Sub-2 half marathon

68 watchers

Autumnleaves Feb 2018 10:58am, 2 Feb 2018 11,869 posts	0 Autumnleaves My race went very well - despite grim weather! I did have to rein myself in quite firmly in the early miles, I enjoyed it as the pace felt comfortable - the last two miles are downhill which was lovely - came in feeling very happy at just over 1.58. Good luck SV hope you have kind weather.
Ness Feb 2018 5:33pm, 2 Feb 2018 8,860 posts	0 Ness I have been blighted by a cold. Still stubbornly got out for training, mind you! Good luck at Bentley, SVrunner.
SVrunner Feb 2018 8:06am, 4 Feb 2018 152 posts	0 SVrunner Ness, oh no, a lot of it about, hope you recover in time for your race. AL, well done on an excellent run. That's exactly what I need to do today. Weather looks set to be fine, dry, not much wind but a little chilly. Why is it that despite running about 250 miles in the last 4 months, on the morning of the race I suddenly feel really nervous and that I'm going to struggle to run a 5k let a lone a half marathon?
LindsD Feb 2018 8:23am, 4 Feb 2018 21,487 posts	0 LindsD That's how we all feel, SVrunner.
Ness Feb 2018 9:24am, 4 Feb 2018 8,868 posts	0 Ness True! I got out for a 9mile slog in the dark. Rewarded myself with a Wetherspoon’s breakfast afterward. Still recovering from the cold but feeling a bit better now. 20/100 for the month now.
Ness Feb 2018 9:25am, 4 Feb 2018 8,869 posts	0 Ness Oops. Wrong thread. Will be happy to get round on Sunday mind you. ;):)
SVrunner Apr 2018 8:04am, 16 Apr 2018 164 posts	0 SVrunner After a 2.01 at Gt Bentley, was hoping to dip below 2hrs at Colchester at the end of March. Injury meant very little training in the 2 mths in between and with a cold the week before the race I was considering pulling out. But having not run last year due to injury I was determined to run but decided to re-set my target to a more realistic 10 minute miles. Finished in 2.09 in the end which considering my preparation I was very satisfied with. The quest to go sub 2 hrs continues! The next attempt planned is Clacton half in Aug.
Ness Apr 2018 6:25pm, 16 Apr 2018 9,090 posts	0 Ness Good luck with that, SVrunner.
LindsD Apr 2018 8:19pm, 16 Apr 2018 22,646 posts	0 LindsD
larkim Feb 2019 12:55pm, 12 Feb 2019 6,719 posts	0 larkim My wife has dipped under 2 hours once before, then had a bit of a skiing / knee injury, and is now running consistently again with a view to dipping under 2 hours at Chester Half in May. At the moment she is getting in at least two and mostly 3 runs per week, with her longest having been 11 miles and much of her running being in the 5-7 mile distance. She's in the 27:00-27:30 parkrun bracket at the moment. She's asked for my advice (!) on training, so I've suggested she aims as a minimum over the next 14 weeks to get in 1 long run and alternate between a tempo and some Hal Higdon style 400m intervals. I've suggested starting with a four week cycle of increasing long runs by 1 mile per week starting with 11, then 12, then 13, then cutting back to 10, and then repeating that cycle 3 times (including a family holiday week and a taper week). But also within those long runs try to do a couple of miles at 2hr race pace - with a goal to be building those race pace miles up to maybe 4 or 5 two weeks away from the race day. We're about 5 miles from our local parkrun, so an easy run up there, parkrun in the middle at HM race pace, and easy miles back is definitely achievable for her, for example. For the tempos every other week I've suggested 1m warm up, 2 tempo, 2cd at first, progressing to 1m warm up, 3 tempo, 2 cd later, and the intervals just progressing from 5 x 400m up to 10 x 400m. Pace wise, with race pace at 9m10 per mile, I've said long runs should be 10m30 per mile, tempo about 8m50 and intervals at 8m30-8m40. And then supplement those two structured activities (1 LR + 1 of tempo or intervals) with steady easy miles if she can fit anything else in. Does that sound about right? She's bought into the overall structure, but I'm just cautious that I don't want to over-apply some of the things I've learned about me and my running. She has run as quickly as 25:05 for a parkrun in the past, but is struggling to develop any speed and is a bit stuck in a rut pace-wise (and is mostly happy with that, apart from when she turns up at parkrun!!)