Sub 3Hr Marathon

297 watchers
Jan 2015
4:24pm, 9 Jan 2015
23,719 posts
  •  
  • 0
HappyG(rrr)
No probs Psi, you are absolutely right that it is/was something that Steve W achieved. And there may be some possibility of the same for mortals, but like tom says, I think most of us prob need to focus on one goal and put everything into that.

I happened to PB at 5K, 10K, half along way to marathon goal. But I would happily have sacrificed all of those just for the marathon time. And actually, I hope to improve e.g. 5K and maybe mile time one day (once I get this ultra stuff out of the way) - and I would train very differently to do that. :-) G
Jan 2015
6:17pm, 9 Jan 2015
1,907 posts
  •  
  • 0
57.5 Degrees of Pain
Interestingly I managed 18 months of small improvements at shorter distances (but slight slippage in half and marathon time) with an Ultra focus, after a couple of years of marathon training. Since then consistent miles with some long runs but little speed work other than parkrun have seen me plateau or dropoff a bit. Time for a change of plan obviously! I'd say the key to better times was partly mental too: being able to hurt myself a bit more over 5 and 10k thereby squeezing a slightly faster pace for the same physical conditioning.
Jan 2015
8:53pm, 9 Jan 2015
202 posts
  •  
  • 0
jdarun
I'm sure that for large numbers of runners (perhaps even most of those on this site), any sort of dedicated training program will improve performance over a wide range of distances. Eg both my marathon programs also brought me 10k PBs along the way, just by virtue of doing lots more running than I had before and getting generally fitter and faster. But once you are already at a high level (relative to your own potential, if not absolutely), getting that last 1% at a specific event will surely require compromises elsewhere.
Jan 2015
10:48am, 11 Jan 2015
242 posts
  •  
  • 0
idlewild
I think you are spot on, jdarun. I'm sure we've all gone through that stage where just starting to train properly means that you are slicing time off all your PBs and it seems so easy! But then you get to the point where even small improvements require focus on a specific distance and tailoring training accordingly...

of course, there's also the other explanation, that running fast just gets harder as you get older, so you need to do more to stay at the same level ;-)
Jan 2015
11:54am, 11 Jan 2015
203 posts
  •  
  • 0
jdarun
First proper long run (ie 2h30+) of the campaign for me today, hard work in the blustery wind for the first hour but seemed to settle into it and felt quite comfortable towards the end. After the winterval disruption and general lack of marathon focus over the last few weeks, I'm pretty pleased with that. And doing it first thing (7:30 start) means I'm home before the worst of the weather :-)
Jan 2015
8:20am, 12 Jan 2015
261 posts
  •  
  • 0
Chris
I managed something similar JDA (19 miles in 2:31) yesterday and it felt surprisingly easy, much easier than it did this time last year. Fingers crossed its a good sign for spring....just need to decide which marathon to run. Milton Keynes or Halestead.
Jan 2015
8:41am, 12 Jan 2015
2,717 posts
  •  
  • 0
tom_craggs
19 miles @ 7.10/mile yesterday and felt awful - under fuelled and left too late in the day. Easy to forget the basics sometimes.
Jan 2015
11:13pm, 12 Jan 2015
60 posts
  •  
  • 0
speedy rob
It's good to read reports of some solid training. I'm not on the pace yet, but 70 miles last week with 15 & 17 milers seemed to go OK, and that's the highest mileage I had in-mind. A 10K race on Sunday should tell me where I am pace-wise, but I probably need to allow myself at least 15 seconds per mile for my lard handicap, that I plan to lose. I suspect that avoiding being under-fuelled will be a balancing act, but I'm hoping that 50+ miles per week and cutting a few treats and excesses will do the trick.
Jan 2015
2:28pm, 13 Jan 2015
204 posts
  •  
  • 0
jdarun
I've got a race too - my first fell run so unlikely to be that informative regarding pace :-) But I hope at least it will be fun. Amazingly, the forecast is good (Sunday) though not sure I can believe that...
Jan 2015
3:08pm, 16 Jan 2015
243 posts
  •  
  • 0
idlewild
15 miles easy today. I even read Tom's post above about re-fueling and still forgot to take a drink, duh!

About This Thread

Maintained by jda
All about hitting the magic 2:xx:yy!
Targets 2024
======
14 April Mancs
rhb
21 April London
Chris 2:36:45
28 April
Newport
Miser 2:45
Boston (Lincs)
Brunski 2:55
======
Results 2024
======
bunting
medal medal medal medal medal
18 Feb Seville
mattykay 2.58.32
medal medal medal medal medal
bunting

=====================
Current (2018) thread owner jda, if I go awol then someone else should feel free to take over...

Useful Links

FE accepts no responsibility for external links. Or anything, really.

Related Threads

  • goals
  • marathon
  • sub
  • training









Back To Top
X

Free training & racing tools for runners, cyclists, swimmers & walkers.

Fetcheveryone lets you analyse your training, find races, plot routes, chat in our forum, get advice, play games - and more! Nothing is behind a paywall, and it'll stay that way thanks to our awesome community!
Get Started
Click here to join 112,107 Fetchies!
Already a Fetchie? Sign in here