The Running Thread -- 2022

[flav]

@FFigawi congratulations for your IM and thanks for the enjoyable recap!

 

[FFigawi]

Great report @FFigawi ! Always awsome when things come together on race day after putting in so much work to prepare. If I ever completed something like this, I am pretty sure I would have the "you are an Ironman" announcement on my phone and play it every 30 seconds and certainly in response to any question I was asked for at least the next month.

That’s a great idea! Who knows how to grab audio from the finish line feed? Anyone?

 

[The Expert]

That’s a great idea! Who knows how to grab audio from the finish line feed? Anyone?

I think you can do that with VLC (open source video software).

 

[FFigawi]

I think you can do that with VLC (open source video software).

Thanks. Will open up the Mac later today.

 

[HangWithMerida]

@FFigawi Congrats on a killer race! Guessing you already have your IM tattoo? There are a lot of IM finishers here (I live where IM TX is held) so almost every race I go to, I see the calf tattoos. I always think they think this is a cakewalk after that!! Just so impressive.

 

[FFigawi]

@FFigawi Congrats on a killer race! Guessing you already have your IM tattoo? There are a lot of IM finishers here (I live where IM TX is held) so almost every race I go to, I see the calf tattoos. I always think they think this is a cakewalk after that!! Just so impressive.

Thanks! I do not have an M-dot tattoo. I have others, but don’t like the idea of putting a corporate logo on my body. My artist is going to work something up for me, though. I need a tri related one somehow.

I didn’t know you live in the Woodlands. I used to live in Montrose and work in Spring.

 

[Jules76126]

Just registered for the Covered Bridges Half in Vermont in June. Always been a bucket list race, and sells out in minutes.

I’ll thank my runDisney registration experience that helped me get registered in a minute flat when it opened tonight!

Curious to hear how this race goes. Definitely on my list. My husband aunt lives in that area of Vermont so I really should try to get in one of these years.

 

[JulieODC]

Eek! I have a 1 in 11 chance of getting a Boston bib, no fundraising strings attached. Name gets selected today at 7pm, so if you have spare running vibes you can send my way, I’d love them!!

 

[kps7795]

I was listening to the Run4PRs podcast earlier today Episode 183 "How Long Will It Take to Reach My Goals & 'See Results.'" They said that it should take approximately 2-3 years to go from a 5:00 marathon to a 4:00 marathon. They stipulated that there are a LOT of variables that could skew the results including how many days per week one is running etc. Nonetheless, I am curious to hear from you 4:00 and less marathoners how long it took you to go from 5:00 to 4:00.

 

[kps7795]

Eek! I have a 1 in 11 chance of getting a Boston bib, no fundraising strings attached. Name gets selected today at 7pm, so if you have spare running vibes you can send my way, I’d love them!!

Good luck! That would be really great if you get your bib.

 

[MissLiss279]

I was listening to the Run4PRs podcast earlier today Episode 183 "How Long Will It Take to Reach My Goals & 'See Results.'" They said that it should take approximately 2-3 years to go from a 5:00 marathon to a 4:00 marathon. They stipulated that there are a LOT of variables that could skew the results including how many days per week one is running etc. Nonetheless, I am curious to hear from you 4:00 and less marathoners how long it took you to go from 5:00 to 4:00.

It took me 2 years to go from 5:30 to 5 hours. Then about a month later (and 2 more marathons that were over 5 hours), I started a @DopeyBadger plan in October for Dopey 2018. With this plan I was running each training run at specified paces and being more intentional with my running. So in three months I took 14 minutes off my marathon time (4:44). Then another 4 months later, I ran a 4:11 marathon. So with very specified training I was able to realize my immediate potential pretty quickly. A year later I ran 4:01. After that, it took me 2 and a half years and a slightly downhill course to get to 3:58. There were several marathons in there that were not run for time. I also ran a few half marathon PRs in this time. I still was following pacing strategies. I have also found that I really don’t enjoy running marathons hard. I would rather run a lot of marathons at a comfortable pace than try really hard for one marathon. I’m not sure I could get much faster if I tried. Maybe I could, but I don’t really care to try. I may continue to run faster halves, but generally I like to travel and run marathons at a longish run pace.

