Setting a realistic goal?
Doing my (27m) first marathon this November (Philly), and am trying to figure out a good goal to set that is realistic but also will push myself to perform well. Cause I could say "I'm going to shoot for a sub-3" but let's be real here.
Recent races, in March I did a half in Philly (Love Run). First ever race, did Hals intermediate 2 half plan, didn't know the importance of gels/fueling, and pulled a 1:41. Felt solid, I could have definitely gone faster but I was nervous/excited and just wanted to finish under 2. (Started with the 2hr pace group, caught up with the 1:40 right at the end)
Did the Broadstreet run (again, Philly) just sorta did my usual training leading up to it, understood the importance of fueling, pulled a 1:10 (similar, orange corral ended with purple).
Training, my neighborhood/parks in Delco are significantly more hilly than the Philly courses and tend to take me a little over an hour for 7 miles (accounting for stop/start with traffic). Clear about on average 30 miles per week, but with no grad school over the summer am looking to add more.
I imagine it's more than half times 2 for estimating but would 3:30 be a reasonable goal time to work towards? Or do you think I'd be able to push for faster? I know some folks have watch data for splits, I don't have a watch yet. Looking to snag one. And am probably going to run it back with Hal's marathon.