Half Marathon Trainers

Half marathon trainers- May "08 (Read 594 times)

    We did the 20K today and it was awesome. Was aiming for 2:20:00 and we both crossed finish line with 2:21:16. Pretty close!!. It's a PR anyway because we've never run that far yet. LOL! There were 3 hills, the first over 1.5 miles long and will admit to walking the hills, but we killed the downhills. It felt good the whole way. Did the water alternating with Gatorade (no gels) and the weather was perfect,( high 50's low 60's, sunshine). Finished strong and felt like there was at least another mile or two in me so..... two weeks till HM and I'm still aiming for less than 2:30:00 because the course doesn't have any big, long hills like today. It's billed as WV's fastest HM because it drops 800 feet over 10 miles. Happy running to all!! Good luck on Monday, Larry
    Goals:HM <2:30:00 htfu encourage my dh to get out of his recliner. htfu="" encourage="" my="" dh="" to="" get="" out="" of="" his=""></2:30:00 htfu encourage my dh to get out of his recliner.>
    Ringmaster


      Hi, all. Sorry I've been absent for so long. I'll tell you, the Florida summer has been kicking my behind. I just did my first true long run in a long time--10 miles. It's funny that you have been talking about hydration/fueling. Before my Feb half, I didn't eat anything before my runs, and even ran my half with nothing but water. But I think partly what helped me get over the 8-mile hump today was that I ran with a pack of Sport Beans for the first time. It's just such different conditions now. I've never run through a Florida summer, and it's been hard for to acclimate. Anyway, whether it was placebo effect or not, I finished the 10-miler today and managed decent pace. I ran on the beachfront road, which our local marathon training program usually puts out Gatorade on. They didn't today, but there are still water fountains every mile, so I could stay hydrated. I was running negative splits, too, which is my normal pattern, before the knee pain started to make itself known at mile 8. That's all right. It's nice to feel like my old self, and I iced the knee when I got home. Day off tomorrow and I'm thinking of running a Memorial Day 5k. Marsha, it's a great feeling when you're two weeks out from your race and you feel strong in your training. It's sure to pay off come race day. Larry, it sounds like you've trained hard for your race. I hope you have a great time! I'm a big fan of my Forerunner 205. It helps me pace myself, especially at the beginning of my runs before my body gets into a rhythm.

      Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. (Heb. 12:1b)
      Mile by Mile

        Good run Vixi, glad to hear things are going better. I thought about doing a local 10k charity run tomorrow, but I'm supposed to go long and slow so will skip it. Gotta have some discipline.. Marsha you are going to run way under 2:30, more like 2:20 on a fast course! You have done the training, you are ready. I think your legs will hurt afterwards from all that downhill running, mine usually do on that type of course. Simon.

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

                                            10 miles (unofficial) 1:16:44.

         

          5M Race Report Thanks everyone for the support and well wishes. So I am happy to report, that I set two PRs today. The first being a PR in a 5 Miler, at 38:18 and on a very tough course. The second being the fastest mile I know of that I've run in a race. My last mile was 6:55. Of course, it was all downhill except for the finish and I even had a little sprint left in me to take two more places. The hills were real killers, but I gutted through them, despite the heat (85 degrees and sunny today) at noon when the race went off. I was 40th out of 261runners and 8th out of 30 in my age bracket The good thing is, that my legs feel really great. So I've conquered the course that has messed with my mind. Now I have my first HM to concentrate on in 6 days. But I'm ready and willing to go at it. Larry

          LPH

          "Today I broke my record for most consecutive days lived!"

          Teresadfp


          One day at a time

            Way to go, Larry! Great job in the heat - blech! I can't stand running when it's that hot, especially on hills!! Good luck getting ready for your HM!
              Larry, great job. Now set your mind on that HM and conquer it!!
              Goals:HM <2:30:00 htfu encourage my dh to get out of his recliner. htfu="" encourage="" my="" dh="" to="" get="" out="" of="" his=""></2:30:00 htfu encourage my dh to get out of his recliner.>
                Thanks Marsha and Teresa. I got the official results today and updated my report to include my place in the overall and my age group.
                Larry, great job. Now set your mind on that HM and conquer it!!

                LPH

                "Today I broke my record for most consecutive days lived!"

                Ringmaster


                  Larry, unbelievable race! What a great PR! And a 6:55 mile--I can't sprint that fast for a tenth of a mile! That's fantastic! I know you're going to rock your half. Can't wait to read that report! I did lousy time-wise in my Memorial Day 5k, but I'm at least a half-minute off-pace between knee issues and the heat, so I'm not too disappointed. I came in at 27:36 (no chips), which was good for 6th out of 18 in my age group. I'm discovering that I'm usually good for at least top 1/3, and I'm okay with that. It felt good to be out racing. My pace improved during the race and I passed people consistently, which always feels good! It's been rather cooler and drier here. It's nice for a change! Here's wishing everyone some fun runs!

