Marathon Comparisons - 2:49, 2:58, & 2:59

I'm a self-proclaimed comparer.  I compare myself today to myself yesterday more than anything, and running lends itself to that in particularly quantifiable ways.  I initially made this obsessive nifty table back in October, comparing what at that time were my best 3 marathons, and decided to now revisit the information comparing my most recent 3 marathons, mainly because it helps me evaluate what I've done well and where I can improve -- also because several people have asked me what I did differently in training for Phoenix.  My preparation for Prairie Fire and Bass Pro was pretty much one and the same, as they were 4 weeks apart.  Phoenix was then 16 weeks after Bass Pro.

There were some components that were the same across all 3 cycles that I didn't include in the table.  These include overall life circumstances (e.g., same job, same house, same husband and child, same daily schedule), same coach, and same style of daily eating/fueling. I did not have any injuries during any of the cycles (super thankful for that!).

A significant difference about Phoenix training that I believe made the biggest difference and that doesn't really fit in the table is that I had the Prairie Fire/Bass Pro training cycle under my belt beforehand, and I started the focused build to Phoenix already in really good shape.  I basically had a 4 week recovery phase after Bass Pro, then a 12 week build to Phoenix, but I started those 12 weeks in much better shape than I started my 2016 build.  I've been posting weekly re-caps for awhile, so more details about what I ran week-to-week during both cycles can be found in those as well.  Sometimes we forget that each marathon cycle not only builds on itself but also builds on our previous cycles, and this seemed to be key for my improvement.

From left to right:  Prairie Fire, Bass Pro, Mesa-Phoenix -- a consistent factor was running happy!

