II need help!
I’m 67 years old, I started endurance running and sprint triathlons when I was 59, I’ve run 6 marathons, around 4:05 when I felt ok twice, and over 4:30 when I didn’t. My 5k time is close to 23 flat and I can still run a mile under 7 minutes. I lift twice a week mostly deadlifts up to 180# but the other basics also. I do some core exercises but my core strength has always been mediocre.
I’ve had 3 poor marathons in a row now (2-Cities, Prague, Long Beach - all flat) (4:30-4:59). I’ve built my weekly mileage peak up to 55. My goal is to break 4 hours before I become too old to do so. I think my last shot is Ventura, Feb 2025, which is decidedly downhill and I do run downhill well.
My problem has been mile 19-20. I’ve improved my fueling (starting early, 35 g of CHO/hr) & sodium (430 mg/hr) and it seemed the sodium helped the most in my last marathon.
I don’t run out of energy but ratherI get a bad acute pain, usually in my right adductor, that feels like I am super close to a serious strain injury of the adductor (which I did strain several years ago but it never bothers me a bit except when running a 9-minute pace after 19 miles). Though I have finished all my marathons, the bad ones finished with run&walk due these acute pains. However in my last marathon I somehow modified my gait and after some extra sodium the adductor pain subsided. Then followed pain below both knees that edged upwards and enveloped both whole knees and I had to walk-run-walk to the finish with extreme knee pain. I though I had ruined my knees and legs. 4 days later I could run normal with no ill-effects. Yet it was so very terrible!
Do I just strengthen my adductors? If so, with heavy weights or stretches? How can I test relevant progress without running 19 miles at pace?
Do I run more miles? More tempo runs? - I only do 1 speed workout per week. All I want is a 3:59:59.
TIA.