2013 Sub-3:45 Marathon Goal Thread (Read 1005 times)

whodateverything


    Peoriarunner,

     

    Great race report. Enjoy reading it. The ice thing in the finish line is a great idea. That was what I needed too as I walked like a cripple afterwards, lol. I also had calf problem during the race. Hmmm....

    whodateverything


      Louisiana Marathon Race Report  - Jan. 20, 2013

       

      Unfortunately, my Garmin Forerunner 210 race file was corrupted and failed to upload. This is first time that this happens and it happens on my first marathon, damn it….

       

      Coming into this race, I have set three possible goals: A) 3:40 (BQ for 55-59/male), B) 3:45 (pace group), C) 3:55 (another pace group). Being a first timer with 5K and HM times of 22:50 and 1:41, respectively, and a running history of only a little over a year, I don’t really know what to expect. An experienced poster (longboat) advised me 3:45 – 3:50 in my pace inquiry thread. Can’t resist the allure of BQ, I told myself I just have to go for 3:40 if the race conditions are perfect.

       

      Well, what can I say, 43F starting temperature and little to no wind. I lined up with the 3:45 pace group in the starting line. I intended to stay with this group for the first 2-3 miles to ensure that I don’t go out too fast. The pacer was a young girl named Jessica.

       

      Fast forward to the mid 13.1-mile mark, my time was 1:51 sharp, only 30 seconds off my target time of 1:50:30. So I just had to have a two-minute negative split, instead of 1-minute,  to finish at 3:40, no biggie. I have run 5 HM prior and 4 of them were negative split. And I like negative split. I felt reasonably good at this point, didn’t go out too fast and my HR had been in range.

       

      Well, the good time didn’t last long. I slowed down a little between 10-13 miles because my left calf started to bother me. Somewhere around 17-18 miles, the 3:45 pace group caught up with me. At this point, both left and right calves were acting up.  I began to regret my shoe choice.

       

      During my last 6 months of training, I have three rotating running shoes: Launch, Pureflow, and PureCadence, all Brooks. Right before race, I was on my third pair of Launch and second pair of PureFlow. PureCadence is a relatively less used shoe specifically used for a 3-mile trail route to take advantage of the soft surface. It has zero drop from heel to toe and is considered a beginner minimalist shoe. In my last HM in Dec., I saw whole bunch of Launch and PureFlow. Wanting to be different and looking cool, I decided to wear PureCadence for this marathon. Talking about bad judgement…..

       

      When I was caught up by the Jessica pace group, I had no choice but to go for B) goal of 3:45, if I could hang with this group. During miles 18-22, we had 6-8 runners following Jessica. One girl was going for her BQ and had a little doubt about pacing. Jessica kept assuring her that we were on pace for a 3:44:30 finish. During miles 22-25, I was madly fighting my calves’ pain but I was determined to keep pace. Jessica would turn around and run backward a few times shouting words of encouragement. I thought she was the greatest and later realized she ran 3:06 marathon. At mile 25, I was the only runner left with her. With 1.2 miles left, she suddenly began to speed up. Wait, I thought we were running at even pace to the finish line. Boy, was I wrong. She left the only one she got and sped up at 100 miles/hr to finish at 3:44:10. Crushed, I began to walk/jog the last mile. During the last 0.2 mile, the cheering crowd prompted me to “sprint” at 100 min/mile pace. I ended up finishing at 3:46:10.

       

      Throughout the latter part of the race, I never felt like I hit the wall. The calf pain was something I never encountered during training. It is obviously the weakest link of my body. And the choice of a minimalist shoe didn’t help.

       

      Being a first time marathoner, I’m not unhappy with the result. I certainly got a taste of what it’s like to train and run a marathon. I just don’t know if I will try again.

        Welcome, stever! I agree with Peoriarunner, with your half time now at 1:44 it is possible, especially since you have some time to continue to improve. Not easy (especially since it's your first), but possible.

         

        Thanks for the great RRs, Peoriarunner and whodateverything!

