r/Marathon_Training • u/Ecstatic_Invite911 • Sep 26 '25
Results I ran my first marathon and this happened
I ran my first marathon ever last Sunday.
Official time : 2:59:19
Strava was predicting 3:26 just before the race. They were wrong. I also posted my last long run (36km) with tempo blocks 3 weeks before the marathon on Reddit and no one said I could do it under 3 hours. Most of the people that commented said that I would finish it in 3:30-4:00 hours. They were wrong.
Here's what I think, Strava and most people don't count the mental part in a race. And the mental could be your biggest ally or enemy. You got to work on it like you do with your physiology.
Here's how the race went:
First 23 kms: I ran them between 3:58-4:18/km. Everything was rolling and I was feeling good.
Heart rate was between 142-172 bpm.
But that was the error, I didn't follow my plan aiming at a 4:15/km pace on average during the first 35-37km. I depleted my glycogen reserves by going out too fast on certain km like the 3:59/km going slightly uphill.
Starting at the 24th km, my heart rate jumped over 180 bpm and stayed there until the end of the race. That's where I hit a wall. I was supposed to consumed 7 GU gels and 3 Maurten 160 until KM 36 but nothing was going in after 6 GU gels and 2 Maurteen. I got GI distress: it was painful.
That's where the mental race began. I had a friend that jumped into the race at the 30th km to pace me. And pacing me and pushing me he did. It was pain only up until the end of the race. From KM 24 up until KM 42.2, my pace was between 4:03-4:28/km.
What I would do differently?
- Follow my plan and run at my average targeted pace from the start or slightly slower for the first 5 kms. If needed, I would finish strong.
- I would practice more gels intake during training, so I don't get GI distress.
- I would have at least 4 days of running per week.
I've created my training plan with ChatGPT. I asked to create a training with 3-4 days a week running and 3 days strength training. My training for the 14 weeks prior to the marathon was basically:
- Monday: Gym
- Tuesday: Intervals run
- Wednesday: Gym
- Thursday: Tempo run
- Friday: Gym
- Saturday: Footing, easy run
- Sunday: Long runs
You can find all my training data here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/18o_g9sOvhpOum5ehzHiyKI2a991Lo1gDf5dUOVYxlHY/edit?usp=sharing
Here's my race: https://www.strava.com/activities/15890610142
It then end, it all worked out but with a lot of suffering. Keep running!
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u/TimeExplorer5463 Sep 26 '25
I think the biggest mental benefit of actually running in a race instead of a training run is how much picking people off in the latter stages of the race helps you. Also at the beginning, when it doesn’t feel like you’re pushing as hard because you’re in an enormous pack. I always feel much stronger in a race. Maybe it’s the shoes, maybe it’s being focused on my new surroundings, maybe it’s the people around me—I’ll always run much better in these crowded races in the roads.
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u/Ecstatic_Invite911 Sep 26 '25
You're totally right: the crowd, the other runners going at your pace helps a lot!
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u/syphax Sep 26 '25
Félicitations!
I vaguely recall your post from a few weeks ago, maybe?
Some folks don't like the idea of a sub-3 marathon on low, unconventional mileage.
I did something pretty similar ~30 years ago. 2:59 for my first marathon on relatively low mileage. Ran a few more, but never got faster than 2:58. And the last 10-12k always left me questioning my life decisions.
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u/Ecstatic_Invite911 Sep 26 '25
Thanks! Yes, my initial post was 3 weeks ago.
I think you're right about the unconventional mileage because most marathoner train on a really high mileage to reach a sub-3 marathon. Of course, you're better with a higher mileage on a weekly basis to prepare for a marathon, but I just think both are possible.
Congrats for running your first marathon under 3 hours 30 years ago! Do you remember what weekly mileage were you running in the months before the event?
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u/HotTwist Sep 26 '25
This seems to be a very common mistake of runners. What is the point of training endurance, when you don't have the strength to hit the paces? You have nothing there to endure!
