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

northernman


Fight The Future

    I may have to bail on the idea of PR'ing this Sunday. The temps dropped suddenly, and we had 6 inches of snow up north, which is interesting because that made the roads unpassable for the firetrucks that have been working to put out the peat bog fires. The fires are still burning, by the way (WTF?), with steam coming out from under the snow.

     

    The forecast for Sunday is to feel like 22 with the wind chill at the start of the race, and by the time that I should be finishing, it will feel like 44, so a 22 degree increase over 3.5 hours. I never know what to wear when there's going to be that much of a range. Layers of disposable clothes? The salvation army really makes out well after this race. 

    Sorry Julia, but I'm going to have to re-target to just try to get in under 3:30....

    Julia1971


      I may have to bail on the idea of PR'ing this Sunday. The temps dropped suddenly, and we had 6 inches of snow up north, which is interesting because that made the roads unpassable for the firetrucks that have been working to put out the peat bog fires. The fires are still burning, by the way (WTF?), with steam coming out from under the snow.

       

      The forecast for Sunday is to feel like 22 with the wind chill at the start of the race, and by the time that I should be finishing, it will feel like 44, so a 22 degree increase over 3.5 hours. I never know what to wear when there's going to be that much of a range. Layers of disposable clothes? The salvation army really makes out well after this race. 

      Sorry Julia, but I'm going to have to re-target to just try to get in under 3:30....

       

      Oh no.  Sorry to hear about the weather.  Grrr!  You train so hard and then something like that happens!  I know a lot of runners bagged on Boston and ran other marathons a few weeks later, so that's always an option if you really care about running a fast time.  But, if you really want to run it anyway then, have fun with it!  There will be other races.  Smile

       

      I don't run in weather that cold but would think layers would be the way to go.  But, I wonder if freezing sweat towards the end of the race might

      become a factor.  I know for my really long runs during the winter there comes a time when my shirt and hat get heavy and cold from the sweat. 

       

      Peat bog fires?!  I gotta Google that...


      fake it till you make it

        I may have to bail on the idea of PR'ing this Sunday. The temps dropped suddenly, and we had 6 inches of snow up north, which is interesting because that made the roads unpassable for the firetrucks that have been working to put out the peat bog fires. The fires are still burning, by the way (WTF?), with steam coming out from under the snow.

         

        The forecast for Sunday is to feel like 22 with the wind chill at the start of the race, and by the time that I should be finishing, it will feel like 44, so a 22 degree increase over 3.5 hours. I never know what to wear when there's going to be that much of a range. Layers of disposable clothes? The salvation army really makes out well after this race. 

        Sorry Julia, but I'm going to have to re-target to just try to get in under 3:30....

         

         

        Good luck this weekend Northernman!  I actually like cold weather for racing, and it looks like we should have a mostly tail/side wind for most of the last half of the race. I wouldn't write off a PR just yet, looks like you have had a great training cycle.

         

        I, however, am woefully under-trained this time around. Had a small muscle strain that kept me out for 2.5 weeks, and life has gotten in the way of training recently so haven't run much in the last 5 weeks.  I'm going to give up on any hope of sub-3:30- or any pace goal for that matter- and focus on having an enjoyable race and hopefully come out injury free so I can recover and then build up base for boston.  TCM is one of my favorite courses and I can't wait for the cheering crowds and neighborhood parties!

        northernman


        Fight The Future

          Good luck this weekend Northernman!  I actually like cold weather for racing, and it looks like we should have a mostly tail/side wind for most of the last half of the race. I wouldn't write off a PR just yet, looks like you have had a great training cycle.

           

          I, however, am woefully under-trained this time around. Had a small muscle strain that kept me out for 2.5 weeks, and life has gotten in the way of training recently so haven't run much in the last 5 weeks.  I'm going to give up on any hope of sub-3:30- or any pace goal for that matter- and focus on having an enjoyable race and hopefully come out injury free so I can recover and then build up base for boston.  TCM is one of my favorite courses and I can't wait for the cheering crowds and neighborhood parties!

