Ever since I got back into racing this past year, I’ve wanted to test my limits. The sub-3 hour marathon barrier has always interested me. It sounds cool to say that your marathon time begins with the same digit as the world record!
A GOOD SPRING
I evaluated my fitness early in 2017. A 37:59 PR in the 10K and a 1:22:57 PR in a Half Marathon (both in April) had me thinking I was primed for sub-3 and maybe more! Some calculators even predicted 2:52!
As I began my training cycle for a fall race, I pegged my marathon pace at 6:40/mi (2:55 marathon). It was a bit ambitious, but I had my reasons! My mileage topped out in the low 50s in the spring. I was preparing to up that to low 70s for the fall.
SUMMER TRAINING / KEY WORKOUTS
Summer training was going well for the most part. Speed was a strength for me in particular. My biggest concern was stretching out marathon pace so I tried to nail some long runs. Here are some of my workouts.
50 days out from race day, I ran 10x800s with 2 minutes rest on the track. The average split was 2:45 (last one was 2:37). More than enough speed for a sub-3!
24 days to go! My longest tempo workout. 2×4 miles at half marathon pace (6:19/mi) with an 8 minute jog in between. I was looking forward to this one for a while and happy with how I felt during it!
21 days out – my last 20-mile long run. 10 easy, 9 at marathon pace (6:40) and 1 easy. Despite some early stomach issues (didn’t get up as early as I needed to), I felt great aerobically. Overall pace was 7:18 with an average HR around 155.
BAD DAYS
Most of my training, I felt great with the exception of two bad days. Both of them long runs in early July.
On the first, I was simply too depleted nutritionally. I wanted to limit my carbohydrate intake to increase fat burning, but my body said it just wasn’t happening! I even cut the run short at 17 miles and just felt awful the whole weekend after that.
The second was similar, but it was more likely due to extreme heat. Looking back, I think my body was just adjusting to longer runs. In the spring, my longest run was 16 miles. Now I was consistently going beyond that (or at least trying to!).
MILEAGE
Here’s my mileage progression from January to August (my race was September 2nd). 184, 197.5, 196, 148 (April – 2 races), 204, 229, 301, 237.
My weekly mileage topped out at 74 in late July. It was followed by weeks of 66, 55, 41, and 21 (race week).
TOO MUCH?
I began to see a drop in fitness about 3 weeks before the race. My heart rate, both resting and during exercise, became elevated by about 5 bpm. I was hitting my paces, but the effort was becoming more difficult.
Looking back, i can easily see that I had overtrained. I had hit July pretty hard and now August was fighting back! I tried taking a couple extra days off and taking my easy runs VERY easy. But I still felt something was off.
RACE DAY – SEPTEMBER 2, 2017
52 degrees at the start, 89% humidity. Despite fears that I had overdone it, I forced myself to be confident before the race. My workouts were strong, my half marathon PR was more than adequate, and my mileage was higher than ever!
My heart rate soared during warm ups, but I chalked it up to nerves and stayed positive. At the start line, my race plan is clear as day. Get through the first half as comfortable as possible and as close to 1:30 as you can.
Miles 1-5 | STILL EARLY
I wanted to focus on comfort but didn’t want to dig myself in too deep. I was prepared to fall to a 7:00/mi pace in the first few miles, especially since these were the hilliest of the race.
But as soon as I saw my heart rate climb to 170 and stay there at mile 5, I knew this wasn’t going as planned. To put that into perspective, my heart rate averaged 167 for my half marathon PR which was a 6:20 pace!
I had so many negative thoughts bearing down on me already at this point. But I fought off every single one and focused on staying “light and tall” – two frequent racing cues I use. I kept telling myself it was still early and this was just a bad patch.
Miles 6-13 | DECISION TIME
I eventually realized that if I kept up this effort (at this higher heart rate), I would eventually hit the wall. I knew I could only sustain a 170+ heart rate for about 10 miles before running out of glycogen.
So it was decision time. Either slow down to a comfortable pace that I could sustain the remainder of the race (maybe a 3:10-3:15 finish time) or hang on and hope for a miracle sub-3. I chose the latter.
This was the last weekend to qualify for the Boston Marathon in 2018 (another big goal). In my mind, a 3:05 was the same as a 3:30, so I did my best to hang on!
My family provided a boost at mile 7. I had planned for them to see me at miles 7, 13, and 20.
Miles 13.1-18 | FIGHT
I crossed the halfway point at 1:30. Still well on pace for a 3:00 goal, but now I had to redo the loop I’d just completed. This meant it was time for the hills again!
I grabbed a bottle full of Gatorade from my wife at halfway. “Not a good day,” I told her, sensing the struggle that was to come. My mantra – “strong”. I summoned all my strength sessions and tough workouts to get me through those hills.
But I was slipping. It was all I could do to just maintain 7:00/mi pace now, praying that I can sneak under 3:05 for a BQ! 7:05, 7:09, 7:14…
Miles 19-26.2 | DEFEATED
I had nothing left at mile 19. After all the training and amazing workouts, I could hardly put anything together for the last 7 miles. My mind was strong but my legs weak and jelly-like.
Many people started passing me that I hadn’t seen in a while. It was even more defeating than I imagined it would be!
Seeing my family at mile 20, I decided to walk with them a bit. The goal was already gone. It was a difficult moment – one that will motivate me in the future for sure!
I crossed the line at 3:23 after hitting halfway at 1:30. It was not what I had planned that day. I now had all the time in the world to process what went wrong.
CONCLUSIONS
The only way to move past bad races is to learn from them. In the days that followed, I came up with the following list of lessons learned:
* REST – I think I needed more of it! Too many 70+ mile weeks in July. I should’ve taken a step back to 60 or 55 in there.
* FAT-BURNING – I wish I would’ve dialed back the nutrition during some of my long runs early on in the cycle (10-14 miles). This would’ve helped teach my body to burn fat more efficiently, which I feel like I lacked on race day. I tried it out of the blue with 17+ mile runs and it went poorly. That was just too late.
* RACE WEEK DIET – I went about 80% carbs for my diet on race week to store as much as I could. In hindsight, this may have contributed to my lack of fat burning capabilities. Next time, I will keep a more balanced diet.
* RACE SELECTION – Now that I have a son in grade school, I will avoid early September races. I was sick for 3 weeks following this race (literally started the morning after). Perhaps my body was fighting off some sickness and that’s why I didn’t have the energy.
Outside of those 4 things, I can look back and say I did everything right. I will turn my attention now to recovery and when my next sub-3 attempt will be. Stay tuned!
