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

    Fred nice job on the podium finish.

     

    Flavio that's incredible you run sub 1.30 on a hot day off low mileage....and dressed in lycra 

    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 "      

     

    JamesD


    JamesD

      Congrats to both Flavio & Fred.

       

      Flavio, I see what you mean about the lack of shade.  There were some fast women in that race, including a few who looked like they might have broken 1:20.  Why was the woman with the loudspeaker shouting what I understood as congratulations to runners at what looked to be around the 8km mark?  Is "parabens" just a way to encourage them to keep going rather than congratulations for what they've done?

       

      As for your question, a shot of concentrated beet juice 2 hours before the race & some foam rolling an hour before will usually produce the desired result for me right after the rolling.

      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


        Fred - great job on the AG performance!

         

        Flavio - awesome work in those conditions.  Onwards and upwards now that you have the post-marathon funk behind you!

         

        Hashiritai - yeah Takahe to Akaroa is such a tactical course.  I did it in 2018, got the last leg.  1st hill I thought I was OK, 2nd hill I thought, this is getting tough, last hill I almost died.  The only thing that kept me going was that I'd passed our sworn rivals (Bays) on that first hill, who we hadn't beaten at relays in years and I was damned if I was going to be the one that got run down!  I'm guessing you got leg 7 which is the quad-killing downhill?

         

        James - I daresay Buffett is getting a reasonable cut off that merchandise and hence why he's pretty relaxed about it!

         

        Watson - hope that calf is nothing serious.

         

        Me - that's the weekly.

        Weekly for period: From: 02/05/2022 To 08/05/2022

        Date Name mi km Duration Avg/mi Avg/km Elevation Gain
        in m
        02/05 That run where I wanna say it’s race week but I don’t wanna jinx it 6.39 10.28 00:41:20 06:28 04:01 61
        03/05 That run with a few strides and not much else 5.05 8.13 00:34:18 06:48 04:13 63
        04/05 That run where “steady pace” just went up a notch 4.59 7.39 00:28:16 06:09 03:49 51
        06/05 That run where it’s sunrise in the best place in the world 3.75 6.03 00:25:40 06:51 04:15 25
        07/05 That run with a lot of rabbit poo in the warm up 0.71 1.14 00:05:30 07:45 04:49 7
        07/05 Southern Lakes HM 2022 13.07 21.03 01:12:43 05:34 03:27 26

        Total distance: 53.99km

         

        Turns out it was definitely some sort of bug that scuttled the race for me as the whole family ended up with various symptoms by Sunday morning.  I didn't get as much sinus congestion my wife and daughter got, but it explains why I felt off from around Thurs morning and unusually lethargic by my standards.  No-one's tested positive for Covid yet so maybe just some sort of cold or virus, either way it pretty much ended my post-race sulking.  It's still frustrating as I felt like I was primed for a very good race, but at least there's a very likely explanation why it went badly - and it's largely just down to bad luck.  Still not quite right today, but seems to be improving at least.  It's all kind of ironic given the chatter on here last week about me not getting sick often (at least not sick in the sense it stopped me training...).

         

        Anyways that's kind of the end of a 4-5 month block now... will take a quiet week or two then back to training for national 10k champs in early Sept plus national HM champs in mid-Oct.  Few thoughts on training and races over the last little while...

        • Training went really well, and I think I've found the sweet spot for me, so not gonna change anything there.
        • Sh!t can happen.  Not much you can do about getting sick a day or two before a race.  It sucks but it's just bad luck.  It's happened to me before although not for quite a while.  Goes in the same category as terrible race-day weather... you just have to cop it and move on.
        • Late last year I had patches again of wondering how much longer I was up for the weekly grind of 80-90km+ weeks, but the last few months have me excited to challenge myself.  And excited for new and different running experiences too.
        • The satisfaction I got from that Omaha HM sprint finish win was every bit as good as a PB (even though it was a relatively slow time given the course).  There's something very deeply satisfying about training for a race and then executing it really well - particularly in a totally new race situation I hadn't dealt with.  That's kind of exciting because while you can't chase PB's indefinitely, you can always find new races and situations to try and master (and I do still have some PBs to take down).
        • This has me really looking forward to some of the races coming up, particularly the National Champs events where there will be a deep field and the opportunity to really test myself in different situations.  Got a plan through until November or so - it's nice to be able to actually plan for races with some confidence they'll go ahead again! - and will revisit then. 
        • Wife has already green-lit another Southern Lakes trip next year so that's a win too!

