Advice to run 2:35

yes

you should run sub 2:30.....if trained equally for the marathon.

You should be able to run 2:35 easily. I only have a 15:35 5K PR and a 1:12:57 1/2 marathon PR and I ran 2:36:57 off of only averaging 50 miles a week. The key is quality. I did a lot of long tempo runs and would often drop the last 3 or 4 miles of my long runs down to 5:30-5:40 pace. I never went over 20 in training. Granted, the last 3 or 4 miles weren't a lot of fun ( I went through 20 miles in the marathon at 1:55:56, so only a 41:00 last 10K), but you can certainly handle it.

Good luck in your attempt.

nice

Your ability certainly indicates a 2:35. Be sure to incorporate long reps of 2-5 miles around MP to callous your body for the task. Try to incorporate something like 4x3 miles at MP and maybe something up to 15 miles of a 20 miler at MP (ie: 5x3 or 3x5). It is within your capabilities, but a marathon is different than a 5k, so respect the distance and you will achieve your goal. Good Luck!

I ran some races at that pace and it is certainly feasible for you to. In each case, there were external things that went wrong that probably added 1-2 minutes to the time. I was getting in better shape the next season until pronation hell did me in (arch -plantar area, hip tendon, meniscus).

My marks are shorter distances were substantially weaker than yours, especially on the shorter end. At the time I did several 2:35s my 10K PR was 34:40+, although I also had a low 69 20k (same pace). My Half was 74 but it was on a rolling course, a little warm and not in peak shape.

I tended to run more than you are, a lot of 80-100 weeks in the couple of months before. 10 extra miles a week should not be that hard, as it is only one more hour. One thing that I did that others that were as fast or faster at other distances but ran 2:40s and 2:50s is that I ran some of my long runs at pretty good pace. I was of the notion that you are not wanting to train your body to go slow for a long time. The physiological demands at 6min pace accrue when you get up to 20 miles, glycogen storage etc is key. However, slow long runs allow you to meet the demands with a lower portion of glycogen and the muscles do not compensate by storing more. Not all of my long runs were fast but some of them, and sometimes just 10 miles at 5:50 with rising pace for 5 and slower for the last several.

I think that it helped that I ran pretty close to even pace (except for one of those 'external factors'. The upper limit of what you should be able to do if you are doing enough mileage is 10K time x 4.666 or 10% slower than 10K pace. Given your mileage I would expect 4.8 or so. Figure out the necessary pace (5:55) and try to hit each 5-mile segment between 29:30 and 30:00 (adjusting for elevation changes and wind). I had pretty good courses in at least OK weather, warm and/or windy will slow you down some.

The other important aspect of even pacing is that you are knocking people off one-by-one (unless it is too thin at the top). This helps psychologically and you do get a little 'depressed' due to using up your glycogen stores. I always had no trouble figuring pace and splits until the last 5 miles when the brain ran more slowly and I had to focus even more on the running. (Oh yes, focus, don't zone out.)

I gotta say that its tought to say what you can do. i run anywhere from 6-12 a day easy but what does that mean? I can run a 20 miler but then what? It depends on how fast YOU are, your endurence etc, etc. not what other people can do

best of luck.I hope you do well

Marathon specific training is what you want to focus on now. I like to use the schedules in Daniels Running Formula as a reference. Incorporate two big workouts a week. 2 hour run mid-week with tempo work and a 2.5 hour workout on the weekend with marathon paced work. The rest of the week, get in your mileage. Some example workouts:

Mid-week:

2 x (40 min EZ pace + 20 min Tempo pace) + 2 miles EZ

1 hour EZ pace + (6 x 1 mile Tempo pace w/1:00 rest) + 15 min EZ.

Weekend:

20 miles (5 EZ + 5MP + 5EZ + 5MP)

2 miles EZ + (4 x 1 mile Tempo pace w/1:00 rest) + 10 miles EZ + (4 x 1 mile Tempo again) + 2 miles EZ

Those are good workouts, but keep in mind that they are a lot tougher in reality, then they look on paper.

All of these bring great fitness during the last 6-10 weeks before a marathon:

1) 3 x 4 miles @ MP (6-5:50)

2) 3-4 x 5 miles @ MP

3) 2 miles @ MP then right into a mile @ LT followed by a short 2 minutes rest jog, three sets should do it.

bump

Thanks everyone this is good advice. It's a tough life out here for those of us with the desire to do well but barely enough time to run 70 mpw.

I agree, those Daniels workouts look so easy but in practice they kill you. I'll give these things a shot.