Goal of Sub-3 Hour Marathon (Read 15845 times)

JDF


Non-Stroller-Still Crazy

    Whenever I have good workout on the track I question sometimes if the track is short (like I somehow trust my Garmin more than a measure track Smile )
    That is funny! On a track my Garmin is worthless. It never gives me accurate laps at all. However, on the road courses I have found it to be very useful. It seems that the tight turns of the track confuse it.
    JDF


    Non-Stroller-Still Crazy

      Recap for week ending Sun 9/7/08: Sun – 14 miles including 10-mile race: 6:35, 6:33, 6:32, 6:35, 6:31, 6:31, 6:32, 6:33, 6:34, 6:34 (1:05:30 chip) 1st 60-64, 33/~450 overall. It was a warm day with no clouds but not nearly as bad as I had feared. I was happy with this one and how I was feeling during the week.
      Good job Jim! I think you have a great shot at that sub 3 hour Marry but what can you do in the mile? Just kidding of course. You are in fantastic shape. Keep it up and let us know how it is going. I guess your 10 mile race time should shoot you up the charts on the Active list?
        Things are coming together...
        I'll say. Are you sure you don't want to take a crack at a marathon before December?

        Runners run


        Ham & Egger

          I'll say. Are you sure you don't want to take a crack at a marathon before December?
          Thanks Mike. I've given thought to it, but other stuff down here just doesn't line up right (the downside of living in the deep South; unless I wanted to have run Tupelo, marathon of death, most races in driving distance are Dec.-March). Plus, I haven't even started to work the wheels yet...about 11 weeks out, I'll start doing ins-&-outs and more demanding pace stuff on my tempos (4M@MP/800m jog/4M@15kP). Mileage is about at peak for me--maybe a couple 100 flat weeks, but we'll see...
          www.tuscaloosarunner.blogspot.com
            That is funny! On a track my Garmin is worthless. It never gives me accurate laps at all. However, on the road courses I have found it to be very useful. It seems that the tight turns of the track confuse it.
            Yeah, I don't actually use the mileage the Garmin gives when running on the track. I just use it as a stopwatch and HRM on the track. Though it is interesting when uploading the data into SportTracks seeing a whole bunch of loops around the track....
              An ok week this week... Its was way warmer and humid this week and my legs (especially hamstrings) are tired... Sun AM: 3.09 Easy, 65F (8:08/mi, AHR 135) Sun PM: 1.03 wup, 81F (8:28/mi, AHR 135) 6.25 race, 81F (6:35/mi, AHR 170) Mon: Off Tue: 9.66 Easy, 57F (8:20/mi, AHR 131) Wed: 22.23 Easy, 60F (8:05/mi, AHR 141) Thu: 4.00 Recovery, 71F (8:49/mi, AHR 126) Fri: 7.33 Easy, 72F (71DP) (8:19/mi, AHR 137) Sat: 7.02 Easy, 77F (77DP) (8:27/mi, AHR 138) Tot: 60.61 miles


              Right on Hereford...

                F am: 5x1600m@HMP>15KP, 200mR (6:15, 6:13, 6:14, 6:06, 6:05), 12.3M in 88:30 ... Total: 94M in 12:00:00. Things are coming together.
                Wow, tusca...I'll second that! With a half marathon pace of 6:15 (1:21:56) and 15k pace of 6:05 (56:42), combined with a 94-mile week that seemed quite reasonable for you, you're looking at predicted marathon times of around 2:51. Are you sure you're not setting your sights a little low with the sub-3 goal? Wink Here's my (unimpressive) week for comparison... Mon: off Tue: 6.9, with 5 x (800 + 400R) at 5k pace (3:03, 3:04, 3:03, 3:03, 3:03) Wed: 6.2 easy (8:31 pace) Thu: 5.2 easy (8:08 pace) Fri: 8.3, with 6 miles at HMP (6:50, 6:51, 6:55, 6:33, 6:27, 6:34) Sat: 5.2 easy (8:12 pace) Sun: 10.3 easy (8:54 pace) Total: 42.1 mi I'm tapering for the Chicago Half this Sunday...