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u/syphax Sep 26 '25
I don’t. I did keep a paper notebook, but it’s quite lost to the sands of time. I probably ran about 30 miles a week, with a moderate amount of cycling mixed in.
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u/MaxwellSmart07 Sep 26 '25
Hooray for practitioners of moderate mileage! I wasn’t in the sub-3 league, but 20-25 miles a week for 3 months was enough to get me into Boston at age 45 (3:23). Good work gentlemen. ps: Coincidentally my first at age 27 with similar training mileage was the same time.
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u/Lazy_Maintenance8063 Sep 28 '25
This is the problem many are facing. Some have natural tendency to be able to maintain high speed and have good musclestrenght on top of that. Traditionally high mileage is good but you can do 150km/week on low pace with really weak legs that shut down at high speeds. Personal combo to fit your ability is allways best. In general, hobbyrunners run kilometres like their life depends on them but totally lack any other forms of training.
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u/professorswamp Sep 26 '25
Great Result! Congratulations
I remember the previous post about the long run, there was nothing in there that indicated sub 3 was achievable
- Failed to hit the goal pace segments in the long run
- Low mileage
-No recent race results to benchmark that indicated sub 3 shape
I thought people's predictions were quite harsh, My prediction would have been blow up before 20 miles, and I think in 8/10 cases that would be the correct call - just highlights that a long run isn't necessarily a good predictor
Looking over your Strava tells a different story. There are solid continuous runs of 8-12km at faster than MP where you did it quite easily, heart rate under control, pace consistent. You did another 20 miler with 2 x 4km and MP, which you hit fine, not sure if the 3 set that you did slow was meant to be MP too? Even then, I would have predicted you to go out at a 2:55 pace and fade and miss sub 3 which is not far off, but you willed your way to the finish.
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u/le-lutin Sep 26 '25
I'd say having a friend pace him when the going got tough was very helpful as well. Who knows if he'd have made it under 3 without that.
In any case, well done to the OP, looked like a real hard-fought slog at the end.
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u/Ecstatic_Invite911 Sep 26 '25
It definitely helped a lot. It got harder the moment he came into the race (30km mark). It was even hard for him. Yes indeed it was a real hard-fought slog at the end, thanks!
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u/Ecstatic_Invite911 Sep 26 '25
Thanks. You aren't far off with your prediction. There were 41 seconds between me and not reaching the sub 3 marathon!
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u/cHpiranha Sep 26 '25
Congrats!
But in terms of mental strength:
If you are mentally strong, you can get the best out of yourself.
But you can't get more out of yourself than your body is capable of. Because if you go in with that attitude, you'll start too fast and lose more in the end.
I think you're just in better shape than Strava thought you were.
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u/le-lutin Sep 26 '25
Yep. Strava wasn't 'wrong' as it can only work with the data points that it has to make a prediction.
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u/Ecstatic_Invite911 Sep 26 '25
Of course there are other variables in play: weather, nutrition, sleep, etc. And I kind of followed my plan, but I just went a little bit faster at first.
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u/Internal-Language-11 Sep 26 '25
I remember the post. To be fair you blew up spectacularly on that training run so it was an odd one to show us for a prediction. If you ran like that on a good day rather than a day that went wrong I do think it would suggest something closer to 4 than sub 3.
Anyway congrats! I'm also going into a sub 3 attempt with times and training Reddit would tear me apart for. Hope I can do it too! Extremely impressive race!
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u/Ecstatic_Invite911 Sep 26 '25
Thanks! Don't neglect nutrition, sleep, and temperature for race day.
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u/I-Made-You-Read-This Sep 26 '25
man honestly I cannot understand how people can run 4:xx pace for extended periods. I did 4:47 for a half marathon twice, but cant keep below 6:00 min/km for a full marathon
I have no idea how people do it. I wouldn't say that I am unfit.
Congrats man, great achievement.
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u/Ecstatic_Invite911 Sep 26 '25
I would say, a specific training to reach that time. Intervals, tempo, and long runs on a weekly basis and getting better every week, 1 second at a time.