        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"

        watsonc123


          Hashi - I'm probably running it too. Assuming my calf is OK, and I get a slot in a team. I'm in Upper Hutt, so Tranmissions Gully will save me a lot of time to Kapiti.

          Re Buffet - he is very disciplined re his image and his stories.

          Flavio - nice race. I missed it, why the superman costume?

          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

          flavio80


          Intl. correspondent

            Fred - nice job, I'm glad you enjoyed it

            Piwi - oh no does that make me a MAMIL 😂

            James - well spotted, the female winner ran 1h16, male ran 1h09. Super fast field and they didnt even invite the east Africans. The lady with the loudspeaker was probably congratulating people for participating in the race.

            Kudos for grasping that, IIRC you speak Spanish, right?

             

            Mark - sorry for jinxing it for you haha, anyway, if you manage to run this week it will be one more brick of evidence towards that theory that you're not human 😁

             

            Watson - why not run in a costume 😅 anyway, I figured it was never going to be a PR so the costume helps me have more fun out there as I interact with tons of people along the way and I must remember to smile and joke back at them.

            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

              Hey everyone the cruise was Great and it was good to get away from work.  A bit overwhelming coming back to it though.

              Looks like everyone is having good weeks

              Caitlyn I like running early and have been tying to get some in it is just hard to get out prior to work since my time the morning is limited I don't get the mileage I would in the evenings but if I have time I like to get it done

              Piwi cruise ship running was to be expected few opportunities and low miles.  The GPS run I thought would be interesting to see the trail but it just looks like a straight line to me with a bit of a wave. the other thing I noticed was my faster recorded pace was when I was running he opposite direction that we were going.

              James hey Twin nice job on the 5k

              Fred same to you

              Steve Mark Flavio Awesome job by each of you on your HM performances!

              My week was pretty good finished with a bit over 38 miles running I still haven't signed up for my planned HM this weekend.

              been really busy trying to get back in the swing of work training and planning our next trip. Hope to get that done tonight or tomorrow.

               

               

              Weekly for period: From: 05/02/2022 To 05/08/2022

              Date Name mi km Duration Avg/mi Avg/km Elevation Gain
              in ft
              05/02 Evening Walk with Becky and the pup 1.18 1.91 00:40:54 34:40 21:25 49
              05/03 That run that felt good 6.29 10.11 00:53:11 08:27 05:16 108
              05/04 Another good progression run! 5.26 8.46 00:43:37 08:18 05:09 72
              05/05 Morning Run 5.20 8.37 00:48:53 09:24 05:50 72
              05/07 6x800 with 1m recovery 13.12 21.11 01:49:18 08:20 05:11 505
              05/08 Morning Run 8.51 13.69 01:21:38 09:36 05:58 180

              Total distance: 39.56m

              PR's

              1m  5:38 (2018)

              5k    19:59 (2019)

              HM  1:33:56 (2018)

              FM  3:23:07 (2018)

              Fredford66


              Waltons ThreadLord

                Rubin Run Half Marathon - 5/8/22

                 

                After getting to bed later than usual the night before, I was up at 5:00 and out the door by 5:45.  The organizers had warned that the parking lot near the start/finish fills up quickly but I also like to get to half marathons about an hour before the start, just to take care of business and settle down.  Once I got off the highway and drove the last few miles along local roads, I hit some steep hills that were a warning of what was to come in the race.  I got there right around 6:30 and parking was not a problem (the half started at 7:30, but there was also a 10k starting at 8:30 and a 5k starting at 10:00).  There was a short line for bib pickup, but only one person manning the station and she was scrambling a bit; for example, she had no safety pins.  Organization at the site was not great, but on the other hand the course was well staffed with enthusiastic volunteers.  Every turn on the course had both signs and course marshals.  Rain was still falling when I got to the site, though it was light and would end before the start.  The weather was cloudy and 45º and there was a stiff breeze blowing.  It was the kind of day when the sweat ran freely down my face when running with the wind, but I was borderline too cold when running into the wind.