        PRs: 5K: 21:25, 10K: 44:05, HM: 1:38:23* (downhill), M: 3:32:09

          Whodateverything - enjoyed reading the race report. Sucks about the Garmin though... The day before my race, I changed one of the display screens on my 305 to show actual pace (have avg. pace on another screen) just in case I wanted to see it for some reason. When I turned it on just before the race, there was a message box in the middle of the screen but without my reading glasses I couldn't see what it said - yeah, it sucks getting old. Was about to ask a young lady next to me in the corral to read it but then it just went away on its own and it worked fine during the race. Still don't know what it was....

          So I wonder what was up with your pacer speeding up at the end like that? I'm curious what her finish time was. Was it close to the 3:44:30 she was shooting for?

          Sounds like you fell victim to the old "never try anything new on race day" rule. lol I'm guilty as well - first time I ever took 4 GU's in a race (always took 3 before). Fortunately, it seemed to work ok. I also wear Brooks - went with my Ghost 5's - I'm a pretty big guy and like the cushioning.

          Anyway, take a few days to rest and enjoy your accomplishment. Maybe you'll catch the Marathon bug again. Welcome to the club!

           

          Edit - just read your report again and saw that the pacer finished in 3:44:10. A little fast...

           

           

          whodateverything


            So I wonder what was up with your pacer speeding up at the end like that? I'm curious what her finish time was. Was it close to the 3:44:30 she was shooting for?

             

            Edit - just read your report again and saw that the pacer finished in 3:44:10. A little fast...

             

            Peoriarunner,

             

            I hope I'm not giving people the impression that Jessica, the pacer, somewhat screwed up in the end. I was being light hearted in my description of her. After the race, I introduced my family to her and personally thanked her. I'm pretty sure that, without her, I would have started walking way earlier than I was. Judging she finished 2 minutes ahead of me, I estimated that her and my paces were at 7:30 and 9:30, respectively, in the last mile. With calves' pain I simply didn't have anything left in the tank to response to her final push.

             

            Anyone know how to post a picture? The insert/edit image icon on the top of the reply box doesn't have a "browse" function.???

              whodateverything: you can only post a picture from a website, not from your hard drive. There are a couple threads on how to do it--one of them is in the Technical Support section. You put the link to the pic in the box that comes up when you click the picture icon. If the pic you want to post is not already on the internet, you can use a site like tinypic.com.

              PRs: 5K: 21:25, 10K: 44:05, HM: 1:38:23* (downhill), M: 3:32:09

              whodateverything


                whodateverything: you can only post a picture from a website, not from your hard drive. There are a couple threads on how to do it--one of them is in the Technical Support section. You put the link to the pic in the box that comes up when you click the picture icon. If the pic you want to post is not already on the internet, you can use a site like tinypic.com.

                 

                Yeah, it sucks that I cannot pick from my hard drive to post. I was going to show a picture of the bottom of my left shoe (PureCadence) after marathon. I found that a black rubber piece in the heel area was missing. No wonder I had trouble with my left calf... The lesson: examine your shoe for any excessive wear before race.

                 

                Thinking about doing another marathon in April. I can travel. Any suggestion(fast course, not high altitude, well organized....etc)?

                  Peoriarunner & No too swift-thanks, I need to read up on the posts more often. Looks like some good info and energy here. With my HM in April, I am hoping to break 1:40 (PR of 1:44 last year) and then start my marathon training just after. My biggest issue to work on is hydration and fueling. This killed me in my first and second HM 2 years ago. Once I get a handle on this, I hope to break 4:00, but 3:45 would be awesome as my first marathon time.

                   

                  Weather here has been cold and icy for the last 2 weeks, so most of my training has occurred on weekends. Hoping that February brings miler temps so I can get my weekday runs in as scheduled.

                  Steve

                  5K/22:33   10K/47:52   21.1K/1:44:06  42.2K/4:07:37
                  2014 Goals: 5K<22:00 10K<45:00 HM<1:40  FM<3:45

                  snapa55


                    I'll throw my hat in this group.  I was shooting for 3:30 for my first marathon, but illness, injury, and vacation threw a wrench in my plans.  So scaling back my goal, 3:45 should work!

                     

                    I'll be running the Cowtown Marathon on Feb 24th.

                    5K: 18:43 (12/13) 10K: 42:50 (12/12) HM: 1:30:10 (3/14) M: 3:34:46 (5/14)


                    No more marathons

                      Louisiana Marathon Race Report  - Jan. 20, 2013

                       

                      Unfortunately, my Garmin Forerunner 210 race file was corrupted and failed to upload. This is first time that this happens and it happens on my first marathon, damn it…. 

