
Went out PB or bust and… bust. 3 mins slower than last year despite training better so something was definitely off. Daughter woke up with a very sniffly nose and I’ve felt a bit off the last few days so maybe I’m battling something.
So much has to go right to get a PB, so feeling a little off could have been enough. Sorry it didn't go as you hoped.
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: Clinton Country Run 15k, 4/27; Running is Back 10k, 5/12
Mark - nice race. Some days, the race doesn't go as well as hoped.
Steve - nice race too.
Mark - nice 5km.
My week is done. I had an easy start to the week as recovering from the week before.
Mona intervals went very nicely on Thursday. Friday was fine.
This morning was a long hilly run. Which ended up being a very short run as my right calf starting going tight and sore. My calf's were a little tight to start with but I thought they'd be fine. I've just started doing some extra drills to improve running form, which I think has changed my gait a little causing pressure points to change to a different part of my calf, which is not used to it. So hopefully it's just a few days rest.
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
Also, big congratulations to Steve on an excellent 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: Waterfront HM, 7 Apr, 1:15:48
Up next: Runway5, 4 May
"CONSISTENCY IS KING"
Right, so this is more of a race eulogy than a race report.
I felt a bit off when I woke up... like normally on race day (even for a non-goal race) I basically jump out of bed and today I actually just wanted to go back to bed. Not great for the headspace when the kid wakes up very sniffly too (maybe I got a dose of what Keen has had to deal with from time to time?). But you know, there's been the odd day I haven't felt good till the race actually started, so you never know.
I still went out thinking 'PB or bust' because the training has gone very well the last little while and everything was pointing to be able to run this faster than last year. The first couple km were fine. By km 4, I felt like it was going to be a tough day and the splits slowly but surely dropped off from there. HR wasn't overly high but I just couldn't keep the legs turning over quickly enough. I considered quitting a number of times, which I've only really contemplated in marathons before. I almost blew up around km 18 but managed to pull it together. The last 5km were actually slower than I was at Omaha 6 weeks ago which seems very weird considering that's a much tougher course (and it was warmer).
Weirdly, when I finished I was very cold, which is bizarre given the temps being relatively warm here for this time of year (10C / 50F at the finish).
It's frustrating and disappointing because training had gone really well, and I was feeling strong particularly after that recent performance on a tougher course in much warmer conditions. I've been lucky enough to have had a lot more good days than bad days in recent times, but I have had some bad days and the last time I felt this off in a race was when I attempted a HM in 2017 having not quite fully recovered from a cold. It sucks, particularly given how much I love this event, but I'm gonna put it down to something just not being right. Probably due for a quiet couple of weeks just to let the body reset now.
Anyway there was a positive, which was that Steve had a great race and I was able to have a good catch-up with him and his partner after the race, so at least that was something!
Hot Weather Complainer
Mark, you’ll have many great races in the future so feel the disappointment for a day or so then move on to the next one. I had to tell my partner off for trying to make you feel better - that’s not how it works!
1:27:32 is on my watch which is amazing given I didn’t have the good build up Mark had, with Covid a month ago and only feeling positive about this race 2 weeks ago. The last 1.5km were very downhill but up until then I was feeling like it had been overhyped given so many rollers until that point.
Fergburger and bourbon is my current plan. Feeling great!
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
Mark and Steve well done guys. Sorry I've been in Auckland all day seeing my daughter off to Australia
so haven't had time to check the forum but saw the strava stuff.
Mark that sounds horrible. A good half as you know feels pretty good for the fist 3/4 before the last grind.
Still a very fast time.
Steve your race however is more on a par with Mark's from last year. That's a great time even more so after your recent covid. That must have been fun.
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 "
Intl. correspondent
Mark - it sounds like you got the Keen's special ® thankfully it wasn't a marathon!
No probs, you will surely come back stronger and probably run that PR on the flat and you will find it sweeter than ever before.
Steve - Told ya you could rebound quickly. Finally the stars aligned and you had a great race!
me - I've found out there will be the Portuguese national master athletic champs in mid June.
From past results, this is a very strong field. There should hopefully be some people around my PR time (4:51) to help me push forward.
It leaves me with about 35 days to train considering the first week will be recovery from the half and the last week will be taper. It should be doable, speed gains come quick, and 1500m training is not as impacted by warm weather like the aerobic races from 3K and up.
