Sub-3:30 Marathon in 2012 Goal Thread (Read 4592 times)

    Julia and rockenmama, you are putting in some killer training.  Kudos and good luck!  I've got no doubt you'll both be setting some PRs.

     

    I've had a great week.  Hit 86 miles, which is a personal best for me--and eight more than I had planned.  Whoops.  Ended up doing two group runs this weekend, so I bailed on my Friday mid-long run...and did a long (16.4 mile) run with hill repeats on Friday, followed by 21 miles on very technical trails this morning.  It was my first experience of back-to-back long runs, and I feel awesome...despite my perhaps ill-advised hill repeats at the end of the long run on Saturday (stoked about the best pace, though--repeat #3 was 400m @ 5:25 pace). Even did a recovery five this evening, which shook everything out and felt wonderful.  Looking forward to some sleep!  Next week is a "cut-back" week of 68 planned miles. 

     

    The LT miles went all right--about 6:45/mile, roughly the same as two week ago.  When they were over (and six additional miles, too) I hauled and stacked a full cord of firewood that I had delivered.  That's...cross training, right?

     

    All in all, a great week.  The back-to-back long runs also confirmed to me that the ultra training I have planned for the summer isn't too terrible idea.  Enjoyed every single run--even the one where I cramped up on Friday (no Gatorade, no bananas...stupid!).

     

    MTA: my dog ran about 45 miles these week.  I should probably sign her up for a marathon at some point. Big grin

    "When a person trains once, nothing happens. When a person forces himself to do a thing a hundred or a thousand times, then he certainly has developed in more ways than physical. Is it raining? That doesn't matter. Am I tired? That doesn't matter, either. Then willpower will be no problem." 
    Emil Zatopek

    Julia1971


      @RGilbert: Congrats on hitting a mileage benchmark!  Seems like you’re cruising along just fine.

       

      Week 9 marked the half way point of my program.  I peeked ahead and I get to do some intervals this week.  Woo hoo!  I'm itching to run some fast stuff!

       

      The key workout for me this week was 12 miles at goal marathon pace.  I spent most of the week worrying about it since I didn’t run the last one well.  In the end, it went great!  I ran a little faster than goal MP, averaging 7:38, which would be just under 3:20.  The course was rolling hills for the first 4-5 miles and then was pretty much flat.  I was averaging just over 7:50 in the beginning and I fought panic each time my Garmin told me to speed up.  But, once the hills were over, my pace started dropping.  I felt I could hold pace for the duration.  At one point, my pace was down to 7:35.  Soon, my Garmin was telling me to slow down which I did by about Mile 8.  When the pace slowed to 7:38 though, I dug in.  I told myself I needed to prove I could run this pace and was going to finish this run strong.  It worked and I did.

       

      Miles Last Week: 84

      Goal for This Week: Focus on stretching and form drills.  Maybe take a pilates class.  I can tell my muscles are tight. 

      runnerclay


      Consistently Slow

        @RGilbert: Congrats on hitting a mileage benchmark!  Seems like you’re cruising along just fine.

         

        Week 9 marked the half way point of my program.  I peeked ahead and I get to do some intervals this week.  Woo hoo!  I'm itching to run some fast stuff!

         

        The key workout for me this week was 12 miles at goal marathon pace.  I spent most of the week worrying about it since I didn’t run the last one well.  In the end, it went great!  I ran a little faster than goal MP, averaging 7:38, which would be just under 3:20.  The course was rolling hills for the first 4-5 miles and then was pretty much flat.  I was averaging just over 7:50 in the beginning and I fought panic each time my Garmin told me to speed up.  But, once the hills were over, my pace started dropping.  I felt I could hold pace for the duration.  At one point, my pace was down to 7:35.  Soon, my Garmin was telling me to slow down which I did by about Mile 8.  When the pace slowed to 7:38 though, I dug in.  I told myself I needed to prove I could run this pace and was going to finish this run strong.  It worked and I did.

         

        Miles Last Week: 84

        Goal for This Week: Focus on stretching and form drills.  Maybe take a pilates class.  I can tell my muscles are tight. 

         WTG!

        Run until the trail runs out.

         SCHEDULE 2016--

         The pain that hurts the worse is the imagined pain. One of the most difficult arts of racing is learning to ignore the imagined pain and just live with the present pain (which is always bearable.) - Jeff

        unsolicited chatter

        http://bkclay.blogspot.com/

        stadjak


        Interval Junkie --Nobby

          Wow, incredible week, Julia.

          2021 Goals: 50mpw 'cause there's nothing else to do

            Thanks Ryan! Great week you had there!

             

            NICE run Julia!

