“On the heels of a marathon PR this weekend in OKC, I was curious how many times inall races have improved since joining MN and enjoying all the expertise, information and support that you and the other members provide. So if anyone was “on the fence” about MN…here are ‘just the facts.’ This is all [...]
I had a successful second marathon, finishing in 4 hours and 12 minutes. I set a personal record. I didn’t qualify for Boston (needed 4:05) but was very happy with my day after just 10 weeks of training on a tougher although very beautiful course in Grand Rapids. I trained for this second marathon using 8 weeks of MN’s intermediate plan.
Today was the 1st vDot test I’ve taken in a while, since the last one was done during my half marathon build up. Looking back, it’s been about 2.5 months. To be honest, I knew I could improve my time from my last test (19:20), but since I’ve been on the road to recovery after my post race calf issues, I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to throw down a hard enough effort yet. My fitness levels are down from where they were at the time of my race, but I’ve been back at it running consistently for the past 2 weeks or so. Specifically, the past week has been really good on the recovery front and I am starting to gain some confidence back that I can beat this calf issue and get back to focusing on everything else. That brings me to today’s test.
I took your advice and did 8 miles total, with the 10K at steady half-marathon pace (it’s a new pace for me, about 0:45 faster per mile than I’ve run HMs before I joined MN.) I focused on keeping an even 180 cadence even on the hills, and made a new PR for that particular race. It was challenging at certain points, but I think I’m beginning to get a better handle on pacing – I knew I wasn’t ready to sustain tempo pace the whole way (yet), but was encouraged to see that I could in fact keep going at my new and improved HM pace.
Hi Patrick, just wanted to say thank you for the good advice you gave me a few weeks ago. I ran a 1/2 marathon in preparation for a full I am doing in a few weeks.
It almost feels like I am getting ready for a big race! The workload has ended, I am making final tweaks and last-minute preparations to make sure that everything goes smoothly. It’s a bit nerve-wracking, but then again these are the final minutes when I personally am really viscerally connected to what’s happening. What is it about feeling scared that is connected to feeling so alive? Anyway, enough about me. I wanted to reiterate some of the great stuff that will be going down on Friday with the actual launch of the TTL Kit.
Another MN Testimonial…hear how the plans work!!! I am 54 years old and in the final two weeks of the pre-marathon training for Memphis in December. I’ve run 3 previous marathons with a PB of 4:58 in NY. My vDot is 42 with a 5K time of 22:40. My goal is to run a Boston qualifier at 3:45.
Every once in a while, we get feedback from runners who are using our unique training and racing approach to meet their marathon goals. Here’s a great note from Amy, who used our race execution guide (available here for free) to have a successful first race. Congrats Amy and thanks for sharing!!!!
We love hearing from athletes how our guidance has helped them master their inner demons and nail a great race. Sometimes it’s reflected in the finishing time, sometimes in how you were able to pace yourself, sometime in how you feel. If you have a similar experience using our guidance, please don’t hesitate to share!
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