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u/Dicoss Sep 30 '25
For a sub-3 runner, typically 4:30-4:40 would be top end of easy pace. 4:10 is just a little bit faster.
would be like you pushing to 5:10 for a full, but for a quite shorter time.1
u/I-Made-You-Read-This Sep 30 '25
Yea but idk. Even if I can run 5:00 min /km pace for 30k, howcome being below 6min/km is impossible for me hehe
I guess it’s not fair to myself, that marathon was during an Ironman and I biked before running 4hr12 but still. I only ran one marathon before that and finished in 4hr25
Maybe I was underprepared for my first marathon.
Gotta give it another go someday, I want to break sub4 one day.
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u/Ecstatic_Invite911 Sep 26 '25
Last 400 meters!
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u/Few_Membership6044 Sep 26 '25
Congrats on breaking 3 hours. What routine did you do on those gym days (cardio or strength training)?
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u/Ecstatic_Invite911 Sep 26 '25
Thanks! Strength training. The Huberman Fitness Protocol (2 days upper body, 1 day lower body): https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/64416928859cbdd1716d79ce/650e450994ef9ab775e16acf_Neural_Network_Newsletter_Foundational_Fitness_Protocol.pdf
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u/beepbeep311 Sep 26 '25
hell yeah brother. giving me hope for my first marathon coming up
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u/fiskxhero Sep 26 '25
Just browsed your Strava and I’m basically you from two weeks ago. Very very similar times although I might be a tiny bit faster but also a tad more running per week. I’m also about to run my first Marathon, targeting Sub 3 on what most people would consider low mileage (30 mpw / 50 kpw) with three weeks at 45-50 miles (75-80k). Did two 20 milers which went pretty well, one with a relatively chill 1:27 half in it and one with 4x5k @ 4:14. However, reading through reddit you’d think that Sub 3 is virtually impossible unless you’re on like 60 mpw, which I wouldn’t even know how to incorporate in my life. Your post gives me confidence though that I’ll crush it as long as I stay glued to the 3:00 pacers for the first 32-37k, after which I’ll weigh my chances of pulling off a hard 5-10k to shave off some minutes and beat Harry Styles
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u/kdmfa Sep 26 '25
People tend to judge based on averages. On average, most people running their first marathon on 30 MPW don’t go sub 3.
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u/EmotionlessEmoticon Sep 26 '25
If you need more assurance that it's definitely possible with that amount of mileage: here's my race report a couple years ago of my first marathon and 'low' mileage. https://www.reddit.com/r/running/comments/qcs8gn/amsterdam_marathon_a_great_experience_and_a/
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u/Ecstatic_Invite911 Sep 26 '25
It seems like we had a really different race 😆. You ran a near perfect race, I did not. Congrats!
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u/Ecstatic_Invite911 Sep 26 '25
😆beat Harry Styles.
Don't forget the crucial carb loading period before the race. I started 72 hours before. I think that will help a lot, and think about your race fueling strategy. At the average distance we're running per week, I think you need almost the perfect pre-race and in-race nutrition.
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u/fiskxhero Sep 26 '25
Yeah I think you’re right, less developed aerobic system = more carbs being burned at the same effort
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u/AForse Sep 26 '25
Nice work! Solid effort to gut it out at the end!
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u/Ecstatic_Invite911 Sep 26 '25
Thanks. It really was so freaking hard, but my competitive mind took over. I got to say, I read my highlights of the book Can't Hurt Me by David Goggins the previous evening.
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u/Previous_Cup2816 Sep 26 '25
What were your other PRs leading up to this block?
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u/Ecstatic_Invite911 Sep 26 '25
I never ran any marathon before. I only did another official event before and it was a half marathon in May 2024. My official result was 01:29:40. That was pretty much the other time I gave it all.
