Marathon Pace Target Advice Sought

denis b

Completed the Belfast Marathon in 4.11 mins in May 2014. Prepared by running 4-5 times a week for a year and then followed the Halhigdon Novice 2 programme for the last 18 weeks. My main goal was just to complete the distance and gain some experience. The last 10km was covered jog/walk etc. but I really enjoyed the event and have continued running since.

Kept up the running mileage during the summer and then went at the Parkrun for a change. Wanted to experience something new and have got my time down to 21 mins for the run since September.

I am 52 years of age and am continuing to loose the extra weight!!!!!

Hope the context helps, and now for the advice. I have made a lot of progress this year and wonder "what sort of target time I should try and aim for the Belfast Marathon in May 2015" ?.

I want to be realistic. I am happy to push myself. I will run the DCM in October where I would be happy to train for a more ambitious time with more experience gained over the next year. However I want to practice my race pace now as part of a training programme and I am thinking of aiming for 3.50 min marathon.

Any advice?

pointer28

I have no experience of Marathons but seeing as it's quiet here this weather I thought I might weigh in.

Why don't you try adding a few km's at 3:50 pace into a couple of easy runs just to see how they feel. They should feel like a steady rather than a hard effort and you should be able to recover from them really quickly. If it feels like a hard pace or you have trouble recovering then it's not Marathon pace. Either way, it's a long time until next October and I would imagine 3:50 to be a very realistic target once you keep up the running over the rest of the year and keep losing weight.

There is a guideline somewhere that says each kilogram lost is worth one second per kilometre. So, if you lose 5 kgs, that's worth 5 secs x 42 kms = 210 secs or 3.5 minutes faster with the same fitness level. Of course, if you keep it up you'll be lighter AND fitter.

denis b

Thanks for that pointer28. The weight loss guideline is interesting and gives me some confidence that I am aiming for a realistic target. 10kgs gone so far.

Itziger

First off, well done.

I would say keep it steady and varied for a bit yet. Do a few Parkruns, but try a 10k or two as well. As Spring becomes Summer maybe do a Half. That way you'll be upping the Long Run in training.

You have 10 months from today till Dublin; that's a long time. Don't think about it yet and don't think about Marathon pace yet either. When you get to the Summer, have a look at where you are. Who knows, you might be looking at 3.40 rather than .50 by then. If you decide now, you're locking yourself into that time and pace 10 months out.

ger664

A 21 minute 5K then 3:30 is a realistic goal for Dublin. You have One marathon under your belt. Target Belfast maybe 3:40 - 3:45. The one note is your age, a default internet training program may not suit as us oldies dont recover as quickly. I suggest you join a club or get a good coach.

Murph_D

Hi Denis, similar age to yourself, and had a fairly similar marathon debut (4:02) in 2012. The difference for me would probably be down to not having to walk, which is a sign of either (a) not enough miles run in training, or (b) going out too fast (which I would suspect is what happened).

Your 5km time is impressive for a 4hr+ marathoner, so the challenge for you is translating that into similar performances at longer distances, which is always difficult during the first few years of taking up the sport. If you haven't already, you could plug your recent race times into the calculator at mcmillingrunning.com for suggested training paces.

All the best.

denis b

Thanks folks for the input. Was very nervous about Belfast 2014. I knew that the 3 long (32km) training runs leading up to the event were a struggle so I just aimed to finish the marathon last time. I definitely ran the first 6km way too fast. Have a watch now and have also learnt to pace myself a lot better by listening to the old body since. I think that is where the improvement has come about with more experience and from taking on board ideas that I have read here.

For Belfast 2015 I want to finish by running the whole course. The extra years miles will help and the 3 months application of real effort at the 5km parkrun, and subsequent improvement, has given me more confidence. This experience has shifted my expectations although I can appreciate that I may be at some disadvantage over longer distances. The feedback would seem to indicate that a modest time improvement, 3.50min, is worth keeping in mind.

For DCM 2015: will park that for the moment and see how Belfast goes. Will definitely take part but can better judge an approach after Belfast.

Honestly never thought about a coach but as an older runner who wants to do the best they can then I will investigate that.

Many thanks.

Dubgal72

+1 to the congrats and coach advice. Can't recommend joining a club enough, it really gives you that extra bit. Best of luck, I look forward to seeing your progress. My tuppence worth is not to limit yourself just yet. Of course be realistic, but your training and few races over the next few months will suggest what your target time will be.

ooter

try and get at least 1 half marathon and a 10k race under your belt in the coming months, they'll give you a much better idea of what you're capable of in the full marathon.
21 mins for 5k would suggest sub 1:40 for the HM,you could certainly go under 3:50 for the full marathon if you can achieve that.

denis b

Thanks for the feedback folks. Have found the new 2015 goals thread and have placed a few markers for the year.