Forums >Racing>2017 Sub 3 Marathons...and beyond!
Wow - congrats!!
1mile: 4:46 (12/20) | 5K: 15:57 (3/21) | 10K: 33:40 (4/20) | 15K 51:43 (4/21) | HM: 1:15:03 (12/20) | FM: 2:40:30 (1/20)
Congrats to IAM and Strugglr.
PRs: 5km 18:43 (Dec 2015), 10km 39:59 (Sep 2020), half 1:26:16 (Sep 2016), full 3:09:28 (Jun 2015)
40+ PRs: 5km 19:31 (Oct 2020), 10km 39:59 (Sep 2020), half 1:29:39 (Jun 2018), full 3:13:55 (Sep 2022)
2023 PRs (hope to beat in 2024): 5km 20:34, 10km 41:37, half 1:32:32, full 3:21:05
2024 PRs: 5km 20:25
Congrats IAM and Strugglr on awesome races. Super quick and very impressive.
3,000m: 9:07.7 (Nov-21) | 5,000m: 15:39 (Dec-19) | 10,000m: 32:34 (Mar-20)
10km: 33:15 (Sep-19) | HM: 1:09:41 (May-21)* | FM: 2:41:41 (Oct-20)
* Net downhill course
Last race: Waterfront HM, 7 Apr, 1:15:48
Up next: Runway5, 4 May
"CONSISTENCY IS KING"
Awesome racing this weekend! So cool to see PR's all over the place. Big shout out to IAM and Strugglr for showing the rest of us how it is done.
This was a mild week for me as far as training because I did a half yesterday. I'll right me race recap after this. Monday was a good track day. At the last minute (literally after I was already at the track warming up) I decided to do a ladder workout and really push myself. It was a 1 mile-2-3-2-1. Averaging out to 5:26 pace. I started out just under 5:30 pace and then sped up from there. Finally finishing with a 5:11 last mile. It was exhausting, and made me a little late for work, but it was totally worth it. Such a good morning. The rest of the week was easy mileage hovering just of 7:00 pace. Overall, great week.
Monday, Nov 06, 2017 thru Sunday, Nov 12, 2017
Race Recap: Greenline Half Marathon
I should start by saying that this was not the most prestigious race. Last year was won with a 1:31, so I had no real expectation of it being a true "race." Mostly I was just excited that it was 3 weeks out from my marathon and would serve as a good measuring stick of where I was at for race day. Goal for the race was: I would be happy with anywhere around 1:15.
Race morning was very cold (32 degrees), but by the end of the race it was supposed to warm up to 42 or so. I decided to go with shorts, tank, running sleeves and gloves. The gloves came off about 4 miles in, but I was happy to see that the sleeves never bothered me so I left them on the whole time. This will most likely be my race gear on December 12th. It was a small race, about 300 half marathoners, so not a lot of competition to get to the front of the starting line.
The first mile was a gradual downhill and I went through a little faster than expected (5:33). It was at the mile marker that I was surprised to have a runner pull up next to me. He introduced himself as Max Paquette, husband of Lauren Paquette- professional female runner who took 4th place at the U.S. 5k nationals last week in New York. We talked for a while and he let me know that his PR in the half was 1:09, but that he wasn't in nearly that good of shape now.
We ran the first 4 miles or so together, chatting and really enjoying having the company. But between 4-5 he started to slip off pace and I kept going. Everything was relatively smooth from there on. Just after mile 8 I came to a major intersection to find that the police were still sitting in their cars and traffic wasn't going to be stopped for me. I made a quick stop at the light, darted between traffic, and left my bike lead blinking at the light wondering if I was crazy. Then just after mile 9 I had another surprise as I was running through a neighborhood. My bike lead had just caught up and passed me when I start hearing the barking and yelling. I looked to my right to see a pitbull running at me with his owner chasing being yelling that he wouldn't bite... I stopped and actually starting running at the dog rather than have him get me from behind. I startled him enough that his owner was able to catch up and get a hold of him. Then I was on my merry way.
I was actually feeling really good at mile 10 and assumed that this was going to be a fast last 5k. Then I remembered that the last 3 miles was essentially a steady uphill. Nothing drastic, but 3 miles definitely took some of my finishing speed away. I finished with a 5 minute PR, at an official time of 1:14:18. This was a huge confidence booster for me for my marathon and I am very happy with the results. Second place ended up finishing at a respectable 1:16:38.
flash: So you ran a 1:14:18 that included one froggered intersection and a brief detour to joust with a pitbull? Yikes. You are in terrifying shape - sounds like you'd have a puncher's chance of getting under 1:13 on a fast, flat course with competition. St. Jude is going to be fun!
https://www.strava.com/athletes/5795019
All: thanks very much for following along and for the kind words! I'll put up a RR sometime later this week, so just some quick waiting-for-flight-to-depart thoughts for now:
1. While I really liked training by power, it's pretty clear that my device is off by some constant factor. I got on 255W (my target) pretty early, and consistently saw 5:58-6:02 on the watch for mile splits, but I was falling behind the markers. When I hit the half and saw 1:20:30 on the clock, I knew that what I was seeing on the watch was way off. I'm going to spend a couple of weeks trying to figure this out, as I'd like to be able to rely on it. That said, the relationship between training paces and the race was good.
