2011 Goal of Sub-3:00 Marathon (Read 8006 times)

    I'd like to take a shot at sub-3 in the Fall.  I'm not which race I'll choose - I'm considering Maine, Hartford, & Baystate(but am open to suggestions for Northeast US races), but I likely won't decide until the Spring.  So no need to add me to the list at this point, but since I'll be following this thread and hopefully throwing my hat into the ring once I pick a race, I thought I should include a quick intro/bio.

     

    I'm relatively new to running, having just started about 9 months ago at age 33.  For the past 10-15 years, I might run 2-3 miles at a time a few times a week, and would do that for 2-3 weeks -- but then I'd take 4 or 5 months off.  Prior to that, I was on the T&F team in high school & (D3) college, but it was for field events (pole vault & high jump, neither of which I was very good at), so I didn't do a ton of running back then either.  I had gotten pretty badly out of shape, so I finally decided tocommit to running just to get a little bit healthier, and I stuck with it for the first time, losing 30-35 pounds relatively quickly. 

     

    After about a month of running, I signed up to run a fall 2010 marathon (Cape Cod) which was probably dumb since I had little to no base prior to starting training.  But everything went OK until about a month before the race, when shin splints caused me to take a week off, and was just one of many small nagging injuries that would pop up before the race, and that are just now starting to go away.  I was shooting for a BQ - which I guess would be 3:15 for 2012 (since 2011 had closed before my 10/31 marathon), but that could change.  I was fine for 20 miles, but crashed pretty hard in the last 5 or 6.  Finished in 3:20:27.  So for 2011, I'm planning to run Hudson Mohawk in February (if the weather is looking OK) to see if I can drop my time under 3:15.  If I can stay healthy, I'll try a Spring marathon (likely Providence) to see how close to 3:00 I can get.  Then depending on how things go, I'll pick out a race for the Fall and maybe give sub-3 a real try.  Cutting off 20+ minutes might not be realistic, but with a little more experience and a lot more miles under my belt, I think I should be able to come fairly close.

    joescott


      Ah DangerDan,

       

      The old familiar story, mid-30's, 30# overweight and started running and found you're pretty good at it.  Very good!  You'll get under 3.  A little patience is called for, but I think you can be confident having hit a 3:20 in your debut.  

       

      Best of luck & we'll look forward to you joining the list soon,

       

      Joe

      - Joe

      We are fragile creatures on collision with our judgment day.


      No Talent Drips

        I'd like to take a shot at sub-3 in the Fall.  I'm not which race I'll choose - I'm considering Maine, Hartford, & Baystate(but am open to suggestions for Northeast US races), but I likely won't decide until the Spring.  

         

        Danger,

        If you're looking for a fast Northeast marathon, try Sugarloaf (in the spring). A couple of hills that you'll notice through the first 11-ish miles, but essentially downhill from that point on. For an "easy" sub3, this one is the ticket.

         

        Alternatively, MDI Marathon (does not look fast) is a beautiful, but hilly, track and it takes place in mid-october annually. A much more challenging course, but the scenery and crowd support are great....well the scenery is anyway.  Go sub3 at MDI, and you can go sub3 most places...

         Dei Gratia

         

        bhearn


          Bhearn...tell me more about the right way to run Boston. I'm all ears! 

           

          Sorry, I haven't been around much lately.

           

          Below is how I ran sub-3 at Boston in 2009. Overall, a slight negative split. Easy through the half, then pick it up a bit, run the hills at moderate intensity (having saved your legs thus far), and kick it in the last 5. I've run basically this strategy the past four years, and negative split each time. The two years before that, I wasn't cautious enough the first half, and the hills got me. This is NOT a course on which you want to bank time (if such even exists!).

           

          This pace band started life as splits generated from one of those Boston "course-adjusted" split generators. I reweighted it for a negative split, and took some extra time off the last 5 miles.

           


          The shirtless wonder

            I'm a very poor hill runner.  It looks like Boston is going to be a goal race for me.  Should I spend some time doing hill work or not really worry about it?


            Feeling the growl again

              I'm a very poor hill runner.  It looks like Boston is going to be a goal race for me.  Should I spend some time doing hill work or not really worry about it?

               

              It's going too hard on the downhills and/or killing your quads that will get you, not the uphill running that people typically call "hill running".  If you have somewhere to practice downhill running form and condition your quads to not get beat up on downhill pavement, it is worth your time.

              "If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does.  There's your pep talk for today.  Go Run." -- Slo_Hand

               

              I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills

               

              L Train


                 

                It's going too hard on the downhills and/or killing your quads that will get you, not the uphill running that people typically call "hill running".  If you have somewhere to practice downhill running form and condition your quads to not get beat up on downhill pavement, it is worth your time.

                 

                I don't belong in this thread, but after my run on Friday I was sitting on the sidewalk at the "Y" where a few of us meet to run together.  A local guy that runs with us sometimes, used to be a 2:3X marathoner pulls up in his car and starts talking about Boston, etc because he knows a few of us recently qualified.  He said what he used to do was go to the top of one of the local hills and just pound down it and then repeat, basically like hill repeats except downhill.  He wanted to trash his quads to train them.  He seriously was there for like 30 seconds, gave us this bit of advice and drove away. 

                 

                joescott


                  I'm a very poor hill runner.  It looks like Boston is going to be a goal race for me.  Should I spend some time doing hill work or not really worry about it?

                   

                  I am convinced that it paid off *huge* for me.

                  - Joe

                  We are fragile creatures on collision with our judgment day.


