Are we there, yet?
From a strictly pacing perspective those were pretty good splits, not perfect but many runners would love to have a minimal fade like that. I can already see the BAA press release in late September when they announce that one needed a BQ-1:26 to get in this year.
2024 Races:
03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles
05/11 - D3 50K 05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour
06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.
Huge congrats, Dave. A PR is a PR and if I were you, I would certainly not give up the fight. I say try a different plan with the same or more mileage if you can. I will keep my fingers crossed for you when September comes, hoping you get in for the Boston marathon. You, my friend, are definitely what Boston is all about: hard work and determination. Finally, I love that pic of you and Zel. :-)
PRs: Boston Marathon, 3:27, April 15th 2013
Cornwall Half-Marathon, 1:35, April 27th 2013
18 marathons, 18 BQs since 2010
Super B****
PR + BQ = reasons for congrats. Imagine if the twenty seconds had slued the other way?!
chasing the impossible
because i never shut up ... i blog
Thanks, and glad to see you pop back in!
Dave
From the Internet.
Congrats on the PR and BQ! The consistency is something to be proud of, for sure. Both from race to race and your pacing here - those splits through 20! Geez! Even the little fade at the end wasn't bad - miles 23-24 through the end of a marathon just continue to terrify and fascinate me, there's really nothing like what you feel out there toward the end.
I would be inclined to try something new, but that's me. Accumulating more miles and going through another Pfitz cycle for sure wouldn't hurt, I tend to think it's more just a matter of whether you want to stick with what you know, or see if something else would work any better.
Congrats on the PR and BQ! The consistency is something to be proud of, for sure. Both from race to race and your pacing here - those splits through 20! Geez! Even the little fade at the end wasn't bad - miles 23-24 through the end of a marathon just continue to terrify and fascinate me, there's really nothing like what you feel out there toward the end. I would be inclined to try something new, but that's me. Accumulating more miles and going through another Pfitz cycle for sure wouldn't hurt, I tend to think it's more just a matter of whether you want to stick with what you know, or see if something else would work any better.
I know you've done two, but I can assure you it becomes no less terrifying or fascinating with 8. It's weird because it happens pretty fast --you're feeling good (I even felt a second wind around 17, where I was feeling amazing), then a brief "uh-oh", then "kill me now". And you never know precisely when. With my previous race, it miraculously never came. That was a truly magical experience for me. I'd consider it a better executed race, even though this one ended up faster.
Still early, but at this moment I am leaning towards trying something different, for variety's sake if nothing else. Although no idea what.
Sometimes I think variety itself is what helps more than having the exact perfect plan.
So I realized the best way to feel better about my time is to plug it into an Age Grading calculator.
Result: 3:03:41 (67%)
That's awesome, Dave. You started to pile up BQs now, and it won't stop. It seems like your race went very well. Not perfect, obviously, as nobody likes to fade at the end, but still very good IMO.
I don't think you *need* to change anything. You've been running for a few years now, and I don't think some plan change is magically going to make you gain 3-4 minutes in one cycle. At least, I don't believe that for myself. Steadily improving is good.
You are an symbol of steadiness and hard work, and because of that whatever plan you choose, I'm positive you will keep improving.