2013 Sub 4:00 Marathon Goal (Read 1274 times)


Runs With Kid

    I ran my 4th marathon in Moncton, New Brunswick in October 2012 with the intention of breaking 4 hrs.  If successful it would be my last marathon because the training/time commitment is just too much, I much prefer 1/2 marathons.  BUT I failed by 52 seconds!  So, being from New Brunswick Canada, and now living in Maine I decided to register for the 1st Annual Bay of Fundy Marathon.  This marathon starts in USA crosses to Canada and back to USA...the first one ever to cross the border, and you get to check off a state and a province off your list!  Hopefully my 5th and Final Marathon will be my sub 4:00.  Would love to find a few folks training for the same event.  I completely slacked off after the October marathon, so I feel like I'm starting from scratch all over again!  Happy New Year Everyone!  May you all get new PRs this year!

    Turbolegs


      I ran my 4th marathon in Moncton, New Brunswick in October 2012 with the intention of breaking 4 hrs.  If successful it would be my last marathon because the training/time commitment is just too much, I much prefer 1/2 marathons.  BUT I failed by 52 seconds!  So, being from New Brunswick Canada, and now living in Maine I decided to register for the 1st Annual Bay of Fundy Marathon.  This marathon starts in USA crosses to Canada and back to USA...the first one ever to cross the border, and you get to check off a state and a province off your list!  Hopefully my 5th and Final Marathon will be my sub 4:00.  Would love to find a few folks training for the same event.  I completely slacked off after the October marathon, so I feel like I'm starting from scratch all over again!  Happy New Year Everyone!  May you all get new PRs this year!

       

      HI Jamie - Welcome to the group. 52seconds over must have been quite tough to deal with. The running gods obviously want you back for some more so all the best for your goal marathon. Your marathon reminds me of the Istanbul Marathon in Turkey, which is advertized as the only transcontinental marathon - i think you start on the Asian side of Turkey and run over the Bosphorus bridge over to the European side of Turkey (or vice versa, cant remember the direction now). Would be good marathons to have on the bucket list of folks chasing unique / exotic marathons.

       

      Look forward to your training and all the best with cracking your target !!

      I dont sweat. I ooze liquid awesome.

      philipfromga


        i had every intention of getting a sub 4 in my first marathon at the Miami Marathon Jan 29th but alas the old military back injury took hold and ruined December and left me scrambling in Jan to just return to some sort of running shape without sciatic pain but I am on a mission so my new mission has become to run the Colfax Marathon here in Denver on May 19th with a goal of 3:55 just like I was training for at the end of 2012 the second attempt will be October 20th 2013 at the Rock and Roll Denver Marathon.  Good Luck to all!

        Turbolegs


          i had every intention of getting a sub 4 in my first marathon at the Miami Marathon Jan 29th but alas the old military back injury took hold and ruined December and left me scrambling in Jan to just return to some sort of running shape without sciatic pain but I am on a mission so my new mission has become to run the Colfax Marathon here in Denver on May 19th with a goal of 3:55 just like I was training for at the end of 2012 the second attempt will be October 20th 2013 at the Rock and Roll Denver Marathon.  Good Luck to all!

           

          Hey Philip - welcome to the party !! All the best for your sub4 pursuits.

          I dont sweat. I ooze liquid awesome.

          theyapper


          On the road again...

            Might as well throw myself in the mix. Columbia SC Marathon on March 9 will be my first shot in 2013.

            I write. I read. I run. One time, I ran a lot on my 50th birthday.

            Paul

              Welcome Jamie, Phil and Yapper!

               

              Jamie: 52 seconds! As in 2 seconds a mile! Doesn't get much more frustrating than that.

               

              Phil: I am in Denver once or twice a year for business, always sunshine. Must be a beautiful place to run and live

               

              Yapper: have you had previous attempts?

               

              Me: Saturday 10K race report: alarm set for 4:15, out of the house by 5pm. Drove to Jersey City to park and ride PATH and subway to get to the bib pick-up at NYRR offices on 89th Street. Arrived at about 6.45. Cold, I would say around 30-32, but with a windchill factor taking it down to mid to high 20. The streets and avenues in Manhattan funnel the wind, but once you get into Central Park, most of the wind disappears.

