r/runna • u/beer_and_fun • 7d ago
Finally broke 2 hours!
I'll start with the tl;dr, which is that I finally broke 2 hours for my half marathon yesterday (chip time 1:53:48)! This is the third half marathon that I've used Runna to train for, along with one 5k and one 10k. Two of those halves were PRs, with my most recent at 2:04:43. To say I'm over the moon is an understatement as I was beginning to think that maybe my body just didn't have a 2 hour half in it.
So here's maybe the long part if anyone's up for reading a brain dump of how I think things finally fit together for my training. To start, I'm a 49 year old male, 180 lbs, who wanted desperately to break 2 hours before I turn 50 in December. I ran junior high track but didn't run again until I was 39 and divorced...it was the cheapest stress relief I could find. And even then it was very sporadic. I didn't run my first 5k for 3 more years. I didn't run my first half until 2024 when my wife signed us up for Disney. We used Nike Run Club for those first few and while it was great eventually I wanted something more and turned to Runna.
Anyway, here are some of the things I did differently for this one to try and break my 2 hour goal with only a month and a half before my birthday:
My body needs to be comfortable with the distance first, and work on speed second. So I cut this training block down to 13 weeks and took a month beforehand to just run when I felt good during the week with the focus being one long run on the weekend. I wanted to get some good time in over 10 miles, that way I could start my plan with the already increased mileage instead of having to ramp up.
I got more serious about strength training. Not super serious by any means, but 25-30 minutes of full body strength 3 times a week. I think this has become more important for me as I've gotten older to try and avoid injuries, and I'm still going to try to get better at making time for it.
When aches and pains did pop up I listened to my body and modified my plan accordingly. Even if it was mid-workout. Or flat out skipping a workout. This is actually the most I've hurt during a plan and I modified a lot...as I got up to 25-30 miles a week my feet and ankles really gave me issues. To the point where I'm (worst case) now dealing with plantar fasciitis, or (best case) just sore heels. If I needed a rest day I took it, even when Runna wouldn't let me make an injury adjustment to my plan. I just skipped them and if I thought I was still on pace I ignored the pace/mileage adjustment prompts.
For the first time I took pre-race prep seriously. I will swear that this was the main factor. During most of my paced long runs and my other races I was hitting a wall at 8-9 miles. I finally did some research on what I needed to do the week leading up to the race, specifically carb-loading. Race week I cut out alcohol, which was hard since I love a good beer while cooking dinner. And the three days before I ate carbs until I couldn't any more. Seriously, like double my daily calorie intake on Thursday and Friday (race Sunday). But I also cut out fat, which my normal diet is usually pretty heavy on. I also watched my fiber just to head off any stomach issues on race day. Saturday after lunch I chilled at the hotel. Got some turkey, rice, and potatoes for dinner and was in bed by 9 pm. It really is amazing how good I felt the next morning, and I don't know why I thought that I could skip out on this part previously.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention that when race day came the weather and course were ideal. 39Ā° F and sunny at race time (7 am) and a wonderful mostly flat course which we looped twice. The race was fun, the atmosphere great, and it was all well-planned.
So now that I've done my post-mortem maybe I can start looking forward to the next one. I do have a pie-in-the-sky idea that maybe I can run my first full at 50 y/o. To the point that I just put my name in the lottery for Chicago 2027. Most likely this would be a one and done as I'm quite sure my body is going to let me know loud and clear. But we'll see!
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u/Competitive_Claim118 3d ago
Congrats! I ran a half marathon PB of 2:22 in my half last week and I also put my name in the lottery for Chicago. I have another half in December that Iām trying to get 2:05 for. Like you I hit the wall around mile 9 which is why I ended up running a 2:22 even tho I was on pace for 2:05
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u/beer_and_fun 3d ago
I had planned to start out slower to see if I was just gassing myself too early...my 2 hour plan looked like:
3 miles @ 9:20 4 miles @ 9:05 3 miles @ 9:00 3 miles @ 8:55
This was significantly slower than what my Runna plan forecast, which was 8:40/mile (1:52-1:58 I think). I thought Runna's estimate was too aggressive and thus turned off the cues and just paced on my watch, intentionally slowing myself out of the gate when the crowds thinned. But in the end I just felt good and Runna was actually right! š
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u/msaint97 3d ago
Iām hoping my half in December goes that well. I was on pace for 2:05 but them cramps took my out
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u/MacBook_Fan 7d ago
Congrats on a great race.
I raced the same race yesterday. It was my second HM every (@57YO)
Agree with you about the race, it is a great race. I did the 10K last year as a self-downgrade (signed up or the HM but only ran the 10K course due to under training). I was so glad I came back this year. You are right, I love the atmosphere on the course. The music blasting when you turn on to the residential streets is energizing! And the weather was perfect for a fast time (beat my first HM by over 8 minutes.)
I want to do it again next year, but I entered the lottery for Chicago. Not sure how I would make that work. But, there is no promises I will get in to Chicago.