From 1:16 down to 1:10 HM in 7 months??!!

Any training advice will be highly appreciated

The last three years you've taken off less than 4 minutes a year, and now you think you can shave off more than 6 minutes? So the answer is no, that's not possible, or at least extremely unlikely.

saying it like it is wrote:

The last three years you've taken off less than 4 minutes a year, and now you think you can shave off more than 6 minutes? So the answer is no, that's not possible, or at least extremely unlikely.

1:10 is pretty fast (so is 1:16) for someone who did not compete when they were younger and may be close to your max.

You would need to get your mileage up way more than 60 for an extended period. If you have some weight to lose it would help (over the half marathon distance, worth 25-30 seconds per pound lost ). You may also want to mix in some shorter intervals at a faster pace and temp runs.

Thanks, yes, I know it's extremely unlikely to go all the way in 7 months, but I don't care about "the fences that are built in my head". What I know for sure is that nothing is impossible (as long I don't break the laws of physics and bio-mechanics).

If I can run 5k in 16:30 I have no doubt that I can run HM ir 1:10. The question is when, and also how much work do I need to put in before that happens.

All that I want to know is what kind of work do I need to concentrate on, what is the crucial components that needs to be put together to go that far.

One is mileage that's for sure. I need to go way more than 60 miles/wk. But how much? 80? 90? 100? (say for 12 weeks)

Also what workouts should be considered and what paces in those workouts could indicate close-1:10 capability?

You mean 5k in 15:30 right? And even that's a stretch.

When I ran 1:16 in college, my 5k best was around 16 minutes, and I was doing around 70 miles per week.

5 years later, I ran 1:10 - the years in between ranged from 50-100 miles per week (quite a few periods of 90+), and my 5k best was 15 minutes.

Workouts I think were important were long tempo runs (7 miles at 5:20ish pace, and 17 miles at 5:50ish pace), as well as weekly long runs of 14-18 miles. I was doing doubles most days, with few days totaling fewer than 10 miles.

My recommendation is to pick one new stimulus in training rather than trying to do too much at once. First I would add mileage, then I would pick from a number of others to start to incorporate: hills, speed, doubles, strides, biking ... the list could go on. And if weight is an issue, maybe try to cut out sweet drinks (this includes diet sweeteners) and alcohol.

The fact that you haven't gone over 100 a week yet, means you just want to talk about it.

16:30 = 5:16.8 per 1600m

1:10:00 = 5:18.5 per 1600m

If you can run 16:30, you are approximately 1/4 of the way there.

You want something like 15-low/31-low fitness if you are going to break 1:10. For someone with a limited running background, that is going to be tough.

I'd extend the length of your threshold reps over time, keeping the rest and pace consistent. If your race times start to indicate better fitness, then you can increase the pace as well slightly:

6 x 1600

5 x 2000

4 x 2400

3 x 2800

3 x 3200

etc.

Total volume stays the same, but your recovery is much less, and you are learning to maintain the pace longer, which gets it closer to specific work for your race.

The best workouts are going to be 50-70 minutes in length though:

10 miles at 5:30 pace

3 x 3 miles at race pace with 1 mile recovery

4 miles at race pace, 1 mile recovery, 1 mile at 10K pace, 1 mile recovery, 4 miles at race pace

But those kinds of workouts are for about 1 month out from your race. Between now and then, you need to lay the ground work (addressing aerobic capacity, general strength, and shorter race pace work) to make these workouts and the race achievable.

fred wrote:

The fact that you haven't gone over 100 a week yet, means you just want to talk about it.

I would like to see how you would manage 100+/wk with one full time job another half time job, wife and kids. It's not your kindergarten/ HS/ college time when you can eat, sleep and train.

runthecountry wrote:

Workouts I think were important were long tempo runs (7 miles at 5:20ish pace, and 17 miles at 5:50ish pace), as well as weekly long runs of 14-18 miles. I was doing doubles most days, with few days totaling fewer than 10 miles.