                 

                Miles 1 & 2: getting into the loop.  8:17, 9:24

                Between the hills and the wind, my splits would be all over the place for the entire time.  The race started only a few minutes late (thanks in part to someone directing runners to line up at a point past the start line, so we all had to go back, including the hand cyclists).  The first two miles would get us to the part of the course that we'd loop through twice.  To get enough distance, the half course did a small loop around a couple blocks first, which included a big drop and then a big climb.  The immediate start was downhill, then flat, then a downhill so steep that I had to work to control my speed, especially as the streets were still wet from the morning rain.  Then we hit "the hill."  160 feet of climbing including 100' (30.5m) at a 10% grade.  It was the first time I ever passed hand cyclists in a race as the entire field was spread out on that climb, resting, as I went by.  I knew beforehand that there would be a challenging hill early on, but it was worse in person.  I wondered how I'd feel when I arrived at the top.

                 

                Lap 1, miles 3-7. 8:30, 8:57, 9:00, 8:39, 8:52

                I made it to the top of the hill and was rewarded with a generally downhill run with the wind at my back for the next mile.  I spent a little time recovering from the climb and then picked up my pace.  At this point I was in a sort of empty area between the lead group and the main pack, and I'd spend most of the race there, with occasional runners breaking away from the main pack and eventually catching and passing me (though some I would later pass back).  This was a small race, relative to what I've been running, with a field of just over 100 (a NYRR race has 4-5 times as many runners in just a single corral).  The 4th mile turned partially into the wind and had a couple of rollers to cope with.  Mile 5 was generally into the wind with one noticeable hill and a long, gentle uphill slope.  Mile 6 was slightly downhill, with the wind behind me and then mile 7 was slightly uphill mostly into the wind.  In other words, the loop was a mix of hills and modest inclines & declines going with and against the wind, which I dealt with by focusing more on effort than pace.

                 

                Lap 2, miles 8-12.  8:49, 8:50, 9:28, 9:15, 9:07

                The laps weren't exactly 5 miles; the above mileage is offset by about ½ mile from the first trip through the loop. Before starting the second lap, we had a brief loop around a block and another steep hill climb.  Though nothing like the hill we faced the first time, even the short 7% slope was unwelcome at this point in the race.  Going through the loop the second time had the advantage of knowing what was to come, but I was also tiring, as shown by my generally slower splits.  One bright side was the 10k runners had started and were on the course (they were running 1 lap of the loop) and I was catching and passing the slower runners in the 10k field, which meant no more running in a vacuum and being able set short term targets (pass that person, pass those two runners, etc.).

                 

                To the finish. 9:03, 1:07 (8:38 pace)

                The first half of mile 12 finished the second lap.  I was asking myself what I had left for the final push when the course made a turn right into the teeth of a blast of wind.  Fortunately, it was just a strong gust and faded.  I could hear the music and announcements from the race site, which gave me some encouragement.  I got to the driveway and that nice downhill start 13 miles ago was now an uphill finish.  As I passed a 10k runner I told her "you've got this" and she responded "let's do it!" and we both picked up our pace up the hill.  I put on a final burst to pass two 10k runners (who briefly tried to keep up with me) and crossed the line in 1:57:20.

                 

                Normally, I like to hang out a bit after a race, but the 5k participants were starting to overrun the place.  The parking lot was now full and they'd been parking all over the surrounding streets and were swarming in from all directions.  Further, I knew the driveway would be closed for half an hour for the 5k start so that if I didn't leave soon, I'd be there for a while.  I grabbed some water, changed my clothes, and headed off for my parents' house to drop off some Mother's Day flowers.  It was only once I got to their house that I saw my time had earned me 3rd place in the males 50-59 age group, which is the first time I've been on an AG podium in a half marathon (the race was granting physical awards only to the top 3 overall males and females, so I didn't miss anything by leaving when I did).

                 

                Finishing this race allowed me to check another half marathon off my list.  I've now run 22 different halves in NJ and have 6 more to go to complete them all (though that number may change as other races come and go).

                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

                 

                JamesD


                JamesD

                   

                  James - ...Kudos for grasping that, IIRC you speak Spanish, right?

                   

                   

                  Spanish and rusty Portuguese too - we lived in Mozambique and Brazil (Brasilia) for 3 years each, though it's been a while.  I sometimes had trouble understanding continental Portuguese, though, and in Brasilia I had trouble understanding the taxi drivers, who were all from the northeast.

                  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

                  zebano


                    Some stellar racing, even if not what everyone wanted. Mark, even if the time wasn't there, it sounds like you left it all on the course and that's really all that any of us can do.

                     

                    Flavio - breaking 90 with ease, in a superman cap, on low miles. You're back.

