Sub 2:12 marathon - Can I do it?

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  • Jose, those are some great times, and a 38min 10k pace 11.28km run on 12days training is fantastic! Certainly looks like if you keep the training up, you could be well on target for a 2:35, and that VO2max is well above average. What all training are you doing at the minute?
  • Now I'm doing this:

    Monday: 1h10m (15' slow + 45' fast + 10' cool down)

    Tuesday: 1h10m (75%-80% max heart rate)

    Wednsday: 7 x 1000m (8 seconds faster than race pace)

    Thursday: 1h10m (75%-80% max heart rate)

    Friday: 1h00m (no faster than 70% of max heart rate)

    Saturday: 5x5m 3 seconds faster than race pace with 3 minutes jogging

    Sunday: 1h30m (76%-83% of max heart rate)

    I also am seeking to do some gym work in mondays and fridays). I will be doing this till 07/12/03. Than I will change my train to the marathon.

    Take care
    José João Saraiva
  • I would like to give you some advice.. We are the same age and somehow I identified myself in your words and in your dream.

    I'm an not (for the moment) as ambicious as you are. My medium-long term goals are:

    Still this year:
    a sub 37 minute 10km
    a sub 1h20m half marathon

    2004
    a sub 35 minute 10km
    a sub 1h16m half marathon
    a sub 2h35m marathon

    2005
    a sub 33 minute 10km
    a sub 1h12m half marathon
    a sub 2h30m marathon

    2006
    a 30 minute 10km
    a sub 1h10m half marathon
    a sub 2h25m marathon

    Long-long term I am seeking a sub 2h20m marathon. That would be equal to be in the podium in the portuguese national marathon championships.

    Let me tell you.. It is very demanding to train everyday twice (in case of the marathon). More psychologicaly than phisicaly.

    When you notice that you have no time to party, to have a girlfriend, that you are prohibited to go to McDonald's.. That in the days your body says to you "Today no run please" you'll still have to train.. under rain, under cold, early in the morning or even in the evening you will know what I'm talking about.

    You will have to have a spirit of sacrifice and pain. A very strong mental focus.

    If you are prepared to live this all, than I would advise you to start a build up process. For 2 months try to run 1 hour - 1h20m everyday at an easy pace.

    Read as much as you can about training. Everything you can. Dedicate your spare time to this. "Educate" yourself in this area. Than apply what you learned in your training (as I did with myself).

    BUY NOW a heart rate monitor, it is ESSENCIAL! Try one that would allow you to transmit the data to the computer [I bought the Polar S410 for example]. With this you will be able to see your progress through times.

    I don't know what more to tell you now.. But one thing is certain, if you don't achieve your dream, the only guilty will be you.

    Believe in you. Visualize your dream. If you let your dream die, it is also a part of you that dies.

    Let me know about your progress.. you may e-mail me when you want.

    maratonista@hotmail.com

    Take Care

    José João Saraiva
  • Very good, at least this looks like a plan.

    Agree, running 20-30m a day is psychologicaly very demanding you almost in a state of depression.

    I am not sure if you can go from 33 mins downto 30 min 10k in one year. A big step this will possible take a few more years, some actually never get there.

    Don't tell good ol' Pinto about your plan :)

  • LOL..

    Urban Road Runner, António Pinto runs about 30 - 40 km per day.. which is some 131 - 175 miles per week.

    I believe personaly you don't need to do more than 100 miles (160 km) per week in order to do a good marathon. But this is just a personal belief.. ;)

    (As far as I'm concerned, Pinto has an exclusiv contract with Flora London Marathon. He is only allowed to run that marathon. And he is weel paid for that.. just to be in the start lane he recieves almost 90K £ !!)

    For the marathon preparation, I am willing to run 20-23 Km per day average.

    Let's see what it results in...




  • thanks Jose, some good tips there!

