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

Go get 'em, DB and wayfool!

Could have used some intervention last night - Ate 1500-200 calories too much. Last real workout today 10 miles with 2x (1 @ MP / 1 @ T) with 2 minutes easy between. Now if I can just get the nutrition right for the next 4 days!

Can control the piggy in me, I keep eating

I feel your pain, man. Hang in there and master that piggy.

Just hit my first ever 50m/wk. Building towards 60 for Christmas before I start a programme. So far I feel ok, just the odd niggle. Am I going ok?

Hell, yes! Miles of trials... The experts on this thread can advise you further.

Good luck to Dopple Bock and Wayfool running tomorrow. I had my second 1/2 marathon of the Fall this morning. I may post a longer race report elsewhere but the Cliff Notes for this group are that I managed 1:25:55 in the Santa Barbara Half Marathon - a hillier course than the half I did last month. I was very pleased to be only 14 seconds slower than that time, since the course has about 400' of ascent (and the same descent). It isn't hard but it certainly isn't pancake flat like the last race. I was especially pleased with the time since about 10 days ago I had a severe recurrence of a knee problem I've had on and of, usually off, for a couple of years. It's basically an IT band issue that flares up every time I do something stupid. I skipped the next day of running, iced and stretched and worked back up the mileage from zero stopping every time I started to feel pain. The first couple of days I didn't do more than 3 miles without stopping but within a week I'd worked it up to 7 miles. I was a little worried I might get my first DNF, since I wasn't going to run on it if the pain was severe - the downhill sections of the course were the most worrying but I had no problems, not really even any twinges. So,I'm feeling pretty good with the year. I hope to take at least another minute of my half times next year putting me in the 1:24x range before my target marathon next December. John

Here is my race report - Sometime I do not write much - today I wrote a lot. long - the short of the story is at the bottom. 1st year for this marathon - Norwalk in nestled in the bluffs about 30 ish miles from La Crosse. It is a tiny town of maybe 300 people and not much close to it. The host hotel was in Tomah - 25-30 minutes away. For a limited pool of volunteers, they did an awesome job. For a 1st year small marathon I give them a 8-9 out of 10. You marathon entry also got you a pasta meal the day before and a chicken barbeque immediately afterward. Negatives - 2 porta potties at the start + none on the course for the 400 runners in the marathon, 1/2 marathon and 5k. This is run on an old rail road bed and features a 3/4 mile railroad tunnel on the out and back course. The course goes out 11.5 miles, turns back, at mile 23 you go past the start / finish past out and then back to the finish. There was 10-12 MPH winds at our backs to start. Temps started in the low 50s and ended in the low 60s. We were delayed about 10 minutes for people to get a chance to finish their business in the 2 porta potties. The gun goes off for the 1/2M and Marathon runners and immediately there are 10-15 runners ahead of me. The 1st 3 miles go gradually up 250 feet. mile #1 was 6:41, I had no idea who was a marathon or half marathon runner. Mile # 2 = 6:48, #3 = 6:56. Mile # 3 I am chatting with Cain who ran a 2:58 early in October at Milwaukee. We approach the 3/4 mile railroad tunnel, I grab a flash light and think that Cain I will be running much of the race together. After the tunnel I had a huge gap, so much for that idea. The tunnel is scary, the flashlight is not very bright and other than a little "Light at the end of the tunnel" it is completely dark. Water is running down the sides and sometimes big drips hit you on the head. My feet get wet from the puddles. It is also very energizing in a adrenaline kind of way. They have glow sticks down the middle of the trail, the sides are trenches to collect the water. I emerge from the tunnel pumped up, the tunnel mile + the next 2 = 19:02 (6:21 pace ???). For the next few miles I chase orange shorts guy and the 1st place women. Down hill with wind at our backs. 7=6:29 8+9=13:01 The poor 1st place women had caught orange shorts guy, but then had to squat on the side of course (No porta potties) her 45 second lead on me shrunk to 20. Mile # 10=6:43 total = 1:05:42 Mile # 11 = 6:39. Mile 11.5 is the 1st turn around and I know I am already 6+ minutes behind the leader. So now I am just chasing the lady and the orange shorts. Mile # 12 = 6:45. We are now coming uphill into the wind with no help in sight. Mile # 13 to Mile # 20 sucked, My legs were lead, my miles spilts kept slowing, slowing, I thought I would be jogging it in. 13=6:50 14=6:55 15=6:59 16=7:06 17=7:08 18=7:11 Mile 20 has the 3/4 mile tunnel again. This time my flashlight is so bad, I just turn it off. I pray the whole 5-6 minute trip to keep me out of the gutter on the side. I am afraid, the glow sticks are much more faint and not so much in the middle anymore. I focus on relaxing and watching the little light of the person ahead of me. I emerge from the tunnel safe and happy to be safe. Mile 19-20=14:39, probably 7:10 and 7:29 in the tunnel. I think slowing down in the tunnel helped. coming out the lady says the next 3 miles are downhill. I know I have to run around 7:00 mile pace to break 3:00. I pass 4 people in the next 3 miles. The lady, orange shorts guy and 2 people that were 4+ minutes ahead of me at 11.5. 21 =6:39 22=6:43 23=6:50 We pass the start finish line and I am told I am in 2nd place. 24=6:43 - I meet the 1st place runner - no chance to catch him. Mile 24.6 is a turn around, I hit my watch to see how far back 3rd place is at = 45 seconds = 1:30 - I am pretty safe, so I just realx and run. 25 = 7:04 26 and .2 = ??? I did not add it up to figure out, but I was likely @ 6:45 as I strided it in. 1st 10 = 1:05:42 2nd 10 = 1:10:14 last 6.2 = 41:45 (I think) 2:57:41 - 2nd overall All in all an enjoyable day - It was a good - bad - good type of race - that I stayed possitive the whole way. 3rd overall about 2 minutes back was the 1st female. Orange shorts struggles in @ 3:06. The winner walked / ran a tad over 50 for the last 6.2. Thanks for reading - Good running to all -

Nicely done Dopple Bock. That tunnel sounds a little spooky. Crazy. Congrats on 2nd overall! You gotta love smallish marathons!

Well, I guess I need a long term goal... I just read too many pages through this thread--learned and realized quite a few things. You fast people are interesting character studies if nothing else. I started running again about a year ago after 7 off. In May I did my first half at 1:53, and I did one over the weekend at 1:38. One year from now, I'd like to take that down by a minute per mile. I think 1:25 is about as fast as my legs go, but I always seem to be able to add endurance if I already have the speed. I figure then that puts me about 2 years and probably 3-5 tries out from 2:30. F it, why not? Oh, and come out next year for the Indy Monumental--that is one seriously fast course.