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

Count me in on this!

I'll hopefully be running Eugene on April 26.

My previous marathons were 2:52 (2012), 2:45 (2016), and 2:36 (2018).

I'm two weeks into a 16-week buildup, looking to average about 80 mpw. I look forward to following everyone's journey here.

@marathonNoob - Welcome! I’ve heard great things about the Eugene Marathon. Have you done it before?

@Tyler_Runs_Lifts - I haven't run Eugene before, but I've heard good things about the race. I've run New Orleans, Knoxville, and Richmond. You're looking at an April marathon as well, right? What is your training looking like? I'll be vaguely following Daniel's 2Q plan.

@marathonNoob - I ended up staying with Boston because I have something to prove to myself. As far as training goes, I’m following a pieced-together plan from each of my last two cycles as well as some other stuff my teammates have done. I’m in Week 3 right now, almost ready to hit the good stuff.

I'm interested in seeing some of your workouts. Be sure to post how things are going as they come up.

I'm also shooting for sub 2:30 at Boston. Currently focused on getting healthy, as my plans to run the Houston Half this weekend were disrupted by a hip flexor strain right after Christmas and I've been plagued by various injuries since running 2:32 at Toronto.

Did 10 x 400 today and felt the best in weeks but the hip seemed to tighten up after lifting weights. Planning for a lower mileage approach compared to my last build so that I can be sure to be healthy for my first time running Boston.

hypnotichen wrote:

@reed

I see, hope your knees get better (and be patient)!

Throughout last year I occassionally had minor knee uncomfort and I found that wall sit and simple butt exercises makes my knees feel much better. I am not a musclar type and my weight is toward the light end probably that's why those simple exercises help a lot in my case.

Have you tried different shoes and see if they make a difference?

I haven't done any wall sits but I've been doing tons of glute workouts. mostly glute medius because it's easier to hit...I struggle to find a workout I can do at home for the glute maximus.

I'm doing banded clamshells, banded side steps, banded leg raises, hip hikes, glute bridges, air squats, and maybe one or two other exercises. I've also switched to stability shoes exclusively for the time being...but that won't last long as I'm a big shoe nerd and I can't stay away from my stash for too long

Well I figured I start posting my progress. With a big family, doubles are out of the question. I need my afternoons for quality time. So far I have done 3 x 160km weeks in singles. By knocking my main run out early in the day I have the rest of the day to focus on recovery. Every morning I'm ready to rock.

My job can get really hectic at times too so I will have to adjust training to follow suit. I have started earlier than most people with their 18 week programs. So I guess I have a head start.

I'm taking a strength/endurance approach to this. I'm not in the ballpark for sub 2:30 mara yet but something in the mid to low 2:30s is possible.

Mon - 16km Steady in 61min @ 3:51/km average

Tue - 25km easy @ 4:37/km average

Wed - 15km Fartlek @ 4:04/km average

Thu - 30km easy @ 4:23/km average

Fri - 20km @ 3:58/km average with 16km steady in 59min low

Sat - 20km easy @ 4:28/km average

Sun - 34km @ 4:24/km average with final 14km progression between 4:17/km-3:55/km

162.5km total

Most of my runs include warmups but not warm down. Could be well over 160km weekly if I started counting them. I tend to pick up the last few km on my easy days if I'm up for it.

I also have been sleeping in an Altitude tent for 3 -4 nights out of the week. My wife is very supportive and does not have a problem sleeping in it either. I think it is helping some. It's only been 4 weeks since I started using it.

Keep pushing out there lads. Cheers

Some of my post got chopped out but during my fartlek on segments were between 1.5min - 3.5min up to 3:18km while off segments between 4:12/km-4:18/km

what's the logic behind not logging cooldown miles?

if I have to run across the street or to catch a bus, it's going on Strava

reed wrote:

what's the logic behind not logging cooldown miles?

if I have to run across the street or to catch a bus, it's going on Strava

You're right. I will start logging those.

My week:

Mon: off

Tue: 17k @4'23/km

Wed: 12k tempo @3'33/km (5'42/mi)

Thu: 17k @4'49/km

Fri: off

Sat: long run 26k with last 12k @3'40/km (5'54/mi) + cool down, total 29k @4'01/km (6'27/mi)

Sun: 18k @4'40/km

Total: 100km (62 mi)

Haha same for me. I run .5mi to the gym and it normally goes on Strava

Here's my week. So far so good - just barely my highest mileage week ever with a bit more planned for next week...

-Monday:

AM: 7 miles @ 8:53

PM: 8 miles @ 8:17

-Tuesday:

AM: 13 miles @ 8:11

-Wednesday:

PM: 2 mile warm up, 9 x 1600 with 400 jog rest, 1.07 cool down (14 total)

1600's: 5:45, 5:42, 5:43, 5:44, 5:46, 5:46, 5:47, 5:46, 5:45

-Thursday:

AM: 8 miles @ 8:26

PM: 10 miles @ 8:38

-Friday:

AM: 5 miles @ 8:41

PM: 8 miles @ 8:38

-Saturday:

AM: 11 miles @ 8:21

Sunday:

AM: 22 miles @ 7:29 with miles 11-20 in 63:24 (6:20 pace)

106 total.

