Forums >Racing>Sub-3:30 Marathon in 2012 Goal Thread
Thanks all. It was a perfect day to race. The six pee breaks did me though. I had lots of fun and will crush this motha at Boston.
Thanks all. It was a perfect day to race. The six pee breaks did me though.
I had lots of fun and will crush this motha at Boston.
I'm hoping for a strong tailwind when I attempt sub-3:30...C-R just needs to not stop and take pictures of Disney characters. You are going to kill Boston!
"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
Week 5 was rough. Personal life and illness conspired to throw me off track but they both failed! On the personal side, my inner Paula Radcliffe was silenced by my inner Ke$ha a couple nights. I got my runs in the next day, but was desperate for sleep all week. On a health note, I also had a slight cold - mostly just a cough.
Did my 10 miles @ MP on Saturday in 7:51. Not as fast as I wanted, but it was pretty windy so I’m still thinking my goal pace for Boston will be in the 3:20/3:25 range.
Miles Last Week: 79
Goal for This Week: Recover.
@dsocha: 30 mpw seems on the low side, but I'm sure there are runners who've done it. If that’s the most you can/want to run, try it and see what happens.
@rockenmamaof5: Thanks! If I don’t go sub-3:30, it won’t be for lack of consistent training. Congrats on maintaining that level of mileage!
@C-R: So close!
@rgilbert: How'd that marathon pace run go?
My blog is JT Running DC. It's awesome. Guide to Washington DC Area Running Routes. Guide to the New York City Marathon. Guide to the Boston Marathon. Guide to Running Gear. Guide to Running Clothes.
paris for me... aiming for 3.30 having done 3.50 in my first marathon at brighton last year. up to 14 miles so far but spending alot of weekends doing off road xc races... kent fitness league, 15 miles next week, tempo 7 @ 7.45 on tuesday and track session thurs, with 2 x x training/ wieght sessions at the gym mixed in..... bring it on
Nice job on your Long run this week Julia!! How'd the 10 miles @ MP feel?
I ended my week with a little over 105 miles. Today I did a 30 mile run, 15 miles with a good friend of mine. . Besides getting "bit" by a dog (warning one and my own fault) and falling on my ass thanks to some snow covered ice it was still pretty enjoyable, at least as enjoyable as 30 miles can be. I don't know about anyone else but I am tired today.
Here's to another week down!
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
Nice job on your Long run this week Julia!! How'd the 10 miles @ MP feel? I ended my week with a little over 105 miles. Today I did a 30 mile run, 15 miles with a good friend of mine. . Besides getting "bit" by a dog (warning one and my own fault) and falling on my ass thanks to some snow covered ice it was still pretty enjoyable, at least as enjoyable as 30 miles can be. I don't know about anyone else but I am tired today. Here's to another week down!
105 miles. Wow! You should be tired. Hope you can rest up.
My MP run was funny. I was cruising along at 7:35/7:40 pace and thinking, "I can run this pace forever! This is great!" And then... I hit the headwind. Then, I entered something like the seven stages of grief. There was some bargaining ("If you can hold this pace for another mile, then you can let up the next mile"), some anger ("Why did you start out so fast?!"), some denial ("I can NOT be slowing down this much"). In the end, I'm just chalking it up to a bad run.
Well, I pulled it off. I was originally planning on doing the MP miles at about 7:15 (for my pie in the sky 3:10 goal), but snow caused me to dial it back a bit. There were spots with 3-4" of snow in my way. All things considered, I'm happy with it--between 7:22 and 7:29 for the them. Ran on a mile loop park, snow, at least, I could remember where all the drifts were. Still, could not get below 7:20.
Next time.
That said, I'm having second thoughts about using a training plan. I hate "having to" run according to one. Without a plan, I often run more than this, but it never seems like work.
Your training has been great--the winds/snow/etc can wreak havoc on pacing, as I am finding out .
I think next I might be trying to get in some trail runs, group runs, etc, and generally ignore my plan aside from the LT run and general volume.
I ended my week with a little over 105 miles. Today I did a 30 mile run, 15 miles with a good friend of mine. . Besides getting "bit" by a dog (warning one and my own fault) and falling on my ass thanks to some snow covered ice it was still pretty enjoyable, ...
30-mile run; bitten by dog; fell on ass. Trifecta, baby!
Nice work today and nice week. I'm eager to watch all this work pay off for you.
"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
Week 6: it was the best of times, it was the worst of times.
It was good week because the mileage was "low" and I didn’t really struggle with any of the workouts fitness-wise. And, it was the end of the first mesocycle, so that feels like progress. I'm on page 185 now!
