2018 Sub-3. No rules. Run. (Read 792 times)

cinnamon girl


    Hey !!

     

    What do you want in 2018?  Give names, dates, places, PRs, goals, and races.  And .. how was 2017?

     

    Like Matt said this past week .. please post because we like to know we aren’t alone in our insanity.  And as JMac said .. even though none of us have met, we still are a community.  If you're interested, jump in!  All good vibes here.  A refuge from the usual ..

     

    Share your story.  Intros ..  please !! 

     

        Goal Result Commentary Smile
    January        
    14th Houston Half Andres   1:19:47  
    28th Town of Celebration Weatherboy  < 2:50   Tracking info coming soon!
    28th Icebreaker Int'l Half JTReeves      
    February        
    3rd   Sean O'Brien 100k Paul2432      
    11th  Orewa Beach Half MarkyMark     Hoping no ITB and have fun!
    11th  Worthing Half Mikkey      
    25th Off the Beaten 50k Iamdisappoint FTW    
    March          
    4th   Ocean's Run JTReeves   < 2:55    
    4th   London Big Half Mikkey      
    10th Jack Crawford 10k Finbad     train like a hippy!
    18th NYC Half Iamdisappoint   < 1:17   Beat Strugglr!
    18th Round the Vines Half Watson123   < 1:30    
    18th Alloa Half Finbad      
      ? Mattw4jc       
    April        
     8th  Paddock Wood Half Mikkey      
    14th  Leona Divide 50 mi Paul2432      
    16th  Boston Andres      
      JoeScott     2:56    
      Iamdisappoint     2:39    
      NACN      
      Weatherboy     pasta e vino Roma
     22nd  London Mikkey   < 2:50    < 2:52 = Moose Mug
      Finbad      
     22nd  Toledo Kramrunner   < 2:45    
    May        
      6th   Flying Pig MrMatt      
     27th  Buffalo Lela094  2:58-ish   1st marathon PP
     28th  Edinburgh Cinnamon girl      
    June        
      23rd  Western States Paul2432     wow
    July        
      4th Flagstaff Mile Swim5599   5:10-ish   Running fast at 40!

     

     

     

     

    Mikkey


    Mmmm Bop

      Cinnamon, thanks for starting the thread and great title!

       

      Me: Started running in summer 2007 at the age of 41 and have run 35 marathons and have a Sub 3 streak going at London with 7 out of 7 (2:59/58/51/57/54/51/58) and hope to continue it!

       

      Goals: Stay injury free for the next 4 months! My A goal for London is Sub 2:50 and B goal is Sub 2:52 (Moose Mug).

       

      Races lined up: Worthing Half (11th Feb), London Big Half (4th March), Paddock Wood Half (8th April) London Marathon (22nd April) and hopefully some 5k Parkruns in between.

      5k - 17:53 (4/19)   10k - 37:53 (11/18)   Half - 1:23:18 (4/19)   Full - 2:50:43 (4/19)

      Andres1045


        Thanks, cinnamon!

         

        Intro - 38yo male in Houston, married with three little kids (6, 5 and 4).  I've always been a runner, but didn't actually take it seriously until the second half of 2014.  Before that I had run about 15 marathons with a best around 3:46 (terrible to non-existent training on all of those).  Jan of 2015 I ran a 3:09 off of real training (Hansons, and an 18 week average of 59 miles per week).  My full PR is 2:57:46 from last year.  I'm probably better at the shorter stuff, but I wasn't able to move all that fast last year.  My PR's in the shorter stuff all come from the end of 2015-2016:  1:19:20 in the half and 17:22 in the 5k and a 28:50 on a likely short 5mi course.

         

        2017 was the lowest mileage wise of the 3 full years of serious running at 2,275 or so.  I'd like to get back to 2,600 and I hope to do 200/month minimum.

         

        My goal marathon is Boston, and I'm thinking of signing up for NYC (I have a couple of half qualifier's that should allow me to register...I think).  My dad has run NYC 5 times, and wants to do it again.  It's also on his 70th birthday, so that could be fun (we ran it back in 2006 together).

