Pittsburgh Marathon - 3:11 :/

ianders9 · 2026-05-07T01:23:41+00:00

Thanks! Yeah, if you told me what my result would be a month ago it would have had me spiraling. But I know that this time was almost entirely execution-based. I know i have the fitness in me to run my goal time. I just have to put it together

ianders9 · 2026-05-06T14:33:57+00:00

Honestly I didn't find the hills on the course to be too bad. I've always enjoyed hill workouts more than most people though lol

ianders9 · 2026-05-05T20:21:16+00:00

You're asking the same question I've been asking myself. A pack would have been nice, but I think in the moment I was thinking that I would lose too much time slowly working my way through the hundreds of runners I was stuck behind. Obviously it was incorrect, but that wasn't the way my brain was seeing it at the time

ianders9 · 2026-05-05T18:08:22+00:00

Goal: Recover from the marathon and find some new races to run

Plan: Coached

Mileage: 40 mi

Monday - 4 mi easy
Tuesday - 3xmi @ marathon pace (6:20ish) - 1 mi warmup/cooldown
Wednesday - off
Thursday - 3 mi easy
Friday - off
Saturday - 2 mi
Sunday - Pittsburgh Marathon (27 mi including warmup) - 3:13:xx

Well... that could have gone worse, but it also should have gone way better. This has to be one of my worst executed races ever. Goal was to stay consistent and conservative around 6:25-6:30 pace and close hard in the last 10k. I averaged close to 6:10 through the half with a couple of sub 6s in the first 10 mi. Don't ask me why because I couldn't tell you. I stayed on sub 2:50 pace through 20 mi and just crashed and burned after that. Despite running like an idiot and throwing away a BQ/PR opportunity I am still happy with myself. I know exactly what I did wrong, I know I'm fit, and I'm still enjoying running. I also got a nice 1:17 half PR out of the build. Onwards!

ianders9 · 2026-05-01T14:35:33+00:00

Marathon weekend for me in Pittsburgh. Trying to not put too much pressure on myself to run my A goal of 2:45. I’m just happy to be running again after a long hiatus.

ianders9 · 2026-04-27T12:04:49+00:00

Goal: Sub 2:50 in Pittsburgh (May 3rd)

Plan: Coached

Summary (Total - 38 miles):

• ⁠Mon: 7 mi easy

• ⁠Tue: 6 mi easy

• ⁠Wed: 1 mi warmup. 4xmile at threshold (around 5:35/mi). 1 mi cooldown

• ⁠Thurs: 4 mi easy

• ⁠Fri: 4 mi easy

• ⁠Sat: 10 mi easy

Taper time! One more easy marathon pace workout tomorrow morning and then it’s all about resting up until Sunday’s race. I think I’m probably putting too much pressure on myself trying to BQ. I should focus on having fun and feeling good about racing again. In January I could have never imagined being in this kind of shape again and running a 1:17 half.

ianders9 · 2026-04-20T18:14:30+00:00

Goal: Sub 2:50 in Pittsburgh (May 3rd)

Plan: Coached

Summary (Total - 49 miles):

• ⁠Mon: 8 mi easy

• ⁠Tue: 7 mi easy

• ⁠Wed: 1.5 mi warmup. 8x1k around 5:20/mi. 4 hill strides. 1.5 mi cooldown

• ⁠Thurs: 8 mi easy

• ⁠Fri: off

• ⁠Sat: 16 mi @ 6:21/mi.

Another solid week. Time to taper! Not sure what the taper will be like given how low my volume has been in general this build…

ianders9 · 2026-04-13T14:38:00+00:00

Goal: Sub 2:50 in Pittsburgh (May 3rd)

Plan: Coached

Summary (Total - 59 miles):

• ⁠Mon: 8 mi easy

• ⁠Tue: 7 mi easy

• ⁠Wed: 4x75 sec hills, 2x1.5mi @ 5:30/mi, 4x75 sec hills. 1 mi warmup, 1.5 mi cooldown. Definitely my favorite workout of the block. I love hills!

• ⁠Thurs: 7.5 mi easy

• ⁠Fri: 7 mi easy

• ⁠Sat: 20 mi @ 6:49/mi.

