15k race 3 weeks before DCM

Fiona44

Hi,

Just wondering if anyone would be able to give a bit of advice. I'm planning on running a 15k race 3 weeks before the Dublin marathon and I just want to make sure I don't tire myself out so close to the marathon.

I'm hoping to run sub 4hrs for the marathon. My 10k pb is 49 mins.
Any advice on what pace would be good to aim for in the 15k?

I'm substituting the race for the 12 mile slow run that my training plan has down for that weekend. I'm not particularly concerned about getting a good time in the race and mainly just want to use it for training.

emerald007

what's your longest distance wise long slow run so far?

Fiona44

emerald007 wrote: »

what's your longest distance wise long slow run so far?

I just ran 18 miles today which is the longest I've done.

The 15k will be during the taper.

digger2d2

Why don't you run your 15k race at your PMP, enjoy it, get a good feeling for marathon pace in a race environment and not take any risks... You could also incorporate a slow mile warm up and warm down which will get you close to your 12 for the day

Fiona44

digger2d2 wrote: »

Why don't you run your 15k race at your PMP, enjoy it, get a good feeling for marathon pace in a race environment and not take any risks... You could also incorporate a slow mile warm up and warm down which will get you close to your 12 for the day

Sounds like a plan, I think I'll do just that!

Thank you!

ger664

Not trying to bust your bubble but I think 4 hours is too aggressive for you.
I am assuming that this is your first marathon. I just do not think you will have enough endurance to get that time based your your current 10K time.

4:10 would be closer to the mark assuming you get a 20 miler or two in between now and the taper.

Fiona44

ger664 wrote: »

Not trying to bust your bubble but I think 4 hours is too aggressive for you.
I am assuming that this is your first marathon. I just do not think you will have enough endurance to get that time based your your current 10K time.

4:10 would be closer to the mark assuming you get a 20 miler or two in between now and the taper.

Ok thanks for advice!

digger2d2

Actually, Ger makes an interesting point. One thing I will say is that in my first marathon I trained for a 3:59.... All my race times were well on target 10k/HM etc. but on the day I went for 3:45.... It was a wholly unpleasant experience.

If I could offer advice based on said experience I would say get a good solid sensible enjoyable first marathon under your belt. Leave the time goals for number 2,3 and 4.

Either way, my original point is still relevant, even if that PMP turns out to be 9:30 and not 9:09.

Fiona44

digger2d2 wrote: »

Actually, Ger makes an interesting point. One thing I will say is that in my first marathon I trained for a 3:59.... All my race times were well on target 10k/HM etc. but on the day I went for 3:45.... It was a wholly unpleasant experience.

If I could offer advice based on said experience I would say get a good solid sensible enjoyable first marathon under your belt. Leave the time goals for number 2,3 and 4.

Either way, my original point is still relevant, even if that PMP turns out to be 9:30 and not 9:09.

Ok thanks for the advice, I appreciate it!

I agree with the main goal being to just enjoy the experience first time round!

Im not overly concerned about pushing myself to get a really good time in the marathon but I think 4hrs is realistic & quite conservative just going by my recent half marathon times, so I'll probably stick with my plan of following the 4hr pacers.

digger2d2

Fiona44 wrote: »

Ok thanks for the advice, I appreciate it!

I agree with the main goal being to just enjoy the experience first time round!

Im not overly concerned about pushing myself to get a really good time in the marathon but I think 4hrs is realistic & quite conservative just going by my recent half marathon times, so I'll probably stick with my plan of following the 4hr pacers.

What's your half time? That's much more relevant to your DCM target.... Must check who is pacing 4 hours for you, I'm pacing 3:50.

Edit - Re; 4 hour pacing... MarthaStew will look after you!

Aquals

If your time for the half marathon is quicker than 1:50, then 4 hours for the marathon should absolutely be a possibility!

Running that 15k race at PMP also sounds like a great idea! It'll give you a real feel for what the pace will feel like on the day of the marathon. Go for it and enjoy!

Fiona44

My half marathon time from the Rock'n'roll is 1:49. I should hopefully beat that in the Dublin HM!

Also I'm going to run the Eco 20 mile run and try and stick to the splits they've recommended on the Athlone 3/4 marathon website for people targetting sub 4 hrs in Dublin.

So that should give me an idea of whether im on track. I guess if I completely blow up in that I can rethink my strategy...!

RayCun

1.49 half is on target for a 4 hour full

digger2d2

^^ Agreed....

Start with the 1:50 pacers (glamour group) in the Dublin Half and kick on after halfway!? A good 1:47/1:48 will have you looking good.

Fiona44

digger2d2 wrote: »

^^ Agreed....

Start with the 1:50 pacers (glamour group) in the Dublin Half and kick on after halfway!? A good 1:47/1:48 will have you looking good.

That's good to hear!
Starting to get excited about the half now. Hopefully all goes to plan!

kkcatlou

Hi Fiona44, your 10k and half times are very much in line with where i was this time last year for my first full marathon (and to be honest where I am a year later, but on much tougher courses) and I did the DCM in 3.56 so you sound spot on considering all goes well between now and then. I'm hoping to get down to 3.50 this year, but not sure if that's realistic just yet...

Ger664 - what were you going on that makes this seem unrealistic for Fiona44? Just out of interest? I have theories that there are differences in men and women's progression from 5k-10k, etc. and last year did a bit of analysis (nerd alert) that showed that in general men perform 10% faster than women in an average race... so a four hour marathon for a woman is equivalent to a 3.30 man marathon!