 

[DopeyBadger]

I was listening to the Run4PRs podcast earlier today Episode 183 "How Long Will It Take to Reach My Goals & 'See Results.'" They said that it should take approximately 2-3 years to go from a 5:00 marathon to a 4:00 marathon. They stipulated that there are a LOT of variables that could skew the results including how many days per week one is running etc. Nonetheless, I am curious to hear from you 4:00 and less marathoners how long it took you to go from 5:00 to 4:00.

Until your reach your personal plateau, a good improvement rate to aim for is about 5% per training cycle (or about every 18-20 weeks). So it would follow a progression of:

5:00
20 weeks
4:45
20 weeks
4:31
20 weeks
4:17
20 weeks
4:04
20 weeks
3:52

About 100 weeks, or 2 years.

Like they said, there are a multitude of variables that are going to influence that improvement rate. Probably the top one being what your Mile/5k/10k race PRs are. The faster you are in your short races, the more the lack of improvement in marathon time is going to be tied to your endurance training. Whereas, if your Mile/5k/10k times are more equivalent to your 5:00 hr time, then it's going to take longer to improve because you need speed and endurance. That's to say, if you have a 31:48 5k runner and a 25:15 5k runner (the equivalents of a 5hr and 4hr marathon), the 25:15 5k runner has less actual improvements to make to hit the 4 hr marathon than does the 31:48 5k runner.

My personal experience:

My first training run was the equivalent of a 36 min 5k. I ran my first marathon twelve weeks after I first started running and ran a 4:50 in October 2012. My second marathon as part of Dopey was a 4:35 in Jan 2014. My 3rd marathon was 4:20 in Nov 2014. My 4th marathon was 4:27 as part of Dopey in Jan 2015. My 5th marathon was 4:58 in May 2015. That May 2015 marathon was the last time I trained 3 days per week running. Once I started training six days per week, then my marathon in Oct 2015 was 3:38. So it took me 2 years to go from 4:50 to 4:20, and then it took me 18 weeks of Hansons to lower my M PR from 4:20 to 3:38. I lowered it to my now PR of 3:14 in Oct 2017 (so five years). My best time is probably my 3:15:59 marathon which came after a 20:06 5k, 39:54 10k, 1:30:35 HM during Dopey 2018. I've spent the better part of five years chasing to get back to that fitness level.

ETA - I am pretty sure I’m getting very close to my personal plateau. My mile, 5k, 10k, and HM are all now race equivalents. I’m just trying to hit the marathon race equivalent of that set of PRs. I don’t anticipate seeing any more breakthroughs in my race times. Maybe a few seconds here or there.

 

[Marebear_runs]

I was listening to the Run4PRs podcast earlier today Episode 183 "How Long Will It Take to Reach My Goals & 'See Results.'" They said that it should take approximately 2-3 years to go from a 5:00 marathon to a 4:00 marathon. They stipulated that there are a LOT of variables that could skew the results including how many days per week one is running etc. Nonetheless, I am curious to hear from you 4:00 and less marathoners how long it took you to go from 5:00 to 4:00.

My experience was:
First marathon January 2020: 4:50 (MW with the stupidly high heat/humidity)
Second marathon January 2022: 4:29 (part of Dopey)
Third marathon July 2022: 4:01 (San Francisco, so super hilly).

These are not all equivalent races because of the course difficulty and one being part of Dopey, so it’s not that straightforward. But I’d say all things being equal, that improvement is roughly equivalent to the podcast.

 

[flav]

I was listening to the Run4PRs podcast earlier today Episode 183 "How Long Will It Take to Reach My Goals & 'See Results.'" They said that it should take approximately 2-3 years to go from a 5:00 marathon to a 4:00 marathon. They stipulated that there are a LOT of variables that could skew the results including how many days per week one is running etc. Nonetheless, I am curious to hear from you 4:00 and less marathoners how long it took you to go from 5:00 to 4:00.

