PANIC GRANDMAS TRAINING

Thanks for looking it up for me from a real source.

I had always thought that easy pace should be 1:00 to 2:00 slower than half marathon pace -- which was the reason for my earlier post.

From the title of your post, I thought maybe your grandma's training was getting out of hand.

Nope just trying to find the best way to get some adequate mileage in my legs 8 weeks till the 'thon.

Excellent work. You are quickly getting into shape. Your current PR of 2:53 may be out of reach, however, you are still in for a quick one come race day. But who knows? I'm not counting you out.

How does 6:37pace feel for you right now?

Thanks!

I’ve got a 20 miler coming up tomorrow so I’ll let the thread know how that goes after.

2:53 is totally out of reach for this so called “training cycle” but I have a goal time of 3:30 but going into race day with an open mind and just aiming to have a good run.

6:37 feels fine (shoes pending) and I could probably keep that pace for 15 miles before needing to back down.

I’ll be running in the Saucony Endorphin 3s. I had my first run in them today and I’m getting delusional thinking I could sub 3.

Why is your planned marathon pace 8:00 per mile (i.e. 3:30:00 marathon) when 6:37 “feels fine” and your long run paces are noted as 7:08 (15 miles) and 7:11 (17 miles) — add to that a recent 1:25 range half? You are not delusional thinking you could go possibly go Sub 3:00 (6:52 per mile). A 3:10:00 (7:15 per mile) should be well within your reach. I would run with either the 3:00 or 3:10 pace group — Grandma’s has both.

TBH I put 3:30 time goal when I transferred the bib and with my longest runs before this build up being 12 I didn’t want to set a totally out of sight goal.

20 miler done for the day and overall it went pretty well. Avg 7:16 pace with 611ft elevation. Pretty even splits. I had two Huma gels I took at mile 9 and mile 16 with some Gatorade and water throughout. 50 miles for the week.

Around 18.5 my calves started to cramp up but I was able to push through not needing to stretch or stop. Throughout my marathon races I’ve had to stop and stretch my calves because of cramping to the point of getting locked up so if anyone has advice on preventing calf cramps that would be very helpful.

Pleased with my fitness gain this far and looking forward to some lower mileage this week.

New Update:

Down week for this past week however it was a bit less mileage than I had originally planned - work and other life duties got in the way. 24 miles for the last week. I ran only 5 days and my long run was cut short by a rain storm so unfortunately no long run.

This week will be my last week at peak mileage ~50 ending with either a 18 or 20 mile long run, and then I'll start to taper down.

Final long run of the buildup complete. Did 18 at 7:10 pace avg with a couple stops to pump the local water pumps around the lake for hydration. Took two Huma gels and felt ok. It was windy the last 5 miles so it was a bit more of a slog the last stretch but overall happy.

Finished the week with 50 and now I’ll decrease mileage for the next two weeks.

Feeling some groin muscle discomfort but it’s manageable. I’ll do some stretches and some body weight workouts I know and those usually help.

Looking forward to the race being done so I can finally relax for a week or two.

Have you settled on a goal pace for Saturday’s race?

This might be a game time decision in all honesty. We're still a couple days out but weather reports do not look favorable with reports of 90% chance of rain and possible thunderstorms. At this point I just hope it doesn't get cancelled.

In optimal weather I think my goal pace would be 7:00/mile. However I'm getting delusional thinking sub 3 could be on the table.

In all of my previous marathons I've gone out way too hot (like 6:20s) and the last 5-6 miles I've had to walk/run through aid stations. I'm no way near that fitness now so if I decide a sub three attempt I've gotta stay in control of the pace from the very start and not try to bank time.

With the impending rain approaching honestly I'll probably aim for 7:15s and just try and enjoy the run and embrace the suck.

What also throws a bit of a wrench in this race is that I got placed in B corral after by estimated finish time of 3:30 so I doubt there will be any sub 3 pacers in my corral so it's possible I'll be running solo for the majority of the race.

From what I've seen on FB posts about the race there have been many other racers that got placed in B corral with significantly faster estimated finsihing times so it's possible something got messed up with bib assisgnment. Nonetheless it'll be quite the event on Saturday.

I run a faster 5k than that and my easy pace is 1.5 minutes slower...

A 1:20-1:25 half is a very big range.

I don't think you know what you're doing.

Good for you

3:12:04 watch time and 3:12:02 chip time.

Splits are hilarious to watch go down through my run but actually very happy with how it turned out considering the eight week build up. Weather was abysmal with the drizzling rain and the wind. Lots of runners collapsing due to muscle cramps.

Plus I can finally say I didn’t have to walk at all during a marathon even if I have to slog the last 5 miles into Duluth.

I ran also ran today also (with huge positive split) — I felt incredible the first 10. The last 10 miles were a slog for me due to stiffening up in a way that I have never experienced. I made a deal with myself to not walk except for Lemon Drop Hill.

I have never seen so many people getting medical attention on a cool day.

My buddy ran. Did not run 2:10 but did break 2:19

Just before getting into town right around mile 19 an ambulance had to drive through the course. There was a guy at mile 17 that was being helped by a couple other runners who was screaming in pain not sure from what exactly. My guess was cramping.

What pace did you start out at?