Sub 3HR Fall Marathon Thread - The quest for less amateur glory begins?

Thank you for sharing! Extra opinions and input are always appreciated. The 4-5 mile progression per week (or two) is what I was leaning towards and adjusting as needed.

I am also considering the possibility of doubles in the future as I build up I have not included doubles much as part of my prior training but have read that seems to be beneficial when gradually building and seeking to limit the chance of injury.

I have stayed pretty much injury free aside from an on/off knee that can nag me at times. I think my previous shortfall was due to pushing too hard and trying to do too much. At age 33 I'm hoping to have enough in the tank to make a run or two at a BQ time.

Some local races have just been added for the Spring and I am hoping that's a sign we can get some added to the Fall calendar.

Ooof. I’m dealing with some Morton’s neuroma issues of my own right now. What a horribly frustrating injury. Hope you can get healthy and stay healthy soon.

33 is still young (I'm 43...). You have all the time in the world to BQ.

I'd say you have some margin before doubles become helpful, though I'm not an expert on that (or anything rly). I've only started including some in last cple of weeks myself, going from 60 to 70mpw.

It was actually the same, if not more before moving up to my first ultra. Although the way I did it was very unhealthy for both my relationship with running and my body. It was also rather pointless, I would just split long runs in half. There was no structure. It was just me trying to get in as much mileage as possible in a week. Before that, I was just running an hour a day with a two hour long run. No attention to pace or a specific mileage.

I made my best strides in my endurance when I ran for time and not pace, but I was also forced into running two hours a day every day no matter white. That’s another story entirely on its own.

Like others mentioned, your best bet is to increase it slowly and safely. If you’re only between 20 and 30 miles a week right now, just running a little bit more each week and doing that will make a huge amount of gains for you. Above all also, just having fun with it