2. I'm a bit up in the air about the result. I can't get too bummed to translate what I saw in training to the race, but such a close miss hurts a bit. I don't think I could have done much better in the training cycle, so it is what it is, but it means I'm a bit further from a MM and getting under 2:40 than I thought I was.
3. I'm very happy to get a no-doubter corral 1 bib at Boston for 2018.
4. I'm very happy to have pulled things together when it seemed like they were falling apart. I was a bit worried that I was cooked at 19-21, but once we hit a gentle downhill around 21.5 I managed to lock in and pass 6-7 people and finish with a solid 10k.
5. It was wonderful to meet up with Strugglr, Patrick, Tatted, and Rochelle. Fingers crossed that Patrick shows up for Boston and kicks all of our asses again.
flash: WTF... Funniest race report I've ever read. You've got my vote for best post of this thread! I agree with IAM, 1:14 in an 'obstacle race HM', quite impressive.
IAM - Congrats on the corral 1 bib time! It will be interesting to see what you figure out with training vs. racing by power.
https://www.strava.com/athletes/2507437
PR's - 5K - 17:57 (2017) | 10K - 38:06 (2016) | 13.1 1:23:55 (2019) | 26.2 2:58:46 (2017)
2020 Goals - Sub-2:55 Marathon Up Next: TBD, Boston on 9/14?
Philly HM: taper I/II
M 01 27 17 10.32 T 01 08 59 8.33 W 00 50 21 6.08 00 27 50 3.2 Th 01 24 35 11.0 tm w/ 3wu + 2x2@5:49 + 2x1@5:49 + 2cd, 0.5%, rec: 120s/60s static F 00 42 06 5.12 S 01 40 25 12.83 S 01 08 23 8.08 ==== 64.96
Easy enough week for me. Got a solid threshold session in on Wed, and just 3 fast miles this week before the half next weekend. My goal is 1:18, and I don't intend being any more aggressive than that until after 10 miles. Hopefully, the cool weather will hold. Nursing my calf right now as it cramped up out of nowhere on my run this morning when I mis-stepped due to leaves/branches... meh!
Iam: Firstly, congrats. A 7min PR is seriously impressive at the paces you've now moved on to. I noticed on strava that you ran 26.8 whereas strugglr did 26.3. This must be down to the calibration issue you indicated as it would be hard to run anti-tangents like that (bloody annoying). Do you think you left those 2s/mi out on the course or were you at the limit? Anyway, yes, I get that you're a little disappointed (6:08 is serious running... ) and part of that is working hard and putting yourself out there in public with an aggressive goal. Have a sit down and enjoy it though, as you've made some serious improvement and a MM is on the imminent horizon... Massive respect for what you've been able to do over the past few years. Looking fwd. to the RR.
Strugglr: Congrats. You're a different type of animal entirely. Coming off a hard summer tri-cycle straight into laying down a sub2:50 PR marathon, very impressive. If you can get a full cycle in, watch out! Ditto on the RR.
Flash: Zooming half time, and a "fun" race by the sounds of things. You have to be going into your full with a lot of confidence.
5k: 17:32 (11/18) -- 10k: 38:47 (07/17) -- 10m: 60:23 (08/17) -- 1/2: 1:22:32 (11/17) -- full: 2:49:26 (04/17)
2020 Goals: Assault on 2:40! Next up: Toledo (Apr 26)
IAM - Hopefully you are in that spot between satisfied and discouraged that keeps the motivation high. Although, you are getting plenty of congrats, rest assured we understand how deeply personal race results can be. I know I've been unhappy with my race results at times, but have also felt ridiculous complaining about them.
Here is my week (week 8/12, Tucson training):
Monday - 5 easy TM
Tuesday - 5 easy TM
Wednesday - 11 with some tempo and some I-pace
Thursday AM - 12 easy roads
Thursday PM - 6 easy TM
Friday - 8 easy with strides
Saturday - 21 easy roads with some hills
Sunday - 11 easy trails with some strides
Total - 79 miles
Flash - That there is some speed! Great result. But please tell me that your HRM is whack, because if it's not, I'm upset you jogged that race.
IAM - Obviously the result is fantastic, but I nonetheless understand your thoughts, or at least I think I do. If the thought is "I trained my ass off, and yet missed 2:40. I can't substantially up that training, so is 2:40 a realistic goal?" my response would be that yes, you can easily get under 2:40. You really seemed to be clicking this cycle, even better than some of your other awesome cycles. And you stayed healthy!!! Just repeating the cycle again could likely get you under 2:40. Hopefully this unfulfilled goal will keep you from abandoning us for ultras.
