Forums >Racing>Sub 1:30 Half Marathon 2021 Edition
Last full week of the year done and dusted for me. Xmas very much the theme this week, apparently.
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: Runway5 / National 5k Champs, 16:22, National Masters AG Champ!
Up next: Still working on that...
"CONSISTENCY IS KING"
Hot Weather Complainer
Nice week Mark. Nearly a full week of Xmas references.
Another building week for me. I've had a few niggles and some general fatigue so I kept it all easy yesterday - if I'd attempted the planned workout of 6 x 1km @ HMP with 90 secs recovery, I know I would have crashed and burned. I felt pretty good at easy pace though. Slept through the night for the first time in a month last night which is a great sign - out of the spare room tonight!
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 1:27:34
Selwyn Marathon June 2, 2024 DNF
Dunedin Half Marathon September 15, 2024
Not an 80%er
Belated Merry xmas you all
I'll wait for all the weeklies to pop in then get the next year's thread started.
No weekly to post as I only did a short run today as a feeler.
The cold symptoms passed quickly last Sunday morning, but I was still feeling weak at the start of the week and my back was bothering me throughout the week. I was able to do my strength training sessions on Wed and Friday but didn't risk it with the running. Today during the run it was a bit odd in that the heart rate was still low as usual but I was breathing harder at my easy pace, like if my lungs took a hit. And I know I didn't have covid cause I had a negative test last week and another one this week (we'd spend xmas evening with some friends and had the self kit test).
Over here in Portugal it seems races are now getting cancelled which is quite bizarre cause even though cases are record high, deaths remain super low and the number of people hospitalized is falling. I believe it has to do with the government requiring negative tests on top of the vax certificate.
The restrictions go to Jan 9th where I assume the government will likely drop them if they have half a brain.
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)
Tool to generate Strava weekly
JamesD
More upper hamstring trouble for me this week, but some good signs too. My regular 1.5-mile park loop has a gradual 200-meter incline and a slightly steeper 400-meter incline, and after a lap or two, each time I go up the latter I can feel the upper hamstring tightening a little. It eases off after a while on level ground (and if I take a walk break), but never quite back to where it was, and I feel it a little more each time. After a while I can feel not just the glutes but also the lower hamstrings, and that’s usually a sign that I’ll need to stop in a mile or two. The other warning sign is if things start to get worse on the gradual incline. These days, the length of my park runs just depends on how long this tightening takes. On the positive side, I don’t seem to be losing much aerobic fitness, as all my park runs wind up faster than my usual 8:30-45/mile pace, even considering that the weather is cooler. Yesterday’s Xmas afternoon normal run lasted 7 miles and turned into a gradual progression to not-far-from-slow-tempo pace, averaging 7:44. Most of me felt strong, and the hamstrings were the only limiting factor.
I’m going to try a few changes. I’ve been taking a NSAID, celecoxib, for my foot. The doctor had given me three treatment options, and I chose celecoxib because it had worked a couple of years ago on a similar problem in the other foot. It seems to be helping a little, but much more gradually than last time, and I wonder whether 10 weeks of a NSAID could be complicating the healing of the hamstring, especially since that time coincides with this bout of hamstring trouble. I'll see if he'll put me on one of the other options (one was CBD oil). Also, I’ve been more diligent than usual about bodyweight exercises, averaging 6 days/week for the last month, and I wonder whether bird dogs are aggravating the hamstrings rather than strengthening them, so I’ve cut them out for the time being. Also, DW is suggesting that I use her magnesium oil spray; I think I get enough magnesium in my diet, but it can’t hurt.
I’ll try to get a year-in-review post up before the new thread is created.
Sun - 8.5 miles in park @ 8:08 + 0:50 walk breaks after every 1.5 miles
Mon - 27 minutes swimming
Tues - 7.8 very slow on treadmill (90 minutes) + 0:40 walk breaks after each 6:00
Weds - off, upper hamstring sore
Thurs - 27 minutes swimming
Fri - 6.7 in park @ 8:20, no walk breaks
Sat - 7 in park @ 7:44, no walk breaks, sped up as I went along, felt strong
Total - 30 miles
YTD average - 41.6 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
Mother of Cats
James- my (completely uneducated and non-credentialled) take is that the NSAID use is absolutely a factor in the hamstring. That high hamstring area is slow to heal because it has little bloodflow - hit the anti-inflammatories hard for an extended period of time, and you just reduce the bloodflow even more.
Interesting that the hamstring only bothers you uphill. In my very limited experience and knowledge, a true hamstring injury usually feels best uphill (less eccentric strain on the hamstring) and worse going downhill (more eccentric strain). In contrast, a neural/sciatic issue manifesting as pain in that area will feel worse going uphill. Have you tried the slump test (a PT can walk you through it, but basically you put tension on the area so that you feel some discomfort, and then move your head around to see if it changes the pain or sensation).