                     

                    Fred - that sounds like a hilly and difficult course. Way to fight and congrats on the AG placement.

                     

                     

                     

                    I had a great first half of the week but lack of sleep caught up to me the second half of the week (There was a memorial for my Aunt on Thursday which I woke up at 3 am to get to and then I spent two evenings catching up and drinking with cousins that I haven't seen for years). I finished the week solidly with a good workout but lazy recoveries.

                     

                    M 15' bike, 30' swim, no run - very easy day.

                    T 10 mi w/ 5xKM + 600AUG + 55' Easy bike

                    20 min lift + 30 min swim + 40 min easy run

                    Th  50 min run that just felt effortless

                    F hour easy run + strides

                    S off

                    Sun 12 w/ 1T + 3x800 + 4x200 on long rests + 90 min easy bike

                     

                    39.8 miles 5h37m running, down a bit but I needed Saturday off as lack of sleep for 3 straight nights caught up to me.

                    2h 40m bike

                    55m swim

                     

                    Sunday I wasn't feeling ready to go but I went through my warmup and hit my normal tempo and stride paces so I figured I'm here, give it a shot and it went solidly. 6:41 for the mile, 3 min rest, 3x800 in 3:01, 3:01, 2:59 on 2 min rest, 4x200 in 39, 38, 38, 37.

                     

                    Tuesday coach had said try to average 3:44/km which seemed ambitious but I figured we'd try. When the first one came in at 3:47 I changed my plan to just keep the effort closer to 3k effort than 5k effort but I still faded 3:47, 48, 49, 51, 51 and the 600 in 2:08. Regardless of what coach told me to aim for, that was way faster than I've ever run a 5xKM.

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

                    ccoakley


                      Steve, congrats on such a huge PR!!! So, so happy for you that the racing and training gods finally aligned for you and even despite the covid setback everything worked out!  Really well-deserved.

                       

                      Watson, hope the calf is nothing

                       

                      James, sorry you’re still feeling the 5k, hope this week improves.

                       

                      Hashiritai, very cool that you found a great way to include your kids in your running and nice solid week.

                       

                      Flavio, congrats on an excellent HM in brutal conditions.  Very exciting that you think you’re fully recovered and ready to take it up a notch.  I’m excited to watch.

                       

                      Mark, I’m sorry it’s not the race you wanted, still a very impressive time and effort.  I’m glad you’ve found some peace in knowing you weren’t at 100%.  Sounds like you have a really good plan for the next few months.

                       

                      Cfarr, nice week.  I prefer getting my runs done earlier but it rarely works with my schedule.  I’m already dreading the return of summer when 5am is the only decent running window.

                       

                      Fred, congrats on the HM.  Have you started thinking about the next projects/goals when you finish all the NJ races?

                       

                      Zebano, sorry for your loss.  Looks like you still managed a very decent week.

                       

                      My recovery continues to go well.  Ended up with 34.9 mi last week and had a continuous 60 min jog yesterday.  I think I’m ready to cautiously resume normal training this week.  After intently going over the last 2 yrs of logs it seems that really hard short (<400m) efforts are my ‘Achilles heel’ (pun intended).  I will probably avoid those for a few months.

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

                       

                       

                      CommanderKeen


                      Cobra Commander Keen

                        Wow, I'm so far behind. I'm working my way through all the backlog - copious "good jobs" to everyone putting in the work.
                        Last week I temporarily relocated to Phoenix, AZ for a work conference and preparations for/recovery from said conference have taken a good while. Running in Phoenix was absolutely awesome simply due to the lack of humidity. I've never gotten a chill before in 65* weather (during a progressive LR, no less!) - evaporative cooling is on a whole 'nother level in the desert.

                        5k: 17:58 11/22 │ 10k: 37:55 9/21 │ HM: 1:23:22 4/22 │ M: 2:56:05 12/22

                         

                        Upcoming Races:

                         

                         

                        SteveChCh


                        Hot Weather Complainer

                          Thank you all - I'm still feeling the high from a great race.  I usually don't enjoy the light recovery after a race and itch to go again but it's amazing what a good race can do for your inner peace.  I'm happy to recover properly and then shift the focus to the primary goal of the year - the Melbourne marathon.

                           

                          Flavio and Fred - thanks for your race reports and congratulations on your great performances.