    • can relate, will use commute runs, ie, easy jog to work in the morning, and take the 'long route' home
    • rarely party, am single, don't like mcdonalds anyway, and trained out in heavy hailstones the other day
    • sacrificing TV, and will be cutting down drastically on forum presence!
    • taking the buildup nice and easy, but will be at 1hr30mins by the end of Stage1 base in a few months
    • Got loadsa running books, buying more and downloading online reports all the time
    • Got a Polar S610i


    Looks like a good plan - I know thats what the others were going on about earlier in the thread - my theory is that if I focus my time and energy on one goal, ie, solid base training over a matter of years with very little peaking in that time, then I'll have a better shot at a good time than if I race several times a year. At the end of the day, even if I don't get the 2:12 (and there is a very small chance that I will as others have been at pains to point out!), then I'll be happy enough with a solid 2:20.

    Good to hear from you Jose, and I'll keep you updated! (adding ur email to my address book)

  • Polar S610i great great buy. If things here in Portugal weren't so expensive I would have bought one instead of the S410.

    Try to do a lot of 10k races. Don't focus only in the marathon. Focus in it as your final achievement only.

    Priscilla Welch only started to run when she was 34 years old. She didn't have any running background, not even the sunday joggings. Plus.. she was an occasional smoker and drinker! And within 8 years (at 42) she was able to run the marathon in 2h26m43s!

    Who Knows.. maybe will be running together in Beijing'2008 Games ;)
  • WeCanMakeOurPlans, butThe LORD determinesOurSteps - couple of quick questions for you:

    Are you intending to work during all this?

    If not how are you planning to suport yourself?

    Just wondered.......
  • Davros,

    Yes - done the maths - during the week, allowing for 8hrs sleep, 9hrs work, and 90mins total for eating, that allows 5hrs30 for training, and then reading as well. At the w/e, even better! (o, and don't watch TV, main time expenditure is on here, but will be drastically reducing forum usage)

    Rite, gonna leave this thread now, will give updates from time to time as I progress. Thanks for all the tips guys! (and gals!)
  • Road Runner - you ever planning on having a girlfriend? It sounds like a pretty one dimensional life to me...
  • Venom, Tohishiko Seko once said:

    "My girlfriend is the road."

    Girlfriends and training are somewhat incompatible.. believe me. El Guerrouj for example, lost his fiance nearly the Sidney Games!

    It's everything a question of time. But sometimes an afective relationship may un-focus our atention and dedication... When we are really in love, the rest seems to loose importance!

    So it is essencial to have both feet on the ground.

  • So that'll be miles not smiles then.
  • Paula did it right - hubby and coach. Clever eh ?
  • This has been a very interesting thread, but personally I think RR is absolutely crazy. A 20 year old with pertty much no running experience worth mentioning is already planning to sacrifice his whole life for a goal that he has only the smallest chance of getting within 20 minutes of.

    I reckon I've got the ability to get down to a 2:30 marathon, maybe better. But there's no way that I'm prepared to put in that much work. I enjoy running. I've set some pretty respectable PBs, and it brings me a huge amount of satisfaction to chip away at them. But I also get a huge amount of satisfaction from wasting an evening in front of the tv every so often, going out with friends and generally having that little bit of a life.

    Different strokes, different folks. If you do dedicate your life in this way, I just hope you don't get to 30 and regret the way you spent your 20s.
  • Wish I'd spent my 20s more like that rather than putting on best part of 7st...
  • I've been reading and not commenting on this thread ... but all the way through, it seems to me that the WORST thing that ...LORD... could have done is dropped out of university.

    Why? not for the education (although that helps, if everything goes pear-shaped) but for the flexible hours that even a demanding full-time degree can offer and, of course, access to the excellent - and free/cheap - sports facilities that exist at many universities.

    The work 9 hours/train 5 hours may sound acheivable, but in reality it means training at night, when many coaches, physios etc. have gone home, and athletics tracks are shut for the night. And as for the culmulative tiredness... well, I've been there, and it's not pretty.