                Ham & Egger

                  Wow, tusca...I'll second that! With a half marathon pace of 6:15 (1:21:56) and 15k pace of 6:05 (56:42), combined with a 94-mile week that seemed quite reasonable for you, you're looking at predicted marathon times of around 2:51. Are you sure you're not setting your sights a little low with the sub-3 goal? Wink Here's my (unimpressive) week for comparison... Mon: off Tue: 6.9, with 5 x (800 + 400R) at 5k pace (3:03, 3:04, 3:03, 3:03, 3:03) Wed: 6.2 easy (8:31 pace) Thu: 5.2 easy (8:08 pace) Fri: 8.3, with 6 miles at HMP (6:50, 6:51, 6:55, 6:33, 6:27, 6:34) Sat: 5.2 easy (8:12 pace) Sun: 10.3 easy (8:54 pace) Total: 42.1 mi I'm tapering for the Chicago Half this Sunday...
                  That's not unimpressive. I teach at a university, so my schedule is quite flexible, and I live on campus to boot--it's pretty easy to sneak doubles in. If I had a traditional 9-5, my mileage would be quite a bit lower. In all truthfulness, if I can stay healthy, keep things in my pants, and keep on the mileage, I think I have shot for high 2:40s. I haven't done any real tough VO2 work or demanding tempo work, & thus am not race sharp. This said, I know one guy who consistantly last Spring ran low 16/32 flat during his training cycle & put in 80 mpw or so...hobbled in to a 3:03. I know another guy who was in relatively the same shape and ran 110 a week and hit Twin Cities last year and finished in 2:5x when he was looking to break 2:40. Another woman who ran a 1:19 half untapered and trying to qualify for OTs came across Grandma's a mess in 2:57. Point is that this is a mofo of an event, and even though I think if things break right I could have a terrific race, there's also the very real chance I don't break 3, particularly on my first go...but that's why I love this sport: you can do everything right and still blow up.
                  www.tuscaloosarunner.blogspot.com
                    I agree that you could run a good one right now but I think you are right to wait until December. There is a major cumulative effect from training more months. You haven't been back in full stride all that long so the extra couple months can only help. Regarding the "real tough v02 max work" I'm not sure that you need any of that. A few races will give the race toughening, using them as speedwork for the marathon...10k's are great if you can find them. Ah, I see in prior post that you do have a 10k coming up. Before my first marathon (2:48) my training was almost nothing but long runs, occasional hills, and a 10k a month (10 of them leading up to M). Interestingly I had a very similar 20-miler to the one you had Sunday, 2 weeks before--"7:20 pace felt like a jog" was log comment. I think that the way a run feels can often mean more than how fast we run them.
                    Age 60 plus best times: 5k 19:00, 10k 38:35, 10m 1:05:30, HM 1:24:09, 30k 2:04:33


                    Why is it sideways?

                      Just to re-emphasize Jim's point, to me it seems like being "sharp" for the marathon is more a matter of feeling fresh than it is a matter of feeling fast. So, if the VO2max intervals make you feel fresh, then go for it. But you're rolling the dice in terms of injury and burn out by "sharpening up" with speed on top of all that volume. My sense is that marathon's not about speed, until you get down under 2:30 or so, and even then only marginally.
                        Sharpening is race specific. VO2max intervals are not race sharpening for a marathon the way they would be for a 5k or 10k. A 30k at MP is.

                        Runners run


                        Ham & Egger

                          Thanks for the clarification. My bad on the teriminology. I simply mean I want to put in some long, 10k intervals as "speed work". Stuff like 8000m of 400m@10kP, 400m@MP>1:00 slower than 10kP, back and forth, continuous. Or tempos like 4M@MP, 4m@LT or 2000m@MP, 1000@:30 slower than MP--just getting the over/under/pace thing set up. Per racing, I'm only doing 3: 11 weeks out is a 10k; 7 weeks out a half; 4 weeks out a 30k or 18 mile MP TT, and then the marathon... MTA: Thanks for all the suggestions, though. It's my first go around at this distance, so I'm happy for all the help.
                          www.tuscaloosarunner.blogspot.com
                          wayfool


                            Wow! it's great to see some familiar faces from the coolrunning days! I'm going to throw my attempt in the mix. NYC Marathon sub-3.
                              Wow! it's great to see some familiar faces from the coolrunning days! I'm going to throw my attempt in the mix. NYC Marathon sub-3.
                              Welcome, wayfool. Let the countdown begin.
                              Age 60 plus best times: 5k 19:00, 10k 38:35, 10m 1:05:30, HM 1:24:09, 30k 2:04:33
                                Wow! it's great to see some familiar faces from the coolrunning days! I'm going to throw my attempt in the mix. NYC Marathon sub-3.
                                Good luck. I wish I as running that one with you. NY is a great race. Just don't go out to fast, the race starts at the 59th Street bridge..