Marky_Mark - yes, a clear theme to your week - humidity.
Steve - glad things are turning around.
Flavio- hope you feel better.
***
I'll drop off two weeks since I didn't get around to posting last week. Life has been very busy.
In rehab news, I started physical therapy - they watched me run on a treadmill and agreed that my issues looked neurologic (to the point where they would have sent me to a neurologist, except that I had been referred to them by one....) My running muscles are just firing out of sync - my leg muscles contract and then don't relax, or contract at the wrong time. They've got me doing a whole bunch of exercises that focus on firing muscles in the correct order, along with glute strength stuff.
I've gotten MRIs of the brain and cervical/thoracic areas of the spine that didn't seem to indicate much (I haven't talked to the doctor yet, but I've read the report). Another doctor ordered MRIs of the lumbar spine and pelvis just to be complete, but he isn't expecting much helpful info from those. So I'll do those, and complete the PT, and then decide next steps.
I am NOT doing a review of my year. Looking forward instead.
Week 1: 34 miles running, 5 hours pool-running, and 1000 yards swimming.
M: 80 minutes pool-running and streaming yogaT: 10 miles, including a track workout of 2000, 2x1200 in 9:01, 5:11, 5:13. Followed with leg strengthwork and 500 yards recovery swimming.W: 4 miles (10:13)Th: 1:40 minutes pool-running and upper body weights/core.F: 9 miles, with a tempo workout of 2 miles, 1 mile in 13:57 (7:02/6:55) and 6:52. Followed with leg strengthwork and 500 yards recovery swimming.Sa: 7 miles (9:36), streaming yoga, and 4 miles (9:29) plus drills/strides.Su: 2 hours pool-running and upper body weights/core.
Week 2: 61 miles running, 3 hours pool-running, and 1500 yards swimming.
M: 3 miles on treadmill (10:03) and 1 hour pool-running.T: 12 miles, including a track workout of 2000, 800, 1600, 800, 400 in 8:49, 3:17, 6:42, 3:12, and 1:33. Recoveries of 6 minutes after the 2000 and 1600, and 3 minute recovery after the first 800. Followed with leg strengthwork and 500 yards recovery swimming.W: Upper body weights/core and 10 miles (9:37) plus drills and 4 hill sprints.Th: 2 hours pool-running and streaming yoga.F: 11 miles, including a track tempo of 6400m in 28:03, split as 7:15/7:03/6:57/6:48. Followed with leg strengthwork and 500 yards recovery swimming.Sa: 10 miles (9:36) plus drills and stridesSu: 14 miles progressive split as first 5 miles averaging 10:00, next 4 miles averaging 8:27, next 5 miles averaging 7:27. Followed with leg strengthwork and 500 yards recovery swimming.
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.
James- my (completely uneducated and non-credentialled) take is that the NSAID use is absolutely a factor in the hamstring. That high hamstring area is slow to heal because it has little bloodflow - hit the anti-inflammatories hard for an extended period of time, and you just reduce the bloodflow even more. Interesting that the hamstring only bothers you uphill. In my very limited experience and knowledge, a true hamstring injury usually feels best uphill (less eccentric strain on the hamstring) and worse going downhill (more eccentric strain). In contrast, a neural/sciatic issue manifesting as pain in that area will feel worse going uphill. Have you tried the slump test (a PT can walk you through it, but basically you put tension on the area so that you feel some discomfort, and then move your head around to see if it changes the pain or sensation).
Thanks. I haven't tried (or heard of) the slump test, but will look it up & will ask the PT about it the next time I go. The downhills on my lap are very gradual, for what that's worth.
Year In Review - 2021
I began 2021 coming back from what has become chronic upper hamstring trouble. Never did fully recover despite doing only easy miles the first several months, but I set a new mileage high and got in enough tempos to run a good 5K in October. Didn’t run a half, because the few opportunities fell through and I wasn’t often in race fitness. One change this year was doing over half my miles on the treadmill. At the start & end of the year I was taking walk breaks to help the hamstring, and walking in cold weather while sweaty seems unwise. Even when it was warmer, using the treadmill for recovery runs seemed to help, because I can go a lot slower on the treadmill, and I seem to get at least as much aerobic benefit going 8 miles at 11+-minute pace than going the same distance for less time outdoors at 8:45 pace.
I had five running goals for the year, and I accomplished numbers two and five.
1) Stay healthy - Not really. The hamstring never fully healed, which kept me from doing much speedwork. Also had foot trouble and a hernia. Didn’t get covid as far as I know, and I was only sick once, so it could’ve been worse.
2) Average 40 miles/week - Done. 41 mpw, 5 more than any other year. Only missed 10 days with foot trouble and 4 with a minor illness. With lots of in-person things on hold for the first half of the year, life rarely got in the way, and I didn’t take more than one off day in a row until September.
