kingojamin wrote:
Is it a virtual 'thon of some sort?
No, it's a small local FL race in January 2021. I'm assuming it will go on as planned. If not, I will solo it on the same course that is mostly beach road and paved trail.
4 runs in for 20 miles. Did 5 yesterday at 7:38 average. All 4 runs were about 81-82 degrees and humid. Will finish the week with 7 miles tomorrow, but may go 8 if I feel good. My Thursday run felt much better than my Monday run. Long way to go.
A ton can happen in 20+ weeks, especially if you are willing to be a bit aggressive. Not sure what your plan already looks like, but it may be worth getting a coach to help with the balance of adding volume and intensity.
If your old PR was on a legitimate course like Chicago / Houston / NYC and your goal race is more like a Revel race and you get a pair of cheaterflies - sub 2:50 wouldn’t be out of the question
I doubt it.
At 42 it is possible to still run fast. But it takes more effort (not less), and the body is less able to recover.
Basically, I don't think you have enough time to build intensity AND volume. I think you will probably get injured if you do too much too quickly.
Also I think natural talent starts to effective fade after 40
No on the PR. Be careful on your marathon build up the first few months because you have minimal base mileage. Layoffs and quick build ups usually lead to ITBS or PF. Be sure to stretch and foam roll after running.
What has your last three years looked like?
How many mpw were you running during PR training?
Pro Hobby Jogger wrote:
No on the PR. Be careful on your marathon build up the first few months because you have minimal base mileage. Layoffs and quick build ups usually lead to ITBS or PF. Be sure to stretch and foam roll after running.
What has your last three years looked like?
How many mpw were you running during PR training?
Last 3 years are very inconsistent. A 25 mile week followed by a 0 mile week. Average probably in the 15 mile range. A rare slow 10-12 mile long run in the winters. Less than a handful of real workouts.
My PR was at CIM, but I ran 2:55 at Boston twice after that. Also set my half PR of 1:19:45 a year later. As mentioned, my mileage was always relatively low during my peak years (40 mpw) with the occasional 50 mile week. I did focus on 1 moderate and 3 pretty hard runs per week. At least 1 mid week 8-12 miler with 6-8 at 20-30 seconds faster than MP. Long runs up to 21-22 at MP plus 30 seconds.
I do agree the PR is likely out of reach for this race. But I think I could get it by the end of 2021.
BostonRunCoach wrote:
A ton can happen in 20+ weeks, especially if you are willing to be a bit aggressive. Not sure what your plan already looks like, but it may be worth getting a coach to help with the balance of adding volume and intensity.
Not crazy aggressive, but more mileage planned than any of my previous races.
I’ve also switched jobs which gives me a lot more flexibility than I used to have. I was doing 60 hour weeks with entertaining after work a couple nights per week for the last 5 years.
Just finished week 5 of training, capped off a 39 mile week with a 12 mile run at 7:58 pace, dew point of 72. Definitely seeing improvement, my 5 mile runs are now 7:20ish pace vs 7:50ish. It’s an honest pace, but I’m not totally pushing it. My body is still getting used to 6 runs per week. The humidity dipped a few days last week which helped a lot, but came back yesterday. We have temps in the high 60s in the early AM later this week, which I’ll probably try my first tempo run in months.
I do have to say that it’s extremely likely that I will not go for the PR, but shoot for the 2:59.
I’ve dropped about 4-5lbs and would like to drop another 6-8lbs by race week.