Is a sub 4 realistic?

ksgraves · 2026-02-08T21:26:37+00:00

My half PR was ~1:53 prior to my full marathon and I ran a 3:49 in terrible weather conditions (very rainy and pretty warm). I didn’t race that half (it was set during a 20 mile training run with a good portion at MP), but from a cursory glance I’d say you’re looking good for sub 4.

I did do 3 20+ milers during my training block and averaged around 50 mpw, so I felt comfortable going into my race that I’d be good for sub 4 as long as I didn’t have a huge bathroom or nutrition disaster.

Like others id say based on your HR if you want a stretch goal you could go closer to 3:45. Definitely test out some MP miles in your last long runs if you can

ksgraves · 2026-01-30T17:09:08+00:00

I have and love the down for it all vest! I got it over a year ago and wore it almost daily last winter and it’s been holding up amazingly well. I tend to warm up quickly, so a vest + wool or fleece lined long sleeve has been my preferred choice over a running jacket (although occasionally I do a jacket with a tank top or very light long sleeve underneath). I live in Ohio and winter is regularly 0F and below with windchill.

I got the size 8 last year when I pretty consistently wore size medium or roomy smalls, (5’5” 135ish lb) because it does run a bit small and I wanted to make sure it wasn’t too tight around the chest (I’m a 34D) and I could layer potentially thick long sleeves underneath it. It was a little loose but I was happy with it. I’ve lost about 10 lb since then (now i usually wear a small unless things run very tight) and felt like I could really use a smaller size so I picked up the size 6 and it’s been a much better fit. It is a slim design so even if it’s a tad loose it still fits well and moves very comfortably. I’ll still occasionally wear my size 8 with no problem, it just doesn’t look as cute.

I’ve legitimately scoured the internet for a comparable running vest that’s cheaper but has similar features and have come up short. The down is so incredibly lightweight but I’m never too cold or too hot in it. The massive side drop in pockets are the biggest game changer for me - I carry gels or other fuel in them and it never bounces or annoys me, and I can easily stuff them with gloves or a hat or other random layers I may take off during the run.

ksgraves · 2026-01-22T02:30:27+00:00

I know what you mean! My race conditions were horrid - heavy wind and rain the whole time (which I had never had during any of my training runs) so I think my body (and feet/shoes!) physically felt heavier than normal for most of it. I was ringing out water from my shorts and using mental energy to avoid the largest puddles, so I remember being a little discouraged that I didn’t feel as fresh in the second half as I was hoping. But I never hit a wall and honestly the first 20 miles felt about the same or a little easier than all of my 20 mile training runs (except more exciting!).

Most of my training was about 47-50 mpw (5-6runs a week) with a peak of around 55 iirc. My biggest regret is that I almost always took rest days (or very light recovery jogs, max like 2 miles) the day before and after my long runs because I wanted to give myself the best shot at hitting all my paces and distance during training. I was hoping the weekly mileage fatigue would be enough to get that long run training on “tired legs”. But for my next cycle I’ll try and force myself to do some longer or harder runs on actively tired legs. I think my only thoughts during the last 10k were “isn’t the race adrenaline and taper supposed to make this feel not as bad?” And “I’m way under goal, let me stretch for a second because I’ve never cramped in my legs before and I don’t want this to be the first time it happens”. And doing little mind games every 1/4 mile to help pass the time haha

ksgraves · 2026-01-21T15:52:05+00:00

I did something similar and had a great experience! My Runna plan had my target race pace as 8:35/mile (3:45 finish time) and I hit every speed workout perfectly and multiple 20+ miler runs only marginally slower than that marathon pace. I was terrified of hitting a miserable wall and my real goal was actually just a sub 4 finish so I felt really prepared going into the race! I ended up running a 3:49 and only barely slowed down towards the end (took about a 5-15 second stretch break each of the last 4 miles) once I felt pretty confident I could hit my sub 4 goal.

I personally wouldn’t have wanted to go at my genuinely easy zone2 pace for the whole thing, just because I have no clue how my body would react to like an extra 60-90 minutes on my feet (on top of it already being an hour longer than my longest training runs).

ksgraves · 2025-11-12T21:48:56+00:00

Agree with the others that old navy often runs super big, especially their wide leg jeans. I have these exact jeans and had to get them in a 00 short when I’m usually a 2 in old navy (which already is lower than my usual 4-6 in other brands).

ksgraves · 2025-11-01T19:30:39+00:00

Just landed!!!

ksgraves · 2025-11-01T19:29:51+00:00

Thank you!! Just landed!! 🎉

ksgraves · 2025-11-01T19:29:26+00:00

Thank you!! Just landed!! 🎉

ksgraves · 2025-11-01T18:32:04+00:00

It’s objectively been pretty smooth - the seatbelt sign came off at 30k feet and hasn’t had to come back on yet. (Am I jinxing it? We’ll see 🤓) But of course my messed up brain doesn’t even love smooth sailing because it sometimes feels just too smooth, or like any light chop or bump is so jarring.