                           

                          Mark - great to catch up again.  Sorry it appears a minor bug threw you off by just enough to make it a very rough day.  Take solace in knowing that if you'd been on form and matched last year, which your training suggested you would, you'd have comfortably defended your title.

                           

                          My week was obviously dominated by the race.  My Wednesday mini-workout wasn't great and felt really sluggish.  On Thursday and Friday my right achilles was very sore completely out of nowhere, and the first 2km was an uncomfortable hobble.  I was pretty concerned it would mean not starting or pulling out during the race but I did some foam rolling of my calf on Friday, went for a 10 minute walk early on Saturday then a very slow warm up at the start, and had no issues during or after the race.  Maybe another case of taper madness.

                           

                          Weekly for period: From: 02/05/2022 To 08/05/2022

                          Date Name mi km Duration Avg/mi Avg/km Elevation Gain
                          in m
                          02/05 Warm up 0.34 0.54 00:03:16 09:36 06:03 0
                          02/05 Easy 10km 6.47 10.41 00:51:57 08:02 04:59 10
                          02/05 Strides 0.75 1.20 00:05:56 07:55 04:57 0
                          04/05 Warm up 0.33 0.54 00:03:07 09:27 05:46 0
                          04/05 10km incl. 6 x 500m @ HMP 6.25 10.05 00:47:04 07:32 04:41 10
                          05/05 Recovery 4.99 8.03 00:44:05 08:50 05:29 10
                          06/05 30 mins incl. warm up and some strides 3.75 6.04 00:30:16 08:04 05:01 6
                          07/05 Warm up 1 0.73 1.18 00:06:39 09:07 05:38 6
                          07/05 Warm up 2 0.17 0.27 00:01:28 08:38 05:26 0
                          07/05 Southern Lakes Half Marathon 13.06 21.01 01:27:32 06:42 04:10 28
                          08/05 Recovery is much easier after a PB 4.50 7.25 00:40:05 08:54 05:32 14

                          Total distance: 66.52km

                           

                          Southern Lakes Half Marathon - Race Report

                           

                          2022 started out with the focus on my first full marathon at the Christchurch marathon on April 10.  That plan soon ended in early February with the cancellation so I entered Southern Lakes with a view to finally knocking off my half PR after 6 years of trying.  My 10km at the end of February showed I hadn't lost my speed during marathon training so I was very confident.  This was obviously dashed when I got Covid 5 weeks out and was quite sick for the weekend, and struggled with any running for about 2.5 weeks.  2 weeks before the race I had a good long run workout, then 10 days out I had a very good 10km tempo so the PR was back on, although I definitely felt like the pressure was off.

                           

                          I got to Queenstown about 4pm Friday for the Saturday race.  Unfortunately, upon arrival I received messages from my lawyer about a potential technicality with my power of attorney which would likely lead to missing settlement this coming Friday, which would put me in a huge hole legally and financially.  This led to a lot of swearing and a less than ideal sleep on Friday night.  This was straightened out on Monday morning but largely ruined the weekend away - they should have tried to fix it before telling me.  On Saturday morning I decided to put it aside and make the race the focus of the day.  I was awake way before my alarm and had my usual muesli about 6am, and went out for a short walk.  Conditions in Queenstown were perfect, although slightly warmer than I'd like.  We drove over the hill to Cardrona from 7:30am, about a 45 minute drive on a winding road which had me feeling very car sick but I soon felt better on the longer straights as we got closer to the start at Cardrona.  It felt much colder at Cardrona - conditions were perfect.

                           

                          The start was in an area of farmland.  I managed to get in a warm up on the road before they stopped everyone doing that, then did a few strides on a gravel driveway.  The starting briefing was entertaining and very Kiwi - "We couldn't get permission to remove the chain on a chain link fence where you enter the park at the finish, but we've put a towel on it and my Mum is there to remind you to jump".  For the start we had to go down the paddock and through the fence where we were advised the road would be closed for 5 minutes, so to get into single file by the 1km mark.  And once we spread on the road to start, we'd have 3 seconds before the gun.

                           

                          The first 1km definitely had a false flat in our favour and everyone took off, 60-70 people in front of me.  After the first 2km or so, I wasn't passed again and picked off about 20 or so in the second half of the race.  Given there were only around 200 people in total, there was a very high percentage of fast runners.

