TL;DR
Wondering if I should stick to my sub3 goal or if I should aim for a faster time?
You can go to the 2019 part if the rest is too long
I'm M 30 as of now.
2017
April : Started to run seriously. Always been fit (played basketball, ran a bit here and there like 5K or some hill sprints) but never ran more than 10K in my life
- HM in training 1:39
May : Averaged 40 MPW
- 18.6 miles in 2:32
- Marathon in training 3:47. Just wanted to see if I could run a marathon.
June : Started to train for a marathon late October. Was dreaming of running sub3. Average 35MPW
- Mile race 5:33
July to October : 50 to 70MPW
- 5K races : 19:00 19:03 18:54
- 10K race : 39:31
October marathon :
Obviously I knew 2:59 was very unlikely, especially in Dublin where the marathon is slightly hilly.
Still went for it, went through the half in 1:29:15 or something. At mile 14 my legs started to slow down, I wasn't suffering that much but couldn't hold the pace. DNF at mile 15.5 in 1:46. Didn't care about just finishing.
November to January : 20MPW with a lot of 2 miles runs to go to the gym
2018
January to April : 0MPW
April to July : 0 to 50MPW, was dealing with shin splints but got insoles that kinda fixed the issue
August to September : 50 to 68MPW
- Mile track solo time trial : 5:18
- 5K track solo time trial : 18:18
October : 20MPW. Climbed Kilimanjaro mid October, 2 weeks before my goal marathon. Sprained my ankle during a run 9 days before the marathon (slight sprain but was still hurting to walk until a few days before the race)
Dublin marathon again, still tried for sub3. Ran 3:08. Same thing happened to my legs, this time after 17 miles. Felt very hungry from miles 18-19 so maybe I didn't take enough gels ?
Also started a bit too fast, hit the half with the pace group in 1:29:10 after 2 of the 3 mains "uphills" of the race.
2019
November to March : 15 MPW. Ran 2 days a week. Intervals on Saturday (easy stuff like 5x400 or 4x800 or something) and a "long run" on Sunday, usually 10 miles
April : 25 to 45 MPW
May : 4 weeks break - holidays
June to now : following Pfitz 18/70 with again the goal of sub3. It's been going pretty well, below are the main points :
- Skipped only one run (recovery 5 miles)
- Failed the pace on 3 runs :
Week 2 : 16 miles with 8 at MP (ran only 1 barely at MP, first hot day of the summer at 1pm....)
Week 5 : 18 miles with 10 at MP (averaged 7:15 on the MP part, with 7:00 on the first 5 miles of the MP part)
Week 8 : 11 miles with 6 at LT (ran only 3 miles at 6:20/mile, went a bit too fast).
- Otherwise workout paces have been good :
Week 5 : 9 miles with 5 at LT : 6:15/mile
Week 7 : 10 miles with 5 at LT : 6:20/mile
Week 9 : 16 miles with 12 at MP : 6:40/mile. Didn't felt that hard
Week 11 : 12 miles with 7 at LT : 6:21/mile
Week 12 : 10K track solo time trial : 38:28. Gave everything I had.
Week 13 : 18 miles with 14 at MP : 6:41/mile - Last HM in 1:27:35. Felt hard but not that much...could have finished faster
I have a real 10K road race next Sunday.
My main goal is still sub3, but looking at those last workouts (LT, MP, time trial), what would be your goal if you were in my shoes ? Is 2:56 or 2:57 doable, and if yes how should I pace myself?