         

        I've got a half coming up on this Sunday that I'm starting to really look forward to (Houston Half).  The weather looks to be ideal.  Before last week, my training wasn't going exactly as I wanted with each one of my workouts being either a fail or just not as good as I wanted.  Then last week I was able to put together 6 miles in a 5:58 average, so I'm hoping I can hold that for the half and eek out a PR.  We'll see.

        Upcoming races: Boston

        Marky_Mark_17


          Hey all.

           

          Mark, 36, from Auckland, New Zealand, married with a 10-month old daughter.  Started running in late 2015 mostly to prove a point after a serious field hockey injury in 2013 (hockey stick + knee = fractured kneecap and ruptured patellar tendon).  Discovered I was not bad at it (certainly more ability than my mediocre field hockey talents!).  So I took it seriously, and progressively wound my HM PR down to 1:18 over the course of 2016.

           

          2017 was a pretty cool year, I won the Albany Lakes 10km summer series and set a new PR in the process, did some fun half marathons (and a couple not-so-fun ones), set a new 5km PR, but the big focus was my first marathon in October.  Hit my sub-3 goal, but still paying the price for it as it seems marathons might not really be my gig, at least not in conjunction with my love of frequent racing.

           

          So, 2018 goals are pretty simple:

          • Sort out my niggly ITB - which thankfully seems to be steadily improving now - and stay injury-free
          • Have fun
          • Do some new races
          • Beat my HM PR

          No marathons planned for this year but I'll still hang around here from time to time as I learnt a lot from everyone on this forum last year.

          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: Maraetai HM, 10 Mar, DNF

          Up next: Waterfront HM, 7 Apr

          "CONSISTENCY IS KING"

          joescott


            Good morning! (or afternoon, or evening, wherever you are in the world)!

             

            I’m 51 and have been running consistently since about 2003, but it wasn’t until maybe about 2009 that I started to know better what I’m doing.  I was also a runner when I was a lot younger, but that was a different life or something.  I’ve been on RA for about 10 years and have enjoyed connecting with a lot of people on this website.  My goal race this year is Boston.  I hope to keep a streak alive where I have always improved on my previous Boston time – so to keep that streak alive I need 2:56:38.  Training is not off to a very good start, but there is a lot of time left.  Prior to my qualifying race in Seattle in June I had not run a marathon in 2-1/2 years due to crushing a major PR and life goal, and afterwards deciding more or less to “rest my case.”  Got back at it, though, when the company offered to send me to Seattle for work and also cover the cost of the race.  So, because of a “freebie”, I got back in the marathon game.  Fun fact about me that you may find annoying:  I do not use the term “full” to describe a marathon – “full” is irritating.  It is either 26 miles 385 yards or it is not (Comrades’ notwithstanding :-) ); no qualifier is needed.  I've run 22 marathons, I think.  Maybe 23.  Need to check my log, I guess!

            - Joe

            We are fragile creatures on collision with our judgment day.

              Cinnamon: Thanks for starting up the thread!

               

              Jon from New Milford, CT, 42 years old, married, 13 year old son. Lots of animals in our house: 1 dog and 5 cats.  I ran track and XC in HS and college but after college ran very little for the next 15 years. I started back up in 2013 and ran my first marathon in 2014 (3:16). I steadily increased mileage and brought my time down each year (3:06, 2:57), then the PR streak got buggered at Boston last year (3:13). That was my only marathon last year but my training was consistent all year and it was my biggest mileage year at 3063. This year the goal is to get sub 2:55. I will run Ocean's Run in Rhode Island in March and probably Hartford in October. I'd also like to go for PRs in the shorter distances along the way.

              2:52:16 (2018)

              mattw4jc


                Matt - 46y.o. - living near Charlotte, North Carolina  - wife - 3 kids (16 / 14 / 12).

                I was not very active in high school or college, save for running the occasional laps at the stadium across the street from my dorm. My friends were very impressed the one time I gutted it out for 12 laps! After college I moved to Colorado and lived in the mountains for 12 years backpacking, skiing (downhill & cross-country), biking (mountain and road), and an occasional run. I also got married and had 3 children while in Colorado.

