If you dream of running a faster marathon or half marathon you will need to incorporate speedwork into your training.
I personally loath speedwork.
But I know it’s good for me (like eating beets). Every time I’ve incorporated speedwork into my training I’ve markedly improved in the marathon.
No wonder Angie assigns speedwork to all her coaching clients who want to PR. Speedwork makes the dream work!
In this post I will explain key speed workouts you can use to get faster. Continue Reading →
Here’s a question I received from a fellow runner named Chris,
Hi Angie! I’m 50 years old and have been running for 2 1/2 years (after losing 105 pounds, but that’s another story). My times for the half marathon are decent, generally in the 1:55 area. I’ve run three marathons with a PR of 4:27:34 and a worst of 4:58:30.
Anyway, based on various race predictors, it looks like my “expected” marathon time is in around 4:05. Why am I so far off, and how can I get my half marathon ability, such as it is, to translate to the marathon distance? I’m training for the Long Beach (Ca.) Marathon in October and I’d really like to come in around 4:10 or so. Thanks, and keep up your great work! -Chris
My answer . . . Continue Reading →
Looking good and loving life. Colleen and Lee Staats with Meb Keflezighi before the Columbus Marathon.
In this episode we bring you a marathon success story with Lee and Colleen Staats, two Academy members from Galion, Ohio, who are transforming their lives through running.
They have both lost weight since starting to run and recently completed the Columbus Marathon.
Colleen set a PR in the half and Lee qualified for Boston by running 3:21:52.
They have both battled through injury and a busy work load to achieve their goals.
It has been my great honor to be their running coach. Continue Reading →
*Audio Content Available For Members Only. Click Here to Join Now
One of the most frequent questions that I get as a running coach is about marathon pacing.
Runners often wonder which time goal they should shoot for, what type of strategy they should use during the race, whether they should run with a pace group, if they can qualify for Boston during their first marathon, etc.
For example, Jeff sent in this email:
“How do you avoid losing motivation when you get to the point in a marathon where you realize you aren’t going to finish close to your time goal? In my last two marathons, I felt a horrible deflating feeling when I got to the point when I knew I was not going to be happy with my finish time. I get really down on myself, and it is hard to push through those final miles. I feel particularly awful when I get passed by the pace groups. . . I use my time goal as motivation during training, and then when I fall hopelessly off pace in the later miles my motivation leaves me like air out of a popped balloon. It is just hard to press on when you are dealing with that amount of disappointment.
I hate for people to feel awful about their marathon times, so let’s talk about some of the factors related to marathon pacing. Continue Reading →
Awkward photo alert: Trev at the Myrtle Beach Marathon
photo credit: myrltebeachonline.com
You can see it here. Amazingly, this little post has continued to generate high numbers of visitors every month.
Well ladies and gentleman, I have broken the 4:00 barrier again! (spontaneous cheering ignites all over the world wide web).
I ran 3:56:35 in Myrtle Beach.
I’m not setting any speed records to be sure. I’m just a middle of the pack runner. At my age I would need to clock a 3:05 to qualify for Boston! Ha, ha, ha . . .
Nevertheless, breaking 4 hours for the second time feels really good. Especially after running a miserable 4:53:23 at the Rocket City Marathon in December. (Let’s not talk about that race).
The cool part about running sub-four this time is that I did not carry a boat load of fuel. What did I carry? Nothing but my fat baby! (sort of).
You might have heard on our last podcast episode that I ran the Rock ‘n’ Roll New Orleans Marathon in 3:54:15.
A sub-4 hour marathon is not remarkable as far as finishing times go. I’m a middle of the pack runner. (I finished 597 out of 2633).
But I did run 37 minutes faster than my best time . . . which is remarkable for me.
And it was actually easier than I thought it would be. Much easier than running my first marathon.
Here are a few tricks I used to keep my run under 4 hours.
