Trying to run a sub 3 marathon

You will be able to do it. I had similar training but fewer miles per week.

you need to run 6:54/mi for 26.2 miles without stopping.

bumble ough wrote:

you need to run 6:54/mi for 26.2 miles without stopping.

He's trying to break 3 hours. Not 3:01.

To the OP, the 1:23:30 is a good indicator if legit. But it's no guarantee. You will find guys who ran 1:20 before they cracked 3 hours. There is a huge difference between the half and the full. That said, if the 10k and the half were both legit distances, it seems as though you skew faster over longer so the marathon may be more in your wheelhouse. Your training seems pretty right on, but I'd suggest getting Pfitzinger's Advanced Marathoning and reading it. That book has gotten many to their first sub 3. Good luck!

browski wrote:

bumble ough wrote:

you need to run 6:54/mi for 26.2 miles without stopping.

He's trying to break 3 hours. Not 3:01.

To the OP, the 1:23:30 is a good indicator if legit. But it's no guarantee. You will find guys who ran 1:20 before they cracked 3 hours. There is a huge difference between the half and the full. That said, if the 10k and the half were both legit distances, it seems as though you skew faster over longer so the marathon may be more in your wheelhouse. Your training seems pretty right on, but I'd suggest getting Pfitzinger's Advanced Marathoning and reading it. That book has gotten many to their first sub 3. Good luck!

There's no need to worry. To run only 2:59 off 1:20 half fitness something is drastically wrong. Off 1:23 with 60-70 mile weeks and quality long runs?...everyone's different, but I'd guess 2:55 to 3:00 is where you'll find yourself. Don't overdo the MP runs but do progress them—also do a 20/12 and then, finally, 20/14 MP 4-5 weeks out.

With your HM time you should be able to do it.

Good luck!

Your chances are good. All of the standard indicators would say that if you are properly trained for a marathon, then you should break 3.

A caveat that I would point out is: if you are heavy or big or tall, then your chances are worse. If you are bigger, then faster times at shorter distances don't scale up to the marathon as well as you would wish.

I'm racing a half marathon on February 20th, though it is flat, it is a trail. I'm hoping to gauge my fitness here. I know a lot goes into a marathon and times at other distances don't really mean everything. I will say that I tend to run better at long races. For example, I have only raced a 18:36 5k but I can almost hit that pace in a 10k. If I can keep these next 8 weeks around 65-70 miles then I think It'll make it more realistic.