3 hour flat marathoner and think that 2:50 is a reasonable goal over the course of the next two years. I am 38yo male, 165lbs and have been a triathlete since 2009. I have run 6 stand alone marathons and 3 ultras. The last two marathons I have done (Boston, Lehigh Valley) were the only two times that I didn't swim or bike during training and put in quality mileage 60-80mpw.
I am now done with triathlon and making the full time, year round switch to running to see where I can take this. I still would like to dabble in ultras as I love being out on the trails but only when not in focused marathon training. This year I have Boston and Marine Corp on the schedule and thought during the late spring/summer break I would do a pseudo trial of miles and run Vermont 100K.
Here is what I am thinking it will take in order of importance
1. Work on building weekly mileage and maintaining that throughout the year, aside from some down race recovery weeks
2. Slowly reduce my body weight down about 10lbs while maintaining strength
3. Find training partners that are faster than me for tempo/long run days and get my ass kicked some
So with all that written what would be your top three tips to make this happen?