                A job change and move to Kentucky took away a lot of the big outdoor activity options. I continued road biking and the occasional run, and eventually got myself a Nike+ setup and not long after that a Garmin 305. These motivated me to do both more often and watch the miles add up. Two years later, I moved to North Carolina and started running more often and trained for my first marathon using Higdon's beginner plan. I was hoping for a 3:30, but took a couple of walk breaks and finished in 3:32 (2009). In retrospect, not bad for a newbie.

                I started training with some local running groups and decided to try for a 3:15 which at the time was a BQ for me. I didn't have any intention to go to Boston, just wanted to see if I could meet that standard. I ran the City of Oaks marathon in Raleigh in 3:15:13 (2010). They still had the 59 second grace period then, but what I didn't know was that my BQ was actually 3:20 because I would have aged up before the race that I could have registered for, so I had a good 4+ minute cushion.

                In 2011 I got ambitious and trained for a sub-3 marathon, but did not run nearly enough miles. In Richmond that fall, I was on pace for the first 18 miles, but couldn't keep it up and finished with a 3:11. No marathons in 2012, but ran a 3:12 in 2013 (Charlotte) after a "just wing it" training cycle. I was a last minute addition as a pace leader for the first half of the 2014 Charlotte marathon. I stayed with the 3:20 group until about mile 20, but I faded and finished with a 3:24. There was another stronger leader who finished on time.

                At the end of 2014, I started following the sub-3 thread at RWOL and learned more about what it would take to get there. I read most of Pfitzinger's "Advanced Marathoning" book and began training for a 39 minute 10k and a 1:25 half. I was just slightly over on both of those but felt I was getting in better shape and had a good base to go for it. I used the 18 week 70 mpw plan. During that cycle I dropped my half time to 1:23:32 and felt good going into the full at Charlotte (it's local, makes it easy). I ran a 2:58:46 there. Two other running buddies also ran well and we all signed up for Boston 2017.

                I had that Plantar Fasciitis in the fall of 2016 and did not have a good base going into the Boston training. I did the 12 week / 70mpw Pfitzinger plan and felt decent going into Boston. The heat, lack of a great training cycle, walking around too much the day before, and/or calf cramps during the race got to me and I shuffled in for a 3:50 - a big personal worst!

                Now I'm on week 9 of the 18 week / 70mpw plan again and being hopeful for a possible sub-3 in March.

                  Thanks for starting this year's thread, cinnamon! 

                   

                  Age 48, Chicago, IL. Non athlete turned adult-onset runner. In fact I like to tell the groups I coach about how I was a C- minus student in Phys Ed class back in middle school. I began running 12 years ago this month to battle middle-age weight gain and spread, and haven't stopped. Yup, still running and at 177 pounds, still battling middle-aged weight gain and spread.

                   

                  I completed my first race of greater than HM distance in October 2007 (50K), which was followed by my first marathon in May of 2008. Currently have 34 marathons and two 50Ks under my belt, with many of them as pacing gigs. I enjoy running and helping others achieve their running and race goals, and have enjoyed putting in the mileage, having averaged 3100 miles per year between 2008 and 2017.

                   

                  I first aimed for sub 3 back in the fall of 2009 and missed the mark big time, though I ran a significant PR and BQd that day with a 3:09 and change. After numerous attempts, failures, and setbacks including unfortunately timed illnesses, injuries, and a case of mild exercise-induced asthma that was eventually diagnosed in late 2015, I finally broke through in November with a 2:59:12 at the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon. I guess the 34th time IS a charm!

                   

                  Ironically, my mileage for this last cycle was the lowest for a serious training block since my marathon debut, averaging just under 60 mpw in the 20 weeks leading up to the race. So maybe killing myself with 100+ mile weeks wasn't the way to go.

                   

                  Boston is on the calendar this year, but I have no plans to race it. Hopefully I'll come close to a HM PR this spring; my all time PR is from the spring of 2011 so maybe my chances of that are slim. So maybe sub 1:25 would be nice. Then I'll get back to focusing on training for Monumental again this fall.