              Having no particular goal, I set off pretty conservatively, and finished the first mile in 8:45. Warmed up and the density of runners reduced, I picked up the pace mile 2, but was still surprised to clock 8:03. Mile 3 contained a brute of a hill, but I cannot help making a big effort in hills, and clocked 8:18 for mile 3. Mile 4 started with a second hill just after the big one, and that one really slowed me down, as did the remaining ups and downs: 8:40. I was a little dispondant when I saw that mile time on the watch, but then I figured that if I could do the last two miles in 8:10, a sprint over the last 0.2 would actually bring me pretty close to my PR of 52:00. Morale was assisted by the first mile and a half of the 2.2 being pretty flat or even descending, but I knew also that the last 0.75 contained a couple of climbs. What the heck, I decided to go for it, and clocked 8:07 and 8:08 for miles 5 and 6. Ran the last quarter mile at 7:39, and finished at 51:54, a PR of 6 seconds, but I will take that with pleasure, considering that it was not an easy flat course, and my intention at the start was just a good workout.

              Sunday: 14-mile LR. if you have problems running your LR slow enough, try doing it after a 10K race. Works wonders: average pace 10:20!

              Personal bests (bold = this year): 5K - 23:27 / 5M - 38:42 / 10K - 49:31 (track) / 10M - 1:24:26 / HM - 1:51:17 / M - 3:58:58

              Next races: NYC Marathon, Nov 2014 

              Rick D.


              It ain't pretty!

                I am looking for a sub 4 in my 3rd marathon on May 26th at the Vermont City Marathon in Burlington, VT.  I also ran this race last year.  The temps soared and I dehydrated finishing in 4:23.  I had a running coach and a customized training plan for this marathon.  My second marathon was the Amica marathon on 10/14 in Newport, RI.  Despite more adverse weather conditions and a much tougher course, I completed in 4:14.  I used the Hal Higdon Intermediate 1 program to train for that one.

                 

                This time my training partner and I are using Hanson's Beginner Marathon program and we're training for a 3:50 marathon.  We've settled on 3:50 because many of the race predictors put us at about 3:55 based upon 10k, 10 mile, and HM times.  Training starts in a couple of weeks and I'm on my way back from a sciatica issue, so, I'm challenging myself!  We'll see how it goes!

                Running for my life!

                npaden


                  First week of my plan this week. Still getting over being sick at the beginning of the week so I missed my interval workout on Tuesday, but kept up with the rest of the plan.  My marathon pace Tempo run was actually pretty fun, but only 5 miles at MP so not like it was tough or anything.  Was pretty happy with my splits on the MP part, 8:42, 8:40: 8:39, 8:38, 8:38.  A tiny bit fast, but I really felt like I locked into the rythym and am really looking forward to many more miles at that pace.

                   

                  I'm already messing with my plan next week though, going to throw in a 2 mile race next Saturday so not sure if I'm going to skip my intervals this week or not.  I was planning on skipping them, but since I missed last week I'm thinking of doing them this week.  I think I should be able to recover from some easy intervals on Tuesday for a Saturday race.

                  Age: 50 Weight: 224 Height: 6'3" (Goal weight 195)

                  Current PR's:  Mara 3:14:36* (2017); HM 1:36:13 (2017); 10K 43:59 (2014); 5K 21:12 (2016)

                  Turbolegs


                    Twofootshuffle - well done on the 10k race and following through with the long run. I ran for a little more than 2 hours for the first time day before yesterday in nearly 6 months (counting only training runs) and felt quite delighted that i managed to finish what i started out to do. I always feel the worst in the first 2-3 kms ... full of self-doubt and apprehension on whether i can actually continue to run for another 2 hours or not .. and then by 5-6kms, my wandering mind usually settles down. Obviously have a long way to go (both literally and metaphorically) in approaching and doing these runs more "positively". Have another 7 weeks of training to go before D-day so looking to salvage as much training as possible.

                     

                    Welcome Rick D ... 3rd time lucky for sure !! Smile

                     

                    nPaden - Nicely done on the tempo run .. consistency is remarkable.

                    I dont sweat. I ooze liquid awesome.

                    JML


                      Once more into the abyss for me......Please add me to the list.

                       

                      November 24 - Philadelphia Marathon

                      Rebuilding my aerobic base....racing next year.....nothing to see here....move along now.

                      Turbolegs


                        Once more into the abyss for me......Please add me to the list.

                         

                        November 24 - Philadelphia Marathon

                         

                        Hi JML - Welcome !!! Nearly a whole year of training planning that you can eagerly look forward to. By the way - had a look at your log; your 1:37 HM a couple of months back is insanely fast (for someone shooting for sub 4) and if you wanted to, you could actually train for a legit shot at 3:30 ... but if you like to savor the moments (and more of them at that), sub 4 is a nice comfy target to go for ! All the best !!

