I had a goal of running sub 3:20 as this was my 5th marathon and had a pb of 3:27 I never ran a mile faster than 7 minutes in training and I broke 3 hours. That is impossible on a normal day. Today was ridiculous.
Congratulations on your massive PB! I also ran Grandma’s yesterday and must say that the conditions were excellent. That being said, I think you are suffering from impostor syndrome and are having a difficult time giving yourself the credit you deserve for such a big accomplishment. Not even the best of weather conditions could explain the amount time you were able to drop; the weather may have contributed, but something about your physiology and/or psychology at this marathon was likely instrumental in your success. YOU crushed this marathon, and now you should allow yourself to bask in that success instead of searching for reasons why it wasn’t you. Cheers!
Congratulations on your massive PB! I also ran Grandma’s yesterday and must say that the conditions were excellent. That being said, I think you are suffering from impostor syndrome and are having a difficult time giving yourself the credit you deserve for such a big accomplishment. Not even the best of weather conditions could explain the amount time you were able to drop; the weather may have contributed, but something about your physiology and/or psychology at this marathon was likely instrumental in your success. YOU crushed this marathon, and now you should allow yourself to bask in that success instead of searching for reasons why it wasn’t you. Cheers!
Ya if it was so fast that you were just given 10 minutes for free then the top group of athletes who have 2:09-2:11 PRs shouldn't have been finishing in 2:10, they should have been approaching the world record. I'm pretty sure there were 11 guys with 2:11 or better PRs and 7th place was only 2:12.
I had a goal of running sub 3:20 as this was my 5th marathon and had a pb of 3:27 I never ran a mile faster than 7 minutes in training and I broke 3 hours. That is impossible on a normal day. Today was ridiculous.
An honest runner like yourself is rare. Somebody like CJ who dipped under 2:11 will think that 2:08 is just around the corner. WRONG. Your next marathon will be 2 minutes slower. Just watch and see. We call this the Marathon Project Effect.
Maybe true in general, but I don’t think CJ really trained for this one.
It’s likely that the OP had a good block of training beforehand and was potentially in sub 3:10 shape, regardless of the conditions. Perhaps his 3:20 goal was a little conservative. However, I don’t see why people are finding his result that unbelievable. If so, you are vastly underestimating how much wind resistance plays a part in running. Cyclists seem to understand, but runners don’t (you can tell by the attire). Obviously, cyclists move at greater speeds, and so wind resistance is much higher, but the principle is still the same.
A study by Pugh, on wind resistance in running, found that “In a 65 kg athlete running at 4.45 m/sec (marathon speed) V(O2) increased from 3.0 l./min with minimal wind to 5.0 l./min at a wind velocity of 18.5 m/sec.” And that “The energy cost of overcoming air resistance in track running may be 7.5% of the total energy cost at middle distance speed”.
So, let’s assume that at Marathon Pace that number is reduced to somewhere between 2.5-5%. A 15mph wind would nullify that, and may even propel the athlete along somewhat. Therefore, it is not inconceivable for someone to reduce their time in the way that the OP has described.
No the OP is clearly not very no bright. There are plenty of people who might improve by 15-20 minutes in a marathon, for example, and conditions could not have been worth anything close to that. The OP wrote a really stupid post and you agreed with it.
No the OP is clearly not very no bright. There are plenty of people who might improve by 15-20 minutes in a marathon, for example, and conditions could not have been worth anything close to that. The OP wrote a really stupid post and you agreed with it.
Well I meant to write the OP is clearly not very bright. You see, what if this was someone’s first marathon and they ran 2:40 but they have only been running 40 miles per week. Then they boost their mileage to 70, but the OP thinks they will never run faster than yesterday. Absurd on its face.
Seems like it was a fast day overall in Duluth, but about on par with 2019 results. Guessing it was the first time a lot of people have run a marathon since the pandemic started winding down plus excellent conditions. Number of runners under 3 hrs:
Grandmas is a fast course to begin with that got a lot faster because of the wind. Ideal situation. But the last mile did have a good portion into the wind which was rough.
The 3:27 previous PR was probably a near bonk or GI issues in the past. The marathon can be really hard for people to get right if they have fueling issues as a result of a weak stomach. I know many folks who massively underachieve on race day as a result of this amongst other factors (ex. Some people are not clutch, mental blocks, etc…)
Also, didn’t Keira D’Amato have a giant drop in time when she took racing seriously?
I had a goal of running sub 3:20 as this was my 5th marathon and had a pb of 3:27 I never ran a mile faster than 7 minutes in training and I broke 3 hours. That is impossible on a normal day. Today was ridiculous.
Congratulations! Generally I would say you never know what your best times will be. I never did a pr that I thought I couldn’t improve on. It’s only 20 years down the road, you think damn that was my best, I never did better. My Mar PR was New York despite the time it takes you to get up, get on the bus, stand around the bridge for what seems forever. I went up the bridge in 6:20 and thought what am I doing here but came down the other side at 5:20 and I was off to the races. Sure for some, Grandmas will be a PR because they were as fit as they could be and got great conditions, but you will run faster, it’s just a matter of time if you stick with it.
I ran the half this year and did indeed PR, but my half PR is weak as I don’t run them often so that would have happened regardless of conditions. I don’t think the weather was substantially better than 2019 or even really last year.
The thing with Grandmas is while you can have cool weather and a tail wind, the sun does play a factor.
Less so in the half marathon as that starts just after sun rise at 6am so about half of old highway 61 that the race course runs on is shaded by the trees between the lake and the highway as the sun rises. But you are still very exposed for the about the last half of the race.
By the time the marathon kicks off 90 minutes or so after the half the sun is already higher and the amount of shade is far less in the early portions of the race and pretty much full exposure the last 10K or so.
If you don’t handle the sun well you may struggle regardless of temp and tail wind.
Keep in mind this is a race that runs within days of the summer solstice when the thermal energy is at its highest. This is not an April or October marathon.
Seems like it was a fast day overall in Duluth, but about on par with 2019 results. Guessing it was the first time a lot of people have run a marathon since the pandemic started winding down plus excellent conditions. Number of runners under 3 hrs:
I ran the half this year and did indeed PR, but my half PR is weak as I don’t run them often so that would have happened regardless of conditions. I don’t think the weather was substantially better than 2019 or even really last year.
The thing with Grandmas is while you can have cool weather and a tail wind, the sun does play a factor.
Less so in the half marathon as that starts just after sun rise at 6am so about half of old highway 61 that the race course runs on is shaded by the trees between the lake and the highway as the sun rises. But you are still very exposed for the about the last half of the race.
By the time the marathon kicks off 90 minutes or so after the half the sun is already higher and the amount of shade is far less in the early portions of the race and pretty much full exposure the last 10K or so.
If you don’t handle the sun well you may struggle regardless of temp and tail wind.
Keep in mind this is a race that runs within days of the summer solstice when the thermal energy is at its highest. This is not an April or October marathon.
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I also ran it in 2019 and my left shoulder got a peeling burn! The temps were great that day but there was not a cloud in the sky. I don't know how much it affected my performance since I wasn't in great shape anyway.
Congrats to my old teammate Fernando Cabada Masters Champ and qualified for I think his 5th Olympic Marathon Trials running 2:16 and change. Outstanding Job to him!
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