Sub 80 min Half Marathon Support

57 watchers

STOOSH Feb 2016 8:49am, 5 Feb 2016 2,750 posts	0 STOOSH I've no half's on the plan this year as I've moved to ultras but will watch as others hopefully knock through the doors of pb's throughout the year! Best of luck folks!! (I'll maybe join you again in 2017)
Huntsman Feb 2016 8:56am, 5 Feb 2016 3,041 posts	0 Huntsman I'm bloomin' miles away from this target but good luck to anyone who achieves sub 80 this year. Maybe 2017/2018 I can get near it.
Ninky Nonk Feb 2016 10:32am, 5 Feb 2016 2,183 posts	0 Ninky Nonk I'm got wilmslow half planned early April. Hopefully can go sub 75 if I stay fit.
Tizer Feb 2016 11:31am, 5 Feb 2016 1,315 posts	0 Tizer Sounds like you're running well Duck. Unfortunately, I picked up a few injuries after running the Edinburgh marathon weekend and a combination of that and some cba have only really just started feeling motivated enough to involve some speedwork again. I expect I'd be lucky to get round a half in 1.27/1.28 at the moment so 1.20 is a fair bit away
The Duckinator Feb 2016 1:13pm, 5 Feb 2016 1,212 posts	0 The Duckinator Good to see some life! Chris - a marathon training programme should give you a chance, especially if you've been doing more miles? Might not have the sharpness but you should be strong at least? I would imagine in general for the Spring Marathoners that you might expect to be a little off what you'd expect if you were HM-fit, but you've got the stamina to maintain pace for longer? James, Chris? NN, if you're near the form you were end of December I think sub-75 is realistic. That Stockport 10 time especially makes me think you could get well under 75! In a bit of an easier week here but did 2 x 10 mins, 1 x 5 mins yesterday (2 min jog rec). Average pace was 5:35/m so probably close to sub-75 right now. One big thing I have found that's made a difference is not just plodding out a long run, but trying to keep it at an honest/steady pace. Beforehand I'd be happy with 90-105 mins @ 7:45 - 8:00 pace but I'm now about 7-7:10 with some stuff around 6:45 - 7:00 in there. Seems to help with the stamina for all distances.
57.5 Degrees of Pain Feb 2016 5:18pm, 5 Feb 2016 2,803 posts	0 57.5 Degrees of Pain I found plodding long runs valuable in finally cracking the sub-80 last year. But at my age the main fear is injury so I stay conservative. I really like a few halfs as part of my Ultra training STOOSH. That and parkrun constitutes my speedwork! Actually, I find racing a half gives a good indication of both speed and endurance
57.5 Degrees of Pain Feb 2016 5:22pm, 5 Feb 2016 2,804 posts	0 57.5 Degrees of Pain I hope to run the Inverness Half well again this year in March. Always seems to go well for me. Will have a lot of weight to lose after a week 'skiing' to get to sub-80 though. The food is just way too good in Italy!
Huntsman Feb 2016 5:23pm, 5 Feb 2016 3,043 posts	0 Huntsman 57.5 DoP what sort of pace were you generally running your long runs at prior to breaking 80 minutes?
_andy Feb 2016 1:53pm, 6 Feb 2016 9,695 posts	0 _andy I can mirror what 57.5 DoP is saying there. Long and slow runs (never enough) plus ParkRuns seem to be my mainstay, with a focus on ultras. Having not run a HM for three years (1:20:41) I'm having another go at Alloa in six weeks. However, in a classic case of doing the same as before and expecting things to be different, I know that I'm not in the same form as back then, extra years, pounds and fewer training miles. Not injured though I've also learnt over the years that it's often enough to just get out there for longer runs at this time of the year and that the speed will follow. Well, it's worked before, so I'm clinging to that idea again.
STOOSH Feb 2016 2:32pm, 6 Feb 2016 2,751 posts	0 STOOSH Cheers guys - i'm still doing 2 speed sessions per week as well as trying to go longer... today's planned 27 became 22 (decent time on feet though) and know i need to eat a bigger breakfast to keep running for a longer period of time! The odd parkrun will come over the next couple of months! Might even see about a half at some point but can't see a pb coming this year!