It was a bad week because of the weather. I’m a weather wimp but have been trying to venture out in colder weather. On Tuesday, it was cold and rainy, but I didn’t automatically head for the treadmill. I watched the morning news and the temp was about 40 and the rain patch seemed to be to the SE, so I hit the roads. Bad idea! I ended up running 13 miles in freezing rain. Lesson learned: when in comes to rain, Doppler is king. I ended the week with 16 miles on the treadmill due to icy conditions. (I got a footpod to use with my Garmin. I hadn't calibrated it until today, though).
Miles Last Week: 70
Goal for This Week: Have a good tempo run tomorrow.
Week 3 of training was pretty solid. Decided not to care about the plan, ended up mostly following it. It's amazing how mentally detaching yourself from something can make it into something you want to do again.
Ended up just shy of 80 miles, though the plan only called for about 70. Lots of ice and snow. The LT run on Tuesday went much, much better than I thought it would. Average HR was right where I wanted it, and I averaged 6:44 a mile for five miles. Felt nice and steady: "comfortably hard." And in 50 mph wind gusts and a looming storm, to boot.
Saturday was the most beautiful run I've done in ages--John Bryan State Park is a beautiful place to run the day after an ice/snow storm. Also found out that I love my new trail shoes (La Sportiva X-Countries) for snow/ice/mud/ruts/the occasional stream/downed trees/scrambly rock/etc. My dog also tried out her new "shoes"--leather mocs kept the snow out of her paws and made her much happier.
Sunday's long run was 17.5 miles in 2:30, and I felt fantastic the whole time--again, despite unplowed/unshoveled areas all over. It also marked my 80th day of my current running streak. I also took in no nutrition or water, which was a HUGE confidence boost. Turns out I don't need them for runs that length (in the cold, anyway).
Feeling solid about this training again, now. I think the core strength/stretching/weight training routines are starting to show benefit already, too.
@Julia, you're rocking the Pfitz plan. It's helping me out mentally to see someone on the same plan, a few weeks ahead. You've got this! If you've got the mental toughness to do 16 on the treadmill, you're tough as hell. I couldn't do that.
@rockenmama, your training makes me feel like a wimp. Can't wait to see it all pay off for you.
Interval Junkie --Nobby
Training week 8: laid low by the common cold - from a height of 45+ mi/week down to 9. Still don't feel 100%, but hoping my speed workout tomorrow refreshes me.
2021 Goals: 50mpw 'cause there's nothing else to do
@rgilbert: looking strong! Nice mileage and LT run. And, if I'm reading this right, it seems like you're actually enjoying your runs. That's a nice bonus.
@stadjak: hope you feel better. And, try not to worry about losing fitness. I know the feeling because I do the same thing. But, I always find I'm no worse for wear after a cold.
Done with Week 7. Nothing much to report. All runs went well. I had a good tempo run on the treadmill and a 20 miler that felt pretty easy. Fitting the workouts before work is becoming more of a challenge but I'm making it work. Last year, this next week is when I missed a few workouts due to work demands but I don't think I'll have that problem this time around.
Miles Last Week: 83
Goal for This Week: Have a good 22 miler on Saturday since it can be a good predictor of goal marathon time.
Week 8 was pretty uneventful.
I had a good 22-miler yesterday. I followed the Pfitz guidelines for a long run and ran it in 3:15. Had a big smile on my face thinking of myself as a 3:15 marathoner, but I am still thinking my goal will be low 3:20s and I will feel overjoyed to get there.
I am struggling with finding my tempo pace. A lot of calculators put it in the 7:30s, but for me, "comfortably hard" is about an 8:00/mile or maybe a little faster. I’m not going to force it but it makes me feel a bit like a softee.
Miles Last Week: 84
Goal for This Week: Have a good marathon pace run on Saturday. The last one didn’t go well, mostly due to windy conditions, so am looking to getting a better read on what I can expect in April.
How's everyone else doing?
Nice week Julia!
I had a nice week as well Today's long run of 24 miles went great though I did get a nose bleed towards the end of it. Ended the week with a little over 101 miles.Very happy with how this week considering I ALMOST had a calf injury. I made the mistake of running in snow/ice with my pureconnects, so wasn't sure I was going to be able to run more than 13 or 14. *knock on wood* it didn't make a peep today. Got 2 5k's next weekend, will be interesting to see how they go.
Hope everyone's had a great week!
Nice week Julia! I had a nice week as well Today's long run of 24 miles went great though I did get a nose bleed towards the end of it. Ended the week with a little over 101 miles.Very happy with how this week considering I ALMOST had a calf injury. I made the mistake of running in snow/ice with my pureconnects, so wasn't sure I was going to be able to run more than 13 or 14. *knock on wood* it didn't make a peep today. Got 2 5k's next weekend, will be interesting to see how they go. Hope everyone's had a great week!
Sweet! Keep up the good work
Nose bleeds blow. (See what I did there?) I had a run of them for a week or so last year and it was a pain in the... well, no where really. But, it's scary. And, mine happened at work a couple of times which really freaked people out.
Good luck with the 5ks. Keep us posted!