                        I dont sweat. I ooze liquid awesome.

                        JML


                           

                          Hi JML - Welcome !!! Nearly a whole year of training planning that you can eagerly look forward to. By the way - had a look at your log; your 1:37 HM a couple of months back is insanely fast (for someone shooting for sub 4) and if you wanted to, you could actually train for a legit shot at 3:30 ... but if you like to savor the moments (and more of them at that), sub 4 is a nice comfy target to go for ! All the best !!

                           

                          Thanks for the kind words.  I am hopeful that sub 4 will be an easier target this time.  After a first marathon effort of 4:08 in 2010 and terrible 2nd marathon of 4:36 in 2011, I have been studiously avoiding the marathon idea.  A solid stretch of training last year (using Nobby's Running-Wizard) lead to the 1:37 half, so I think I am ready to try again using my new and improved approach to training.  Fingers crossed.

                          Rebuilding my aerobic base....racing next year.....nothing to see here....move along now.

                          Turbolegs


                            A little more than a month to go for me and i am midway through my training plan from practically zilch running ... so far, things have been encouraging and i am keeping my fingers crossed about carrying it all through until the end Feb. Ran for 2.5 hours on Sunday evening after dilly dallying over sat morning and sun morning - and somehow managed to keep it together. Ended up running the last 15km around 10% slower than GMP so it was not too bad a run. This week is my cutback week so am dropping mileage back by 20%-30% before stepping it up again next week. Slowly progressing on the weight-loss goal as well - 1kg down, 1.5kg to go. Smile

                             

                            Anybody here have any tips on how to best maximize the usefulness of the cutback week? (Too many varied opinions on websites). Just run all easy on lower mileage or hit all key workouts but make them shorter?

                            I dont sweat. I ooze liquid awesome.

                            JML


                               

                              Anybody here have any tips on how to best maximize the usefulness of the cutback week? (Too many varied opinions on websites). Just run all easy on lower mileage or hit all key workouts but make them shorter?

                               

                              Keep the long run on your schedule and have all other runs that week be easy....no speed or tempo runs.    Give the training that you have done leading up to the cut back week a chance to 'sink in'.

                              Rebuilding my aerobic base....racing next year.....nothing to see here....move along now.

                                Hi everyone!

                                Been running all my life, HMs are my fave and usually finish sub 2:00.

                                Prefer trail running overall but I run at least a 10 miler and/or HM race/month.

                                Never thought I would run a marathon but decided to as a 50th birthday gift to myself.

                                I trained well on my own with lots of advice from articles and was very ready with the longest training run at 24 miles a month prior.

                                Didn't really have a time goal but I knew I could finish under 5 hours.

                                I enjoyed every part of the RnR event, and finished in 4:10!!

                                Probably should have finish sub 4 but I really wanted to experience every part of the festivities, took photos along the way, texted and called hubby, family and friends during my walk breaks.  A friend/runner told us after the race that I was 5 minutes off from BQ!!  It didn't bother me as I was not even thinking of it but my husband was already planning my next one to finish sub-4 to just say I qualified for Boston, haha!!

                                I registered for another marathon that summer and ran it despite a bummed knee (slipped on ice during a training run in the snow, mud, etc.) but I finished in 4:34.  My longest run due to the bummed knee was only 18 miles, twice, about a month prior.

                                Life interruptions, hectic travel schedule for business, etc. only had me running mostly HMs since then.

                                But I am 'in training mode' for my next marathon, and plan on a sub 4:00, in May/June, somewhere in the SW most likely.

                                Now 52, I live in northern MN and the bitter artic temps makes it too risky to run outdoors; at least 25 below ZERO daily for the past few weeks; a 'high' of 10 only a couple of days ago, wind chills making it even more brutal, and do not want to get sick.

                                I am really trying to stay friends with the TM at the local health club but my longest run so far has been only 12 miles, intervals.  But I am keeping a base of 10 miles, intervals mostly; trying to get in quality runs over quantity, along with strength/core exercises, and yoga stuff.  TM has brought out past problems with shin splints, aggravating knee issues and sole of feet just aches.  So I am running about 2 to 3 times per week.  My business travel will have me in milder weather soon so I will be piling on the mileage during those days.

                                Great to hear each of your goals!!  We can do it!!