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Mar 2019
10:00am, 18 Mar 2019
14,184 posts
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Bazoaxe
I attempted a solo sub 90 HM yesterday as a trial for MP and failed by just under 2 mins and was essentially undone by the wind in the first 5 miles and couldnt make all the time back in the 2nd half. I am hoping for better weather this Sunday and will try again.
Sadly there were no local HMs on either weekend that I could enter to try and help me along a bit.
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Mar 2019
11:56am, 18 Mar 2019
4,115 posts
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clare1976
I was sorry to see that Dowse, better luck next time. Great solo effort, Baz 
I'm now firmly in rest mode after a final few days of training. Opted for a controlled parkrun at goal pace on Saturday which came out exactly as intended, though due to the 'weather' (nasty strong crosswinds for most of it!), the final mile or so was certainly above HM 'effort'! Hopefully now things have died down and the forecast looks much better, it's still on the cards - I didn't feel ruined afterwards which bodes well. I was also buoyed by a fairly easy 10m yesterday with clubmates where after 7 miles, I started to ramp my pace up for a progressive finish and managed the final mile at 6:42 including an incline. One of our very fast club members is now tapering for his marathon and has offered to run the half next weekend at 1:30 pace, so we are forming a little bus which should help me, though I can't help but wonder if they will start out faster than they should - he because he's naturally faster and some of the others on board because I think they are capable of faster. I'll see how it pans out though. As long as I don't get caught up in some early 6:45s, I hope I will be ok, even if I do have to let them go. I'll be running my own race and if I've got company / support, then all the better.
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Mar 2019
12:16pm, 18 Mar 2019
30,772 posts
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HappyG(rrr)
A pacer can be really useful clare, but only if they are good! Start steady and finish strong - not go off too fast, or worse still (doesn't sound a prob for your club mate) fail to hit the target.
If he goes off too fast and dials back, maybe you can use him as a sort of "marker in the distance" and you'll pass him in last couple miles? Very best of luck.
Still annoyed that I didn't get a decent half attempt in last week due to the weather, because I'm feeling quite good, generally. Nearly 22 miles yesterday and my easy runs last week felt pretty sprightly. Did 12:56 at club 2 mile time trial, in wind and cold, a 45s improvement on 2 months before. 6:28 pace, so reasonable chance of 6:50 for a half? G
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Mar 2019
12:23pm, 18 Mar 2019
14,185 posts
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Bazoaxe
I agree with HappyG on the pacers. I have run with them twice at Chester Marathon and they were spot on the pace throughout which was great...well until I couldn't keep up any more, but that was my fault and not theirs.
If you run with him and he is too fast, do as HG suggests.
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Mar 2019
12:32pm, 18 Mar 2019
7,017 posts
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larkim
Yep, I'd make sure I was explicit (!) with the pacer before hand if that's possible - you know the course, know the profile you expect. If the pacer can nail that for you, they'll be really useful. If you have any doubts, trust yourself only!!
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Mar 2019
1:35pm, 18 Mar 2019
4,116 posts
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clare1976
Thanks all. It's so kind of him to offer and he is the one who put the invite out for 1:30, I'm just cautious after previous experiences of pacers (when I last broke 1:30 at Cov, the official 1:30 pacer ran 1:27!!). He has said to somebody else who wants 1:25 that that's too fast for what he wants to run, so I hope we can make it work. The course is such that if I can keep him at least in my sights on the first 8m which are rolling and some up, then for the last 5m which are down / flat, I can let my legs do what they do best and if he (and others) want to zoom off, that's up to them - I just need some discipline followed by support in the early miles.
Is there another half you can do :-)G? Even if they are full, sometimes entries fly around nearer the time on club / FB pages etc due to people getting injured / changing plans etc.
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Mar 2019
1:39pm, 18 Mar 2019
30,776 posts
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HappyG(rrr)
Too close to Boston now clare. 4 weeks today. Got family over this weekend, so that was really last chance. That's fine though. I'll do one after I get back. I've got one in diary for summer already.
Hoping I'll be in better shape post marathon and with continued mileage and remaining injury free. Fingers crossed. G
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Mar 2019
9:28am, 25 Mar 2019
4,117 posts
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clare1976
Hi all, closer but not close enough for me yesterday. 1:31:25 and genuinely don't think I could have run it differently, I just didn;t have the strength to push hard enough up the hills and then when we were back on the flat / downs, my legs were shot. Then for a couple of later small inclines I literally had nothing. The official sub-1:30 pacers went off into the distance at the start (though their finish times were pretty good at 1:29 - not sure what they mile-by-mile pacing was like). However I had my personal pacing crew and he was a total star, stuck with me to the end, we were there or thereabouts until about 5 miles then I started to lose time on the hills. he stuck with me, encouraged me, tried to get me to push on when it levelled off, carried water for me etc etc. But I just didn't have enough in me. Still my 4th ever fastest half out of 60-odd and my best time since the PB I ran 3 years ago, so plenty of potitives and in hindisght, I'd say the time is a fair reflection of my current form based on training paces, times etc. Not sure what next, no more imminent sub-90 attempts and it may be a step too far for me now, but who knows. I was 10th female out of about 1200 so not a bad day's work. Gorgeous day, perfect conditions for racing so no excuses there.
Fantastic solo training effort from bazo at the weekend -the hard work is paying off and the magic shoes are doing their thing!
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Mar 2019
9:38am, 25 Mar 2019
1,577 posts
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Will_Uyuni
Well done Clare – your best HM in 3 years is very much the way to look at it. Going by your splits there was certainly no chucking it in so you can be proud of that. I know that you nailed it there 3 years ago but it does look like a tough old course to get right. A tricky balance between keeping in range of your target for 8 (!) mostly uphill miles while saving enough energy to take advantage of the fast finish
A more helpful name-change for me – realised on Saturday when trying to meet up with someone off here that it is easier if one of you at least has a vague idea of what the other is actually called
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Mar 2019
10:01am, 25 Mar 2019
14,324 posts
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Chrisull
Bad luck Clare, under 1.32 is always knocking on the door, it's a 5 or 6 seconds per mile kind of thing which can be found just from feeling better on the day or having the best possible weather conditions (or running shoes according to another popular Fetch thread). I don't think it's a step too far, just some years it happens, others it doesn't.
10th female in a big race is amazing, well done.
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larkim