                           

                          I hadn't had much chance to think about my strategy in the last 24 hours although I'd decided early in the week to try and sit in the 4:20s for 5km given I might not be able to hold 4:15s all the way given my fractured build up.  The first km flashed by in 4:14 which was a little faster than planned but was on a friendly gradient which obviously helped.  Incidentally, even though it's clearly a net downhill, on the drive back I was surprised by how many false flats there were, both positive and negative.  There were also a fair few rolling ups and downs before the last 2km which had a small speed bump, as Mark referred to it before the race, before a sharp downhill which definitely gained me a good 30 seconds.

                           

                          The second km went by in 4:14 and I was happy with the effort and my breathing which was much more relaxed than a lot of the people around me.  A lady pulled up next to me around 2km and said she sees me running around Prebbleton all the time, then she pulled ahead and was probably 800-1000m ahead at one stage.  I flew past her with about 3km to go.  The next few km were a bit crowded - it was a small race but we had to stick to the shoulder of the road given it was fully open with a 100km/h speed limit.  The traffic was really courteous and cautious though, including those who weren't there for the race.  This congestion kept me from lifting the pace too much with kms hovering around 4:14 through to 7km, when I picked it up a little as I wanted to get away from the small group and I was feeling really good.  I got to 10km in 42:15 which was bang on PR pace.  I felt comfortable enough to already start thinking this was a PR day.  I had to catch myself and remind myself to just keep concentrating on a consistent pace through to around 5km to go when I could decide whether to lift it.  Looking at the splits from 11-15km I actually did pick things up to average around 4:10 and I was still feeling good, but I could feel that I was working.  I started to worry what that would mean later in the race but again had to reign in my brain and remember I was down to 6km to go, was nowhere near redlining so just had to keep the focus.

                           

                          I went through 16km with a 4:13 and calculated that even if I could only manage 4:15s from here on in I would still get a PR.  The race was long straights for most of the way so I could see the upcoming grade.  I used this knowledge to attack on the slight downhills knowing when a climb was coming, when I would try not to go too hard, remembering that attacking the hills too much in Queenstown 2020 led to a real blow up.  I spent the 17th km thinking that I'm feeling good, and can cruise to a PR.  Then I thought back to my session with the coach earlier in the week when we decided this was the race to really have a crack, with Wellington being timed in the marathon cycle that we would use it as a marathon tempo.  And I also reminded myself that I wasn't suffering so why on earth would I cruise to my target instead of really cashing in on a good day.  Sometimes my brain just needs to shut up...I went through the 17 in 4:07 and now I know it's time to use it all up, and enjoy being able to push towards the finish.  I saw my partner and her Dad around here, who I hadn't expected to see until the finish at Pembroke Park, so that gave me a good boost.

                           

                          The 18th km was along a long straight which was a downhill false flat, and I could see a short but decent climb at the end of the straight so again I went hard to cash in and clocked 4:09.  Mark had told me at the start that the only real hill was just before Wanaka by the medical centre so I was looking around for a "Welcome to Wanaka" sign and a medical centre but couldn't see one, so I knew that little rise was still to come.  I actually started thinking that the downhill nature of the course had been overhyped at this point, clearly forgetting that the last stretch into Wanaka is a very nice downhill.  For the whole second half of the race I slowly caught and passed people - on the flat/downhill stretches I would only gain very slowly, but every time we hit a little uphill I would gain and/or pass people very quickly.  A good sign that I was holding my pace on the hills, and that they were relatively short.  The next split is another 4:09 and I know I've got plenty of time in the bank now so I just had to go for it.

                           

                          I enter the Wanaka township and can see the hill up ahead - they all looked worse from a distance than they felt when I was on them, but this one did have me gasping a bit.  Sure enough I see the medical centre, and before long can see that once I hit the top of this climb, it's downhill from here so I really push it.  The 20th km is the most downhill and I'm flying down that hill, my quads feeling fine.  This split comes up in 3:59 and I'm starting to think sub 1:28.  That was the last time I thought about overall time and for the last km I just went as hard as I could.  There was a right turn before the park, and I passed a couple more along this straight before we cross the road and jump the chain link fence - it was probably a foot off the ground max, but I'm glad I was going well at this stage because that little change in gait would have sucked if I was suffering.  Now it's just around the park on the path to the finish and I gun it as hard as I can - the 21st and last full km is 3:46 and I hear the announcer calling my name as I hit the finishing chute, and mentioning that I was looking at my watch so I guess I did see that split.  I cross the line and take a minute on my haunches before I look at my watch and see 1:27:32.  I knew around what the time would be but seeing those numbers had me quite shocked, and feeling really good.  I didn't feel wrecked and was soon able to easily chat with my partner who has been though many bad and cancelled races with me, so she was really happy too.