             

             

            As for me certain time of the month hit and totally screwed my weekend up in  way. Last few months I end up with monster headache's for a few days. Between that and needing to up one of my medications that I take on a daily basis I pretty much felt like crap from Thursday until last night. Ran the 2 5ks's with no goals. Hit sub 22 on the first one which is a PR for me (actually expected to be much slower considering how crappy I was feeling)  and a little over 23 on the second one which I was running for fun, though I have to say running in 26 feels like 12 with winds 20-22 MPR is not exactly all that fun. I decided that I'd do my long run of 17 today instead of yesterday. Ended up doing 19@ 8:34 pace. Other than wind and some snow/ice on the trail it was a great day for a run. If only I felt as good as I did today this past weekend. Anyways  got another 100 mile week scheduled for this week.

             

             

            Hope everyone has a GREAT week!

            Your toughness is made up of equal parts persistence and experience. You don't so much outrun your opponents as outlast and outsmart them, and the toughest opponent of all is the one inside your head." - Joe Henderson

              You guys are hitting awesome mileage. I guess I need to step my game up.

               

              I ran a 1:30:29 half-marathon last weekend. The half was hard, but at least I know that my LT can definitely handle an extended 6:55 pace. Plugged it into McMillian and got 3:10 for a predicted marathon time. I think that is doable, but I don't have the endurance yet. 

               

              I am going to focus on upping my mileage for the 2.5 months, but I am not going to be able to get to the 75+ mile weeks that you all seem to be doing. 

               

              --

              Nashville, TN

               

                Last week was pretty great again, all told.  Cut a mile off the Sunday long run because I thought I'd--for once--try to stick to the weekly planned mileage (68) since it was a cut-back week.  This week starts mesocycle two of my Pfitz plan officially...started it off with a double today.  Feeling pretty great.

                 

                Tomorrow's LT run is my big concern now (They ALWAYS psych me out.).  Fortunate enough to be doing the 20 miler with a group this weekend, which I'm pretty excited about.

                 

                My run streak also hit 100 days this week (102 right now), and the streak is now 1,000 miles long.  Considering that's about half the mileage I have since I started running again (last May), I'm pretty stoked. I'll hit my 2,000th mile this week, too!

                "When a person trains once, nothing happens. When a person forces himself to do a thing a hundred or a thousand times, then he certainly has developed in more ways than physical. Is it raining? That doesn't matter. Am I tired? That doesn't matter, either. Then willpower will be no problem." 
                Emil Zatopek

                  holy smokes you guys are blowing my mileage and speed out of the water.  Granted rockenmama is training for 100mi, you sub 3:30's are way ahead of me.  I did a 3:34 last time, I figured I could do what I did previously and just 'show up'.  Seems I need to up my speed for April.  I hadn't done any MP runs yet. 

                   

                  Love the seven stages of grief comment!  Shy

                  Julia1971


                    @RockenMommaof5: Keep plugging away!  I’ve been trying not to put too much emphasis on a particular workout/week after my bad MP run but I know it’s hard.  A panic starts to creep in and I start to wonder what things mean and over-think things.  But, I’m trying to be more “zen” about it all.  I try to set myself up to do well but sometimes – for whatever reason - I have crappy workouts, ya know?

                     

                    @Jaxn:  Nice Half!  I think building over time is a good way to go.  For what it’s worth (and I’m not sure if you’re a newer runner or just haven’t logged older runs), I built to this level of mileage over a few years...  I was telling a co-worker today how funny it was to me that for my first marathon cycle (50 mpw) I remember coming home and going straight to bed at 7:30 some nights.  The next one (85 mpw) was also tough - I was generally tired and struggled to fit the workouts in.  This cycle (85 mpw), I’m more or less cruising.  Not sure if I'll hit my time goal, but the training is not killing me.  I’m a complete believer in the training effect.

                     

                    @AussieGir76:  The stages of grief was nothing.  I’m hilarious!  Looking forward to meeting you in Boston!  Smile


                    hairshirt knitter

                      holy smokes you guys are blowing my mileage and speed out of the water.

                       

                      I know what you mean, some of you are putting serious effort into this!

                       

                      It got me thinking though... I am hoping to go under 3:30 later this year, once I get some other goals out of the way, but I was hoping to do so on a lot less miles than yours :-( I know also that some of you are hoping to go *way* under 3:30. What do you think you would need to do to get down to 3:00 though? Would it be a longer spell training at the same mileage, or would you have to up it again, or would it take the same mileage but at increased intensity?

                      Julia1971


                        I know what you mean, some of you are putting serious effort into this!

                         

                        It got me thinking though... I am hoping to go under 3:30 later this year, once I get some other goals out of the way, but I was hoping to do so on a lot less miles than yours :-( I know also that some of you are hoping to go *way* under 3:30. What do you think you would need to do to get down to 3:00 though? Would it be a longer spell training at the same mileage, or would you have to up it again, or would it take the same mileage but at increased intensity?

                         

                        I thought about clarifying this earlier...  I hope people aren't reading my updates and thinking they need to run 85 miles/week to run sub-3:30.  I run 85 miles/week because it's a challenge.  To be honest, I think I get more out of training for the marathon than I get out of running it.  (In fact, for my last one, I couldn't be bothered to line up transportation to make sure I got to the race on time.  LOL!)  I prove something to myself almost every week.