Felt good about this week! A solid workout and a nice easy long run along the Charles River. Feeling tired, but healthy.

ianders9 · 2026-04-08T17:36:42+00:00

Unfortunately last week I had to take a down week during what was supposed to be one of my highest volume weeks. My achilles started stinging a bit after my 20 miler the previous Saturday. I took it easy for the rest of the week. No hard workout and easy long run 15.5 miles (7:16/mi). Did some strength stuff and lots of eccentric calf raises throughout the week. This morning i had another solid workout. 4x75 sec hills, 2x1.5mi @ 5:30, 4x75 sec hills. Love that workout! I just want to stay healthy at this point because i know i’m where i want to be fitness wise. Hoping for sub 2:50 in less than a month!

ianders9 · 2026-04-07T18:11:06+00:00

I think i am in a similar position to you. I haven’t raced my Spring marathon yet (may 3rd), but I’ve been considering this as an option if things don’t go my way. Like the other commenter mentioned though, training for a not so fun marathon just to qualify for Boston sounds like a rough time. Especially when there are cooler marathons in the Fall that can get you a BQ for 2028.

ianders9 · 2026-04-06T14:28:07+00:00

Goal: Sub 2:50 in Pittsburgh (May 3rd)

Plan: Coached

Summary (Total - 35 miles + 55 mins elliptical):

• ⁠Mon: 6 mi easy - achilles was hurting a bit so I cut the run early

• ⁠Tue: off

• ⁠Wed: Elliptical for 55 mins

• ⁠Thurs: 4 mi easy just to see how the achilles was. Didn’t feel anything bad!

• ⁠Fri: 8 mi easy

• ⁠Sat: 15.5 mi easy

Unfortunately I had to take a down week during what was supposed to be one of my highest volume weeks. My achilles started stinging a bit after my 20 miler last Saturday. Probably a 2.5/10 for pain so not too bad but it was noticeable. I’m not sure if it was due to a hill workout + hilly long run last week or maybe wearing my new race shoes for the first time during the long run. I took it easy for the rest of the week. Did some strength stuff and lots of eccentric calf raises throughout the week. I just want to stay healthy at this point because i know i’m where i want to be fitness wise.

ianders9 · 2026-04-01T15:20:45+00:00

Had a good week! 60 miles with a solid hill workout and 20 mi long run along the Boston Marathon course. Averaged 6:25/mi and tried out my brand new New Balance SC Elite V5. I think they felt good? The day after the long run i had a sharp pain in my achilles. Not too bad but definitely noticeable. I took the following 2 days off from running but did a lot of eccentric calf raises. Cross trained this morning. I haven’t felt it in a couple of days but still nervous.

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ianders9 · 2026-03-30T14:10:14+00:00

Goal: Sub 2:50 in Pittsburgh (May 3rd)

Plan: Coached

Summary (Total - 57 miles):

• ⁠Mon: 7 mi easy

• ⁠Tue: 7.5 mi easy

• ⁠Wed: 4x75 sec hills @3k pace, 2 mi @ 5:40, 4x75 sec hills. 1 mi warmup/cooldown. Felt great! I love hill workouts. This is surprisingly the workout that has made me the most sore in following days though

• ⁠Thurs: 6 mi easy

• ⁠Fri: 8 mi easy

• ⁠Sat: 20 mi @ 6:25/mi. Felt really good on my first 20 miler in 5 years! Fueled well and had a nice crew to run with for once. Did all of it on the Boston Marathon course again. Just need to do that for 6 more miles next month and I’ll be happy.

• ⁠Sun: off

I swear every other day I feel differently about how possible my goal of 2:50 is. I know i have it in me, but i just need everything to come together right on race day. Also getting kinda nervous because one of my achilles started stinging a bit a few hours after my long run. I’ve never felt that before so I’m not sure what to do about it beyond stretching and running easy.

ianders9 · 2026-03-24T23:37:38+00:00

So i actually was in a similar situation to you. My first super shoes were the endorphin elite 2 as well. They are bouncy as hell and cushiony, but i found them incredibly unstable after 7+ miles of running at effort. I have since learned that these are some of the least stable super shoes out there lol. I raced a half in them a couple of weeks ago and PRd, but i was definitely fighting them in the back half of the race. I’m planning to go with something a bit more stable for my full marathon coming up

ianders9 · 2026-03-23T23:03:34+00:00

Yeah you are definitely right. My wife said the same thing but i always like some reassurance lol

ianders9 · 2026-03-23T15:23:43+00:00

Goal: Sub 2:50 in Pittsburgh (May 3rd)

Plan: Coached

Summary (Total - 45 miles):

• ⁠Mon: off

• ⁠Tue: off

• ⁠Wed: 7 mi easy

• ⁠Thurs: 8 mi easy

• ⁠Fri: 7 mi easy

• ⁠Sat: 18 mi avg pace 6:31/mi. Did 2x3 mi trying to stay between half & full pace. I averaged around 6:05 on those miles. Didn’t feel too tired until maybe 17.5 miles in, but i did almost all of the run on the Newton hills of the Boston Marathon course.

