sub-3 or blow-up trying

Yes, great finish to the month! Your really looking strong, nice work!

thanks Mike...definitely not feeling it today.

I see your marathon PR pace was 7:16 min/mile. I'm shooting for that same time and was wondering what you do in training for a marathon pace to give yourself some safety factor in finishing at your goal time.

Adam,

There were a few keys to my training last summer. First, I tried to average 10-miles per day. This took me a couple months to achieve- 50's in June, 60's in July, 70's by Aug/Sept. Secondly, I tried to get a long-run every other weekend (2-20 milers per month). Third, I tried to work my way towards making 7-minute miles easier (at least one longer tempo run per/week, sometimes broken up- building my way up to a 13-14 mile run just under 7/min pace- 1/2 marathon 1 month before marathon).

I'd also mix in a road race every other week or so (5k's, 5-milers, etc.), yet as I got to September, my goal was to run near 7-minute pace as much a was safely possible and worried far less about faster speeds(even on slow days, throw in at least 1 or 2 7-minute miles to get the feel). On marathon day, I decided to start out with a 7:10-15 pace, so that if I slowed down later on, I'd have banked some time. However, I was pleasantly surprised to be able to hold pace most of the run.

Consistency was the key. Diet also helped (I lost at least 20lbs last summer from 200 to 180lbs). Feel free to look at my training from last summer and take advantage of the "training review" section on the discussion board...many of the elites are willing to give very helpful comments. Good luck!