My recommendation is to pick one new stimulus in training rather than trying to do too much at once. First I would add mileage, then I would pick from a number of others to start to incorporate: hills, speed, doubles, strides, biking ... the list could go on. And if weight is an issue, maybe try to cut out sweet drinks (this includes diet sweeteners) and alcohol.

Thanks, that is the kind of information I was looking for

Lenny Leonard wrote:

The best workouts are going to be 50-70 minutes in length though:

10 miles at 5:30 pace

3 x 3 miles at race pace with 1 mile recovery

4 miles at race pace, 1 mile recovery, 1 mile at 10K pace, 1 mile recovery, 4 miles at race pace

But those kinds of workouts are for about 1 month out from your race. Between now and then, you need to lay the ground work (addressing aerobic capacity, general strength, and shorter race pace work) to make these workouts and the race achievable.

Thanks, I will take this into account when preparing the next HM training plan.

When you ran 1:16, how long of training did you have under the belt?

HalfMarathoner30 wrote:

fred wrote:

The fact that you haven't gone over 100 a week yet, means you just want to talk about it.

I would like to see how you would manage 100+/wk with one full time job another half time job, wife and kids. It's not your kindergarten/ HS/ college time when you can eat, sleep and train.

look dude, everybody has other things in their lives. you came here for help, and this guy said you should run more. if you can't make time to run more, your progress is greatly limited. also, next time you should say that stuff in your first post if it's such an impediment to training

besides, maybe "fred" works 60 hrs/week and has 10 kids. you don't know.

Just curious. wrote:

When you ran 1:16, how long of training did you have under the belt?

Depends on what you call "training" as far as how serious I was, but I would say I had 7 years of training at that point. It was my senior year of college, and I was definitely serious through all of high school and college. I was injured on and off throughout high school, though - so I guess less than 7 years continuous training.

Just curious. wrote:

When you ran 1:16, how long of training did you have under the belt?

Well I started running in 2011.

The first two years (2011 & 2012) was kind of running "just for fun" with 1100 and 1500 miles/year respectively.

2013 was a transition year when I started to read some literature and my training became somewhat structured. Mileage increased to 2000 miles/year.

2014 was a year when I finally started to understand what I am doing and why but mileage was still very low (2200 mi/year).

This year (starting from last winter) I increased the mileage to 50-60 miles/wk. I wrote training plan and followed strictly and was able to go 1:16 in the early spring. This year's mileage will probably be around 2500-2600 miles.

During the last years I have read a lot of literature and few books. So technically I know what I must do and why but the one thing that lacks is experience from other runners or a coach. Since I train alone and coach myself I have no other way of getting some fresh look on my training besides going here and asking what else I could do to improve

reed wrote:

HalfMarathoner30 wrote:

I would like to see how you would manage 100+/wk with one full time job another half time job, wife and kids. It's not your kindergarten/ HS/ college time when you can eat, sleep and train.

look dude, everybody has other things in their lives. you came here for help, and this guy said you should run more. if you can't make time to run more, your progress is greatly limited. also, next time you should say that stuff in your first post if it's such an impediment to training

besides, maybe "fred" works 60 hrs/week and has 10 kids. you don't know.

Exactly. I came here for advice. I don't see any advice in the fred's comment whatsoever. Besides I said that I'm working full time in the first post.

reed wrote:

HalfMarathoner30 wrote:

I would like to see how you would manage 100+/wk with one full time job another half time job, wife and kids. It's not your kindergarten/ HS/ college time when you can eat, sleep and train.

look dude, everybody has other things in their lives. you came here for help, and this guy said you should run more. if you can't make time to run more, your progress is greatly limited. also, next time you should say that stuff in your first post if it's such an impediment to training

besides, maybe "fred" works 60 hrs/week and has 10 kids. you don't know.

Yep, and 4 wives who want sex every night. It's cutting into my training, man.