                  Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. (Heb. 12:1b)
                  Mile by Mile

                    Thanks Vixi, Yeah, even though I held back a little bit ealry in the race, I needed that in order to conquer the hills and it took a lot of will and effort to make them. But once I passed the 4 mile mark and cleared the hill, I just let it fly. I'm not quite sure what I'm more excite about, the time in the race, or my last mile time. I checked out where you're from, so I'm assuming the weather must have been really hot and humid for your race. Can play a big factor in performance. Although it's nice to see where I finish in my age group, I'm not hung up too much on that. There are some really great runners in my area in my age bracket, guys who have been running for a long time. I'm still new, just going into my 5th year and getting better and stronger all the time. Like you, I'd say I'm usually in the top 3rd of my age group. What I find interesting is that my overall placement keeps dropping. Two years ago I was in the top 50%, then last year started climbing to the top 25%. This race says that I made the top 15% which I think is really great. Oh, by the way, I spent my honeymoon in Jupiter, but it was before you were born. Bet it's changed a lot since then.
                    Larry, unbelievable race! What a great PR! And a 6:55 mile--I can't sprint that fast for a tenth of a mile! That's fantastic! I know you're going to rock your half. Can't wait to read that report! I did lousy time-wise in my Memorial Day 5k, but I'm at least a half-minute off-pace between knee issues and the heat, so I'm not too disappointed. I came in at 27:36 (no chips), which was good for 6th out of 18 in my age group. I'm discovering that I'm usually good for at least top 1/3, and I'm okay with that. It felt good to be out racing. My pace improved during the race and I passed people consistently, which always feels good! It's been rather cooler and drier here. It's nice for a change! Here's wishing everyone some fun runs!

                    LPH

                    "Today I broke my record for most consecutive days lived!"

                      Well done to both of you on your races. Larry, that's some fast mile you ran at the end of the race, wow! I too find the older guys are as quick as the field, or quicker. In my recent 10k I was 22/150 in M55-59, about the 15th percentile, but 989/8590 overall, the 11th percentile. (Walkers listed separately, so not in this number) Four guys in my age group broke 40 minutes, another was 3 seconds over. I would be looking fortward to reaching my 60th birthday and getting into an easier age group except that these guys will presumably be there with me! Simon.

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

                                                          10 miles (unofficial) 1:16:44.

                       

                      Ringmaster


                        Larry, wow. People don't usually even know there's a place called Jupiter in Florida! Yeah, it's changed a lot in the last ten years, even. You know, before the housing boom went bust--they built up a lot around here when people from the southern Florida counties wanted to move to the northern end of Palm Beach County and commute to work. Hey, thanks for the reminder that I'm my own best competition. I'm a new runner and you're right--my best times are yet to come! You know, Simon, I can totally relate to what you're saying. I'm moving up to the 35-39 age group in a year or so and those women are fast! I'm gonna have to train hard to ever place in that age group. Or, better yet, remember that the only person I'm ever truly racing is me!

                        Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. (Heb. 12:1b)
                        Mile by Mile

                          VixiDu, I'm moving up to the 55 group in a few months. Still, I have no aspirations about placing in my age group. I run for myself, I think I run prett much to the best of my ability and so I all I do is try to set goals for each race and go after them. Actually, I did finish 3rd out of 11 in my age group last year in my first 10K and 10th overall, however it was a small field and they were only giving awards to the first place finishers in each bracket. I wasn't at all disappointed because I was so exicted about completing my first 10K and my time was better than I had set for my goal. In fact, my wife missed my finish, because she wasn't paying attention and never expected me in so soon based on how the other runners were finishing. Larry

                          LPH

                          "Today I broke my record for most consecutive days lived!"

                            i'm another one heading up an age group next year. F35-39 for me. no chance of being anywhere near the front of that category unless i find the smallest race in the country!


                            jules2

                              SimonR, the age groups don't get an easier the older you get as they have more time to train. Iph53, welcome aboard in a couple of months you'll be in my age group. Currently I'm over all my injuries and starting to pick my training up and I'm only 40 miles behind last years total mileage. I'm too busy in the next few weeks to do a half as I'm off to London and then acting as support for a coast to coast mountain bike ride across Scotland ( at the wide part ) plus doing a two day mountain bike race also in Scotland. My next half's look to be 20th July and 10 August I think both courses are flatish so I'm hoping for a PB.

                              Old age is when you move from illegal to prescribed drugs.


                              Prince of Fatness

                                I just moved to the 45-49 age group last month. It doesn't seem any easier for me, either. Lots of good older runners out there. Speaking of running, it's hard to believe that it's been 5 weeks since my half. I got a couple more long runs in since, then ran a 5 mile race down at the Jersey shore last weekend. My good fortune continued from the half as I PR'd by over a minute. I posted a short report over in the racing forum. I like the effect that this higher, consistent mileage has had on my race times. I'm going to continue with it and try a few other race distances for the remainder of the year. It's been a while since I've run a 5K, so I'll probably spend the summer running a few of those. There is a 15K nearby this fall that I am pretty sure I will run. Good luck to all that have upcoming races.

                                Not at it at all.