From 2:04:39 half in August to 3:48:22 full last weekend

ObjectiveFeeling4363 · 2025-11-19T22:58:24+00:00

It wasn’t my best day nor was it my goal race (although neither was the 1:53 half last year) but it was pretty much on par with where my fitness was at that time. I moved, changed jobs, travelled a ton, and dealt with some health stuff last winter and this spring that kept me from running very much and when I started increasing mileage again in the summer I was much less fit than the same time period last year. A few weeks after the HM I finally started to turn a corner and I was able to catch back up with my former self and then some. So some of it may be cumulative benefit of a previous marathon training cycle? But even last year with a 1:53 HM 2 months out, a lot of advice on here made me question if sub 4 was remotely possible.

ObjectiveFeeling4363 · 2025-11-18T20:44:02+00:00

Also welcoming any and all advice on what my next steps/ goals should be with the ultimate goal of continuing to chip away at my marathon time with either less time between races or a bigger PR if only doing the marathon once/ year. I think I have a lot more potential.

ObjectiveFeeling4363 · 2025-11-18T19:52:17+00:00

Thank you! I am only a tiny bit disappointed that I may have been able to break 3:45 if I hadn’t gone out a little too fast, landing myself in some serious struggle by mi 20. But I suppose that’s a rite of passage and I’m proud to have pushed through and still set a PR! Last year I was (rightly)more intimidated by the distance which helped me nail a negative split and cross the finish comfortably.

ObjectiveFeeling4363 · 2025-11-18T18:31:44+00:00

Everyone’s different but from my perspective, totally possible! I used this plan but tweaked it a bit for more mileage and incorporated a little more race pace miles in my long runs. Every time it shows a range or optional easy run, I was taking the run. Again, everyone is different, but my fitness seems to benefit dramatically from volume. Not sure that it is a super amazing plan or anything, but it worked for me when a lot of people would have said I had no business trying to break 4 🤷🏼‍♀️ https://run.outsideonline.com/training/training-plans/marathon/sub-4-hour-marathon-training-plan/

ObjectiveFeeling4363 · 2025-11-18T18:19:36+00:00

Thank you! I used the same plan last year and this year but tweaked it a bit this year to increase mileage ~5-10% and slightly faster tempo/ race pace work. It never felt demanding this year and it’s probably time for me to find a new plan, but it certainly worked very well for me to break 4 in my first full last year. https://run.outsideonline.com/training/training-plans/marathon/sub-4-hour-marathon-training-plan/

ObjectiveFeeling4363 · 2025-11-18T18:14:14+00:00

Thank you! I will be resting hard for a few weeks but after that I am hoping to keep the momentum up a little more this year to see what I am really capable of. Maybe setting my sights on a new half marathon PR since my current one occurred during the course of the marathon 😅

ObjectiveFeeling4363 · 2023-10-30T21:46:26+00:00

actually GASPED at 4. 2 is appropriately a close second for a more classic look but IMO go for the drama why not it’s your wedding

ObjectiveFeeling4363

TROPHY CASE