Sub 2h30 Spring Marathon - The Quest For Amateur Glory Rides Again!

This is an awesome thread to read. I'm still trying to break 2:40 which I realize is a different zip code than you guys but hopefully some day can reach your levels of fitness and start to think about breaking 2:30. Turning 35 this year fwiw

@theRanMan Yes I'm at Chester.

Based on previous years and at a guess from start list should be around top 5. Finished 6th in 10k and 5th in half for Chester races this year so podium wont be absurd.

Givetallugot wrote:

Thanks, I’m happy about what I did but now I need to do it in an official race. I’ll get there.

Are you running a fall marathon? That half marathon time indicates you’re in sub 2:30 shape and that 2 x 4 miles is solid.

Yep, hopefully ready for Boston next Monday.

@theRanMan Won the marathon in 2:27:31. Sub elite glory is mine! Got lucky on the day but you need an ounce of luck sometimes.

Over the moon, absolute epic experience!

WOW! Big congratulations, that's so great! Both on the 2:27 and the W!

Ultra Bear wrote:

@theRanMan Won the marathon in 2:27:31. Sub elite glory is mine! Got lucky on the day but you need an ounce of luck sometimes.

Over the moon, absolute epic experience!

LETS GO! Congrats man! That's epic!

Bump

Want to bump this thread as it was one of the reasons I got back into racing seriously again. A couple of updates from people in this thread over a year later.

I ended up breaking 2:30 at Boston this past year after failing to do so in 2021. 2:28:23 there with a negative split. Then ran Chicago where I ran 2:23:58 with a 69:55 second half (including a pee break).

Givetallyougot ran 2:17:low today qualifying for the trials. His last post in this thread was talking about just breaking 2:30 in an official race. Had the opportunity to race against him a couple times this year and he has had a year for the books.

Hope to see more threads like these come back again. I know it was my main motivation to begin taking this seriously.

Thank you beersandmiles! This thread has been amazing for me. It’s so helpful and motivating to hear from people chasing after similar goals. This has been one of the more positive and productive threads on Letsrun. It was great to learn what others were doing and to celebrate our successes.

My progression has been 2:45 in 2019, 2:31 in 2019, 2:27 in 2020 in a virtual run, 2:25 high at Houston in 2022, and 2:17:14 today at CIM.

Wow, epic performances by you both. Any nuggets of wisdom to share?

In 2022 (following a local marathon W in 2:27 in 2021) I thought I was coming on to be in sub 2:24 shape but (cue loads of excuses) I ended up just moving by PB seconds to 2:27:11 on undulating course (also scored a 2:29/15th at Stockholm on a hot day, lumpy course with what turned out to be COVID which I have to be pleased about aswell).

2023 I'm shooting for sub 2:20 (go big or go home). 2:20 attempt will be Valencia but hopefully under 2:24 in Spring marathon to work towards it.

Got a coach as of last 2 months so hope that's the impetus/change to move me forward. #FingersCrossed

Is this JS? If so I already follow/stalk you on Strava. (Guessing by CIM time).

If so I've seen the key is...a lot of hard work, discipline and motivating training group.

I'd love to emulate that progression but seemingly stalled (mine is 2019 2:54, 2020 2:43 then 2:34, 2021 2:31 then 2:27, 2022 low 2:27).

I think one commonality between the both of us is consistency both in training and training partners.

Our training tends to be tailored to us as athletes. I can say pretty confidently that Givetallugot is stronger/more durable than I am. Where as he can handle the high mileage load and quality workouts, I need to be extremely cautious in my build ups to make sure that I can stay injury free. Just knowing my body and injury history (it's the majority of it lol), I would not be able to handle it. I had trouble staying healthy for more than a couple months up until late 2020. We never went over 65 miles a week average in my comeback until this past summer where I was confident enough with the work I'd put in to try higher mileage again. Both of us incorporate strength training as well if I remember correctly. Majority of our mileage is also fairly easy (over 7:15 avg).