                  Post Asthma Era PRs: 5K--18:39 (Mar 2016), 10K--39:40 (Feb 2018), HM--1:28:04 (Jan 2017), MAR--2:59:12 (November 2017)

                  paul2432


                    Cinnamon - Thanks for starting the thread.  Glad to see it continuing in 2018.

                     

                    I'm a 49 year old male, married, dad of two girls (9 and 12) living in southern California.  I started running back in 1993 to lose weight and ran my first race in 1994 and first marathon in 1996 (NYC).  Over the years I was an off an on low to mid mileage runner (< 50 MPW) with some cycling and triathlon mixed in.  I always had the goal to BQ but could never quite get there.  In 2012 I became convinced that I needed higher mileage and ran my first BQ (3:23) at Philadelphia.  Boston 2014 was my first sub-3:00 attempt and it did not go well.  I made the classic mistake of going out too fast, darting around runners, etc. and finished in 3:16.

                     

                    I don't run that many marathons so my next sub-3:00 attempt was LA in 2016.  This one was successful - I ran 2:58 on a warmish day.  My most recent marathon was Tucson in December 2017 where I ran 2:53.  The sub-3:00 group here and at RWOL has been a huge factor in my success.  Just seeing what ordinary people can do when they put their minds to it was very inspirational.  If someone 20 years ago had told me I'd run a 2:53 when I was 49 years old (and train 80 MPW) I would have told them they were insane.  The time would have seemed way to fast, and the mileage way too much.

                     

                    As noted in the 2017 thread I'm not running any marathons this year, focusing instead on ultramarathons*.  My next marathon will likely be Boston 2019 (got to avenge my poor outing there!).  Posting now because I Iike this group and feel I can learn something and contribute by continuing to participate.  Best luck to everyone meeting their sub-3:00 (or whatever) goals.

                     

                    *2018 ultras currently planned

                    2/3 - Sean O'Brien 100K

                    4/14 - Leona Divide 50 miler

                    6/23 - Western States 100

                    8/4 - Angeles Crest 100 (I registered for this not expecting to get into WS)


                    Laura

                      Thanks for getting this thread started!

                       

                      Laura, 30 YO female from Western NY....Currently on the postpartum rebuild (daughter is almost 9 months old!) and hoping to flirt with some of m pre-baby PR's this year.

                       

                      I took pregnancy as a big running break (so glad I did, I ran 14 marathons from 2011-2016 and trained pretty strong especially from 2013 onwards). I also eased back into running last summer (2017) after having my daughter in April, I was adamant about not pushing the process and this paid off big time. Happy healthy and strong heading into 2018.

                       

                      I was already able to get back below 20 for a 5k this fall at about 6 months postpartum and I have only gained fitness since, just haven't had the opportunity to race much to test that out (wasn't a big priority this fall, more just made it work if I could). Now that I have gained some good fitness back and have found a good groove with being a full time working mom- it's time to get down to business!

                       

                      Pre- baby PR's: 18:46 - 38:37 - 1:24 - 2:58

                       

                      Overall 2018 goals: Consistency, consistency, consistency & balancing working mom life.

                      Spring race goals: How close I can get to my marathon PR at Buffalo in May....

                       

                      Current status: Should be around 50 mpw for January and hoping to build to a peak of 70 for Buffalo. I've never been a super high mileage runner but I think that if I average between 55-60 I will be in really good shape to give my PR a good stab.

                      Pre-Baby PR's (all from 2015): 5k: 18:46  10k: 38:37 HM: 1:24:51 FM: 2:58:13

                      Postpartum PR's: 5k: 18:18 (2018)  HM: 1:21:14 (2019) FM: 2:57:02 (2019)

                       

                      Next Up: Unsure - but most likely some solo TT's

                       

                      {Strava}{IG}

                       

                      lagwagon


                        Good to see this back for '18!

                         

                        Count me in.  I'm Sean, 46yo m in eastern PA.  I ran a 2:58 at Philly in 2016.  Been slowing down and gaining weight ever since so it feels like getting back is a stretch.  However I'm now healthy and building mileage.  Probably build towards a fall race (Steamtown or Erie?).  Also considering a longer race for the fall (JFK?).

