Half Marathon Trainers

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March (Read 60 times)

daneda


    Just got a nice 5.5 miles in through the snow!  It was nice, had the streets mostly to myself.  Figured I'd get the run in now in case the roads get bad...


    an amazing likeness

      After two failed attempts to recover in January, and spending Feb on the elliptical and walking, I have officially designated March as "Return to Running" month for me. So far....just trying to get to being able to comfortably jog just a short 4-5mi every day and...ouch!  Hard!  Good lord are my legs sore. I'm huffing and puffing like steam train because apparently the time on the elliptical and walking did not preserve much aerobic capacity.  And...the extra 6 -7 pounds doesn't help any.  It's just ugly overall.

       

      On the other hand, there are signs of hope sprouting through the snow and ice -- my pace is dropping for the same effort level and has improved about 1min/mi over the past week at easy effort. I've run 4 days in a row, and 6 of the last 7.

       

      I'll DNS another HM on 17 March (that's 3 so far in 2013), and haven't registered for anything else until June. Hoping to get back to a few 10mi runs in March, at the least.  Fingers crossed.

      Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.


      an amazing likeness

        RunningAHEAD has changed quite a bit in terms of timbre and content recently.  But the site is graced with a group of experienced runners who have an amazing ability to share deep knowledge simply and elegantly.  Many of them have blogs, but in general the social media world hasn't pulled their contributions out of RA.

         

        Here's a blurb posted this morning by one of those runners (MikeyMike), just as a quick response in the general forum. In 2 paragraphs he reduces the goals of training to their essence.

         

        1. You are always better off doing a workout that's too easy, than too hard. It's the totality of your training that matters, not any one workout. Any workout that causes you to skip or shorten subsequent workouts is counter productive.

         

        2. It's not how big a workout you can DO that matters, it's how big a workout you can RECOVER from. The workout is just to create a recovery period. Start thinking about your recovery from the workout WHILE you're doing the workout. Plan for it. You'd be amazed how often this simple rule forces me to skip the last interval or last hill of a workout with no regrets whatsoever. When you've gotten all the training stimulus you can get out of a workout, all you can do is bludgeon yourself needlessly.

         

        Wow.

        Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.

          That is the kind of advice I need to keep in mind- I have a bad habit of running too fast on my easy days.

          Glad to hear the situation is improving, MT!

          PBs since age 60:  5k- 24:36, 10k - 47:17. Half Marathon- 1:42:41.

                                              10 miles (unofficial) 1:16:44.

           

          daneda


            RunningAHEAD has changed quite a bit in terms of timbre and content recently.  But the site is graced with a group of experienced runners who have an amazing ability to share deep knowledge simply and elegantly.  Many of them have blogs, but in general the social media world hasn't pulled their contributions out of RA.

             

            Here's a blurb posted this morning by one of those runners (MikeyMike), just as a quick response in the general forum. In 2 paragraphs he reduces the goals of training to their essence.

             

            1. You are always better off doing a workout that's too easy, than too hard. It's the totality of your training that matters, not any one workout. Any workout that causes you to skip or shorten subsequent workouts is counter productive.

             

            2. It's not how big a workout you can DO that matters, it's how big a workout you can RECOVER from. The workout is just to create a recovery period. Start thinking about your recovery from the workout WHILE you're doing the workout. Plan for it. You'd be amazed how often this simple rule forces me to skip the last interval or last hill of a workout with no regrets whatsoever. When you've gotten all the training stimulus you can get out of a workout, all you can do is bludgeon yourself needlessly.

             

            Wow.

             

            I had just read this in the original thread and also thought what wonderful advice it was.  I don't post much throughout the boards, but I really enjoy just lurking and reading.  RA seems to have not only super friendly and knowledgeable people, but people who seem to be able to explain things quite well.  This whole site is such a wonderful resource.

            Zelanie


              Milk- Thanks for the informative post.  I can't wait to think of all the good recovery I'm going to be doing when I'm sleeping later! That's the kind of HM training that sounds good right now!  I hope that your return to running month is going well so far.

               

              Me- Another 13.1 today to finish my first 50-mile week!  Also probably my last one for quite a while.  My plan peaked at 50 miles and then will drop into the 40's starting next week.  I'm happy that I made the 50-mile mark because that was something I had hoped to do when I started the plan but was prepared to run fewer miles if I couldn't take the build.  So it's nice to be sort of "over the hump", so to speak.  I won't really feel the effects of the reduced mileage for a few days since I moved a lot of this week's miles to early in the week so I could have a couple of easy days before my race this coming Saturday.  It's not a goal race, but I still wanted to be able to do my best since it will give me a better idea of how to pace my HM.

              bpink76


                 

                1. You are always better off doing a workout that's too easy, than too hard. It's the totality of your training that matters, not any one workout. Any workout that causes you to skip or shorten subsequent workouts is counter productive.

                 

                2. It's not how big a workout you can DO that matters, it's how big a workout you can RECOVER from. The workout is just to create a recovery period. Start thinking about your recovery from the workout WHILE you're doing the workout. Plan for it. You'd be amazed how often this simple rule forces me to skip the last interval or last hill of a workout with no regrets whatsoever. When you've gotten all the training stimulus you can get out of a workout, all you can do is bludgeon yourself needlessly.

