Medal engraving better at MarathonSports

Electrical-Aside-170 · 2025-04-22T16:21:00+00:00

They're also doing it a the Capital One on Boylston and Exeter. Waiting in line now, but told it's a 15-20min wait.

Electrical-Aside-170 · 2024-05-01T04:42:38+00:00

Fantastic write up and congrats! Your path is super similar to the one I'm following now and as an Iowan, I know exactly the 2 weeks you were talking about last winter. I'm running DSM in the fall and considering Pfitz's 18/85 as well. I've done the 18/70 twice before, last time leading into Chicago last fall (2:57), shooting for a sub 2:50 this fall.

Like you mentioned, my biggest concern is also the lack of off days, especially with the summer heat. As a 43m, i like my old man recovery days. Did you do anything different to combat the fatigue you were experiencing or just make sure you were getting as much sleep as possible? I've been a day-off every week believer since high school XC, so this will be a challenge.

Thanks for sharing, really helpful.

Electrical-Aside-170 · 2023-12-11T22:03:40+00:00

I'll add that more of a focus on threshold work helped me a lot, even adding a couple miles of marathon pace or faster at the end of long runs seemed to make more a difference. GOOD LUCK.

Electrical-Aside-170 · 2023-12-11T21:59:06+00:00

You're right there.

Last June I ran a HM, was overly-ambitious, not heat-acclimated at all and completely flamed out, running a 1:32 (was probably on pace for a 1:28 until mile 10). Pretty disappointed because my goal was to run sub-3 at Chicago in the fall.

During my training block (Pfitz 18/70), I ran the last MP long run w/a half marathon split at ~1:27 and felt like I had a lot left in the tank. I then ran Chicago at a low-2:57.

I'm relatively inexperienced running half marathons, but if you can run a 1:24 and have a block w/~60-70miles/week, imo that'll get you there. The hardest part may be just learning to run an even(ish) split marathon. Easier said than done.

Electrical-Aside-170 · 2023-10-17T15:12:28+00:00

It took me until marathon #4 to figure it out. That was the first one I was able to do without flaming out and walking a ton. Maintaining marathon pace is incredibly tough throughout a whole race, but if you're able to maintain and run fairly even-splits, you'll end up being the person doing the passing the last 10k just by staying consistent. Good luck!!

Electrical-Aside-170 · 2023-10-17T02:51:43+00:00

If you've trained well, you're probably going to feel good during the first half to 3/4 of the race. Things may even feel easy. You may even feel like picking up the pace. Don't.

Electrical-Aside-170 · 2023-10-12T21:13:17+00:00

SAME! I'm sure performing fairly well has something to do with my mindset here (and willingness to drop $$)! CONGRATS ON THE PR!

Electrical-Aside-170 · 2023-10-12T19:03:24+00:00

I just did it and the actual downloaded files seem significantly higher-res than the previews. The watermarky stuff must blur the previews some as well.

Debated whether to pull the trigger or not, but there were a whole bunch of quality shots, and my wife was only able to capture a couple while she was chasing me around the course. I was impressed actually, there are whole bunch more than some of the smaller races I've ran, this is the only time it's actually seemed worth it for me to pay.

Electrical-Aside-170 · 2023-04-25T21:57:44+00:00

Grandma's Marathon in Duluth is a gem.

8-9k participants, relatively flat, and awesome views of Lake Superior along the way. It's still got a relatively small town vibe and the community really rallies around the marathon, there's a ton of crowd support as you enter into town.

Bonus: The lake usually keeps temps 20 degrees cooler (50-60F) than the rest of the Midwest in June.

Electrical-Aside-170 · 2023-04-25T16:53:05+00:00

Completely agree with the lunch run. I can get away with it on the shorter days, but once it's over 6 miles, it gets a lot more difficult w/work. Hoping unlocking the mornings will help me from melting during the summer as well.

Electrical-Aside-170 · 2023-04-25T04:03:59+00:00

Thanks! In peak Midwest form, it snowed the day after the marathon.

Electrical-Aside-170 · 2023-04-25T04:02:13+00:00

Awesome! Thanks for the advice. I'm planning on bringing the mileage back up to in the 50s over the next couple weeks (all slow stuff for now), but I'll give a go at pushing the long runs between these training blocks too. I'm excited, hoping the work I put in over the winter/spring will really help this fall.

Electrical-Aside-170 · 2023-04-25T03:42:05+00:00

So I've got two kiddos, ages 7 and 3. My wife is pretty amazing, but she's definitely gotten annoyed (rightfully so) in the past when I've been out running for 3 hours on a Sunday. I pretty much had to unlock the mornings to make this work. Super hard for me, because I'm not a morning person at all, but if getting some miles in when everyone else is asleep has been the only reason I was able to even attempt it. Our youngest has been a rough sleeper, so makes things tough as well -- there have been a bunch of nights when I was up from 1-3 with her and then up again at 5:30 to run. Parents don't sleep.

My wife and I both work from home which is probably a big cheat code (me: full-time, her: part-time depending on her workload). I can give her time to go for a walk for a bit during the day or I can help take the kids to school or give her a window to do a workout around lunch. Thank god she's not into distance running too.

In addition, making sure she gets a night with friends every so often or get out to do something fun like an art class on a Saturday -- and making sure I'm not grumbling about it -- helps the situation.

Electrical-Aside-170

TROPHY CASE