                  Are we there yet?

                     

                    It's going too hard on the downhills and/or killing your quads that will get you, not the uphill running that people typically call "hill running".  If you have somewhere to practice downhill running form and condition your quads to not get beat up on downhill pavement, it is worth your time.

                     

                    +1.. my experience..  dropped off my bag on the bus to be taken to the finish and listened to a guy named Ryan tell a few others how to race Boston. Ryan was in the first corral and was not shy to tell a few folks gathered about how he ran a 2:45 in Boston a few years back. He gave one tip which I feel was very useful. Shorter strides on the downhill with greater turnover so as not to bang the quads down the hill. This I hadn’t practiced but he seemed convincing as he claimed he was a high school track coach from the area.

                    Looks like a Flinstone cadence.. quick turnover down the hill.. kinda funny looking actually, rolling the foot to absorb the hill schock.

                       

                      It's going too hard on the downhills and/or killing your quads that will get you, not the uphill running that people typically call "hill running".  If you have somewhere to practice downhill running form and condition your quads to not get beat up on downhill pavement, it is worth your time.

                       

                      This got me in my only Boston appearance as well.  By the 2 mile mark I was stopping to stretch my quads - they already felt the effect of the downhill.

                       

                      Anyone think there is any benefit to doing some strength work for the quads?  If so, any recommendations?  I plan on doing some downhill running, but it's hard to find a place to simulate a multi-mile downhill.

                      Running Boston in memory of my son.  Want to help?

                      -------------------------------------------------------------------------

                      2014 Goals:

                      1. Run Boston for Matthew (< 2:40 if possible)
                      2. Run 5k < 16:00
                      3. Hold off father time for at least another year


                      Feeling the growl again

                         

                        +1.. my experience..  dropped off my bag on the bus to be taken to the finish and listened to a guy named Ryan tell a few others how to race Boston. Ryan was in the first corral and was not shy to tell a few folks gathered about how he ran a 2:45 in Boston a few years back. He gave one tip which I feel was very useful. Shorter strides on the downhill with greater turnover so as not to bang the quads down the hill. This I hadn’t practiced but he seemed convincing as he claimed he was a high school track coach from the area.

                        Looks like a Flinstone cadence.. quick turnover down the hill.. kinda funny looking actually, rolling the foot to absorb the hill schock.

                         

                        Actually not bad advice.  If you let your stride go out you'll end up planting in front of your body and absorbing the shock in your quads.  A big part is forcing yourself to run a lot easier than you think you need to.

                         

                        Yes, practicing steep downhills and beating up your quads will help as long as you are not the type to get injured from it.  Muscles always heal in response to a stimulus, so if you train them tough they will adapt to handle it better.  Just don't overdo it.

                         

                        Boston is not Steamtown, you can train on flatlands and do well there (I did and have a 2:37 and a 2:38 on a 85-90ish deg day).

                        "If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does.  There's your pep talk for today.  Go Run." -- Slo_Hand

                         

                        I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills

                         

                        RunThinBoyRun


                          To all 2011 sub 3 hour aspirants,

                           

                          Just curious what kind of weekly mileage you think it will take to achieve your goal.  Personally, I'll probably peak at 60-65 miles and will average 40-50 for most of my training.  I'm pretty sure my body couldn't handle more than that.

                          DoppleBock


                            As much as my body can take a training beat down ... Steep downhill running even at moderate pace is dangerous for me.

                             

                             

                             

                            Actually not bad advice.  If you let your stride go out you'll end up planting in front of your body and absorbing the shock in your quads.  A big part is forcing yourself to run a lot easier than you think you need to.

                             

                            Yes, practicing steep downhills and beating up your quads will help as long as you are not the type to get injured from it.  Muscles always heal in response to a stimulus, so if you train them tough they will adapt to handle it better.  Just don't overdo it.

                             

                            Boston is not Steamtown, you can train on flatlands and do well there (I did and have a 2:37 and a 2:38 on a 85-90ish deg day).

                            Long dead ... But my stench lingers !

                             

                             

                            DoppleBock


                              I usually do best 110-130 MPW for marathon training.

                               

                              But I am ultra - training, so I hope to go a little higher than that.

                               

                              When I ran 60-70 - I felt beat up @ 80

                               

                              When I ran 80-90 - I felt beat up at 100

                               

                              When I ran 100-110 - I felt beat up @ 130

                               

                              When I ran 120-130 - I felt beat up @ 150

                               

                              Anything sustained above 150 I still feel beat up.

                               

                              Everytime I tried a new mileage, I failed once, falling apart from the new distance and then succeeded the 2nd time. 

                               

                               

                              To all 2011 sub 3 hour aspirants,

                               

                              Just curious what kind of weekly mileage you think it will take to achieve your goal.  Personally, I'll probably peak at 60-65 miles and will average 40-50 for most of my training.  I'm pretty sure my body couldn't handle more than that.

                              Long dead ... But my stench lingers !

                               

                               


                              The shirtless wonder

                                To all 2011 sub 3 hour aspirants,

                                 

                                Just curious what kind of weekly mileage you think it will take to achieve your goal.  Personally, I'll probably peak at 60-65 miles and will average 40-50 for most of my training.  I'm pretty sure my body couldn't handle more than that.

                                 

                                I am hoping to average in the 60s and peak in the 70s or low 80s.  I'm not sure I can handle that sort of mileage just yet.  I also have no real reason to choose those numbers.  I average 55 and peaked at 70 when I ran my last goal race and I was successful for that (3:09).