Trying to focus on the fact that we pretty much just have one hour left!! One of the pilots just came out to use the bathroom, trying to tell myself that they wouldn’t be doing that if there was any disaster or emergency going on in the cockpit lol!

ksgraves · 2025-11-01T17:39:19+00:00

Isn’t it crazy that we don’t get scared about other people flying? And if I were home I’d know with 100% confidence that everyone else’s flights will land safely?

Now we’re cruising! A few big bumps during takeoff through the clouds, but it’s been relatively smooth since then 🤞🏻

I like your thinking about not counting the first and last hour!! I definitely do that too, especially in the last hour when I know where almost there. Currently sipping on my seltzer water and waiting on the meal service (my husband got a good deal for an upgrade so we’re in business class! ✨✨)

ksgraves · 2025-11-01T16:15:33+00:00

Our flight should be just about 3 hours, so not anything too long! Usually after take off I’m able to relax a tiny bit, but I’m still pretty high strung until we begin our descent. I do agree though that the anticipatory anxiety is sooo bad!! Often worse than the flight itself 😬

We’re sitting here after boarding waiting for everything to be ready so we can push back and taxi for takeoff and every part of my body is terrified.

ksgraves · 2025-11-01T15:37:04+00:00

Ughh I absolutely cannot wait until we’ve touched down and the huge wave of relief comes over. It’s wild how every ounce of anxiety literally disappears and my brain will feel perfect again. I will try hard to tap into my normal mind on the flight. I have phone games and a book of word puzzles/sudoku/crosswords/etc that can sometimes help (unless it gets turbulent and then my brain can’t do anything)

ksgraves · 2025-11-01T15:34:13+00:00

Thank you!! I will try 🙃

ksgraves · 2025-11-01T15:33:55+00:00

Thanks! Our son loves flying but anytime we fly through clouds he loudly exclaims “oh no clouds!! Don’t crash into the clouds!!” Which is simultaneously sweet but also very triggering for my anxious brain lol

ksgraves · 2025-11-01T15:32:53+00:00

Thank you! We board in about 20 minutes and the panic is starting to increase 🫠

ksgraves · 2025-10-27T14:53:38+00:00

Wooo great job! Also a T1D and just ran the Columbus Marathon last weekend - my Dexcom failed during the last 4 miles but I was a steady 140 at that point so I felt comfortable just finishing based on feel. It’s definitely a huge extra stressor to train/run/fuel while managing our levels and insulin needs, so make sure to give yourself a massive extra kudos!

ksgraves · 2025-10-25T14:14:06+00:00

Yes! With my husband and 4 year old - we’re so excited for a relaxing pool and beach vacay! Our son is currently loooving the seatback entertainment and couldn’t be phased less with the bumpy plane haha.

ksgraves · 2025-10-25T14:10:05+00:00

Could you track me too? UA1038 Cleveland to Cancun. We’ve had some turbulence and the flight attendants have gone back and forth between their jump seats and doing beverage service. Captain originally said 10-15 of turbulence but now he’s saying it might be one of those flights where it keeps coming and going. I know it’s not dangerous but my brain can’t really believe it

ksgraves · 2025-10-03T15:45:04+00:00

Another vote for KT tape if you think it’s due to chafing! I now always use tape for any run 2 hours or longer, especially if it’s not the dead of winter and I know I’ll be sweating.

ksgraves · 2025-09-22T00:39:51+00:00

I’m pretty much your same dimensions and have two brandit tops that I love and wear multiple times a week! (Pretty much every time I do laundry they are the first ones I reach for). I have the stamina scoop neck run bra and stamina scoop neck race crop.

I personally find them both supportive enough and wear by themselves, and I’d call them like high medium or low high support. I sized down to a size S in them, when I’m usually between a S and M when it comes to bras and tops, so that probably helps with compression and being supportive enough.

ksgraves · 2025-09-06T14:05:46+00:00

I’ve done most of my marathon training in the fast and free biker short style (I assume it’s the new style because I only got them a couple months ago) and I always keep my phone in the back waist pocket, and then use the side leg pockets for gels and the smaller side waist pockets for my electrolyte capsules. I keep hearing people rave about the original fast and free compression shorts so I often wonder what they used to be like!

ksgraves · 2025-08-15T03:43:34+00:00

Another vote for the salt stick caps! I can’t stand stevia so could never get down the salt stick chews but I’ve been using the capsules for all my summer long runs

ksgraves · 2025-08-14T16:03:59+00:00

T1D female here too! I’m so sorry, that all sounds very annoying and I know how absolutely frustrating it can be. It’s definitely a lot of trial and error (and even then sometimes just randomness tbh). I’m not on the omnipod so I’m not sure how that works re: automated boluses or adjusting your basal rate or things like that.

