Half marathon new thread

[londonmummy1966]

Starting a new half thread - as we are running out of space - no I'm ot envious of the lucky guys with London places - no not at all...

10k today was ok. Used my 2 month old heart rate monitor watch to stay at a pace I can consistently sustain leaving enough in the tank to accelerate once the finish line was in sight. 67 and a bit minutes so beat my hoped for target. Somehow also my 2nd fastest 5k since I got the watch... so obviously vitally important not to go off too fast.

Bizarrely I can sit in hr zone 4.9 for an entire 10k. I am not fast but can sustain that pace for that time and could have gone a bit further - glad I have alternative plans on the weekend of the May half I originally fancied because I was tempted. Would be very silly for me to rush to a half given I'm 3 stone overweight, naturally tight calves and previous knee issues. June is soon enough!

Long term I need to find a way to run in one of the easy hr zones, and get faster generally. Apart from the ability to speed up when I can see a finish line I am very one paced - more or less double my recent 5k times for 10k...

Well done nat especially with a dodgy knee. I was a similar time behind my PB. I was doing ok and matching last year till about mile nine then my leg started cramping, at least I think that's what it was never had it before!

I've been doing HR training random and when I realised I was in zone 5 even though I felt pretty ok at that point, i knew it wasn't the day to push it. I found the sessions with intervals were the most use at increasing speed.

Well done to Chutney and Nat! First hot day of the year is so hard to prepare for! Hope you're not feeling too sore today!

I've managed 10 miles of walk-run

HM in 2 weeks so one more long run and then I'll taper down
Glad to hear everyone else is doing well :)

Currently wrestling with planning training around DH's work. Am going to have to vary days of the week for long runs - the worst one is the 12 miler which is 2 weeks before the half and falls on an on call weekend. Finding a 2+ hour window midweek is difficult given DH usually gets home 6.30/7 and leaves by 8 apart from Wednesday "half" day (home by 3). Debating bumping the 12 miler back a week and adding in another taper type week - have a very scruffy calendar trying to schedule runs and "warm up" races into the rest of life.

Also trying to plan the rest of my year - anyone know of any fun/challenging half marathons in late October. Preferably trail/off road- and without major cut off time stress!

Thanks

random- I have enjoyed the dirt HM the last 2 year - trail & canal tow paths near Leighton buzzard. Friendly set up.

The Scottish highlands have a variety of HM that are wonderfully scenic - mostly road through georgeous countryside though

Glen Coe is amazing, think it's early Ictober though. Or the Illuminator in Aboyne - a 15 mile night trail race. It's for walkers and runners so generous finish time

Evening all! Those Scottish runs sound fantastic.

My calendar is looking bare until the GNR. Apart from a Tough Mudder half in two weeks, trying to forget about that I'm trying to up my pace in the meantime, I finally took the plunge and joined my kids athletics club. Everyone seems super speedy but they were very welcoming and as it's at the track I can drop out for bits without being too inconvenient.

Who's next up for a race? Yours must be very soon Vet

Hello all. This has fallen off my TIO - and I was too anxious to go running. But just started again in a slow training plan for my next HM in September. I will read back soon. But well done to all those HM's done and dusted - who is next?

I have a HM tomorrow. I moved house and started a new job a couple of months ago and haven't yet got into running regularly again. I did a slow 9.5 mile trail run three weeks ago with a group, and have done a few shorter runs (my new commute is just under 5k so I try to run home from work once a week). So I don't think I will be PBing tomorrow, but as usual I will plod round at my own pace

Who was the other poster going tomorrow? I will need to read back through the thread, I'm sure there was someone else.

Vet it's you this weekend as well. Looking forward to your run report.

Oops, NC fail

Good luck today Fifty and Vet too if yours is today! I did a similar trail run a month ahead of my half, it was my longest run, slow but being trail took the time pressure off. I like plodding around at the back - you get to talk to more people!

That sounds positive still and a slow plan is great for flexibility. Hope it clicks back in for you.

I've signed up for the London Landmarks half next year and think we've secured DH a charity place too. I'm very excited about that, just need to check some local relatives can take the kids!

parkrun was very slow for me yesterday, my legs were so tired but hopefully I'll be feeling the benefit of the extra training soon. I've also been doing more yoga which seems to help.

Hello - or merhaba as they say around here.

I am in exotic foreign parts for the long weekend and have done the Istanbul HM today, ferociously hot (over 20 degrees) but fairly flat along wide tarmac roads. I must have drunk about 2l of water on my way around, luckily there were lots of well stocked water stations. My time was not far off my Royal Parks time, but my splits got increasingly slower after a decent first 5 and 10K. I ran/walked most of the last 6k as there wasn't anything left in the tank by then.

Am now wishing I had trained a bit more .

Vet I hope you got on OK, Tiree looks lovely. Did you get to run along the beach Chariots of Fire style?

Now that's exotic and a half Fifty how exciting! And very well done. My last one was around 20 here - I was pretty comparable to the much cooler previous year until about 10 miles then that was it, nothing left. I walked a fair bit of the last section.

Have you got exciting post half plans now? Enjoy.

Hi all sorry been across the water on Tiree so just back in civilisation 😊
Well after basically no running at all for the last 2 weeks due to crazy work I ran the HM on Tiree! Certainly haven't broken any speed records - mostly plodded along the beach Fifty and a pretty brutal headwind for half of the course but I'd rather have that than your heat - there's no way I could run in the heat!

Though I was slow I'm really pleased that I ran almost all of it - no walking at all til 8 miles, then walking only on the undulations up into a headwind. Managed to keep enough in the tank to catch and pass 4 runners in the last 2 miles having run alone towards the back for most of the race 😊

I'm already planning my next half for the Autumn and the illuminator is a definite contender. I might even squeeze in 7 hills in the summer....

I have and thank you Chutney for thinking of me - it's lovely to get back and see this thread

I did it!! Just under 6 weeks of not properly training and thinking I was going to drop out after the first mile...Managed to get round only walking some of the way in 2 hours 47 minutes!

Brilliant - well done!

Well done Vet - sounds very challenging with head winds and hills. That's always a good feeling having enough in the tank at the end.

Great stuff Lorelai - the first mile is always hard on that front, at least for me. Good time too.

How are all your legs feeling now?

Veterinari thank you!

chutney they're actually not too bad this morning - yesterday I could barely walk though!

Surprisingly ok! And I'm already looking for my next run...

I've had a bit of a flurry My next half is the New forest in September - the video of the route looks stunning and I am very excited. So I booked onto the Hampton Court half in February and the Hastings Half in March. Now I need to get on with some training!

That's a very exciting batch of runs still!

How about you Vet, have you booked any?

In terms of halfs, I've got GNR in September and London Landmarks in March. I think I need one in between. There's the local hideously hilly one in December that I didn't start last year because I felt so rough. Might think about that but wonder if there's one October time I should think about. Our local big half is two week after GNR so think that would be too much and DH wants to do it, so I'm on kid duty as they need an adult for the mini marathon.