My week:
Weekly SummaryMonday, Nov 06, 2017 thru Sunday, Nov 12, 2017
Nothing special about my week, except I was able to run with the DisplacedDingo for Thursday. I need to start getting some workouts in. I'd like to have a few low key ones, and then hit it hard after Thanksgiving. I think I'm about 9 weeks out from the Houston half.
Upcoming races: Boston
IAM: Congrats again on the superb race. Looking at the elevation profile for Richmond, it looks like a tough, hilly course, making your time even more impressive. I'm sure you'll get your sub 2:40 at Boston next year, even if it is the usual 75+ degrees.
Flash: That's an incredible half time, even more so with the intersection and dog encounter! It should be a great confidence booster for you.
Kram: It's been great to see your threshold pace drop as the months/years go by. 78 min should be within reach based on your workouts of late. Here's hoping you get perfect weather for it!
Andres: Nice week. I can tell you are starting to get serious when I see that 18 mi long run! Glad you made it through unscathed from your encounters with the Aussie.
Paul: Solid week. Is the goal for Tuscon 2:49/MM?
My week: I did a 5k time trial on the track yesterday. It was nice and cold (36 deg, just right) but fairly windy, with the wind fully against on the home straight and fully at your back on the back straight. That made things a bit strange, as I was putting a lot of effort into the against-the-wind 100m straight, but then sort of recovering on the with-the-wind back straight. Naturally, towards the end of my cooldown, the wind died down to almost nothing. Anyway, despite feeling a bit rough around laps 8-9 and fighting off some thoughts of bagging it, I hung in and finally broke 18 with a 17:55. Splits were 5:44, 5:47, 5:42, 5:30 pace for last 0.1. I know that's a jog for most of you guys but it's been a longtime goal so was happy to get it. I'll run another road 5k in December and may try an 8k or 10k time trial, but will start to ramp up and get into marathon training mode now.
2:52:16 (2018)
JT - Yes, my Tucson goal is sub-2:49 which would be a MM. It is not a MM or bust goal though and I honestly don't know if I can do it.. I probably won't settle on a final goal until I'm 5 miles into the race (could be anywhere from 2:48:59 to 2:54:59). If I feel like I can substantially under 2:48:59 (very unlikely) I'll stick with 2:48:59. No reason to jeopardize the MM.
Question for the group - Tucson is a down hill course. I live in a hilly area so naturally do some hill running but rarely do 10+ miles continuous downhill. I have places near me where I could do this. Is 3-weeks out too risky to run 10+ miles at GMP downhill?
And yes I know, Tucson is a downhill cheater course. I won't consider my time a bonafide PR, but I will take the MM (if I get it). My dad lives a few miles from the finish so I'm combining this race with a visit to him.
Mmmm Bop
IAM - With your work ethic it’s inevitable that you’ll go Sub 2:40...regardless of whether you continue training by power or not.
Paul - I haven’t seen the Tucson course profile, but if it’s similar to CIM (rather than a course like St George) then I wouldn’t worry about it at this stage, especially if you do strength work.
5k - 17:53 (4/19) 10k - 37:53 (11/18) Half - 1:23:18 (4/19) Full - 2:50:43 (4/19)
M: 8 mi (7:54) TM
T: 8 mi (8:09) TM
W: 0 T: 8 mi (8:00) TM F: 20 min w/u, 6x800m (2:46, 2:49, 2:52, 2:51, 2:51, 2:50) w/2:30 jog rec, 20 min c/d S: 20 min TM
S: 18 mi (8:07)
M: 30 min rec on TM
T: 8 mi (8:08) TM
W: 10 mi (7:54)
T: 10 mi (7:46)
F: 11 mi (8:33)
S: 45 min with 10x20 sec on/off
S: 16.5 mi. 30 min (7:43), 20 min (6:20), 20 min (7:47), 20 min (6:24), 30 min (7:57)
Last couple weeks. October training (and posting) was shit with travels to east coast, moving, getting a virus with body aches and respiratory crap for 2 wks, then new job and jacked up schedule. Things are settling down now. I was surprised at the 800s last week with the paces the effort gave considering it’s been 8 weeks since a track workout. Today's run felt meh but I wasn't surprised as I know my LT needs work!
JMAC: I am still stoked about your race! I thought you were in 6:40 shape but doing in at NYC and a negative split! And those last couple miles?! That shows some heart! Maybe I've missed this but anything on the foot post-race?
JTReeves: good to see you running and smoking up the track! A sub-18 on your own is good stuff.
I won't be running CIM because I'm not trained because October was shit and I'm just now trying to get some consistency going. I'm kind of pissed about it since I live on the fucking course but I will not run another marathon unless I am trained for it. I'm done doing that. So I registered for Houston and that might work because I have something to prove to myself there. I ran a 6:53 pace there 6 years ago - it was my 3rd marathon, 1st MM, but it was also my first 'bonk' at the distance and ended up in the med tent and I think that experience has impacted my racing since. I don't think I've given my all since that race.
I hope my running and posting will be better from now on. I've missed like 20 pages of posts I think.