3) Half marathon < 1:30 - No. DIdn’t run any halfs, and October was probably the only time I might have been in sub-1:30 shape.
4) PR at some distance - Not quite. Only ran a 5K in August and one in October, and the October one was 3 seconds short of my post-1987 PR.
5) Reach 80% age-graded at some distance - Done, in the October 5K. I had reached 79+% at three different distances in 2017, 2019, and 2020, so 81+% was satisfying.
I also accomplished my non-running goal, making it 14 months without paying for a haircut and just hacking off my hair occasionally with a mustache trimmer and a mirror. Finally gave in when in-person events started back.
Mmmm Bop
Yep!
5k - 17:53 (4/19) 10k - 37:53 (11/18) Half - 1:23:18 (4/19) Full - 2:50:43 (4/19)
Steve and Mark - nice weeks.
Darkwave and James - good luck with your injuries.
My week was mediocre again. Life got in the way two days, so only five runs in, four of them small.
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
Merry Christmas all! I hope you had a wonderful time with friends & family.
M 40 min lifting + 6 min swimming to test the shoulder
T 55' ez
W 50' ez
Th 2 hour slog of a run + 25 min swim
F 55 min ez run + 30 min lifting + 35' swimming
S 40'ez, trails
Sun 40' light progression from an 8:30 mile -> 7:02 mile. Hard to run fast after a xmas brunch
40.9 miles / 6 hour running
90 minutes swimming (~3200 yards)
70 min lifting
I've got some sort of lingering cold that I'm mostly just waiting for it to pass (HR and effort are all high) hoping that I don't need to cut back too much but it's kind of been this way for a few weeks so I may go see the doctor.
1600 - 5:23 (2018), 5k - 19:33 (2018), 10k - 41:20 (2021), half - 1:38:57 (2018), Marathon - 3:37:17 (2018)
More upper hamstring trouble for me this week, but some good signs too. My regular 1.5-mile park loop has a gradual 200-meter incline and a slightly steeper 400-meter incline, and after a lap or two, each time I go up the latter I can feel the upper hamstring tightening a little.
200 meter or feet? 200-400m over 1.5 miles is massive. Sorry that's still bothering you, hopefully the meds work. I'm with DW's understanding of NSAIDs reducing bloodflow. That's one of the reason PRP injections exist though I'm not sure if they've actually been proven to work, last I knew they were experimental.
Steve congrats on getting out of the doghouse!
DW eek. that sounds scary. Best of luck.
Flavio a cold shouldn't put you off your strength training. Shame on you
Mark we've somehow gotten above freezing temps here most days during the day which has allowed me to have pretty pleasant runs. Have you considered moving north for the winter?
Keen the biggest thing I wonder about you 100 mile a week guys is where you find the time. That is crazy impressive. Hopefully you can find a good redemption race. Is Houston in play or is that too soon?
2) Average 40 miles/week - Done. 41 mpw, 5 more than any other year. Only missed 10 days with foot trouble and 4 with a minor illness. With lots of in-person things on hold for the first half of the year, life rarely got in the way, and I didn’t take more than one off day in a row until September. 4) PR at some distance - Not quite. Only ran a 5K in August and one in October, and the October one was 3 seconds short of my post-1987 PR. 5) Reach 80% age-graded at some distance - Done, in the October 5K. I had reached 79+% at three different distances in 2017, 2019, and 2020, so 81+% was satisfying. I also accomplished my non-running goal, making it 14 months without paying for a haircut and just hacking off my hair occasionally with a mustache trimmer and a mirror. Finally gave in when in-person events started back.
You know you can get an actual hair cutting buzzer for like $20? I'm not actually sure they're any different than a mustache trimmer. If you can get your wife to do it, it even looks halfway respectable.
#4 is serious impressive. 44 years of tracking PRs and you're only 3 seconds off? Holy moly you're aging well and frankly #5 confirms this. Also as Mark says "Consistency is King" #2 is directly responsible for that result even without much speedwork. I'm kinda over hereby racing that well with a consistent hamstring injury.
A year in review:
Miles: 2270 + final 4 days.
The only thing you really need to know about this year is that I set a Beer Mile PR at 8:31!! with a totally legal Bud light Platinum beer this time
Alright, a semi-serious retrospective. here are my goals from early in the year...
1. I'd like to progress my mileage where my "on" weeks are 60+ miles w/ 2 workouts (I've averaged 45mpw over the last 12 weeks)
2. my recovery weeks are ~45 miles and can include a short time trial (800m-5km) or race
3. race each month just to stay sharp, don't bother tapering for most of them (unless it coincides with goal #2).
