Hey guys,
I haven't posted for a long time but wanted to let you know that I set a PR today in the Spinx marathon in Greenville, SC. Ran 3:55.34, beating a PR (3:58.15) set 10 years and 7 marathons ago. Ran more than 1,000 miles in this training cycle. This is the runner called Sckome on the RW forums. Hope you guys are doing well.
Hi Hominid / Sckome ! good to hear from you - congrats on the race time and PR ! Greenville is such a nice place - didn't know they had a marathon there. Were the race conditions good there ? (weather,etc) What plan did you use this cycle?
PB's 10K 47:15 (9/13) HM 1:45 (9/13) M 3:57 (10/13)
Running Blog http://davesdigitaldestinations.blogspot.com/
Weather was perfect - 32 at start, 48 at finish, sunny. The marathon course is almost all on a rails-to-trail called the Swamp Rabbit Trail. Not a lot of crowd support, but the ones who are out there do a great job of cheering for you. The start and finish are at the minor league baseball stadium; you lap the warning track at the finish. The logistics are solid. Easy parking right at the start/finish, lots of real bathrooms in the stadium with no lines. If you like smaller marathons (500ish runners), it's a good one.
I create my own training plans. For this race I averaged 48.5 miles per week, with four weeks above 50 and four weeks above 60. I focused on a good mix of marathon pace miles and LT miles. I also lift weights, typically twice a week.
I got out of the habit of posting last year because I had to take five months off running to heal my feet. They were shot after running three sub-fours and four total marathons in 12 months. I switched from Asics Gel Nimbus to Brooks PureFlows for this training cycle and have had no foot issues or any other leg problems. Anyway, it's good to see the old gang is still together!
Congrats on your PR! Wow, after 10 years and 7 marathons? Did you use similar training for each one? What kind of foot problems did you deal with, if you don't mind my asking?
PRs:
5k: 25:05 (Sep 2011) 10k: 51:57 (Aug 2012) half: 1:56:46 (May 2013) full: 4:09:46 (Jan 2016)
Paula,
My feet were just worn out. Plantar fascitis in both feet and my arches felt like they were falling. I have high arches and stiff feet. I'd tried to break my PR four times in 12 months and failed each time. So I didn't mind taking a break to get healthy.
I did do similar training for each one, but I gradually added mileage and added days per week of running. For this cycle, I actually peaked a bit lower (63 mpw vs 72 mpw) but I had a higher average mileage over the four months leading up to the race by about four miles per week. I also ran 6 days a week with a stretch of two months running seven days per week. I ran more LT miles this time, but not a lot more. I also tapered much more deeply for this race than I did for my first shot at a PR last year. I think that made the biggest difference. I did a 70/50 taper in the two weeks before marathon week.
Given that I had to stop to pee at 12 miles and had a couple of 9:20s at miles 5 and 21, I think I can still run faster. I turn 50 next year and plan to chase a new PR!