                         

                        But to get to your question, and I'm not an expert on this by any means, I don't think it's just about the mileage.  If you hang around message boards long enough, someone will inevitably chime in that they ran sub-3:00 on 20 miles a week while eating at McDonald's every day and getting stoned every night, so it's no big deal.  (Okay, maybe that's just over at Let'sRun).  I guess I think of consistent training and high mileage as insurance.

                          @RockenMommaof5: Keep plugging away!  I’ve been trying not to put too much emphasis on a particular workout/week after my bad MP run but I know it’s hard.  A panic starts to creep in and I start to wonder what things mean and over-think things.  But, I’m trying to be more “zen” about it all.  I try to set myself up to do well but sometimes – for whatever reason - I have crappy workouts, ya know?

                           

                           

                           Actually I'm pretty happy with how last week went, considering I was sick over the weekend.I never get too worked out over a bad workout because I know I need them in order to enjoy the good ones, that and I have more good workouts than bad *knock on wood*  Plugging away is my middle name lol. Got a little under 85 miles (only one day of doubles)  for the week and it's only Friday. Can't believe my 50 mil race is just a little over a month away. It will be nice to get back to just marathon training for the short time I'll have until my marathon in May.

                          Your toughness is made up of equal parts persistence and experience. You don't so much outrun your opponents as outlast and outsmart them, and the toughest opponent of all is the one inside your head." - Joe Henderson

                             

                            But to get to your question, and I'm not an expert on this by any means, I don't think it's just about the mileage.  If you hang around message boards long enough, someone will inevitably chime in that they ran sub-3:00 on 20 miles a week while eating at McDonald's every day and getting stoned every night, so it's no big deal.  (Okay, maybe that's just over at Let'sRun).  I guess I think of consistent training and high mileage as insurance.

                             +1

                             

                             

                            As far as my mileage, I'm training for a 50 miler next month. And I have a 100 miler this summer so. The going for sub 3:30 in a marathon this May is just me hoping to take advantage of all the training I've been putting in as well as the shape I'm in

                            Your toughness is made up of equal parts persistence and experience. You don't so much outrun your opponents as outlast and outsmart them, and the toughest opponent of all is the one inside your head." - Joe Henderson

                            Julia1971


                              Week 10 was pretty uneventful.  Had some beautiful morning runs watching the sunrise and the city wake up.  There were a few days where I felt my motivation waning.  I tried mixing it up on one run by listening to podcasts instead of music.  One in particular - a Freakonomic cast titled “Save Me from Myself” - was excellent and made the time fly by.  It was also hard getting out for my long run yesterday.  I started watching Spirit of the Marathon thinking it would inspire me, but an hour in I was still “meh” so I just headed out.  I think I’m just getting bored with just logging miles and want to race!  I find myself looking at race results for races I didn’t run.  Sad  If I start pinning old bibs to my shirts, I may break down and race something.  But, hoping I can hold off a couple more weeks...

                               

                              Miles Last Week: 79

                              Goal for This Week: Try to hit 15K-Half pace on Thursday.  I’m not sure I have, yet.

                                Week 10 was pretty uneventful.  Had some beautiful morning runs watching the sunrise and the city wake up.  There were a few days where I felt my motivation waning.  I tried mixing it up on one run by listening to podcasts instead of music.  One in particular - a Freakonomic cast titled “Save Me from Myself” - was excellent and made the time fly by.  It was also hard getting out for my long run yesterday.  I started watching Spirit of the Marathon thinking it would inspire me, but an hour in I was still “meh” so I just headed out.  I think I’m just getting bored with just logging miles and want to race!  I find myself looking at race results for races I didn’t run.  Sad  If I start pinning old bibs to my shirts, I may break down and race something.  But, hoping I can hold off a couple more weeks...

                                 

                                Miles Last Week: 79

                                Goal for This Week: Try to hit 15K-Half pace on Thursday.  I’m not sure I have, yet.

                                 keep that monster in it's cage, at least for a few more weeks k Julia!

                                 

                                 

                                 

                                 

                                As for me. 100 miles for the week.  Very happy with how this week went. It's hard trying to balance ultra training and marathon training at the same time. I find myself juggling one week being a "mileage" whore and then the next week trying to get my speed work in while trying to also recover from a heavy mileage week.  My goal for next week is to get some Marathon paced work in my long run and some 15k-HM pace work in a mid long run though I'm not sure I'll have it this week. Builders started building on new houses across the street and my allergies are kicking my butt. I'm a little worried that I could make things worse if I try to do speed work this week. Will just have to take things day by day

                                Your toughness is made up of equal parts persistence and experience. You don't so much outrun your opponents as outlast and outsmart them, and the toughest opponent of all is the one inside your head." - Joe Henderson