Very Basic "Marathon Potential" Question... (Read 4159 times)

What Jeff said. That's what I was trying to say.

Aww, shucks. You're just full of compliments for the hippie, today.

You can't predict a potential marathon time from a mile any more than you can predict your marathon time by running Yasso 800's (sorry, couldn't resist). I will say this, you approached your marathon training very sensibly and sanely, and it paid off with a fine first marathon. It takes years to really build your aerobic base (and years to lose it in my case), but your continued patience will no doubt be rewarded with faster times in the future. Keep running, and you'll soon find out what your potential is in the marathon. Good luck!

Thanks for all of the great information. Potential was probably a poor choice of words. Maybe I should've asked if it seemed reasonably possible to run a ~3 hour marathon if I was capable of running a 5:30 mile AND did the necessary training (however that is defined). I know no matter how much training I do, I'll never run a 4.3 40 yard dash, and I'll never be able to throw a football 70 yards. Just won't happen. I was hoping such a limitation didn't exist at 3 hours for the marathon. Regardless, it sounds like it may be possible, may not be... only way to find out is to try until I either succeed or I don't. I think the experiment begins on Saturday. Thanks again.

... if I were able to run a 5:30 mile should I then (theoretically) be capable of running a 3:00:00 (or so) marathon? In other words, should endurance always come with proper training ... I ask because never during the marathon did I feel "winded" (ran the whole race breathing through my nose only) but my quads really started to feel it. By far it seemed that my leg fatigue was my limiting factor. Is this normally the case in a marathon?

At age 38 or 39 I could run a mile in 5:45. At age 40 I ran a 2:57 marathon (6:45 pace). Training for me was mostly conversational-pace runs with a long run on the weekends. Usually a 10K race every couple weeks. Occasional "longer" runs like 40 miles on my 40th birthday, a 28-mile long run every 2 or 3 weeks, etc. I needed a weekly average of 65 - 70 miles to maintain my marathon pace throughout the 26.2. For endurance you have to put in the miles, and to train your fat metabolism you need to build a base at an easy aerobic pace. Don't ingest a lot of carbs during training sessions... that can inhibit the training effect on the fat metabolism. I drank a sport drink throughout that marathon, but that was a race, not training. I am a naturally slow runner, probably almost 100% slow-twitch, so that probably dictated how I had to train. I always train breathing through my nose only, and for any race of more than 2 1/2 hours or so that's how I run it. If your marathon was 3:55, make sure your long training runs include a number over 4 hours. Run some hills in your weekly runs. I used to run a few hills toward the end of my long runs too. I routinely used to run with 3 lb dumbbells - got so I didn't even notice them after a while - if you do this your shoulders and arms won't ever get tired in a marathon. A 5:30 mile 15 years ago might not tell you too much about your marathon potential now. But since I was the slowest guy (bottom 1%) in high school and ran a 2:57 marathon at age 40, maybe you shouldn't give up on the idea of a sub 3 hr marathon. Gino