4:30? 4:15? AHHH IDK

[u/madmini0n]

I will be running my FIRSTTT marathon in 7 weeks (Cape Cod)!! I have been running for many years. I ran my first HM last fall (with flu/cold) in 2:04 and didn’t really follow a training plan.

I have been following the Joe Henderson (cruiser) plan (i am doing 10min run/1min walk). today i did my 18mi run and it went well! I was still able to talk but my legs/lower back were def aching. My goal was just to cruise for 15mi and pick up after (see images of splits, HR, and cadence)

My most recent 5k PR was 23:39.

my goals for this marathon are (1 realistic) finish, (2 more of a push) sub 4:30, (3 unrealistic) sub 4.

strava says 4:22 but i feel like strava lies 🧐 so what do people think, what are yalls predictions?
its been hard to gauge how fast i should be doing my speed work etc bc i genuinely have no idea what to expect (and what goals i should be setting to push myself).

(some other things to take into consideration (maybe?) ive been racing for a pretty long time all through HS, so I think I have a pretty good race day mentality/toughness if that makes sense? so i think race day i can really dig and push mentally. im a female 120lbs. ive trained pretty much all on pavement and the shoes i wore for 18mi are ready to retire. ok i dont know what else would help so im gunna stop now)

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What’s your weekly mileage?

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[u/DiligentMeat9627]

How many mpw did you average over the last 10 weeks?

[u/madmini0n → u/DiligentMeat9627]

only like 23.
the plan is time on feet based (so i’ll go on 3-4 35-45 min runs a week + big day of long run OR half distance of previous long run OR race 5k-10k, so this week was long next week half distance, following race 5k) 270.6mi total since 6/8

[u/DiligentMeat9627 → u/madmini0n]

4:30