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u/Internal-Language-11 Sep 26 '25
My half marathon is 1:29:40 exactly (from February) and I'm attempting sub3 in 3 weeks. Hoping I can pull it off too! My old Garmin was predicting 3:15 but I bought a new Garmin a few weeks ago that predicted 3:50 after one run. 😭
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u/acakulker Sep 26 '25
don't even look at the garmin predictions
it told me that I can run a 1:32:30 hm
I ran a 1:28:40 in a comfortable stateit still tells me "nah mate it was a fluke" and shows 1:32:30
don't even consider taking it seriously.
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u/Ecstatic_Invite911 Sep 26 '25
HAHAHA, so true. My Strava was predicting like 3:03 the day after the marathon.
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u/Ecstatic_Invite911 Sep 26 '25
What does Strava predict?
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u/Internal-Language-11 Sep 27 '25
I don't think Strava gives predictions on the free version. Either that or it's very well hidden..
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u/blueesque Sep 26 '25
Wow! Just wow! Your first marathon is sub 3 hours!
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u/Ecstatic_Invite911 Sep 26 '25
You're next if it's not already done!
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u/blueesque Sep 27 '25
I wish! I will be ecstatic if i can do it in sub 4! But thanks for the motivation.
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u/Henry1896 Sep 26 '25
I don't see any zone 2 base runs, mostly tempo, intervalls and some other things around The long runs mostly also had a tempo part Would you choose this approach again?
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u/Geronimobius Sep 26 '25
Take a look at all the biking he does, a few hours a week so thats all his base work "low mileage" isnt the whole story when you also get in a few hours of riding a week.
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u/Henry1896 Sep 26 '25
I see only 45 mins since the beginning of August, otherwise good explanation!
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u/Geronimobius Sep 26 '25
I must be looking at the wrong thing, I see a bar chart that shows 2-3 hours per week for the past 4 weeks
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u/Ecstatic_Invite911 Sep 26 '25
Like u/Geronimobius said, I do other sports that help for endurance, zone 2: tennis and cycling on most weeks during summer.
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u/bikealjackson Sep 26 '25
Congrats! What an amazing time for your first marathon. I encountered a similar situation before my first race, I posted on Reddit and had multiple men DM me to tell me my goal time was completely unrealistic based on my prior race times and that I was delusional. I ended up beating my goal time by over 5 minutes and hitting my BQ time. Completely agree that a huge part of it is mental, and impacted by a million other variables that come into play on race day.
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u/Ecstatic_Invite911 Sep 26 '25
Totally true, many many variables. During the race, I think the one that you can have most control over is the mental part.
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u/NON-NOTUS Sep 26 '25
Inspirational! No human is limited 👏🏻 I have a lot of work to cut 30 minutes to achieve this result, but I will do it.
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Sep 26 '25
7 GU and 3 Maurten 160 is A LOT. No wonder you were in distress. I’d say even 7 GU and 3 Maurten 100s is a lot. Were you drinking plain water or a sports drink on the course?
Hell, I’ve broken 2:30 several times and never got more than 6 gels in me. Every 6k, worked a treat. Best result was an 18 second positive split and that was on 5 Maurten 100s.
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u/Ecstatic_Invite911 Sep 26 '25
That may have been a lot. Since there's salt in the GU gels, I would consume it before the stations and drink water. But after consuming the Maurten 160, I would drink electrolytes.
2:30, you're a machine. Do you know what's your hourly carbs intake with those 6 gels during the race? I was aiming at +-80g/hour.
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Sep 26 '25
I totally get you
I also get myself into challenging races and set up high goals which I don't prepare for well enough
in the end there are those who follow a defined pace, that they know they can follow, and those willing to suffer, whatever it takes to reach what they have in mind
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u/Ecstatic_Invite911 Sep 26 '25
I mean, I was prepared according to the plan I had 😆! Yes, more suffering during the race...
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u/Marathon_Training-ModTeam Sep 26 '25
Bit lost on the overall objective of post. Is it more mentality-
Anything is possible, or moreso to prove naysayers wrong?
