That was utterly terrifying and I regret having joined you (comments welcome)

[NYC_MW]

How is it already one week til race day? Life has gotten in the way of training, but so it goes. Laughing now at the original aim of sub-50 when starting the plan. Goal now is just to try to PR (<55:49). Potentially possible, but the course elevation does look a little daunting. Here's hoping.

 

[GollyGadget]

What a cruel finish! Remember to have fun

 

[WillRunForPizza]

Oof, that does look like a mean course! Hope it goes well though!

 

[NYC_MW]

Got the PR by 1:49--54 minutes flat!!

That last hill must have been from a previous course as it never materialized; had psyched myself out with the elevation, and it ended up being okay. Definitely noticeable, but not painful. And though the forecast had been for warmer weather, it "rained" that morning, which made everything much better. There were MANY more people at the race than I expected and the start was a bit of a muddle. No corrals or pacers, just self-seeding. They did end up sending us off in two waves, and when I saw the first one heading out, did a bit of a sneak to jump out at the back of it (perfect as I always prefer to be at the end of a corral/wave). Plenty of crowd support; seems like a local annual tradition to kick off training for the LA marathon in March. The 5k started 30 minutes earlier on the same course, just with an earlier turnaround. Was a pretty steady uphill the first 4 miles (mile 3 probably had the most elevation gain), but after the turnaround, I flied downhill-makes for quite the interesting pace/elevation plot. Plus a "character" stop on the Santa Monica beach afterwards.

Organization for the event could have been a bit better as I was told morning parking was a bit of a disaster. Shirt pickup after the race was also quite a mess. Plus this was the first race I've done with no bag drop. But overall was a fun time, and am more than thrilled with the result. Thanks again to @GollyGadget and @WillRunForPizza for planting the seed to train for a new distance.

Full week:


Taking it slow this week, then maybe will repeat weeks 1-2 of the 10k plan, before starting up marathon training. It's still ~6 months away, but given current work schedule, I'm contemplating Higdon's Marathon 3: 24 weeks with 3 days of running a week (+ 2 of cross, which may not happen). As it is, days will have to be switched around, but tentative calendar below (original plan on left, my mods on right). Goal is to PR (<4:28:30), so still have to figure out training paces, but any thoughts on the bones of the plan?

 

[GollyGadget]

Wooo! Way to go!

 

[striker1064]

Congrats on your PR!

 

[WillRunForPizza]

Congratulations! Awesome job!

 

[azrivest]

Congrats!

 

[DopeyBadger]

Congrats on the PR! Nice downhill kick!

I get the following training paces for a 54 min 10k runner.



If you can pull off an equivalent HM time of around 1:59:10, then I'd put the marathon time around:



6% of 1:59 runners do a marathon in 4:08 or better
10% of 1:59 runners do a marathon in 4:10 or better
25% of 1:59 runners do a marathon in 4:15 or better
50% of 1:59 runners do a marathon in 4:25 or better

If you don't align with that HM time, then using the 10k time gives:



6% of 54 min runners do a marathon in 4:08 or better
10% of 54 min runners do a marathon in 4:12 or better
25% of 54 min runners do a marathon in 4:23 or better
50% of 54 min runners do a marathon in 4:42 or better

Is there a reason the cross training might not happen in the Higdon Marathon 3 plan? Is it because of time constraints or dislike for cross training activities? I think Higdon makes some aerobic endurance considerations when writing the plan under the assumption you are doing the other cross training. What if I told you that without the cross training you would be more likely in the 4:25-4:42 range, and with the cross training (or running 4-5 days per week) closer to the 4:10-4:25 range? Would it be worth the extra effort? No guarantees either way, but just more likely.

 

[NYC_MW]

Thanks so much @DopeyBadger! I did pull off a 1:59:11 half at the end of May, so that's extremely encouraging. The cross training not happening is more due to time constraints than dislike, but your comparison of finishing times whether doing the cross-training or not will be very much the push needed to "make time and get it done" in the coming months.

 

[NYC_MW]

Interestingly Thursday's workout (supposed to be 6 repeats) saw me dying after the 3rd and barely holding on to the 4th after walking the recovery. It was also the first non-morning run in a long while. Mere correlation or does my body not do well with PM runs? It was also following 2 days of a body battery of 5 at the end of the day so . Either way, will need to remember this when the temptation to sleep in and put off the run til later sets in.

2 in-between weeks done. 24 weeks to LA Marathon: let's do this! Medal reveal today and it is .

 

[NYC_MW]

Week 1 done; not much to comment on, which is a good thing. Nice to start a new routine. Integrating paces generously provided by @DopeyBadger above into slightly modified Hal Higdon Marathon 3 plan, plus bringing back some core/strength work which has been sorely lacking. Did go on a bit of a spree and got a bunch of Maurten & Honey Stinger fuel + on sale Ride 15 and Kinvara 13 for when current rotation of Endorphin Shift 2 and Endorphin Speed 2 reach retirement.

 

[NYC_MW]

Starting to track walks since they could technically be counted as cross training (or at least that's what I'm telling myself).