	Prairie Fire Oct. 2016 2:58:53	Bass Pro Nov. 2016 2:59:04	Mesa-Phoenix Feb. 2017 2:49:20
Mileage average for 12 weeks leading up to race	54.3	51.3 (this was a shade lower due to including PF’s taper & recovery weeks)	57.5
Mileage peak week	61.3	61.3 (same as PF)	67.6
Tempos	Staple workout, including 4, 6, 8, 10 and a few split tempo workouts such as 3 x 2 miles at tempo, a tempo/hill repeat combo, and the Hardest Workout Ever	Same as PF, with one additional split tempo between	Again a staple workout with tempos of 4, 6, 8, and some split tempos; also ran a tempo/fartlek combo and a tempo/hill repeat combo, and the Hardest Workout Ever again (raced a half instead of a 10 mile tempo this cycle)
Speed work	4 track workouts, and a few road fartleks	Same as PF, with 1 fartlek and 1 track workout between the races	2 track workouts (10 x 800 m. & 20 x 400 m.), 6 road fartleks/speed repeats, 1 tempo/fartlek combo, 4 fast finish runs
Hill work	Most runs were at least mildly hilly based on where I live; 3 hill repeat workouts	Same as PF	Most runs were at least mildly hilly based on where I live; 1 super hilly long run and 1 hill repeat plus tempo workout
2-a-days	1-2 times/week	1-2 times/week	1 time/week except for peak week had 2
“Training” marathon	None	Prairie Fire, obviously	None
20+ milers	20 base 20 workout 22 with final 4 at marathon goal pace 24.3 with final mile at marathon goal pace	Same as PF, with the addition of PF marathon	20 with 4 progressive fast finish 20 workout 22 steady 24.4 with 5 progressive fast finish
Long run pace	7:15-7:35 (approx.)	Same as PF	7:10-7:25 (approx.)
Easy run pace	7:30-7:50 (approx.)	Same as PF	7:10-7:40 (approx.)
Tempo pace (6-10 mile tempos)	6:24-6:25	Same as PF	6:06-6:09
Race in build-up (in the order raced)	10K 5K 5K 5K 10K 15K	Same as PF, plus: PF Marathon & 5K	Half Marathon 5K 1 mile &"5K" Half Marathon
PRs during build-up	10K in 38:43 15K in 59:19	Same as PF, plus PF Marathon in 2:58:53	January half in 1:21:26, after November half in 1:22:37
Cross-training	Strength bootcamp 2 times/week with elliptical warm-ups, and extra core work	Strength bootcamp 2 times/week with elliptical warm-ups, and extra core work	Strength bootcamp 2 times/week with elliptical warm-ups, and extra core work
Illnesses during build-up	Stomach virus 11 days prior to race, minor cold during build-up	Same as PF	Bronchitis mid- to late-January (after half PR)
Recovery techniques	Daily stretching, daily foam rolling, used ice baths only and compression socks mostly in the final 6 weeks pre-race	Same as PF	Daily stretching, daily foam rolling, compression socks often (no ice baths at any point)
Training groups	Frequent runs with Missy; some with Casey and Kim	Same as PF	The most training buddies!  Missy, Danielle, Ashley, Amy R., and Amy P. - ran with someone more than alone, which made this cycle even more awesome.
Race day temperature	Low 50s to low 60s	Low to high 40s	Low to high 40s
First half split	1:29:40	Not sure due to no timing mat at the half, but 1:29-something	1:25:45
Second half split	1:29:13	Not sure due to wrong turn and lack of half timing mat, but would have been a low 1:28 without the wrong turn	1:23:35
During race fueling	2 Accel gels (1 caffeinated), 1 Powerade gel (caffeinated, and not what I wanted, but the result of not knowing I only had 2 Accel gels left until too late to order more, and my LRS no longer carrying them), occasional sports drink that was served on the course but mostly water	3 Accel gels (2 caffeinated), occasional sports drink that was served on the course but mostly water	3 Accel gels (all caffeinated), occasional sports drink that was served on the course but mostly water; nothing in final 4 miles due to half walkers
Strategy notes and course	Aiming for 2:59 or better, used a conservative start course specific pace band, ran the first 6.5 miles mostly with the 1:30 half pace group, then ran 20 miles alone (couldn't see anyone else for the most part) Mostly flat loop-ish course (161 ft elevation gain), with a ton of turns	Aiming to slide in just under my PF time, used a conservative start course specific pace band again, ran the first 17ish miles with Scott then ran mostly alone but passed several men in the final miles Minor elevation changes on the loop-ish course (436 ft elevation gain), with a million turns; also ran about 0.2-0.25 extra due to a wrong turn followed by back-tracking	Aiming for a 2:52 or better, used a very conservative start course specific pace band, started with David to pace with but we got split up around mile 6, spent the next 20 miles passing everyone who went out too fast (no one passed me once the race was sorted out in the first 10K)    Point-to-point course with a net downhill and 201 elevation gain, few turns
Place	4th overall female (9th fastest marathon ever run by a woman in the state of Kansas, but the 3rd, 4th, and 5th fastest were also run in this race)	3rd overall female (top two women had run multiple Olympic Trials qualifying marathons)	6th overall female; 1st in 35-39 age group (the time would have won this marathon most past years and placed in the top 3 overall every year except 2017)
Race day outfit	Underarmour sports bra and BCG shorts (started in gloves for the first 5 miles)	Nike tank top with built in sports bra and Underarmour spandex shorts (started in gloves for the first half)	Underarmour sports bra and Lululemon shorts (started in arm warmers and gloves; shed the arm warmers around 8 and gloves around 10)
Race day socks	CEP compression socks	Pro Compression socks	CEP Compression socks
Race day shoes	Hoka One One Clifton 1s	Hoka One One Clifton 1s	Hoka One One Clifton 1s
Number of toenails on race day	9, but down to 8 shortly after	8	9
Pre-race panic	Extreme 5-6 days out but subsided to  minimal	Minimal	None really (shocker!)

It seems that there wasn't much difference among these three - definitely not as much variation in the components as last time I made this table.  Everything came together best for Phoenix and it was a better course (not one million turns!), plus I was in the best shape for it, so that is reflected in my 2:49.  Another thing that I believe helped is that for Phoenix I believed I could do it.  I had a lot of self-doubt before Prairie Fire, mainly because I'd gone into Dallas 2015 believing I could run a sub-3:00, and then bonked in the final 3 miles and came away with a 3:01, the most heartbreaking PR I've ever run.  For Bass Pro I wasn't sure how my body would respond being 4 weeks off of Prairie Fire, so again there was uncertainty.  For Phoenix I felt cautiously confident that I could pull off a big PR.

This overall formula is working for me, and I hope I can build on in my next marathon training cycle.  I will have a longer build to my next one (which is TBD, but will be in fall 2017), so I plan to put in more weekly mileage and hopefully improve based on that. 

Finally, I realized that one thing all of my sub-3:00 marathons have in common is some association with McDonalds, bahahahahaha!  Due to travel snafus en route to Phoenix, I ate a midnight dinner from there on Thursday, about 30 hours pre-race -- I wish I'd have photographed that, but I was far too tired and hungry to even think about it.  Then when joking with a friend about it, I realized I have McDonalds-related photos from Prairie Fire and Bass Pro.  I about died laughing!  This is particularly funny if you know how anti-fast food I am!

Prairie Fire 2016, around mile 13

Bass Pro 2016, pre-race meeting spot

And a bonus - Bass Pro 2015 (not a sub-3:00, but a marathon win - look in Jon's hand)