                           

                          Do I consider the dreaded question of whether this can be my PR...up until 19km I don't think it was an easy downhill run.  There were plenty of downhill patches to be sure, but it felt like it was balanced out, although Strava says there was a small overall drop.  The last 2km though, the downhill definitely gave me some free time and I think probably 60 seconds gain.  Given that I beat my PR my 2 minutes, that makes me feel comfortable calling this my PR, or at least, fastest ever race, as I called it on Strava.  I think I'm probably in sub 1:29 shape on a flat course.  So if it gave me a minute for free, I'm taking it.  As my partner said, no-one gave me back the seconds I lost into the headwind at Selwyn or on the hilly trails of Queenstown.

                           

                          My finishing chute photo shows that I wasn't in the pain cave (Mark can decide whether to share his or not, but it's probably one of the few of his where you almost feel the pain just looking at it...).

                           

                          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

                          Marky_Mark_17


                            Steve - ah yes that post-race high is pretty hard to beat!  You certainly earned it.  Again, a very well-paced race, particularly as you consistently picked off runners towards the end.  I've been around when you've had a couple of rough days (at least those two Waterfront efforts) and it's great to see you come away with an effort that you can be proud of especially given the amount of hard work you have put in and all that other stuff going on the past few weeks.  Was good to meet your partner too - anyone who will follow you around the country to support at races is a keeper for sure!

                             

                            I was considering doing Wellington but it's the same weekend my parents move house so that's no chance.

                             

                            Fred - sounds like a really good effort on a tough course, in tough conditions.  Those days aren't always the fastest but they can still be very rewarding when you execute well - certainly seems like you did!  Well done on the AG placing.

                             

                            Caitlin - sounds like good progress!!  That's good news.

                             

                            Zebano - nice week, sorry for your loss, but sounds like you have some fun cousins at least.

                            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, it sounds like a tough course.

                               

                              James - Oh, so you’ve been a jet setter too 😁

                               

                              Zeb - sorry for your loss. 

                               

                              Caitlin - Hooray for improvement, take it easy on the way back!

                               

                              Steve - I think covid might have helped you in that it removed quite a bit of the pressure and let you enjoy more race day.

                              Also regardless of how you call it it was a great effort by you and you should definitely be proud.

                               

                              me - I had trouble sleeping last night due to the DOMS from the race. Pain all over. Got some easy 3km today to see if it helps with recovery.

                              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


                                I missed a bunch of people. James and Corey notably. I'm still not sure which of you is which so take care of that hamstring  ease back into normal life post vacation and enjoy that sweet sweet Berkshire Hathaway stock.

                                 

                                James  what does the beet juice do for you? I saw some studies that backed up it's usage awhile back but the dosages required seemed really high and my stomach is weak on a good day.

                                 

                                Hash - good week. Some people do prefer rolling hills to true flats. I'm tend to as well as oddly enough downhills helps my hamstring. That was a big workout on Tuesday!

                                 

                                Fred - thanks for plugging the orchestra. That's a great hobby. I was appalled that my kids didn't know Carmina Burana or The Planets so I put it on and my youngest said "Why does it sound like an evil villain is about to destroy the world"? Anyways it feels like every other person I meet plays a double reed instrument lately. Do you have any suggestions of where I can find small group arrangements (duet, trio, quartet of trumpet, horn, trombone and percussion)? We've tried musescore which is ok... but seems to have a lot of issues with losing arrangements to copyright, many arrangements are just poorly done and the search kind of sucks. I suppose I can take the traditional approach and buy physical books at a music store but I was curious if you've had any success finding arrangements online.

                                 

                                 

                                Steve - the consistency finally paid off!! What a long time coming. I have nothing to say about the race itself because it sounds like you ran it nearly perfectly. Way to grind it out and get a well deserved PB.

                                 

                                Caitlin - glad you seem to be on the up and up.

                                 

                                Flavio  Is the pain DOMs proportional to your mileage? I remember how utterly destroyed I was after my first half and full but since then I have never been wrecked in a similar fashion. I'm wondering if your recent return left you more susceptible to multi-day paint. But really, Super man gets DOMs? That's not in any of the comics I've read

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