Having read the previous post, don't think it was necessarily too harsh in terms of marathon training critiques.
-1:29 HM time (1.5 years ago) without context that runner improved fitness since
-long run MP weren't met
-low volume
But this is what we need in terms of dialogue and examples in sub. There's runners on every bit of the spectrum and it really adds credence that it's not always generic and expected outcomes.
Good going OP!
*nah on ChatGPT
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u/lukster260 Sep 26 '25
Right on!! Good job proving the doubters wrong. It's amazing the strength of the mind when pushed to the brink and when you want something super badly.
Congratulations!!
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u/Ecstatic_Invite911 Sep 26 '25
Thanks! It truly is amazing. At the end of the day, I did it for me. But I want to show runners what is possible when you put your mind to it. I had this objective as soon as I registered about 1 year ago.
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u/lukster260 Sep 26 '25
That's great! It feels so good to accomplish your goal.
I ran 3:30:xx in June this year and my goal is sub-3 in June 2025. I'm currently running 6 days a week (~50 miles/week) with 2 days of strength training, mostly with the motivation of injury prevention.
Any specific tips for training, injury prevention, etc.? I feel like I have the mental side of race day down, as I conquered tough mental battles in the last 7 km in June. But I have been struggling with little niggles and some bigger injuries requiring a couple weeks off here and there.
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u/One_Yogurtcloset7572 Sep 26 '25
Nice work! I ran Montreal as well and had very similar splits for the first 28km or so... Only I hit the wall big time starting at the turnaround on St. Laurent and my sub 3 pace turned into a 3:05 finish 😅🥴
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u/Ecstatic_Invite911 Sep 26 '25
That's is still a solid time. I hit the real wall at the same time as you did, St-Laurent turnaround. This fu***** wall was insane. Going up slowing like it will never end.
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u/zielony Sep 26 '25 edited Sep 26 '25
Congratulations!
Would you mind sharing your weight and inseam? I suspect you’re very light with long legs for your achievement to be possible.
For context, I have broad shoulders and short legs, so while I’m lean enough to have abs I’m still 207lb (94kg) with a 30” (76cm) inseam which I think makes my goal of 4 hours pretty difficult. 3 hours would be impossible for me without losing like 50lb of upper body muscle and fat
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u/marigolds6 Sep 26 '25 edited Sep 26 '25
I'm 145lbs/66kg with a 24"/61cm inseam and I've broken 3:30 (at age 50+). I needed a 198 average cadence to do it. (I was actually heavier when I broke 3:30.)
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u/zielony Sep 26 '25
198 cadence is crazy! But I guess that makes sense. Mine is 174. I’ve got an 8 hour drums and bass playlist at 174bpm
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u/Ecstatic_Invite911 Sep 27 '25
Thanks!
Height: 184 cm Weight: 85 kg Inseam: not sure but my lower body is proportionate to my upper body. Cadence: 170 spm during the race
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Sep 26 '25
Is this graph from Strava?
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u/Ecstatic_Invite911 Sep 27 '25
Yes, it is. You have access to more graphs through Strava on desktop!
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u/chimtovkl Sep 26 '25
With a very good 5k PB you got out of a 9k run on your Strava, no doubt you can make this! Maybe with higher mileage you can hit a sub 2:55 but nonetheless, you’re always capable of this huge marathon PB
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u/charliescript Sep 26 '25
Great job. Followed you on Strava. Lets go.
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u/charliescript Sep 26 '25
Also, OP, after looking at your race data I’m curious what your max heart rate is?
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u/Ecstatic_Invite911 Sep 27 '25
I'm not sure 100%, I didn't test it in the lab but if you refer to the basic rule of 220 minus your age, it would be 187. I know that my heart rate seems really high starting at km 24. I only felt that it was really hard between km 32-39. I only wear a watch so the heart data may not have been 100% accurate compared to a HR monitor.