One thing that helped me is setting a limiter on myself for majority of my workouts. I try to make sure that I'm doing just enough of what is asked for in the workout, no more, no less. In the past I lacked control and often would rip workouts and just regular runs and just get hurt time and time again. I spend a lot of time thinking about my effort levels while I'm in my workouts and that's helped tremendously when it came time to race. Both my 24:28 5M personal best and 2:23:58 came with major negative splits. The former had a final 5k of 15:02. I try to come out of training weeks feeling like with just my monday off day I'll be ready to go for another week. I've hit 90 miles per week in the past (during my Columbus buildup where I ran 2:30:25) and just felt absolutely exhausted week by week. This time it felt really easy.

The training group thing is massive. I've had a semi-regular training group here in Cbus for a while but now I feel like I have more consistency than I had in previous years. Two of my training partners live within a quarter mile of me and for the most part I have people to run with on the days I typically am not motivated to run. I can knock out workouts on my own and typically did for the last two blocks, but just having people with me for that other 80% was big for me. Even if they can only run 4-5 miles of your run, it's better than just doing the entire thing on your own. Last summer we would basically pick people up on the run. Run to one persons house, then 2 miles out to the next one, do a 4-6 mile loop with them, then head 2 miles back home. Really easy way to get 8-10-12 miles if need be. For me it's also the people in my group that make this whole thing easier. I'm not looking to run with people cause they're fast, I just want people I generally enjoy hanging out with. Thankfully I have both out here but I don't try to seek people out cause they're fast runners.

I'm sure Givetallugot can speak more in detail about his training as well! He's had one heck of a year and I've gotten my fair share of butt kickings out there from him in the process lol

Yes, this is JS. I’m pretty much an open book on Strava regarding training volume and workouts, so I’ll be brief here.

1. Training volume is very important to me. The two months before my taper for CIM, I averaged about 110 miles per week (177 km) with a couple of weeks at 120 miles (193 km). I’ve run 2:27 off 80 miles per week (129 km) and 2:31 off 60 miles per week (97 km). I took down weeks here and there to focus on specific races leading up to my peak race.

2. I did a lot of injury prevention and strengthening exercises along the way. I do not think I would have been able to handle the training volume without doing so. I also made sure to get physical therapy or see a chiropractor right away if something popped up. Fortunately I stayed healthy with minor issues along the way.

3. Workout wise I did two workouts a week. Usually a mid week track workout and a workout incorporated into my long run. I do periodized training where the workout intensity becomes more race-specific as I approach the peak race. However, I’m a firm believer that you’re better off running more lactate threshold/half marathon paced workouts than marathon paced workouts. My go-to workout was 6x1600 @ threshold/half marathon pace with 60-75s rest (1/4 to 1/5 rest). The most volume at marathon pace was a continuous 10 miler. I also did a 2:27 full marathon as a workout. I did some workouts between half and full pace as well. Now that I’m starting a new cycle and far away from my peak race, I’m focused on speed. I’ll shift the focus away from speed eventually but will work to maintain what I developed.

4. Training group. I’m very fortunate to have a lot of people to run with. I have 2:45-3:00 marathon runners that I share easy miles with and live 5 minutes away from me. I also have 2:19-2:20 full marathon runners I do workouts with that live within 30 minutes of me. I have a treadmill for bad weather days. I’ll also do workouts on my treadmill if necessary.

5. I have no kids and a work from home job that makes it easier get all my running in. I get 7-8 hours of sleep each day. I try to stay off my feet as much as possible.

6. I’ve consciously worked on improving my cadence over the years. I used to have a longer stride and averaged 165 steps per minute. Now during races I’m 180+. I also try to land mid foot. When I get tired during races, I tell myself to focus on turnover with shorter and quicker strides.

One more comment on training. I know 80/20 training is a popular running trend where 80 percent of your running is easy and 20 percent is more quality. I define “quality” as marathon race pace or faster. Going off that standard, I was closer to 85/15 or 90/10. However, I am very consistent with two workouts per week and high training volume. In an effort to improve, I may try to be closer to 80/20 in the two months leading up to the 2 week taper for my peak race.

Lastly, I’ll coach you. First month free. $40 USD a month after that.