5k-HM prediction off of my last two weeks

14:23, 64:45

Holy shit if this is real you really don't need to ask a bunch of 16/33/85 guys what to do. You're actually fast, not LRC fast.

sub-14:30/30:00/1:05 all seem possible. maybe faster on the short end if you have good wheels. what's your 1500 PR?

what are you hoping to run for the full? guessing the long tempo was a M pace effort - so 2:18?

really solid 2 weeks, you are FIT!

Thanks for all the thoughts guys/gals.

In the past, 3-4 years ago, I ran prs of 3:48, 14:10 and 29:50. You're right, I think I am in about 2:17-2:18 shape right now if everything goes well in the race, which is never a given in the marathon!

I'm just in a different situation in my life at this point. Ive really struggled with running post collegiately with all the adjustments to full time work, moving new places, starting a career, etc... This is also really a first go at coaching myself and just haven't quite developed the intuition on what I think I can run. Workouts are a lot harder to push through running them without teammates and during college I was at altitude, so its difficult to compare workouts.

I'm honestly just happy to be training at a high level again and one of the commitments I made to myself with self coaching was to stick to the plan and truly prioritize my goal race each season, something you can't do always on a collegiate team. As such, racing a 5k, or 10k isn't really in the cards when I'm rested and fit. Long story short, that's why I'm asking about times.

To be honest, I'd put you in the sub 14, 28:xx and 1:03/1:04 range because of your workouts. But to be honest I have seen many "training champions"... So you could hit it out of the park or have left it on the practise track.

Best regards

Pikachu

i'm a notch below you PR-wise but in a very similar situation (self-coached, training alone while getting grad degree, training with big picture/long-term goals in mind, etc.).

as i get further away from college, i realize more & more the two most important things a coach provides are:

1) restraint when you want to do too much

2) encouragement!

training alone without any positive feedback (even a simple "good job!" after a workout) gets to be really monotonous/boring/empty-feeling sometimes. so if the encouragement has to come from somewhere & there is no one else around, it has to come from you. i'd say you're doing a hell of a job & i hope you realize it & can't pat yourself on the back a bit. no harm in stepping back every once in awhile and admiring you're own work!

as far as working out alone, think of it as a blessing in that:

1) you won't get sucked into running prescribed paces too fast by other members of a group (thus you'll be less prone to overdoing things)

2) you'll be mentally tough as hell & racedays will seem even more fun/enjoyable/exciting because you'll have people to chase. i've started looking forward to racing MUCH more since training alone post-collegiately.

and being able to train with long-term goals in mind and not be constrained by the college xc/indoor/outdoor schedule is awesome. i spent 8 months last year building up a huge base for my first 10K & HM, nailed both. couldn't have dedicated the time to get as fit as i did within the constraints of a college season.

keep at it & report back on the marathon!

That long run is insane. I'd have to imagine you'd be able to run sub-5 pace for the half considering you did a 25 mile long run with 8 miles at 5:00 average. I'm going to guess 64:00 for your time.

Thanks for the positive feedback!

It's always good to hear success from those who are in a similar situation and do it for the love of the sport. Keep up the progression and the hard work!

You're absolutely right about the positives and negatives. Getting to run in a race with other people has truly turned in to a privilege and it makes it that much more fun.

This morning I had my last long workout before the marathon. I was schedule to run 5wu, 14 tempo with hard miles on 7 and 14, 2cd for 21. It ended up being slightly botched because of a little bit of soreness in the ball of my foot. I felt really good all the way throughout the run but I decided to cut the tempo short rather than force the extra pounding unnecessarily. I ended up running 5wu, 10 tempo, 6cd (since it was a loop course I couldn't shorten the run). First 6 in 31:23, 1 in 4:57, 3 in 15:44 for a total of 52:04. Once I decided to call it a day, I made a point to reflect positively on the workout and one of the best training blocks in my life. I feel like I'm coming around right at the right time. Thanks for the advice "LOLZ LETSRUN".

I can't express how appreciative I am of the positive tone everybody has expressed on this thread. Things like this really build confidence when you can bounce ideas and thoughts off each other and it makes me proud to be part of this running community. Thank you.

I give you a good chance off breaking 2:18 off that kind of workouts.

For the 5k i predict between, 14:05 - 14:15. ( race on track with good competition )

Because off the 8*1k session average 2:51/52. I think you could run that for a race.

For the half it's a bit harder too predict. your tempo workouts indicate you could run 5:00/mile or a bit faster.

So i call for a 1:04:45 - 1:05:15 on a flat course with good weather.

Well, my marathon this weekend is in the books. Unfortunately I ran a poor race tactically in order to be in a group and faded to a miserable 2:23, with a ~19:00 last 5k. I have never experienced that amount of pain... Anyway, as I stated earlier in the thread, I felt like I was in 2:17-2:18 shape. At the race there was a pace group of about 15 runners set up to run 1:08:00-1:08:30 since the European standard is 2:16:00 and the first half of the race is more difficult than the second half.

Turns out we were too fast from the start with a second 5k of ~15:50 and with 4 1 mile segments under 5:00. I wasn't paying attention to the time and blindly followed since it felt relaxed. We went through 20k @ 1:04:10 in which I promptly put on the brakes going through the half in 1:07:45ish. I managed to hang in tough through about 32k (30k ~1:38:05) before imminent disaster set in. Overall it was a great learning experience and an awesome atmosphere to be a part of. Thanks for being a part of my thread. Here's to the next race!