                      FWIW - I've had my 210 malfunction twice on me - once at my last marathon, and this past weekend on a run lasting about 3 hours.  When I checked the history after each run there was nothing there - it took me back to my last run before that.  When I did my download onto garmin connect, and onto RA, however, the data was there.  I assume you already checked that - but just in case.

                      Boston 2014 - a 33 year journey

                      Lordy,  I hope there are tapes. 

                      He's a leaker!

                      Mattchiro


                      Happy to be here.

                        I'm here now too!  I ran a PR of 3:45 last October and a 1:34 Half PR in August 2012 and am hoping to crack below 3:35 this year.  My next Marathon is in May with a Half in March.  I should get a great indication of my fitness level after the Half.

                         

                         

                        Half PR:  1:34 (August, 2012)

                         

                        Marathon PR:  3:45 (October, 2012)

                         

                        Next race:  ???

                         

                        Next Marathon:  2015???

                          Welcome, snapa55 and Mattchiro!

                           

                          I'll add you to the list on the front page.

                           

                          snapa55, your race is coming up very soon!

                           

                          Mattchiro, which marathon are you running in May?

                           

                          My training has been going pretty well, still feel like I'm reasonably on target to do better than 3:55 in my marathon in March. Hoping for maybe even 3:52 or so (on a much tougher course than my 3:47 PR), then will look to continue to improve fitness to hopefully go sub-3:45 in the fall.

                           

                          Have another 20 coming up on Saturday, this will be an official pace team run for the race, so the race pacers will be running it too. Not sure yet if I'll try to use a pace group at all, or if I'll get one of Greg Maclin's pace band from mymarathonpace.com. I just have to make sure I stay disciplined and run the hills properly.

                          PRs: 5K: 21:25, 10K: 44:05, HM: 1:38:23* (downhill), M: 3:32:09

                          Mattchiro


                          Happy to be here.

                            Thanks for the add-on!

                             

                            I'm doing the Half and the Full in Tacoma (May 5th).  They've tweaked the Marathon course to try and negate the hills...oh, those damn Western Washington hills.

                             

                             

                            Half PR:  1:34 (August, 2012)

                             

                            Marathon PR:  3:45 (October, 2012)

                             

                            Next race:  ???

                             

                            Next Marathon:  2015???

                            snapa55


                              Thanks for adding me not too swift!  I only have 3 more hard workouts before I begin to taper.  I can't wait!  I've been using the Hansons-Brooks method for my first marathon.  I only started running last May, so this marathon has been a fairly big endeavor for me, upping my running from 3 days to 6 days, 20-30 MPW to 40-50MPW. 

                               

                              My latest run has me beaming with confidence, 10 mile tempo @ 7:30 pace, with a 2 mile warm up and 2 mile cool down.  I was aiming for 8:00 pace, but my body wanted to do otherwise. 

                               

                              I can't wait to see what I'm capable of come Feb 24th!

                              5K: 18:43 (12/13) 10K: 42:50 (12/12) HM: 1:30:10 (3/14) M: 3:34:46 (5/14)

                                Hey 3:45 peeps! Been awhile since I posted so thought I'd send a update. Came down with the worst head cold I've had in years 3 days after the Marathon - couldn't run again for a full week. Ran my first ever 10K race a week later but was nowhere close to 100% - ended up with a 46:02. It was part of a race series that I'm doing in the town that I live in, otherwise I probably wouldn't have done it at all. Felt like I needed the points though.

                                Started running a little better the past 2 weeks and ran the IMS Arizona 1/2 Marathon yesterday. Still didn't feel 100% but had a pretty good race with a 1:40:59 my 2nd fastest 1/2 yet. Good enough for 6/42 in AG.

                                Up next is the Ragnar Del Sol Relay on Friday with friends from my running club and yep, I've got the most miles out of everyone on the team lol. I think my legs might fall off at the end of that one. Then comes the  Mountain to Fountain 15K on Mar. 10th. Still wanting to run another full before it gets too hot here but doesn't look to be any that will line up with my schedule. With 2 boys in college, can't really afford to travel much. Starting to look at So. Cal. since it's within a day's drive and I have family that I can stay with. Happy running everyone!