Sub 3Hr Marathon

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57.5 Degrees of Pain Nov 2017 10:48pm, 7 Nov 2017 3,320 posts	0 57.5 Degrees of Pain There is a danger in goal setting. A sub-3 marathon was my goal from an early age, it took a long time to achieve as I didn't run much or race over 15km until I was over 40. With sub-3 achieved I set 3 new goals, all requiring some improvement: sub-18 parkrun, sub-80 half and beating my 10km PB from 1991 (36.30 run in Malawi where I ran occasionally but biked everywhere). After 5 efforts in the 36.3x range and one 36.30 I lost a bit of enthusiasm for that mark, but achieved the other two in a magic few month in the spring after my 49th birthday. Having had that success I just seemed to lose motivation for really focussed training and racing. Participating in more trail ultras for the joy of running seemed to have an effect too (the West Highland Way race was a goal from the moment I heard about it, but 95 miles messed up my running mojo for a year). Plus maybe I am succumbing to the theory that you can only improve for the first 10 years of proper training. London next year will be a big test of resolve!
Little Miss Happy Nov 2017 5:09pm, 8 Nov 2017 421 posts	0 Little Miss Happy That's why you have to enjoy the process 57.5 - there are going to be times, or come a time, when PBs aren't going to happen but if you just enjoy being out and able to run that's not the demotivator that it might otherwise be. I don't believe the ten year thing to be true - I started running in 2004.
jdarun Nov 2017 6:22pm, 8 Nov 2017 2,069 posts	0 jdarun WAVA and age categories is a possible source of targets for the mature runner. I'm looking forward to hitting 50 in my prime! V40 and even 45 (where it's used) are pretty stacked but past 50 the field generally thins out pretty rapidly...
Little Miss Happy Nov 2017 6:19am, 9 Nov 2017 422 posts	0 Little Miss Happy Unfortunately for me there are some fast old women racing! I don't go up a category for a few years though but I'm not sure I can keep getting older and faster.
jdarun Nov 2017 11:47am, 9 Nov 2017 2,073 posts	0 jdarun Well not many of us are aiming to be the quickest in the country, just somewhere near the fast end of whatever minor races we happen to enter
Boab Nov 2017 11:58am, 9 Nov 2017 8,167 posts	0 Boab Anyone run Gloucester marathon? What's your thoughts?
Little Miss Happy Nov 2017 12:26pm, 9 Nov 2017 423 posts	0 Little Miss Happy I can't say it was ever on my radar jda! It was a bit of a surprise when I was told.
jdarun Nov 2017 4:50pm, 9 Nov 2017 2,074 posts	0 jdarun Half-decent long run today, taking advantage of the good weather and unable to do it either last or this weekend. Up to 27km now which should set me up well for going over 32 (20 miles) through the proper plan. I've been working at losing a bit of weight so wasn't brilliantly fuelled and it turned into a bit of a trudge, but at least it got done...
Little Miss Happy Nov 2017 5:41pm, 9 Nov 2017 424 posts	0 Little Miss Happy They're all miles in the bank and I often think that the harder ones are worth more.
icenutter Nov 2017 12:30pm, 10 Nov 2017 49 posts	0 icenutter Week 4 of P&D base training went well for me. Club session on Tuesday night (10 x 2 mins) was 12k in total, so that was my long run sorted too. 34k in total for the week. When I’m base training I follow a system of up, up, same, in terms of volume. Going up by 10%. Plantar fasciitis is maybe getting slightly worse. It’s always hard predicting when a niggle turns into a full blown injury.