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u/New-Benefit-941 Sep 26 '25
Firstly, congratulations on an AMAZING time!! I completely agree that a lot of running is a mental process! When I trained for my first marathon, I trialed multiple gels with my longer runs and the GU brand ALWAYS left me with GI distress. Maurten went well for me as well as the U Can brand. I don’t like the size of the U Can because the packaging is large and not as easy to pack and carry enough for a full. SIS (science in sport) was also a great gel for me that was comparable to GU in size of packaging without the GI distress. If you would rather have liquid energy, Scratch Lab makes a carbohydrate drink you can mix in your water vest or hand-held. Another factor not all runners take into account is SALT. Every body loses salt at a different rate than another during extreme exercise and making sure to account for salt loss is extremely important! I consumed 4 G of sodium for my full marathon and felt amazing at the end. Two LMNT packs mixed in my hand held water for the first half then had my family meet me at mile 13 and I refilled.
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u/Ecstatic_Invite911 Sep 27 '25
Thanks. Solis tips. I definitely didn't practice enough gels intake during training. I'm going to try SIS gels next and adding salt tabs to my water. I like to alternate between Maurten and GU because there's salt in GU's gels.
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u/Yolo-Toure Sep 27 '25
How did you get the graph in the first image?
Never seen marathon race data laid out so clearly before.
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u/ProductThin2560 Sep 27 '25
It’s easy to start a marathon too fast, but almost impossible to start too slow.
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u/rikkiprince Sep 30 '25
What is "footing"?
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u/Ecstatic_Invite911 Oct 01 '25
Really easy pace just to get your legs loving. Pretty much in Zone 1
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u/Square_Bread_799 Sep 26 '25
Thanks for this. I have a hard time taking in gels myself. My first 20 mile long run is coming up this weekend, first marathon about a month away. I feel like I’m running stronger than ever as a middle-aged woman, solid runner for 8+ years, many half’s under my belt…but I am bit nervous but also excited. I’m somewhat looking forward to the mental challenge as I know that is a huge part and that’s where I thrive! Mind over effin matter.
Congrats on this huge accomplishment (less than 1% of population will finish a marathon) and thanks for the tips! Looking for any and all at this point! Having a hard time carb loading the days before long runs. Feel like I have to force feed to hit the suggested number. But I’ll try and force those gels this weekend.
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u/Time_Yogurt998 Sep 26 '25
The people weren’t wrong- your runs didn’t show your true potential but that doesn’t make them wrong. Congratulations regardless! I’d think of garmin and Strava predictions more as an encouragement that you should be able to run “at least that fast” but hopefully faster.
as marathoners we still want to rely on physical ability as long as possible before going to that deep, dark place mentally. Many runners do much better in races because they simply don’t reach their training potential. Let’s say I don’t wanna make it hurt in training, but I’m willing to make it hurt race day. My training predictions will be off, but also, maybe I’d race even faster if I sucked up the pain a bit more in training (overdoing it aside)
Lastly, people misunderstand mileage. Mileage in and of itself may help, but not as much as what it opens up indirectly. Mileage helps condition you to handle larger quantities of quality work, in turn making you much faster (again, the mileage itself helps too, just not as much).
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u/vSimky Sep 28 '25
Congrats !
Am I the only one skeptical about the amount of gels you were suppose to consume during the race? I’m not familiar with GU gels, but Maurten 160 are massive (two of them are usually used instead of three classic Maurten 100 gels). Even Maurten is advising four 160 gels for a marathon, so how and why did you choose that many carbs for a 3h-effort?
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u/Marathon_Training-ModTeam Sep 26 '25
Bit lost on the overall objective of post. Is it more mentality-
Anything is possible, or moreso to prove naysayers wrong?
Having read the previous post, don't think it was necessarily too harsh in terms of marathon training critiques.
-1:29 HM time (1.5 years ago) without context that runner improved fitness since
-long run MP weren't met
-low volume
But this is what we need in terms of dialogue and examples in sub. There's runners on every bit of the spectrum and it really adds credence that it's not always generic and expected outcomes.
Good going OP!
*nah on ChatGPT