           

          Sorry about the muscle strain; that's really a drag. But it should be fun to dress warm (!) and have a nice relaxing run to enjoy the crowds and parties. I agree, it's really a terrific race. Best of luck, and maybe I'll see you there. Will you be in corral 1?


          fake it till you make it

            I'll be in corral 1 with my Team R.E.D. singlet on, say hello when you go flying past me!

            Julia1971


              Thinking positive thoughts for our racers this morning. I just looked at NOAA's weather observations and it looked to me like the conditions were tough.

               

              I ran a half marathon today as another tune-up race.  I was on the fence about this race when I made up my schedule because I didn't think it was smart to run two halfs as tune-up races.  But a friend mentioned she was looking to do bib transfer and my inner speed racer said "I'll take it!" before I knew it.  I wanted to run somewhere around 1:33 and went just under that with 1:32:56, which is a new PR by a minute.  But, the course was fast - mostly downhill, some rolling but only two really tough climbs that came towards the end.  And, I got to test out a couple of logistical things which was a bonus.  Resting up today since I have my long run tomorrow.  Let's hope the football games are good.

              northernman


              Fight The Future

                Here's my long winded race report. As a spoiler, I did not make it to 3:20, but I did get a PR.

                 

                So, my belly aching about the cold forecast was a bit overblown; it was actually pretty cold, but not quite as  bad as I was expecting, particularly after two hours into the race. I've been getting coaching from the Tinman, and asked him about it. His recommendation was to dress for the colder part of the run. Turned out to be good advice. All well and good, but even though I live in Minnesota, I don't run outside in the winter, and I didn't have any running tights. Fortunately, my wife is a real Minnesotan, and she had lots of stretchy tights and long sleeve tops that were supposed to keep things warm. I wore some slinky black shiny ones, that she claimed were unisex (hmm… at least they weren't fishnets), and my race ready shorts over the tights to protect the eyes of any onlookers. 

                 

                I headed up to the cities at 4:00 AM to make sure I could get a parking place, and then took the bus to the Metrodome. The TCM is nice because they let us inside the heated Metrodome to hang out until the race starts. Maybe due to the early start and the long wait, I was a bit too relaxed by this time, and somehow I forgot to set my Garmin pages to have the sorts of info I usually do in a race. No matter, I was planning on just trying to keep up with the 3:25 pacer, since I had given up on 3:20. Last year, I had run with the 3:45 pacer, and had had a great time. Just a small group of us ran with him, and he told us jokes, and generally did a terrific job of keeping track of pace, etc. Looking forward to this sort of first class treatment again today.

                 

                I joined the throng outside at 7:45, and it was packed, as usual. But I had a harder time than I expected getting into the first coral; it was packed too, and I couldn't reach the 3:25 pace group. Not a bit deal. Cold and a bit windy at this point, but the sun was shining and it was a beautiful day. The race started, and I took off, finally catching up with the 3:25 group after the first mile. I hung with that crowd for the next 3 or 4 miles, but it was huge group, and very difficult to fit in. Trying to run the tangents was a major problem with such a crowd. And some of the runners were pretty aggressive; I got elbowed really hard in the side a few times. I finally decided I would run ahead of the pacer where it was not so packed, and this was fine for a while, but then when I looked back, I couldn't see them anymore. All the way up to this point, my Garmin had been going crazy, not showing real paces, and I didn't even have it set to show the total time. I did not know what was up with it, but figured at this point that the whole race was screwed up for me, and I would just run by feel, trying to keep an easy pace, and wait for the 3:25 crowd to catch up. 

