My very selfish thread

Willy, you know my attitude....just keep running your best, and try to increase your mileage.

The Magic Is In The Struggle

Sometimes you have to struggle very very hard.

Keep up the good work. I am kind of in the same boat as you, trying and striving for the marathon.

It sounds like you know what you are doing. Do keep pushing the envelope and upping the mileage.

You mentioned injury proneness before, so just listen to your body. Workout as hard as you want and as far as you can on hard days, but my two cents would be to make the recovery days just that - RECOVERY! Run very easily (something I have a problem doing myself) or take day off completely if need be.

I don't know what kind of injuries you have had in the past, but if joint related, Glucosamine works well for me and many other runners that I know. Don't just take the stuff while injured, rather use it as a preventative measure.

Keep running brother! It's a long hard road til October, but it will all be worth it in the end. Keep posting your progress.

Chicago in October?

I actaully enjoy the updates and if they are working to improve you then keep them coming.

Best of luck.

Columbus in October - October 19.

The goal is 2:55, but I would be happy with anything under 3:00. Anything worse than that (which is a real possibility) and I will not be happy.

Serious question FP, do you think 2:55 is selling yourself short? With where you are at with training already, and a summer of build up, I would think that 2:55 would be a shoe in? Yes, maybe, no???

yeah

x wrote:Serious question FP, do you think 2:55 is selling yourself short?

x,

Marathons have not been good to me. I've thought I was ready and in good shape before, and I've gone through the half in 1:20 before in two separate marathons and in one kept that pace up all the way to about 17 and still crashed and burned big time at the end. Looking back I don't think I did enough long runs - I'm rectifying that this time.

Here are some other reasons for my goal:

1) I am 11 years older than when I set that PR.

2) I have run some very very slow marathons since that PR.

3) I have run only a handful of races of any distance in the last 3 years, so I am a bit race rusty. I will run some shorter races this summer and spring just for the experience of it.

4) I am still at the point in my training where even a 20 mile run seems long. That will end in the next couple months, but right now that is where I am.

5) I've made the mistake of disrespecting the marathon distance before, and I'm not going to this time.

6) If for some reason I have way too much left at the end and run 2:54, then I will try a similar training strategy and run another one the following year but go out harder.

7) I am completely lacking confidence in this distance at this time - hopefully the training will cure that.

8) Logically I agree with you that it is possible for me to go faster. The marathon though isn't logical I've determined.

Anyway, my opinion might change come October and I might decide to shoot for 2:37, but right now 2:55 or even 2:59 seems very large to me.

VAAM baby! Worth 10 minutes easy on your overall time......if not more!!!!!!

Willy,

you're starting to pi** me off with the negative self-talk. Think positive. You're on track for at least 2:45 or better. Shoot for the moon - aim for 2:35. You've got a lot of time ahead of you to build up to this properly.

What's the ad say?

Just do it!

Thanks Willy, good luck.

I've just made a huge wager with the Las Vegas oddsmakers that you're going to break 2:46:30

Pete,

It's not negative talk - just realistic talk. Right now 2:55 seems like shooting for the moon - I mean my 14 mile run Saturday was at 7:40 pace after all. I need to run 12 more miles at almost a minute faster per mile to run 2:55. Coming from being able to barely run 27 minutes for 3 miles in January of 2000 to potentially being able to break 3 hours for the marathon in October 2003 is pretty good to me.

I've got a serious competitive fire in me, and once the training gets going a bit better (not that it's not going well now, because it is, but it needs to continue until I'm running 20 milers), I will step to the line with the mindset to go as hard as I can and push it all the way to the end - if that's 3:15 then it is. If that's 2:54 then it is. If it's faster than that, I will just be very happy.

Don't bet on that - you might lose your money.

Flagpole,

Your "easy" run pace is only M-pace + 60secs. This is kinda quick. I would recommend slowing them up a touch (M+75, even M+90) and just staying out longer. Why not begin with 2hrs next Sun?

I find myself in a very similar situation to you, Willy. I did only a twelve miler this weekend, but likewise I am upping my mileage to try a marathon this fall. I'm shooting for a similar time and my history in the marathon is similar to yours (2:52 PR set in 1988, last marathon a 3:40 disaster in 1998) I think I've got enough of an idea on how to proceed with my training in near future, but one thing I'm not to sure about is how far to increase the mileage before I should start doubling up on certain days. I've never run very high mileage before(even when I ran the 2:52, I was only doing 60-70 per week) so anything past that is really the unknown for me. Also in relation to doing double work-outs, what's the relative benefits/disadvantages of using cross-training for the secondary work-out? I find this thread very helpful and any and all input is greatly appreciated.

i would agree with the notion of running longer (2+ hours) and easier, especially at this point. also don't wait for the weight to come off this summer. with your background, sub 2:50 should be no problem. good luck.

Ah, the weight's not going to be a problem. I'm down 3 pounds of the 10-12 already.

You're doing it again Willy, telling Scott he's going to lose his money. Your much-flamed 60 minute ten miler tells me you're on track for better. It is negative talk, even if you think it's realistic.

Anyway, here's what I ask: when you get an urge to sell yourself short, pause, breathe deeply ten or twelve times, pull your fingers away from the keyboard and let the sensation pass. Then, think of something positive, or at least neutral, to type. Stick to the "competitive fire" line of thinking, and get away from whatever "realistic" means.