Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Help a brother out

I've already told you I am upping the mileage.... but maybe not this week as planned.

The goal was 45-- it looks more like a measly 25-30. I have a friend visiting this weekend which will limit my ability to pound the pavement.

Next week --and I want you ALL to hold me to this-- is when my official training will begin for the Disney Marathon and I need your help. I am running this race for 3 BIG reasons and listed below in order of importance:

1. Raise money for cancer research
2. Have Fun!
3. Finish with a time I can be proud of.

SO-- I can handle raising the money-- and it's never hard for me to have fun especially if there is whiskey and beer involved post race-- BUT I would like to know what a respectable time would be. Ideally of course, I would LOVE to run a sub 3hr Marathon but I am not sure that is at all realistic.

My half marathon time ( the longest I have run thus far) is 1hr 46min-- so if it were you-- and you were me-- what would you shoot for realistically??

8 comments:

  1. Patrick,

    I've never run a marathon (not yet, anyway...), but some of my fellow runners on my track team have, many times. They all suscribe to the Bart Yasso workout to help predict their marathon times. Here's a link to a Runner's World article on the Yasso workout:

    http://www.internetfitness.com/articles/running_yasso.htm

    Good luck! You're a braver person than I am!

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  2. Good luck with the marathon. I read the article Erin suggested and it sounds fascinating. I am looking to start marathon training this fall. I am targeting a marathon in March in Virginia Beach.

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  3. Hm. You are pretty quick there Patrick! I would go to this site:

    http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/Running%20University/Article%201/mcmillanrunningcalculator.htm

    Put in your best 5K or half marathon, whichever is newer. That should give you some what of an idea. I plugged in your 5K and half and I don't know if a sub 3 hour marathon is in the cards for you - yet. But you never know. You could surprise yourself.

    I also use the Yasso method in my speed work.

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  4. I've never used the Yasso method myself, but I always wanted to try it.

    For what it's worth, one of my friends generally runs HM's similar to your time, and her marathons are in the 3:45 - 3:50 range.

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  5. I've always heard that you should double your half marathon PR and add 15 minutes to get an idea of a reasonable expectation for your marathon.

    Also keep in mind that you will be training in the winter for a HOT FLORIDA race. The warm weather could slow you down.

    Don't want to put a downer on your goals, but I don't want you to be disappointed either.

    Most important is to have fun. :)

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  6. Goodluck with disney--its my goal for 2011 :) I've been reading about the Yasso method because I am starting my speed/track workouts on Sunday. I'll keep checking up on you :)

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  7. I'd go with 4 hours as a goal. It's your first marathon, and it's going to feel like a whole lot more than twice a half marathon. If you were at all tired at the end of your last 5K, then 3 hours is out of the question. You'd have to run that same pace for another 23.1 miles!

    Beyond your own ability, there's also the ability of those around you to consider. Your half marathon time might get you a decent corral assignment, but there are a lot of people running the Disney marathon. When I ran it, it was physically impossible to get over 11 minutes per mile for the first four miles, such was the sea of humanity.

    Start with 4 hours as a goal. You can always refine it as you get a handle on your fitness closer to the race. On another note, it was 45 degrees at the start of the Disney marathon last year so I wouldn't worry about the heat so much.

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  8. Thanks for your kind words Patrick! Yeah, I've been alittle down in the mouth lately with running. Whatbothers me the most are the unscheduled rest days. Those really show me what's happening mentally. The physical stuff happens, bu the mental stuff is what I *should* be able to control. For me that's really important because the mental stuff was the hardest part of my last marathon experience.

    Also - I hear you on ratcheting down the effort. I've done that by trying to slow down but maintaining the mileage. It really doesn't matter how, but the important thing is backing off for a bit that's important. Just try not to skimp on your long runs. They are the most important part of your marathon training regimen!

    Everyone above has great comments about your fiish time. My only addition is that being your first marathon, don't focus as much on time as bing mentally prepared. You will experience some things that you haven't experienced before. Your goal should be to finish. The time will be the time it takes.

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