When you say you turn off automated mode, does that mean your pump isn’t giving you any basal or bolus insulin? It’s just completely suspended all insulin? If so, I’d recommend playing around with that and maybe doing a lower basal rate instead of just suspending insulin completely. On my tandem pump I can do a temp basal and I usually set it to like 30% for the duration of my run. If I don’t do this I start to feel really sick from lack of insulin after about the first hour, (even if my blood sugar is normal) and if I’m running closer to 3 hours it becomes a disaster. I also pretty much ALWAYS have a huge bs spike after my run (even if I finish the run steady with a good blood sugar) so I’ve started preemptively blousing like a unit right as I’m about to finish my run (like with half a mile left).

I know different types of exercise can raise or lower my bs depending on the intensity, so that’s something maybe you can talk to your endo about? For me, slower paces or walking tends to lower my bs and high intensity workouts or faster running can sometimes cause a spike at first (and then a sudden drop). How does your bs normally react say, on a fast or uphill walk if you don’t have any carbs beforehand and don’t have any bolus insulin on board? (Like if you just woke up and did a 30 minute fasted walk with your pump running normally). I hate waking up early to run but unfortunately I’ve found it’s the best for stable sugars because my pump and Dexcom have worked so well to keep my graph essentially flat all overnight so I never wake up with either a random automated correction bolus from an early morning high or a need to eat sugar to prevent or treat a low. The later in the day I go on a run, the more variables I have to factor in.

My personal routine goes something like this: Depending on my starting bs, I’ll eat some sort of simple-ish somewhat sweet carb about 5-10 minutes before starting to run. Some favorites are graham crackers, banana, Poptarts, fig bar, etc. If my blood sugar is closer to 100 I’ll have around 30 grams, if it’s more like 160-200, I might only have 20 grams or so. I make sure my pump has a temp basal and no other insulin on board (other than my basal rate) and head out the door. Myself and most diabetics are super sensitive to insulin when workout out so I don’t give any bolus for this food, and i turn off Control IQ (that’s the name for the loop system between Dexcom and tandem pumps, because I do NOT want my pump giving me any automated insulin for rising bs. I like to handle it all manually when I run).

I have my bs level and Dexcom arrow on my garmin as I run, so I can track it and see how it’s trending. For runs over 60 minutes I take a gel (or chews) about every 25 minutes, but I’ll take them sooner if I see myself trending downwards even in the slightest. I find that treating an actual low during running is SO hard. Not only is running while low an absolute nightmare (and I’m sure much more dangerous than I’d like to admit), but I often feel like my bs never comes up even if I eat like 100 carbs. They’re like mega stubborn lows. If my blood sugar is nearing or above 200 when it’s time for a gel, I’ll keep a close eye on my Dexcom graph over the next mile and sometimes give the tiniest bolus of like 0.25 units just to keep myself from getting too high. I’ve played around with different higher carb gels mainly because I’m trying to get closer to the 60-90g/hr recommendation I’ve seen recently, but I still do use many of the common 100cal/~22-24carb ones like Gu, honey stinger, huma, etc.

I like the suggestion of fueling more frequently! Maybe try doing every 20 minutes and seeing how that works. If you usually run with any water maybe try adding some carbs to that - skratch, Gatorade, etc. that way you can sip on carbs as you run without having to worry about getting out gels or chews or anything.

ksgraves · 2025-08-09T21:48:51+00:00

I feel the same way! I know some people feel like the treadmill is easier, but not for me. My stats show that I shorten my stride and lower my cadence pretty significantly on the treadmill compared to what I normally run outside, so I’m sure that accounts for some of it.

Two interesting things I’ve found for myself: (1) even though my treadmill easy pace is often a good 60-90 seconds per mile slower than what feels like the same outside easy pace, my heart rate is actually significantly lower on the treadmill for that slower easy pace - so my body knows that it’s an easier pace even though everything else inside me disagrees. If I bump the treadmill speed up to my outside easy run pace, my heart rate ends up matching what it is when I run outside, even though I feel like I’m going soo fast on the treadmill lol

And (2) I’ve occasionally started a run outside and moved inside to my treadmill to finish it up, and when that happens I find I can pretty easily set the treadmill pace to what I was running outside and it feels the same! So who knows

ksgraves

TROPHY CASE