                 

                I made it to 13.1 and the course clock said it was 1:40, so I was ahead of my plan, but even in my stupefied state i was able to figure that 2 x 1:40 was 3:20, so maybe I should go for that time after all? Things continued well, and this year I had almost no trouble with the hills, including the long slope up Summit Ave at mile 21.5 to 23.5. But things fell apart right after that - I suddenly got a side stitch on the right, just under my ribs. It was a side stitch from hell! It felt like my liver was trying to jump out of my abdomen. I tried breathing deeper and that made it worse. So I tried breathing out when I paced on the left foot, then breathing out on the right foot, but no help. I tried taking very shallow breaths, and that made it a little bit less painful. I even tried not breathing, and that was good, but not for very long. I was forced to slow down so i wouldn't jar my innards, and basically hobbled the last two miles looking like a frail old man. I didn't even get to blast down the final hill Quite the bummer, and I wasn't even out of breath when I crossed the finish line. Oh well, on the good side, I think I have a future PR in store if I can ever figure out how to avoid side stitches. So, a bit disappointing that I flaked out at the end for a non-muscle fail, but all-in-all, a good race.

                 

                Final Chip Time: 3:21:56

                PR by 5 minutes 31 seconds

                BQ - 18 minutes

                Age Graded Time: 2:52:46

                Paul Ryan Time:2:26:26

                Julia1971


                  Wow, NorthernMan!  Great race report.  I particularly liked the part about the tights.  (And, I'll try to remember the tip re dressing for super cold weather).

                   

                  And, that's a huge PR!  Congratulations!  You crushed it. 

                  northernman


                  Fight The Future

                    Thanks Julia. and congrats on your great half marathon PR! You are definitely on track for a great marathon coming up. With under a 1:33, you should be able to make it with no problem (maybe aim for even better?)

                    Good luck!


                    fake it till you make it

                       

                      Final Chip Time: 3:21:56

                      PR by 5 minutes 31 seconds

                      BQ - 18 minutes

                      Age Graded Time: 2:52:46

                      Paul Ryan Time:2:26:26

                       
                      Absolutely fantastic, what a well run race you had!  Congratulations!  And did you see the sign around mile 21 or 23 that was the "Paul Ryan Finish Line?"  I love the spectators on that course, they really make that race special.  

                       

                      I had a crummy race- a perfect storm of poor training, getting quite sick a couple days before the race, and making lots of stupid mistakes on the run. I don't mind the slow time (3:52) I ran, but I wish I could have at least enjoyed it as that was my main goal, but I pretty much suffered from mile 16 on.  Feeling good and not sore today though, and already plotting and planning for the next one.

                       

                      Julia- congrats on the new HM PR! Wow!

                      Julia1971


                        JenRosie, sorry to hear it wasn't your day but I like your attitude - Next!  There's really no point in dwelling on disappointing race performances for long.

                         

                        NorthernMan, I think I'm good with 3:20.  With the "hills" and my corral assignment (I'm in the second wave), I think I'm going to have to work really hard to get that time at NYCM.  And, there's always the weather...  I just want to join all you graduates here!

                        northernman


                        Fight The Future

                          Jen,

                          sorry for feeling not so great during the race, but you did well considering how your schedule got side lined by other commitments. Just think of it as one more particularly long run to build more base for Boston. 

                          I did love the signs and support - the twin cities gang are so enthusiastic, and on such a cold day!

                          Good luck with the next five months, and I'll be with you there in Boston!

                            CliveF,

                            The footnote on my Ogden has been driving me mad so I raced St. George this weekend. I ran a 3;28:48. A new PR and truely a sub 3;30. Can I be a full graduate now? 

                             

                            Phaedra

                              Phaedra, sorry if that came across the wrong way -- it was supposed to be a joke!  The list has been updated. 

                               

                              And congratulations!

                              "I want you to pray as if everything depends on it, but I want you to prepare yourself as if everything depends on you."

                              -- Dick LeBeau

                                I thought it was really funny actually Smile  And I really wasn't planning on a sub 3:30 when I started St George. It just happened to be a good day. Thanks for graduating me.