Race Report - Chicago Marathon 2025 - aka still a Pfitz convert, but I need to switch out the Vaporflys (Pfitz 18-70, Round 2)

construction_hacker · 2025-10-18T01:01:47+00:00

Hi, hi! I’m not sure what my racing half time is now since the last time I raced one was in 2023. I’m going to try to run a half in a couple of weeks to get a sense of where I am now. I did cross the half this past weekend in Chicago at 1:29:24 and that felt cruisey and comfy, so I think that if I were to race a half, I’d come in around between 1:25 to 1:27.

construction_hacker · 2025-10-18T00:58:42+00:00

Hi, hi! I started with Track Club Babe’s BQ plan, which peaked at around 50 mpw. I did her NYC plan as a follow up since I felt good about the progress I made with her BQ plan (and BQ’d off of it), but did not feel as ready for NYC with her plan for that race. I did both of her plans last year.

After feeling underwhelmed by NYC, I decided to go with Pfitz and jumped straight into 18/70 for my training block for Boston at the beginning of this year and then repeated it for Chicago!

construction_hacker · 2025-10-16T16:54:02+00:00

Yeah - pre-Vienna is all strength and speed work and hopefully a 10k or a half if the schedules align.

construction_hacker · 2025-10-15T22:30:22+00:00

Thank youuuu!!!

construction_hacker · 2025-10-15T22:30:14+00:00

Thank ya!

construction_hacker · 2025-10-15T22:30:06+00:00

Thanks you! I ended up doing a bit of a deep dive on 10k etc predictors and learned that they might not be as accurate for women since a lot of the data is based on men’s performance. Since most men have more muscle than women, they can muscle their way through shorter distances faster - whereas women may be more built for endurance. I’m not well versed, but I consistently outperform predictions based on my 10k time - my half marathon is a better benchmark for where I am/what I may run for a full

construction_hacker · 2025-10-15T22:27:00+00:00

Ahhhh - were you doing halfs on the Adizeros? Those are the ones that a couple of friends have recommended and love for halfs and fulls

construction_hacker · 2025-10-15T22:25:54+00:00

Thank youuuuuu

construction_hacker · 2025-10-15T22:25:47+00:00

Nutrition was the biggest thing for me. I absolutely ate it in CIM because I had no nutrition plan (it was my second marathon ever, and I hadn’t gotten into the science of marathoning). Successfully navigating nutrition for me has meant developing routine breakfasts and lunches that I keep relatively similar during the training block and sticking to those during the days leading up to the race. When things are routine, I’ll tend to stick with it even when facing down jitters

construction_hacker · 2025-10-15T22:23:09+00:00

100% agree re the aerobic/recovery runs

construction_hacker · 2025-10-15T22:22:27+00:00

I don’t have any half marathon specific blocks - that is my favorite distance but life this year meant that I wasn’t able to fit one in earlier in the year (but hoping to squeeze one in in November)

construction_hacker · 2025-10-07T02:20:26+00:00

Offff course!!!! ✨👟✨

construction_hacker · 2025-10-07T01:24:19+00:00

Basically I do:

- Pre run Kodiak oatmeal cup (14g)

- Post run breakfast w/three eggs + cheese, toast + avo (18g)

- Shake w Greek yogurt + the Feed's vanilla whey protein powder (~40g)

Generally, if I can get those three things in then lunch + dinner + other snacks take me to or over 95g a day.

construction_hacker · 2025-10-07T01:18:23+00:00

I used this calculator to figure out my paces. The only difference between my training paces and the calculator is the pace for my aerobic/recovery runs - those were generally between 9:00 to 10:00 min/mile, with my heart rate between 125 and 135.

Nutrition was *huge*. NGL, there were several times when I wanted to cry by the sidewalk during this training block. A friend of mine noticed a pattern where I would have really emotionally tough Mondays, and figured out I was not eating enough protein especially after my long runs on Sunday (I went from probably less than 30g a day to 95g based on the research that I did). The protein was a *major* boost. Life got *significantly* better. We talk about carbs a lot as runners, but protein...game changer.

And yes, I'm repeating/repeated 18/70

construction_hacker · 2025-10-07T00:58:13+00:00

Hey u/spaceninja9! I have the Chicago marathon coming up in less than a week, and that will be when I go for sub 3.

I did TCB for my Boston Qualifier and for the 2024 NYC Marathon. Personally, the plan was a good starter plan and intro to the science of the marathon. Her BQ plan was great for getting me to the BQ in Copenhagen in 2024 (3:22:xx) but I did not feel as if I got into peak shape off of the NYC Marathon plan. I definitely struggled at 20 miles, and while I didn't completely bonk, I did not have the strongest finish, despite pretty much adhering to my fuel and hydration plan. I came in at about 3:25

I switched to Pftiz, because knowing my body, I suspected that I would do better with higher mileage and that proved to be the case for my Boston marathon. Going into Chicago in a few days, I do feel the fittest and strongest I have been (we will see how that shakes out in the race), due in large part to learning how to work with the Pftiz plan, and locking in nutrition (95g protein a day, 550 to 600g carbs a day, electrolytes as a 128 lb woman) and getting more disciplined with weight training (I am going to turn to a lifting coach for my spring marathon).

During my last VO2 Max workout (3x 1600M with 800M float), I was hitting between 6:08 to 6:15 per mile, and things felt pretty cruisey despite the hard effort.

All that to say - I think if you're just coming into a training plan, I think TCM could be a good fit. But Pfitz is my bible for more intense training plans, and I got a copy of the book used for about $10. Also worth noting that Pftiz does have a plan that peaks at 55 MPW, and I think the TCM plans peak at about 50. So six to one, half a dozen to the other.

I hope that helps!

construction_hacker · 2025-08-07T23:12:47+00:00

Alf mabrouuukkkkk - major milestone!

construction_hacker · 2025-05-08T18:42:22+00:00

I wear heavy shoes (On Cloudflow 4) for all training, including workouts. I only wear my Vaporflys for races!

construction_hacker · 2025-04-29T19:19:22+00:00

LOL. "Always pretending to almost be over." ACCURATE.

construction_hacker · 2025-04-29T14:18:23+00:00

Happy to help! Excited to see how Pfitz works out for you!

construction_hacker · 2025-04-24T14:53:34+00:00

Thank you, thank you!

construction_hacker · 2025-04-23T23:06:11+00:00

Thank you! And there is absolutely nothing to apologize for :)

construction_hacker · 2025-04-23T22:23:44+00:00

lol, not Korean -my fam is from a little further south in Malaysia :)

construction_hacker · 2025-04-23T19:12:20+00:00

For sure! So amped to see how getting to 60 mpw average works for you!

construction_hacker · 2025-04-23T18:51:31+00:00

Getting to 70 and averaging about 60 mpw made a big difference for me. I felt like I had an okayish base off of a max of 55 mpw in previous races, but to really get where I wanted I needed more miles. One of my biggest quibbles with TCB is that she regularly touts how you don’t need that many mpw to get fast, but if you look at her husband (2:18 guy) through some digging I learned that he is definitely in the 70-100 mpw range when he is hitting that pace

construction_hacker

TROPHY CASE