                 

                Wow.

                 

                That is great, thanks for posting!

                2013 Goals:

                5K: 25:00

                10K: 52:00

                Half: 2:00:00

                  Congrats on the big week, Zelanie, sounds like you will be well prepared for your race.

                   

                  Had a very poor run yesterday, felt weak and tired and legs felt as if they had nothing. Cut my long run short and went for lunch. Noticed after eating and a cup of coffee that my heart rate was higher than normal, around 90bpm just sitting there, although I felt relaxed. Perhaps this was all because I have not been sleeping well recently, combined with a bit warmer weather. Not really worried about it but I would hate to feel like that on a race day.

                  PBs since age 60:  5k- 24:36, 10k - 47:17. Half Marathon- 1:42:41.

                                                      10 miles (unofficial) 1:16:44.

                   

                  the kenyan


                    Just started a 'formal' training plan 2 weeks ago for my half on May 18th and am off to a pretty good start.  Averaging in the low 30s for mpw to begin with and then peaking at around 50.   Had a nice 10 mile + change long run on saturday with negative splits, so I'm feeling pretty good about where I'm at with the race still over 2 months away.

                     

                    Having recently started a comeback from a 6 year layoff after being a semi-decent runner in college, it's really hard to project where I'm going to be by May as I've had a sizeable improvement curve just since starting back up.  So as far as training and workout paces, I'm pretty much shooting from the hip and going by feel.  Most of my easy and long runs have been in the 9:30 range lately.  I've also done both a 20 and a 25 minute tempo run in the past 2 weeks at just over 8:00 pace and finished with a lot left in the tank.  Based on how things have been going, I've got a conservative goal of 2 hours and a more aggressive goal of 1:55.   I'm planning on running a 5k in 2 weeks to get a sense of where I'm at and help me to better plan workout paces and such.  I think I'm probably faster than I think I am over shorter distances like that, but I'm expecting a pretty big dropoff up to 13 miles since I don't have that solid endurance base yet.  I guess time will tell.

                    Docket_Rocket


                      Hi, guys.  I've been MIA mostly because I've been on vacation, traveling, and without much internet time.  Prior to that, work had been busy and never ending.

                       

                      Hope everybody is doing well and good luck to those racing this week!

                      Damaris

                       

                      As part of the 2024 London Marathon, I am fundraising for VICTA, a charity that helps blind and visually impaired children. My mentor while in law school, Jim K (a blind attorney), has been a huge inspiration and an example of courage and perseverance. Please consider donating.

                      Fundraising Page

                        Kenyan, it sounds as if you are making good progress, you may improve more quickly than you expect. Good luck in your race.

                         

                        My niece and her husband live in Nairobi, they are lodge managers for a safari company. I also lived in Africa until the age of twenty, but in Zimbabwe. What part of Kenya are you from?

                        PBs since age 60:  5k- 24:36, 10k - 47:17. Half Marathon- 1:42:41.

                                                            10 miles (unofficial) 1:16:44.

                         

                        the kenyan


                          Not really from kenya, just a poser.  It was my nickname up through high school and college and I figured it was time to start living up to it again Wink

                           

                          Had a pretty sweet interval workout last night: 1.5 mile warmup - 3xmile w/ 3:00 rest in 7:44-7:30-7:20 for a 7:31 average (goal 7:40).   First one was right on, then the last two got away from me a bit, but relatively speaking I felt pretty good.  Didn't really feel like it was balls-to-the-wall until maybe the last quarter of #3.  But I beat my time goal and got progressively faster, so I was pumped. Got a 5k coming up in 8 days to see where I'm at, so I'm looking forward to that.  Hoping for around 23:30 or so.  My speedwork has been mainly geared toward the half marathon in the form of tempo runs and such, but it was definitely a good confidence boost to get some more 'fast' running under my belt.


                          an amazing likeness

                            Had a pretty sweet interval workout last night: 1.5 mile warmup - 3xmile w/ 3:00 rest in 7:44-7:30-7:20 for a 7:31 average (goal 7:40).   First one was right on, then the last two got away from me a bit, but relatively speaking I felt pretty good.  Didn't really feel like it was balls-to-the-wall until maybe the last quarter of #3. 

                             

                            Sweet. Make sure you finish knowing you could have done one more interval set without loosing form. Ohhhh, I miss those. I think the 6 x 1mi @10k effort with 3:00 rest is one of the best HM speed workouts.

                            Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.

                            hog4life


                              I've decided to do a spur of the moment 5k in the morning with hopes of breaking 23:00. Not sure if I can after working all night, but gotta set a goal, right?

                              Snickers1230


                                First check in this month.  I'm still trying to recover from late working hours in February and a conference I went to.  February wasn't a great month for me, but March is starting out okay.  Not where I want to be, but better.  I've been easily talking myself out of some runs lately and making excuses for myself.  I went out today and ran a half on got over a 5 minute pr!  It just made me realize that that's why I run and if I keep improving in my training, it will make differences on race days Smile

                                Formerly Jackie_601 on RW

                                 

                                Next up:

                                4/27 - Green 6.2 10K

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