    I mean, good luck and it's good to have a goal, but if you have to work, then flexible or part time hours will make your goal far more realistic.
  • Not so sure if the bible dude got the math right! Unfortunately there are a lot more time consuming activities (social, shopping, administration, ..) during a day that will reduce your training time.
  • Pantman - I was advocating the middle ground there... At 25, I'm 2 stone lighter than I was at 21.

    Very good point from LizzyB. If I was still a student, I'd easily be able to fit in training 7 days a week, with plenty of time for a social life. Doing the same when working - very difficult indeed.
  • Couple of clarifications in his defence:
    1) The dropping out of Uni was to being involved in "running" - not just to train, but to work in the industry. He will let you know when confirmed, but looks like his commitment has got him a decent job
    2) The issue of time and hard training is a LONG way ahead - there is no way that he will be ready for the necessary 100+mpw for LONG time yet. He is just starting out...

    I hope this thread dies off for a bit - he can bump it back every 3 months and update everyone then.
  • Exactly my thoughts URR - you've got to allow time to:

    - cook meals as well as eat them
    - travel to/from work
    - travel to/from training
    - shower/wash after training
    - fall asleep and wake up
    - etc.....

    RR - I'm afraid to say that whilst I admire your determination I worry about whether you realise the full extent of your proposals. All work and no play etc...

    Are you working at the moment (in which case you would have some idea of what you are letting yourself in for) or do you spend your days on these forums dreaming? (sorry, don't wish to be harsh but it's a bit like me aiming to finish in the top 10 of the Tour de France having never cycled properly in my life, whilst holding down a full time job and with little or no financial backing....)

    That said, best of luck and the advice I would add to your list is:

    - fully appraise what you are asking of yourself in the context of your overall life balance.
  • Agreed PM.

    RR - look forward to progress reports in due course.
  • Are you sure it's a marathon you wanna do in 2:12 or was it a half?
  • To be honest Lordy if at the age of 19/20 you can't run under 22 mins without any training, I think you have not got a cat in hells chance of getting anywhere near 2:12. Natural fitness and a modicum of ability would see you coasting under that time.

    As Nick J said get out and run. But in your situation what I would do is apply to go to a Uni which has good back up for training eg Loughbrough, Birmingham or Middlesex where the performance centre is and give it a go with studying. Choose something you enjoy rather than thinking about what you are going to do later. That way you have your fallback option and can see how you progress.

    Simon
  • Totally agree with that.

    Sorry mate, Venom has talent as a distance runner and he should be proud of his 19 min 5k and his 3:24 marathon.

    Me thinks you ain't got a 2:12 in ya.
  • PS. saying that was difficult enough for me as Venom kicks my ass all the time!

    ;)
  • I hope you achieve what you want
    but i also hope you dont destroy yourself getting, or not getting there

    i didnt really know myself at your age

    or what i wanted
    im still working it out!

    anyway, good luck again

    if you want to talk, you have my e mail
  • It's good to have a dream - but it's also good to look at yourself honestly and think why do you have that dream. I'm talking about whether you are happy with your life as it is, what is it you want from life, why do you want to run a 2.12 marathon when you've not really done enough running to know you love it ?

    I mean is it the fame, the money, the respect it would earn you? If you just love the running then just run - don't worry about long term targets. If you enjoy pushing yourself to your limits then fine - but we can all get that satisfaction whether our limits are 2.12 or 5 hours.

    It's just that in setting such an unlikely target you are setting yourself up for failure - and that makes me think do you want to fail - is it easier to fail than to succeed, are you trying to punish yourself or something ?

    For what it's worth I think the idea of starting a running shop in Belfast is a sound one - it looks like you identified a gap in the market there. In terms of your running why not make your goal simply to reach your potential. That is something Barnsley Runner stresses - he just wants to reach his potential - something we can all achieve. If your potential takes you to 2.20, 2.12 or beyond then fantastic - if it takes you to 3 hours then you've still achieved. Good luck anyway mate.
  • Jon - thanks for pointing out my least impressive PBs there... :-)
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