Thanks to everyone who replied! I’ve noticed some tightness in my anterior hip so I’ll probably throw in a few strides and hip openers before these slow runs.
The half marathon I’ve been building towards was this morning and I ended up with the PB I was looking for. Having run a 1:20:12 6 years ago (on the same course) I really wanted to be able to go under 1:20 and felt I might manage a little quicker than that after a 10k PB a few weeks ago.
I ended up running 1:18:24 which was towards the better end of what I thought I could expect if I had a good run. It was a chilly morning but with very little wind so after the first km or two was good for running. Now for a block of more bike focussed training!
Keep all the race and training news coming in 
Back of the net!
Sweet !
@JulianM, nice one!
I ran a PB (1:21) in the HM distance back in November leading up to my “A” run race (FM) in December. Took the second half of December off before switching focus to the bike in January. Having only ran twice a week for the past four weeks I’m not expecting much but rather hoping I havent lost too much run fitness these past few months.
Very nice. Did you stop cycling while training for this HM? How many hours of running per week did you put in? I’m still trying to figure out a balance between running/cycling
No - the priority was running but I was doing Sweet Spot Base Mid Vol at the same time which while still hard at times represented a drop in overall bike training load from my norm. The only change I made was to replace the easy ride of the week (Pettit/Carter generally) with the 30 minutes of Volunteer which I used as a warm up for my hardest run of the week.
It was hard mentally to follow a structured bike training plan while watching your CTL gradually decline 
It was going to be a 12 week build to the HM but I had the wrong date in my calendar so it turned out to be 11. I’m just glad I noticed a couple of weeks before the race! 
So I rode 5 times a week, generally ran 4 aside from a few weeks where it was 5, and swum 4 or 5 as well. Running I averaged just over 70k for around 5h 20m per week with the peak at 81k in just over 6h
My week generally was pretty consistent unless work got in the way and I had to swap days around.
Mon Hour Ride followed by an easy run off the bike with some strides and Masters swim in the evening
Tue Long run and sometimes an easy swim
Wed 90 minute ride and a swim
Thur Volunteer into some sort of interval run
Fri 90 minute ride and a swim
Sat Medium long run which always included some hills
Sun Swim and a hour ride
Thanks for the detailed response. Very insightful.
P.S. You are a beast
Thank you - I’ll take that as a compliment 
I am trying to build my running and hope to get to where you were/are.
Starting by adding running at lunch. Right now, only getting 3 mile runs in, but running has suffered since I got sick last month. It is rebuilding (last night’s 5 miler was a good one). No run today as my legs were FRIED for this am TR’s ride.
Things will get there. They WILL get better. I just have to give things time and consistency.
That’s almost certainly the answer to 99% of the training questions asked on this or any other forum Consistency beats sporadic hard sessions all day long.
The primary goal of any workout is that the next one is also achievable. I try to make it a rule to do a little less than I think I can potentially manage in any given session with that goal in mind.
But what is the key to consistency?
I’ve been trying for years to become consistent, perhaps I’m fighting my upbringing or some deeper psychological thing, or maybe it’s as simple as being too busy, I can’t figure it out! Even something as simple as a routine bedtime is a constant battle.
That’s rapid 
great stuff 
I just had the worst race of my life. You may remember that a while ago I was eyeing a BQ? I knew it would only ever be a possibility on the perfect day, but a possibility nonetheless. My training was good and 5 weeks ago I was the fittest runner I ever was. Then work and business trips took away my key long runs and I basically began to taper 4 weeks out. Did a fair bit of riding but no run beyond 10k.
Come race day I figured I just go for it. Running at a pace that felt fast but sustainable, I clocked the half at 1:36. Not BQ but definitely a pace I would be happy with. Then I felt a massive blister forming on my left big toe. At 30k my stomach began acting up. I never had any issue during full IM’s but here on water and my millionst GU things went wrong. Then my calves closed shop. Then my feet began to hurt, raising terrible memories of almost a year battling plater fasciitis. This was when I lost the will to carry on and I started walking. In the end the second half took me 2:15 of walk-shuffling.
No BQ, not even close to a PR. A truly terrible day in the office.
And gained the biggest training motivation memory.
That sucks, but you’ll find the positives and in time come back better than ever.
A plan. That’s the key. Even if you just do something basic - 3 times a week, once easy getting longer, once short with short intervals, once mid-duration with longer intervals, stick to it, stretch the duration/repeats/intervals, and you’ll get somewhere.
That’s a tough one! We all have different circumstances and there are a lot of different aspects to the question. Off the top of my head there are a few things that apply for me anyway…
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I have some specific goals and they aren’t going to happen unless I’m able to get the work done. I’m pretty internally motivated and tend towards going all in on things. Sometimes thats been a positive and sometimes a negative.
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I train everyday regardless. That’s just what happens and is part of my routine. Obviously sometimes this doesn’t happen for reasons outside my control but I do something everyday unless I’m ill. I had a week off after IM Maryland last September and since then there’s been 3 days I haven’t raced/trained in the last 6 months.
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My son left home at 18, 6 years ago now, so the only specific commitments I have are to my wife and work. I have been self employed and now work shifts again so generally have time to fit in the training. I don’t have the commitments that some with young families do.
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I’m fortunate to live near (and be able to afford) a club membership where I can pretty much swim whenever I want.
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I have a training room built in the back garden where the turbo, treadmill and gym equipment are permanently set up. If I get myself set up for a session before work it gets done as soon as I get back. I find if I sit down to do something else it’s easier to push the training further back.
I guess it’s a real mix of having goals and a plan as @rocourteau says and the external environmental circumstances that can help or hinder that, some of which you can control and some of which you can’t.
That question would make a good thread on its own.
Few things that have personally worked for me:
- Using a HR monitor to make sure my easy days are actually easy (since doing this I’ve felt fresher and had less illness).
- Doing strength & conditioning work (I haven’t picked up an injury since introducing a couple of short gym sessions a week last year… touch-wood!).
- Not doing high intensity workouts when I’m feeling run-down (tracking HRV has helped with this),
- Getting more sleep (still not great at this).
- Making sure my diet is decent, taking in enough protein after workouts etc…
That’s a bummer of a day. It probably doesn’t feel like it at the moment but
This. Come back strong.