                         

                        One suggestion for everyone...consider opening your logs so we can follow your workouts and progress! (Go to "Options", click "Log Preferences",  and under log access click "Allow everyone".  For privacy also click "Map Access--keep private".)

                         

                        Good luck everyone!

                          Mikkey, is this 7 London's in a row or 7 non-consecutive? Even so, pretty impressive. Has there ever been a "hot" year in London (like we seem to get regularly in Boston).

                           

                          Cinnamon, thanks for starting the thread and great title!

                           

                          Me: Started running in summer 2007 at the age of 41 and have run 35 marathons and have a Sub 3 streak going at London with 7 out of 7 (2:59/58/51/57/54/51/58) and hope to continue it!

                           

                          Goals: Stay injury free for the next 4 months! My A goal for London is Sub 2:50 and B goal is Sub 2:52 (Moose Mug).

                           

                          Races lined up: Worthing Half (11th Feb), London Big Half (4th March), Paddock Wood Half (8th April) London Marathon (22nd April) and hopefully some 5k Parkruns in between.

                          cinnamon girl


                            Not much time right now but wanted to wish Andres good luck this weekend!

                             

                            Welcome Lela, Joe, Lagwagon! Great to have you (and everyone else!) here.

                             

                            I'll get a table started next week for page 1 with races and stuff

                             

                             

                             

                             

                            Mikkey


                            Mmmm Bop

                              Mikkey, is this 7 London's in a row or 7 non-consecutive? Even so, pretty impressive. Has there ever been a "hot" year in London (like we seem to get regularly in Boston).

                               

                               

                              7 in a row (2011-2017). The first one was hot (for me anyway) at around 68/70f but weather was good for all the rest...in fact I’ve never run a marathon in the rain!

                               

                              Great to see some new people on here!

                               

                              Andres - Best of luck at Houston!

                              5k - 17:53 (4/19)   10k - 37:53 (11/18)   Half - 1:23:18 (4/19)   Full - 2:50:43 (4/19)

                              weatherboy80


                                Whoops - just saw this new thread as I was still in the 2017 version.  Thanks Cinnamon for creating this new one!

                                 

                                Me: I'm Joe from Melbourne, FL, age 37.  Happily married, but no kids which allows me quite a bit free time and flexibility for running.  I started running in my late 20's for health reason's but didn't start taking training seriously until about 2014 or so.  Played hockey growing up, but didn't do much in my 20's so got out of shape.  Didn't really properly train properly (easy/hard with geared workouts) until about 2-3 years ago and have seen vast improvements in that time!

                                 

                                After a few good HM's in the fall of 2016 dropped my HM PR to 1:19:38 last Jan, and recently ran a 5K PR of 17:12 (late October).  Actually ran my FM PR (3:03:52) at Boston last year in warm conditions where I was in shape to run mid 2:50's or so based on my training cycle.  All my other marathons have been run in somewhat warm conditions.  Currently aiming for a sub 2:50 (A goal and depending on weather again) in Orlando in just over 2 weeks after a pretty strong Daniels Q2 style cycle that maxed out close to 100 miles a few weeks ago.  Currently starting to cut back mileage for that one.

                                 

                                As for 2017 ran just under 3600 miles for the year (plus some intermittent ice hockey) which is quite a bit more than 2016 (2400) so hoping to benefit from from that kind of mileage improvements.

                                 

                                Goals for 2018 would first being under 2:50 in the FM (or on a really bad day a sub 3 finally).  Then I'd like to go sub 78 or so in the HM.  Think I'm in shape for that now based on my current training cycle.  Although I went out painfully hard at a Disney HM in early November in 100% humidity and came in at just over 80 min for what I consider one of my best race efforts to date.  Also like to run under 17 in the 5K so not too far from that one.  Running Boston in April 2018 again although not as an A race, but would like to maintain some of this current fitness (once recovered in early to mid Feb) and try to at least run another sub 3 assuming good conditions.  Training for that one won't be ideal as my wife and I head to Italy for almost two weeks in late March Smile  Some running still planned, but no LR's allowed on that vacation!  Will be a challenge with all the pasta and wine!

                                 

                                Andres - good luck this weekend!

                                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)