Given the discussion last year re: blood donation, figured I should do it earlier in the training cycle rather than later and not before a hard workout to minimize effects. Thursday's easy run did seem a little tougher than usual, but that could also just be placebo. Not that I'm going to do it, but thought experiment: if one consistently gave blood every 8 weeks and planned it so an actual race would be just before the next scheduled donation, would the body adjust itself and have a boost similar to the blood doping mentioned by @DopeyBadger?

 

[NYC_MW]

Cutback week; again mostly uneventful. Though Wednesday's strength training + flu shot -> sore arms/upper body for the rest of the week.
During Thursday's run, dropped by a tiny memorial park which is the final resting place of a LOT of famous people including Marilyn Monroe & Natalie Wood.

 

[NYC_MW]

Starting to get headaches from swims so planning to switch days around again:
Mon-long run, Tue/Fri-rest (or walk), Wed-speedwork, Thu-semi-long run at easy pace, Sat-longer cross (indoor bike), Sun-use time indicated for shorter cross, but easy run instead

 

[NYC_MW]

Week 5
Monday long - 1st double digit run since May's Providence half and I've forgotten how to do it. Ended up pre-fueling and bringing a honey stinger gel but not taking it.
Thursday easy - don't know why HR spiked to 200bpm during the whole last mile. Nothing particularly strenuous besides almost tripping off the sidewalk. Sat down and ate a granola bar afterwards and ended up being okay.
Thursday hike - after recovering from weird HR spike; beautiful views but steep, especially coming down. Timing worked out well to go along with my cousin since she does this regularly and had to rearrange plan for a workout free weekend since...

Weekend trip back to NYC to cheer for friends at the NYC marathon! and the 5k the day before. Whirlwind trip taking the redeye straight from work on Friday night and heading straight back to work on Monday, but well worth it. Always love cheering at races, and managed to catch all 5 friends on Saturday (including a cousin's middle schooler son) plus someone running with a plush pineapple on their head (reminiscent of last year's marathon runner who balanced a real pineapple on his head for 26 miles). And caught the blur of elites zooming by in their <4min/mi paces.


Also managed to catch all 10 friends on Sunday, including F (the dad of the middle schooler who ran on Saturday), and my friend L (who I had "tricked" into running a couple years ago. L had also come with me on Princess weekend for the Fairytale Challenge). It was the first marathon for both of them and I was super excited. Sadly, missed seeing @flav and her DH and @dis_or_dat even with eyes peeled . Did see Yoshi though and other runners in costume. Such a great trip, and good to just catch up with peeps. Then back to LA for

Week 6
Thankfully a cutback week, what with the busy weekend and some juggling of work shifts during the week. Mostly made up for all the workouts, though it means 6 days in a row of activity. Hoping tomorrow's 12 mi long run won't blow up.

 

[NYC_MW]

Training continues uneventfully. Remembering how to run double digits (which all Monday runs will be from here on out) with fueling. Last week's workouts moved around some, but everything got done. Including delicious Thanksgiving meals with extended family on Thursday and Friday . Some fun pictures from the last two weeks:

Gas station dinosaur mascot dressed up as a turkey

Panoramic image of Los Angeles in the distance from Runyon Canyon hilltop

Sunrise view of Century City with wispy clouds in the sky

 

[NYC_MW]

Much needed cutback week. Once in progress, most runs are good, just been not wanting to get out of bed/out the door in the mornings. Missing the motivation that old running groups/buddies provided. Gotta find some new ones!

 

[NYC_MW]

<100 days til race day!

Monday--long run felt a little sluggish but not bad.

Wednesday--COVID vaccine after tempo workout and before work. Finished the day okay with just a sore arm, but slept horribly that night (even Garmin told me I had poor rest ). Was achy and feverish all day Thursday so did not go out for run. Arm still a little tender and reddish even today.

Friday--felt better so did a shorted Saturday plan.

Saturday--tried to get out of work early and do Thursday's run but not early enough, so just hit up the gym and did Sunday's plan.

Sunday--finally getting to Thursday's 7 miler. Feeling good, but hubris caught up with me and rolled my left ankle hard right after mile 6. I regularly roll my ankle, even just walking on the street, and can usually shake it off, but this was a lot worse than usual, and it could hardly bear weight. Thankfully only ~2 blocks from home, so hobbled back and was able to walk relatively normally ~30 minutes later. Still not 100% now 6 hrs later, but hopefully with some ice and elevation, will be okay for tomorrow's 16m long run (but bringing phone to uber home halfway if needed).

But, best news on Wednesday: got into next year's Berlin Marathon! Had gotten in for 2020, but then it was 2020; hopefully this won't presage another global pandemic. Also exciting since two other friends and I entered as a team. G will be running her 2nd (and she says last) marathon and bringing her family so I'll get to meet her DD2 and see her for the first time since 2018. L ran the Princess challenge with me in February and her 1st marathon just last month in NYC, and since she's from just outside of Berlin, will get to be our tour guide. The team entrance idea is genius. A couple friends and I did it for Cherry Blossom a couple years ago too. Makes it easier to travel for races when you're not all alone. Now to figure out how to iron-on a Cal logo patch to some gold dri-fit visors...

 

[WillRunForPizza]

Congrats on getting into Berlin! That's really cool. Hope your ankle feels better soon!