PRs: 1500 4:54.1 2019 - 5K 17:53 2023 - 10K 37:55 2023 - HM 1:21:59 2021
Up next: some 800m race (or time trials) / Also place in the top 20% in a trail race
Tool to generate Strava weekly
The weather is looking horrendous for tomorrow.
21c at the start and close to 26c by the end.
In Fahrenheits that's the temperature your local sauna operates.
Damn you for turning me into obsessing about the weather 😂
I'll pretend I didn't see the weather forecast.
Steve - Congratulations on a great race!
Flavio - My sympathies on your weather for tomorrow. Those are potentially dangerous conditions. Stay safe.
I'm looking at 45º feels like 38º for tomorrow (7/3C). The temperature is in a good range, but the 15-20mph (20-32kph) wind will be a bummer. Just hoping I don't have to work too hard to drag myself out of bed tomorrow after being up later than usual tonight. I'm sure it will be fine.
JamesD
Steve - Congratulations! That’s great, especially given your troubles over the last couple of years. Maybe the covid helped prevent you from overtraining and left your legs fresher, or maybe it contributed to low expectations so you didn’t feel any pressure?
Mark - Your being very cold at the end when it was 10/50 sure seems like a sign of illness (unless it was really windy, but even so..). You’ll do better next time.
Flavio - Yeah, that looks warm for a half even for me. Perfect for a 5K or an easy run, though. Stay safe.
I may not be fully recovered from Sunday’s 5K despite not really going to the well, as my hamstrings and knee were sore later in the week. Lungs are fine, and my easy pace was faster than usual on Tuesday & Thursday afternoons, possibly as a result of the 5K or possibly because of the warm temperatures.
Sun - ~5.2 miles including 5K race in Omaha 20:04
Mon - off driving home
Tues - 5.2 miles in park @~8:16, 87/31 degrees, TDP 148
Weds - 5.2 miles very slow TM (60 minutes) + 0:40 walk breaks/6 mins
Thurs - 6.7 miles in park @ 8:16, 90/32 degrees, TDP 154, no strides b/c hamstrings sore
Fri - off, didn’t swim b/c L knee sore
Sat - 7.8 in park @ 8:24, stopped early b/c knee & hamstrings sore
Total - 30.1 miles, YTD Average: 37.6 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
Hash - congrats on a strong XC race. yeah, covid will set you back. How do you have a faster road 5k than track 5k?
Zebano - Oops, um, I don’t think I do! I may have inadvertently misrepresented myself somewhere! I’ve re-written my profile signature just in case. Funny thing is, I do have a faster road 10km than track 10km. That was achieved on a 2.5km loop which was 1.25km uphill, then 1.25km downhill x 4. I do prefer the hills to the flat, so maybe that had something to do with it?
Darkwave - Awesome work on the 10miler. Inspirational stuff! Really enjoyed your race report, too.
Caitlin – I love my Saturday morning routine of track workout then coffee (then playground for my 4-yr old, who for a year now has insisted on coming down to watch me at the track. I used to warm up by jogging there, but now we take the car. Because as well as her, we also take the picnic blanket, and an actual picnic, and books, and toys, and a scooter, and a scooter helmet, and a blanket in case it’s cold…you get the picture!). I’ll only skip Sat morn track if I have a big race later on that day. Even then I’ll still go down and just jog a few laps with the crew.
Mark – Classic NRR story! Thanks for sharing. Chch to Akaroa is a pretty hard-case relay, eh? The only time I've ever felt my back sore after a run was at the end of one of those legs - I had gunned it downhill for all I was worth. I don't think there's an easy leg on that course!
Watson - Yeah, I'm going up for the Uni relays. Wasn't going to, but I got roped into being in charge of the bib hand out, so now I have to go! It's a long way, but at least it'll be a shorter trip with Transmission Gully being open.
JamesD – Thanks for the race report. Did the Oracle of Omaha race???
Steve - Bourbon sounds a great way to celebrate a new PB. Congrats
My Week:
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
No, though the race logo & T-shirts featured a cartoon Buffett running, (For someone who seems so unassuming in many ways, he certainly allows a cult of personality around the meetings, with his likeness plastered everywhere.) He's 91 now and seemed pretty shaky at the start of his 5-hour Q&A session the day before. He got stronger as the session went on, though, and his ability to recall information & make connections on the fly -- e.g., discussing the economics of the auto insurance industry and the varying strategies, strengths, & weaknesses of his company's competitors -- was impressive.