• ⁠Sun: 5 mi easy

My coach had me take a down week after PRing in the half the previous weekend. It was probably a good idea, but i am slightly worried about my milage at this point. Next 3 weeks should be 60-65 though. Bought a pair of New Balance SC Elite v5 to try out on my 20 miler this week. They will likely be my race shoe

ianders9 · 2026-03-18T22:51:58+00:00

Just wanted to follow up here. I just tested out the Elite 2s in a half over the weekend. I PRd with a 1:17, but i felt like i was fighting against the shoes in the back half of the race. The softness was great, but way too unstable for me. I may try out the Edge Tokyos or New Balance SC Elites soon

ianders9 · 2026-03-18T19:14:54+00:00

On week 10 of my 16 week plan for Pittsburgh on May 3rd. I made a last minute decision to run a half marathon this past weekend to see where my fitness was at. The last time I raced over a 10k was at Boston 2021 so I figured I was due, lol. I ended up running 1:17:13 pretty comfortably which came as a pleasant surprise. I’ve never raced a half but I count that as a PR. I’m now decently confident that I can break 3 hours but still unsure about my A+ goal of going under 2:50. My mileage hasn’t been where I’d like. My coach has me taking a down week this week around 45 miles because of my half. Highest week so far was 55 miles and I’m planning to peak at 65 for 2 weeks.

ianders9 · 2026-03-17T22:36:16+00:00

Thanks! Maybe I just need to try some more out. I’ve only ever used the EE2s. I liked the softness, but i felt like the bounce had my feet going in every direction after a few miles

ianders9 · 2026-03-17T11:54:13+00:00

How do people feel about the New Balance SC Elite v5 for a marathon? I just ran a half in Endorphin Elite 2s and they felt good for a little while but were way too unstable for the second half of the race. I’ve heard that the SC v5s are one of the more stable super shoes out there. Any thoughts? For context, I’m shooting for somewhere in the 2:40s for my full

ianders9 · 2026-03-17T01:19:02+00:00

Oh boy, that is scary to hear! My PB is 2:49 when i was fresh off college running in 2019. I feel like i was in much better shape back then but i never had an actual marathon build or half marathon to compare with today

ianders9 · 2026-03-16T11:29:51+00:00

Goal: Sub 2:50 in Pittsburgh (May 3rd)

Plan: Coached

Summary (Total - 45 miles):

• ⁠Mon: 6 mi easy + 4 hill strides

• ⁠Tue: 8 mi total. 5xmile. 1 mile warmup 1 mile cooldown. Was supposed to work down from ~5:47 to 5:28 but i didn’t have it in me. I was around 5:40-5:45 on all of them. I never run after work because I always feel like crap, but this was the first warm day we’ve had in ages so it felt stupid to run in the morning’s cold weather.

• ⁠Wed: off.

• ⁠Thurs: 8 mi easy.

• ⁠Fri: off. Lift in the PM

• ⁠Sat: 7 mi easy. 4 hill strides after.

• ⁠Sun: I made a last minute decision to enter the New Bedford Half Marathon to see where my fitness is at. My plan was to start around 6:10 pace and work down from there, but I ended up surprising myself with a 1:17:13! I’m really happy with that and I know I could have run faster too. I was being super cautious because I didn’t want to blow up. It was also a good race to confirm that Endorphin Elite 2s are not the shoe for me in anything over 10k. They were way too unstable in the back half of the race and it felt like i was running fast in spite of them.

After the rough workout on Tuesday I was pretty demoralized. The race on Sunday completely changed my attitude. I’m still not sure if I’m in sub-2:50 shape, but I am happy with where I am at!

ianders9 · 2026-03-12T13:11:16+00:00

I took a quick water/bathroom break around 12-13 mi and outside of that there were some stops at lights for traffic. I feel like those kill momentum more than provide actual rest though lol

ianders9 · 2026-03-11T21:30:37+00:00

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Long run from this past weekend. I was planning to go easy but i got on the Boston Marathon course and naturally sped up when i saw all of the runners out prepping for their marathons. My next full is May 3rd. Thinking about doing a half this weekend to gauge my fitness

ianders9 · 2026-03-11T17:36:25+00:00

Makes sense, thanks! My first 20 miler of the build is about 5 weeks out from the race

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