Notes: good week for me - feeling surprisingly ok and pleased with both the mile repeats on Wednesday and the long run today. Both were really hard but better than what I managed in my previous build for similar runs. I'll definitely take it given the mileage. 112ish planned for next week before bringing it down to 100-105 for the rest of the training cycle.

Here's my week for ya'll. Having some issues with my foot which is probably due to my laces being too tight. IT Band issues are also happening which I'm pretty frustrated about. Will focus on rolling out and rehabbing.

Monday: Off

Tuesday: 9 miles easy, 4 x 30 seconds on, 1 minute off. 10 miles total, 7:10 average

Wednesday: 3 miles easy, 6 x 1 minute on 2 minutes easy, 3 miles easy, 8.90 miles, 6:59 average. Pickup paces: (5:21, 5:19, 5:22, 5:05, 5:18, 5:12)

Thursday: 4 miles easy, 4 x 30 seconds on, 2 minutes off, 4 miles easy. 9.52 miles, 7:26 average

Friday: 6.02 miles easy, 7:34 average

Saturday: 3 miles easy, 1 minute surge at the start of each mile til 13, cooldown to 15. 15.07 miles, 6:43 average. Pickup Paces: (5:11, 5:36, 5:11, 5:25, 5:19, 5:07, 5:14, 5:33, 5:11, 5:38)

Sunday: 10.25 miles easy, 7:04 average

This week was tough as heck. I was sick for the majority of the week and Saturday was 30 degrees and freezing rain with the bridges completely iced over. It was tough to get the legs moving on that long run with the cold and layers but it felt pretty easy. Sunday's run was torture. -8 degree real feel made it so tough to run. Stayed outside for all of these. I figure it'll at least teach me to stay mentally tough.

beersandmiles wrote:

Here's my week for ya'll. Having some issues with my foot which is probably due to my laces being too tight. IT Band issues are also happening which I'm pretty frustrated about. Will focus on rolling out and rehabbing.

I had IT band troubles in 2018 after Boston and foot issues from tight shoes after my 50 miler in 2019.

my tips - reconfigure your laces to reduce the pressure on the top of your foot. skip a lace hole basically. works fine for easy runs but leaves your shoes a little less secure for workouts.

for IT band - google the mertyl exercises. basically glute and hip strengthening stuff with at-home exercises that you do daily. buy some stretchy bands. (get the 5 pack from amazon for about $11)

Looking good everyone!

Here was my week:

Sun - 8 miles @ 7:20

Mon - 16 miles (8 easy, 5 x 1k avg. 3:11 w/ 2 min jog, 4 x 400 avg. 71 w/ 2 min rest, 3 easy)

Tues - 6 miles @ 7:35

Wed - 7 miles @ 7:15

Thur - 20 miles (10 @ 7:00, 8 cutting down from 7 to 6:15, 2 @ 7:15)

Fri - 7 @ 7:40

Sat - 8 @ 7:25

Total - 72 miles

The days after workouts I feel like complete trash and can hardly move. By the second day, I feel a little better but still not great. By the next workout, almost miraculously, I feel completely fresh again. I'm struggling with several aches and pains (plantar fasciitis, some minor knee pain, and a tight right calf). I remember feeling like this at the beginning of my last couple marathon buildups though, and I never got injured. I think I might slow down my easy days even more as my body adjusts to higher mileage plus workouts.

Solid work, everybody!

Copying this over from the Road Racing & Training Thread.

Mon - 7.4 mi EZ @ 8:03/mi

Tues - 11 mi fartlek @ 6:48/mi

Wed - 6.1 mi EZ @ 7.44/mi

Thurs - 4.6 mi @ 7:06/mi (Should have been 10, but woke up late)

Fri - 11 mi farlek @ 6:15/mi

Sat - 6.1 mi EZ @ 7:56/mi

Sun - 18.77 mi @ 6:33/mi

Had a different kind of workout on Tuesday and Friday. Tuesday was a 3.5 mi warm up to a bridge loop, followed by two loops of the bridge at 3 mins on/2 mins float, followed by 2 aerobic miles to another bridge, where I did 4 hard up and jogged down the other side, capped by a cool down. Friday was a 20 minute aerobic run followed by 4 x 5 min on @ 10K feel with 90 sec off, then 1 min hard/1 min off and a shorter cool down.

I paced the Louisiana Marathon this morning. My goal was to take them through the first half in around 1:29:45 before handing off the pacing duties to another person for the second half. I got them through in 1:29:30 and then did five aerobic miles of my own at a 5:58/mi clip.

All in all, a good week.

Curious as to what shoes everybody rotates between.

EZ/Recovery - Asics Gel Cumulus, Hoka Clifton 6

Long Run (No Workout) - Hoka Clifton 6

Long Run (Workout) - Debating what to get for new cycle

Track Workout - Hoka Rincon

Tempo Run - Hoka Rincon/Nike Vaporfly 4%

Casual Race Effort - Nike Vaporfly 4%

Hard Race Effort - Nike Next %

Thinking about snagging the Hoka Tracer 2 and/or the Carbon X.