Matosinhos Half Marathon race report
1:29:52 good for 63rd overall and 10th on the age group M40-44
Matosinhos is a neighbouring city to Porto. Despite Porto's name meaning port, the actual port is in Matosinhos.
Fun fact: The county of Portugal started back in the 9th century. The name comes from the cities of Porto and Cale.
Cale was renamed to Gaia, it's the city across the Douro river from Porto.
Over time Portocale became Portugal and it became a country and then a very powerful Kingdom.
They have very strong bonds with the UK and Portugal is a country with a lot of people who speak excellent English, making it very popular with tourists over the past 4 or 5 years.
The weather forecast for today was not great with temps around 21c feels like 26c 70f feels like 78f 🔥🥵, but I thought ehh, whatever, let's see how I really feel during the race. Sometimes there's cloud shade or tree shade that can help. (Spoiler: There wasn't)
The course was not super easy, but not brutal either. Roughly 70m elevation gain with some climbs here (a bridge) and there and quite a few false flats.
There was no shade and the race starting so late (9am) ensured it would be miserable conditions, especially towards the end.
Training for this race was far from ideal with me only being able to average around 25 miles/ 40km per week over the last 2 months. But I managed to get some good workouts in including some HMP blocks up to 8km. My longest long run was only 19km though, roughly 12 miles.
We got over there early, with plenty of time for a last toilet pit stop. I couldn't help but notice that the port a potty was built in Minnesota in the US.
I should also mention that the Superman costume has a front zipper for #1, but for #2 I have to take off the top, not as practical as I have to unzip this back zipper and it's hard to reach.
Question to the group: Why is it that we have to poop like 3 times every race day. Why can't the bowels be more efficient and push it all out in one turn 😂💩
Anyway, the race starts exactly on time! The first few KM fly by and I'm feeling pretty good at this pace. I knew I should still be feeling great when I reached 10km and that was the case, crossing a little before 42:30. Soon after there was a sharp climb up a hill to make a turn and take the bridge. Then the bridge was in a "n" shape, with the middle being higher as it must be open at times for the ships to pass. This was a nasty climb and I got a 4:20. No probs as I knew we were coming back the other way and going back down, so I could gain in the next Km.
Up until now I had been running with a small group and they had been very consistent with pacing, but they started slowing down so I had to leave them and run solo.
It was at about the 14th km with ⅔ done that I started to feel it. I noticed that my breathing was becoming harder but hoped to just keep ticking the kms under 4:15.
Km 15 had a climb, not really nice, but then a long flat until it made a 180 turn.
After the turn I realized that flat was a false flat and we were really on a slight uphill.
This dude passed me, said something about his team mates and then sort of stayed just ahead, being my pacer. I thought great, that's precisely what I need right now.
This part was nasty. The sun was already frying our brains and the false flat slight climb lasted until almost 20k.
Halfway up the pacer blew up badly, so I had to power on on my on
Just behind me a certain John was powering through and wanted to pass me.
I could hear a bunch of dudes cheering their mate John.. And there were quite a few people cheering from him, I could hear more and more cheers every 50m or so.
So with about 200m to go he was maybe 2 seconds behind. Then we soon hit a sharp turn right and back towards the finish line, but by then I started the boosters and he couldn't catch me anymore.
Overall I'm quite happy with the result. I'm happy to have raced a half marathon after all the troubles during December and January.
It seems to me that the recovery from the marathon and Covid are finally complete.
Also, a sub 90 minute half in this kind of weather means I'm around 1h27 shape right now on a good weather day, still a long way to try to PR again, but already much further than where I was 3 months ago.
Racing in costume is super fun as tons of people will shout out "Superman" during the race and that sort of gives me some encouragement as I have to remember to smile and shout something back.
Up next I intend to race a 1500m race in mid June. It's by FAR my favourite distance and it matches well with my current low mileage and with the warm weather ahead.
8:19 in this video, hint I'm the dude in the superman costume 😂
https://youtu.be/koRsIlKHjiM?t=499
Details will come later, but I'm happy to say my 1:57:20 on a tough course in windy conditions was good enough for 3rd among males 50-59; my first HM AG podium.
Looks like it was an exciting finish for the spectators. 1st place was 1:07:24.74 and 2nd was 1:07:38.15.