My first marathon in September 2019, with absolutely no time goal. I danced, ate a cake, took pictures and walked for a while towards the end:


Then there was Dopey in January 2020 where I ran (?) the Marathon in 6:20 with at least 30 pictures-bathroom-nutrition-shenanigans stops.

I would have probably accelerated my Marathon faster in normal years (I was registered to four Marathon that got canceled or postponed due to the pandemic). I resumed racing in Fall 2021 but was injured so I ran a conservative pace and easily completed the Marathon in 4:19.

And this year, I ran a great race, almost under 4h without having that goal:

So I would say two or three years as long as you don’t get injured. I went from a three days of running per week to a five days of running per week.

 

[Bree]

I was listening to the Run4PRs podcast earlier today Episode 183 "How Long Will It Take to Reach My Goals & 'See Results.'" They said that it should take approximately 2-3 years to go from a 5:00 marathon to a 4:00 marathon. They stipulated that there are a LOT of variables that could skew the results including how many days per week one is running etc. Nonetheless, I am curious to hear from you 4:00 and less marathoners how long it took you to go from 5:00 to 4:00.

I have yet to hit my goal of 4:10 due to GI issues. My PR is 4:23 in October 2021. I visited every last porta potty in the last half of the race. So if not for the GI issues I would have easily hit 4:10 or under. Eventual goal is sub 4 just once in my life. GI issues are getting under control with a fuel change and I should be getting a medication change tomorrow for an autoimmune disease I have. Now, if I could just stop being a clumsy fool and injuring myself and stop getting injured by horses

My first marathon was part of Dopey in 2019 and I finished in 6:15, but I ran with a friend. We went on Everest, pet the animals, ate all the spectator snacks, drank all the spectator drinks, took lots of photos, etc. My fitness level at the time was probably in the 5 hour range?

So….that’s over 2.5 years for me to cut all that time off. I had a stress fracture in 2019 that sidelined me for a few months and a number of other medical issues and stupid non-running related injuries. If not for all that I’d probably be further along, but it is what it is.

Some people are naturally fast. I’m not one of them. I was a middle of the pack runner even back in high school. It has taken me 5 years to get to where I am now. My easy pace when I started running smarter in January 2018 was 13:11. Today it’s 10:20. I was a solid 2.5 hour half marathoner in 2018. I was able to run a sub 2 during my Chicago 2022 training cycle.

I’m not expecting to get too much faster considering my age. I will be 46 in February

 

[Professor_Cookie]

Hello all! Nice to see some familiar faces still in here!

 

[lookingforsunshine]

My first marathon was part of Dopey in 2019 and I finished in 6:15, but I ran with a friend. We went on Everest, pet the animals, ate all the spectator snacks, drank all the spectator drinks, took lots of photos, etc.

This is my dream (Everest and pets) but I’m prob too slow right now.

 

[steph0808]

My goal has always been sub-4, but I'm not sure I will ever get it (unless I run a downhill marathon!).

2013 Disney - 6:52ish - got the stomach flu, stupid heat, 0/10 don't recommend
2017 local - 4:36, thunderstorms aren't great during a marathon
2018 Disney - 4:43
2019 local - 4:19 - my PR
2020 Disney - 5:07
2021 Wineglass - 4:55 - was the most trained ever for this race and blew up at mile 15
2022 Disney - 4:47

I'm probably a bit of an anomaly because I mainly run marathons at Disney and I don't race them for time, instead stopping for pictures.

I'd love a new PR but marathons are simply a beast. After Wineglass, I swore never to run one for time again. I might do a revel run in the future, and if I do, I'd train pretty hard and run for time just to see what I can do.

 

[azrivest]

We went on Everest, pet the animals,

You managed to get to the Affection Station? I am very much impressed

 

[Bree]

You managed to get to the Affection Station? I am very much impressed

No. It was before AK. I think it was a donkey or a sheep? I just looked through my photos and couldn’t find what was there.