Marathon Monday: What I learned during my marathon progression 4:45 ->3:25
It seems slightly surreal that I initially started running marathons at a 10:52 min/mi and recently ran a marathon at a 7:49 min/mi pace. Sometimes I see marathon progressions that say something like “I went from a 5+ hour marathon to BQing!” and they basically went from their first marathon in 5 hours to running a sub 4 hour marathon on the next try and while I think that ANY marathon time and progression is amazing, I’m also really proud of MY journey. It took me many tries just to go sub 4 in the marathon and then remember how I trained my butt off for years trying to get under 3:40?!?
Here’s my marathon times broken down:
June 2014 Steamboat Marathon 4:46 10:57min/mi
June 2016 Revel Rockies 4:14 9:42 min/mi
January 2017 Goofy Challenge 4:34 10:29 min/mi
June 2017 Revel Rockies 4:03 9:18min/mi
November 2017 Rock n Roll Las Vegas 3:55 9:00min/mi
April 2018 Salt Lake City 3:52 8:52 min/mi
April 2019 Eugene Marathon 3:51 8:50min/mi
October 2019 Loco Marathon 4:05 9:19 min/mi
April 2021 Cheap Marathon 3:58 9:06min/mi
October 2022 Wineglass Marathon 3:44 8:34min/mi
October 2023 Wineglass Marathon 3:36 8:15min/mi
November 2023 New York City Marathon 3:51 8:51min/mi
May 2024 Revel White Mountains 3:25 7:49min/mi
October 2024 Wineglass Marathon 3:42 8:30min/mi
Some of my biggest initial thoughts after looking over the marathons I’ve done:
I got a running coach
Doing downhill races gave me confidence
Fueling more = faster times
Carb loading made one of the biggest improvements
Purposeful strength training
Lifting heavier weights!
Racing more often (all types of distances)
Easy running stays easy. I’ve been running the same ‘easy paces’ for at least 5 years. (Nothing faster than 9 minute pace).
I got surgery for my stage IV endometriosis. I think this honestly helped me feel so much better overall and this is when I saw another big improvement in my running.
Found an amazing therapist- happy mentally= happy running.
Found the JOY and GRATITUDE in movement. Nothing makes you appreciate something more than when you can’t do it. Having major abdominal surgery with my c-section really made me appreciate and honor the comeback.
I think it’s also important to note that progress isn’t linear. I didn’t just ‘jump’ from a 4:46 marathon to 3:25 in a few tries. I’ve stayed consistent, dealt with a few injuries over the many years of marathoning, and dabbled in ultras too. I’ve had a twin pregnancy, lost my Dad, moved across the country, and switched careers/ gone back to college full-time. Running has always been there and it WILL always be there even when it feels very far away. I think coming back postpartum has really given me a different perspective of the recovery process. I remember when I started running, I thought that running 9 minute pace WAS fast. I actually never thought that I could even run a sub 4 hour marathon.
These are all things that worked for ME, but I’d love to hear some things that worked for you during your training journey. Has your progress been a slow climb or a fast uphill sprint? Comment below!!
