I'd like to know what possesses you to carbo load for three days? I'd be more worried about gastric distress trying that...

I think that you can get there but it might be close. Are you shooting for a BQ (male I'd assume)? Don't forget to subtract 5 mins from the official qualifying time for your age group, or maybe even full 7 minutes to be on the safe side.

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Next races on the schedule: none at the moment

Don't freak out about the weather too much. Some people don't need any adjusting. I had no trouble moving to coastal Alabama, which is not much cooler than Miami. My mom though can barely walk outside here in spring.
And ik kom uit Groningen. Woon hier nu 13 jaar.

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NO

I did my first standalone marathon in October last year. Was aiming for sub 3 and went out with the sub 3 group. Felt really comfortable until my quads started to get a little sore after 16kms. Felt fine aerobically and went through half way in 1.30. However from there, I fell apart. Legs just got sorer and sorer. I've put it down to lots of downhill in first 15kms and quads not being used to this so much and i also pushed the downhills more than I should have. Ended up going 3.24 with lots of walking last 10kms. I couldn't run down any short inclines as I felt like I was going to fal flat on my face given the pain in my quads.

So all I'd say is listen to any early signs and don't be afraid to back off. I lost heaps of time by thinking I could just run through the pain. I couldn't and ended up walking a lot.

Yep, doable. First marathon though, so don't get greedy when you set off. It'll seem way too easy for the first 30km, so you'll be tempted to go too fast. When you do that it'll get tough between 30-35 and then the last 7 or so will really suck. You won't likely bonk, but you'll take too much out of yourself if you set off too hard.

I don't like using the pace bunnies because I find most of them are really not that good at setting a precise pace (I had one get almost 5 minutes ahead one time at a really big North American marathon). Almost all others have positive split somewhat. Then there are the surges and ebbs that happen with your own body that don't necessarily sync with the group. I'll only focus on a bunny group in the last few km if I need a carrot to catch or stay ahead of.

Anyway, with a 1h32 1/2, you can definitely do 3h15 if you pace it right. I'd recommend a small negative split (1h38 first half, 1h37 second half). So 21.1 at 4:38/km, then 21.1 at 4:36/km would get you in just under 3h15. Drink at every aid station whether you feel like it or not for the first 30 km. Have a gel just prior to the aid stations that are nearest every 5th km.

Good luck!

Dave

Not knowing anything about you or about your training it’s hard to tell how realistic 3:15 is.

What you got going FOR you is your 1:32 HM (with proper training and experience that will put you at 3:11).

What’s going AGAINST you is lack of experience for the distance. Do you know how to fuel/hydrate properly? Can your body withstand the pounding of a marathon? Do you know how to pace properly?

What we don’t know about is is your age, your weight. VO2Max by itself is pretty useless too - it’s you pace at VO2Max that’s predictive of performance. You can have the highest oxygen uptake there is, but with crappy running mechanics that won’t matter much.

That being said - I’d say go for it. Stick with 3:15 pace group and do your best. If you have legs at mile 24 - give it a kick and see if you go a little under, if not - just hold on for dear life.

Good Luck!

As far as my research about carbo loading goes, three days is common. You wont be able to fully load your glycogen levels in leg muscles in one day. Please correct me if I am wrong :)

Not going for a BQ. Just want to reach max potential with my current fitness.

Dank :) Hopefully I handle it the same. Did a IM70.3 in France this september at 27 degress celcius and survived pretty good.

Thanks for the detailed advice here, this is very helpfull!

I am 28 years old at 75kg.

I can at least handle 32km, refering to my longest run in training. I will focus on pacing and for sure wont go faster than 3.15 goal time. Hopefully pacing team will also help me with this. Thanks for your advice here, much appreciated.

Def keep up in hydrating! Especially if you know you sweat in hotter/more humid temps. It doesn’t look like it will be too bad, but around mile 20+ if you haven’t been up on it in the first 19, you’ll feel it. Don’t over do it, but keep up on it for sure. Good luck!

For those interested, managed to get a 3:13 out of it, so very happy.

Thanks for all the advice here 👍🏻💪🏻

Awesome! You had a great preparation,. Congratulations.

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What's your CdA?

Nicely done.

Splits?

Did you follow a pacer?

How did you handle the heat?

With regards to the first two questions, yes I did follow a pacer but this almost screwed my plan. First few miles we were going a little slow because of the crowd so he said we were going to make up for it later. At around 10km he was still going faster than I planned and was even on a 3:10 finish time pace. So at the halfway mark I told him he was going way too fast, but he did not agree with me. At around 29km I let him go but by then I was already feeling that I was slowing down quite a lot. Luckily I did not fully blow and had enough margin but the last 10km were absolutely killing.

So splits: first half 1:34, second half 1:39.

With the heat I had zero problems. It was around 19 degrees celcius and there was a nice wind breezing the entire run.

Very nice run. Congratulations!!!

Congrats - great job!

To answer the initial question - yes, 3:15 is a realistic marathon goal :).

Congratulations !

Louis :-)

Yep, pretty much like I said might happen out of the pacer: a positive split and inconsistent pacing. Most pacers, as well intentioned as they are, are really not that good at pacing so can really mess you up if you're on the edge of your capability. You're usually better off just going on your own plan (assuming it's realistic) in the most disciplined fashion you can muster, yet ebbing and flowing with your body's demands, then just using a pace group somewhere around the 40th km to chase or stay ahead of.

You have a 3h10 "tomorrow" pace in you from what I can tell, but that's right on the edge for you at this point in time. The good news is you'll likely be sub-3 in your next marathon if you give yourself three or four months to focus on where you think your weaknesses are. Keep working at it, do quality sessions, stay injury free and probably most importantly, run your own race on your own plan!

Dave

Nicely done, congratulations!

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"You can never win or lose if you don't run the race." - Richard Butler

I would generally agree. Everyone runs their race differently so going strictly with a pacer isn't always a great idea, especially at the faster end where the pacers themselves might be close to their limit. One time I do like a pacer is when it is a hilly race and having a pacer that knows the course can give you some insight on when hills are coming and how to take each hill knowing whats coming next.

Congrats. well done. thanks for the update.

Good job, I am late to pile on but my words would have been that 3:15 pace is ok till the last couple miles. Have always contended that the marathon is 4 back to back 10k runs with the halfway point at 30k. I have never been able to figure out those last couple miles. Start slow, start fast, even split. the 25 and 26 miles have always been pure hell for me. Without fail.