2019 Sub 3 hour marathon thread (Read 680 times)

Lela: Those were two great workouts in your week; very speedy mile repeats! That long run with 7 x 1 mile and floating recoveries looks very tough. It must be difficult to hold those recoveries to a brisk pace.

Finbad: Another big week with a great Q session and a really strong long run. I've also been slacking on the weights lately; should be 7 days in between for me but it has been getting to around 9 or 10 days.

JMac: I agree with others that you should be able to drop that 5k PR by a big chunk, though I know you are more focused on the marathon distance. You asked about taking down weeks; I don't have anything planned out for those but just adjust if I'm feeling worn out. I think it helps that I only run 6 days/week; now that the long runs are getting long it helps a lot for me to take the day after as a rest day.

Weather: Nice recovery week; I was glad to see you cut back on the miles to only 78 . That will be probably a peek volume week for me. It looks like you are getting back to being recovered after your great track workout this morning.

nimmals: From the Boston crew here slingrunner may be targeting in the 2:55-2:58 range; maybe you can recruit him to pace your Padawan.

Swim: Enjoy the time in the keys.

Darkwave: Nice track workout; I like the 2k + 4 x 800m; may try that one out at some point.  And congrats on the AG win.

Andres: Good plan to train for CB and then take it from there regarding a marathon.

JT - Besides time off, any good tips for calf strains as someone who just went through one? Mine, unfortunately, is going to require a bit of time off. Tried to run yesterday and it's a no go (this cycle has been a real clusterfuck from an injury POV). KT Tape is a miracle though, I put that on and immediately didn't have pain while walking around anymore. Going to stick to rolling it out, maybe some light stretches in a few days, and then some calf raises. Also may use heat instead of ice, I feel like that works better for muscles but could be wrong. Granted, all of this is pretty much true for every injury: stop running if pain is high, roll, tape if possible, heat/ice, stretch, strengthen.

Jmac: I had two of the #%$*ing things within a couple of months, and they were different types; first one was a soleus strain and the second was a gastrocnemius strain. You can tell which you have by doing a standing calf stretch against a wall; with leg straight a gastroc strain will hurt; with knee bent a soleus will present most. For the soleus strain, I could only walk on my toes immediately after I strained it. It was intense for the first day, but after a day off, I was able to ease back into slow running. I just had to be really careful going up hills. The second strain, of the gastroc, was more severe. It's kind of the opposite of the soleus in terms of symptoms; I could not walk on my toes and running with it was pretty much a no-go, while with the soleus I could get away with running easily. I took 4 days completely off running for the gastroc strain, with gentle stretching and massage a few times every day. Then I eased back into running, again being careful on the uphills. I didn't try heat/ice but that can't hurt.

Kind of sounds like yours is the gastroc; that's the most common. I think you just have to test it each day; like you said, if you can run without pain (or at least significant pain) then run. If it hurts to run, best to let it rest another day. Hope it's a minor one! Look at it this way: all injuries suck but if you have to have one, a muscle injury is way better than a SF or a tendon/ligament injury.

! Look at it this way: all injuries suck but if you have to have one, a muscle injury is way better than a SF or a tendon/ligament injury.

+1.  Muscles get much better bloodflow than tendons/ligaments.

I had a mild calf issue back in October, but it resolved with two days pool-running and a massage.

I would try sleeping with a compression sock and a heating pad on the calf to encourage maximal blood flow to the area - I did that for mine, and I felt it really sped things up..

Thanks JT and DW, mine is definitely in the gastroc (it's pretty high up on my calf). The heating pad is a great idea, I have to look into a better one than just heating up my ice pack in the microwave, which is crap. I'm using the hop test each morning to test it out, right now it hurts like hell after 3 hops so that's not great, but this test was a great indicator to me of when I could come back from my PTT. I also am glad it's a muscle, even my PTT is not fully healed and it's 6+ weeks later.

Here's to hoping it's just a few days! Heat plus rolling FTW

If anything slingrunner will be targeting 2:59:59.  And I'm going into it suspecting I'm not going to get it, unless I have great weather, or my new Vaporfly shoes fly my to the finish. Harrisburg humbled me.

I'm really not sure how my training is going to progress.  I'm buying a home and helping to sell two, gaining an instant family, and really struggling to keep the running going with all this extra stress.  (I skipped Tuesday's run on the best weather day of the year because I just mentally couldn't drag myself out there, and I pretty much never skip a run if I can).  It's even possible I will just give up on a 3hr goal for Boston and just run it for "fun".  I've never run Boston.  Don't think I'd be helpful to another runner at this point.

I am trying to see if I can rearrange the rest of my week and throw in a double to get back on track.

Sling - that does seem like a bunch of non-running stress. I guess just focus day-to-day on what you can get done and then see if you're able to build up a level of consistency and base your goal on that. Still a lot of time to go so no need to give up on a goal yet.

JMac - Sounding positive, hopefully just a blip on the way to a decent training cycle.

If anything slingrunner will be targeting 2:59:59.  And I'm going into it suspecting I'm not going to get it, unless I have great weather, or my new Vaporfly shoes fly my to the finish. Harrisburg humbled me.

 

I'm really not sure how my training is going to progress.  I'm buying a home and helping to sell two, gaining an instant family, and really struggling to keep the running going with all this extra stress.  (I skipped Tuesday's run on the best weather day of the year because I just mentally couldn't drag myself out there, and I pretty much never skip a run if I can).  It's even possible I will just give up on a 3hr goal for Boston and just run it for "fun".  I've never run Boston.  Don't think I'd be helpful to another runner at this point.

 

I am trying to see if I can rearrange the rest of my week and throw in a double to get back on track.

Geez, No!!! would have sufficed.

Cheer up mate you seemed so defeated already. Everyone here  from the old board knows...  I'm all about "mental toughness." I've made many people annoyed when i rip them to shreds for starting off a race recap with "I know it was going to be bad day by the ____  (2nd - 9th) mile".

I straight call em "mentally weak" and tell them stop being a 'pussy'.

I get that you got a lot going on and it can all be so overwhelming. Especially investing in a situation that by all accounts normally ends in a 2:1 odd of failure. Just saying.... (that's me being positive.)

That stressed out outlook will not help matters, any. You have to be positive you'll do your best. That positive outlook will pay dividends on how much closer you'll be to your goal. In that case if you get your training back on track and get your mind right im sure you can you still team up with her for company.  Running with someone early on really helps.

Well i'm here if you need anything connect with me on garmin and i can take a look at your training and offer some advice if you'd like.

Good luck on the home front. I know how hard that can be I'm losing my home and life savings. Its a kick in the nuts but I'm still positive.

I'll be poor but healthy happy hopeful and homeless.