can i run a sub 3 marathon in spring?

Not yet. Your 5 and 10k times are close to what you need. But given that you slow way down as the distance goes up (half), I'd say you have some work to do. 1:25 is probably the slowest you'd want your half to be and have reasonable expectations of breaking 3. And lots of people with times faster than that still don't break 3.

Which brings us to the other reason. Up your miles. It will help bring more evenness to your race times across distances.

I meant to add that I'm in a similar spot to you. 18:20, 38:40, no half race time, and a 3:01 marathon. Age 38. I've got to do all the things you have to in order to go under 3 in the next couple years.

We are basically twins. My 13.1 PR is slightly better (1:25:34), but you murdered me in both the 10k and 5k (I never had the turbo boosters that you seem to have on the shorter distances).

I PR'd for the 13.1 in April '19 and (FINALLY!) broke 3 hours this fall (2:58:57) after seriously trying for 5 years.

I'm also 38 and average around 40 MPW.

What I changed this time around: more consistent speedwork (Tuesdays and Thursdays), more cross-training (30 minutes in the gym every week day focusing on core muscles), longer tempo runs (10-16 miles in the course of my training cycle), yoga twice a week, and meditation everyday. Oddly, I feel like the last two had the greatest impact as they were the two things I never did before this training cycle.

You can do it buddy!

Thanks for the reply.

Yeah, I think I've been too conservative with my recent half marathon efforts. Sub 90 mins was a big target for so long that now maybe I've become complacent sneaking under that and thinking I've performed well.

I'm racing a half this Sunday so will bear this in mind.

Let us know how it goes!

I've run 1:39 and my next goal after my first full is to get that 13.1 down to sub-90, and my 5k under 18. My 5k PR is 18:33.

I'm not in sub-3 shape yet. Shooting for 3:20 or so and seeing where the chips fall. I'm 35 and ran 1230 miles this past cycle (7 months, about 44 mpw average).

I'll need to do more cross-training and core work, as well as more hills. I did hills from time to time but not enough. Columbus isn't that hilly though.

Following. In the same boat. 18:45/38:58/1:25.00. Still can't get below 3hrs. I'd think 1:22 would be a better indicator for the half, but I've seen guys in the 1:27 range pull off a sub 3 half.

But, before you're 40? No problem. Even if you can only train 40 miles per week, make sure to do it pretty much every week and be consistent. It'll happen.

I ran 1:26:15 in the half on Sunday, I think I can get that down to 1:24 before the year is out. With that I think it's worth at least attempting a training block aiming for sub 3 in April.

boom roasted wrote:

I ran 1:26:15 in the half on Sunday, I think I can get that down to 1:24 before the year is out. With that I think it's worth at least attempting a training block aiming for sub 3 in April.

Awesome time jump. I don't even really think you need to worry about 1:24 unless that's a mental thing for you. Your progression says to me that you're on the right track.

Having learned the hard way on my first marathon to my second ~ getting your mileage from 40 to 45-50 mpw could make a big difference. For me, getting a nice workout in each week too at a pace well below MP also helped me mentally even as my long run and daily run speeds slowed 15-20s with higher mileage. Even though I didn't hit my eventual MP (6:45) much at all in long runs or steady runs, I was well under it in those workouts and on raceday it felt totally comfortable. Did not have to run a half or any prep races either to feel that way.

I have the same exact goal for next spring. I'm sitting at a 1:25 half, which I accomplished on 25mpw at age 35. Now that I'm 37 I'm starting out with a few months of 20mpw, and plan on doing 18 weeks of 40mpw, peaking at close to 50mpw. I'll use the hansons training method, slightly modified since I'll only go up to 50mpw.

I'm hoping that the mileage alone takes be Sub-3. But, it will be my first marathon. How naïve am I to think I can pull this off first shot?

Y'all should check out this thread:

https://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=9531163&page=25

I feel like 80% of us hit the goal (and a bunch of us hit 2:53-2:57), though maybe some were more of a slam dunk and were more taking aim at sub 2:55 or 2:50. Doing it on a max of 55mpw and averaging 40-45 over ~14ish weeks definitely possible.