4. In 2018 I weighed 155lbs, I'm now 170 and plan on getting back below 160 (I'm 5'9"). This mostly involves drinking less beer.
5. keep doing 2-3x 15 minute body weight workouts a week, or progress to the gym when Covid is over (it's mostly hip / quad / hamstring / balance stuff)
6. 5k PR!! (my current fitness as of Dec 29 is 20:39 so the first step is to get back into shape)
7. 10k PR @ Living History Farms (XC) in November (7:14/mi current PR pace)
8. Take a crack (or two) at a sub 90 HM
Number one and 2 just didn't happen. My 12/26/52 week rolling averages are 45.06, 45.66, 44.17 miles per week. That's good for a best every year by me but nowhere close to the 55/week I was hoping for. That said if I were more geeky I'd look at standard deviation but I think this table shows a nice trend toward consistent higher mileage (non-Keen edition).
The median this year is solidly in the 40-49 mile category with the 50-59 coming in second while all time 30-39 has been my median so that's a nice shift these past two years though 2017 remains a standout year for me and why I set so many PRs in 2018 despite multiple injuries.
#3 I mostly succeeded at. I skipped January due to ice but other than that got at least a time trial in every single month!
#4 was a complete and total failure and I'm not sure that's bad. Injury and bad workouts seem to coincide with weight loss for me. I finished the year back at 170 lbs but this was my healthiest year since 2017.
#5 I was very good at. I even have a few co-workers who ask me when I'm going to do my morning Yoga routine at my desk. I did get away from heavy strength work until December but that's fine. This needs to be a goal again.
#6 Nope. I ran 4 seconds off my PR on a short course in 90F in June and didn't progress from there. I had another crack at the 5k in November but I was sick and ran slowly.
#7 my favorite race was cancelled and looks like it will be permanently. It's time to find another huge XC race to invest my energy in.
#8 Nope. I ran 1:32 at Valhalla, a 20k trail race which says things are moving bigly in the right direction but aren't there yet.
Non goal races: I raced two 10km races this year. One I went off course and ran way long but still set a PR based on average pace (6:54/mi -- 44:41). In September I lowered that to 41:20 a huge step forward.
I worked with a coach for the first time ever this year. I could tell he was annoyed by how many non-running things I did that interfere with running, but he also gradually built my mileage over the year and got me running much stronger workouts than I ever have before; he was also responsible for me backing off and taking things slower than I would have otherwise! I raced two Triathlons and completed a 99 mile mountain bike ride without a mountain bike. This has been a hell of a 40th year of life. I'm glad to still be making progress.
Good idea on the recap guys.
So, my goals for 2021 were:
1. Have fun
2. Don't get injured
3. Run at least one new race
4. Beat my 10k road PB
I managed (1)... so far (2) is on track but there's still 3 days to go so I don't want to jinx it!
(3) was also ticked off... did the Southern Lakes HM for the first time. I said for a long time that I'd be happy with the year if I got to run that race and nailed it... and I did. So even with a pretty disrupted racing year I'm very happy with what was an absolutely perfect race day. Plus I also ran the Meridian Hydro HM for the first time (which was my first trail half as well).
As for (4)... well I didn't actually get to run any 10k road races this year as Covid cancellations bombed the whole National Championship season. However, I did manage new PBs in the HM (1:09:41) and 3,000m (9:07). That 10k PB will have to wait a bit longer I guess.
Anyway, currently I'm sitting at 4,345km for the year and will probably end up around 4,370km. This will comfortably make it my second biggest year ever. It was a little higher than expected due to race cancellations meaning I ended up training more through winter/spring than I had planned.
Cobra Commander Keen
A belated "Merry Christmas" to all.
Mark - Nice themed week.
James - Best wishes for that hamstring issue clearing up. Also, 81% AG??? SERIOUSLY fast.
DWave - Good thing on looking forward. Even with your mystery issue your weeks look considerably better than mine!
Zebano - I find the time by not sleeping. Literally. Run early enough that it doesn't impact work/family time. Sometimes doubles during lunch...Houston is actually sold out. I did look in to running it (or even just the 5k like DWave suggested) as round-trip flights were actually quite inexpensive.
So, it looks like my HR for effort/pace being really good a week or so ago (right after getting past covid) was largely due to some steroids the doc also prescribed me (along with the antibiotics that turned out were likely completely unnecessary as the covid never got bad enough that secondary infection was a factor). Those worked their way out of my system, but the antibiotics are still there just a bit and are gumming up the works a bit, though lessening day to day. Looking forward to having those gone so I can really run. Need to work on a recap for the year, along with determining a way to burn this thread to the ground to eliminate any possible trace of my involvement here before the new regime steps up.
5k: 17:58 11/22 │ 10k: 37:55 9/21 │ HM: 1:23:22 4/22 │ M: 2:56:05 12/22
Upcoming Races:
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