My Background:

26y Male Canadian
Full time poker player of 4 years.
6' 170lbs

I thought I would start this thread as a means to keep me motivated and accountable. I have never actually raced a marathon officially but have run the distance in training multiple times. I have a decent cardio base and usually within 1.5 months of inefficient training i can hold a sub 3hr pace for 1hr.

In the past when i attempted this goal before i used to force myself to run a half marathon at 3hr pace almost every day. This resulted in me being completely worn out and barely able to walk or even sit. I have since then read up on proper training techniques and am looking forward to implementing them.

Right now I'm currently just getting back into running. My running cardio is coming back really fast as I'm in mountaineering shape (hiking with a heavy pack).

What your current distance PR? Timed?

My current distance personal record is 26.2 miles. I have ran that distance now a few times and have always felt good at the end. The fastest i've ever ran it was probably just under 4 hrs. However I was not aiming for speed at the time. I was using that run as a training platform for mountaineering.

I shat bricks. Well done.

Unfortunately, I can't offer any useful tips. The most my fat ass has ever run was 8 miles with 3 miles being the regular routine.

What does the training look like for you?

I have 3 main workouts a week that are spaced out by an easy 45mins to 1hr cardio (i usually do elliptical walker and stair master or 7mph running). The 7th day is a rest day where i do a full body workout.

1) pacing session: when I run 8mph for the first 20mins then up the speed to 8.8mph and hold for 20mins-90mins (i'm just starting out so i'm at 20mins right now)
2) Interval speed runs: I start the run off at 6mph for 0.5 miles then up the speed to 10mph for .4miles then drop back down to 6mph for .2miles then up the speed to 10mph again for .4miles. I'm going to adjust the distances and numbers of intervals according to my progressing fitness level. Right now i can only really do 5x10mph intervals before i feel like crap.
3) long run: running at a 7.2mph-7.9mph starting at 1hr 10mins length and eventually getting up to 3hrs.

If anyone has training/eating suggestions i would be happy to consider them.

What's your lifetime best for the 10K? If it is slower than 40 minutes you have virtually no chance of breaking 3 hours.

In past training i used to just set the treadmill to force myself to run it in exactly 40 mins.
Right now i think i could uncomfortably hold 9mph for 10k which is just a touch over 40 mins.

gl paperempire, will be following along

Even with a big aerobic base, you should probably work on building your running mileage a lot before focusing on your workouts. It can take a while to adapt to the specific nature of running and especially pounding the road. Not sure if running outside is an option now where you live, but you should probably ditch the treadmill as soon as you can too.

You might enjoy reading through this thread. Good luck.

5 Key Marathon Workouts

9mph is the speed you must maintain for the entire marathon to run 2:55. That gives very little leeway for error. If you train seriously you might have a chance to break 3 hours in Chicago. That gives you about 9 months. 2 or 3 months before the marathon it needs to be easy to run 9mph after the 10th mile of your training run. If not you have no chance.
If you have not run a race with 10,000+ runners, you don't understand all the obstacles to running a perfect race.

Today i completed my first week on training. Just did my long run for week.
7.5mph incline 1.0 (to account for wind / terrain) for 1.5hr with the last 5 mins at 8mph (I wanted to up the speed to 9mph but thought i shouldn't overdo it on my first long run of the program). I originally was thinking i was going to run for only 1:10hr but felt really good and kept going. My legs feel tired and sore now a few hours later but I did some hydrotherapy (hot + cold) to drain the lactic acid. I find this + lots of water greatly increases my recovery rate. At 1hr into the run i used the heart rate sensor and saw that my heart rate was 180... seems really high but i wasn't suffering in anyway. Friday will be a rest day then Saturday i will start with my lower intensity cardio session before starting back on workout 1 on Sunday (workout 1 = marathon pacing session).

BreakfastBurrito: Thanks for the link. I'll give those points some thought and will probably use those workouts as change-ups. Yeah running outside is not really an option right now where I live in Canada as the temperature is usually between 9F to -22F.

jogsxyz: At this point I don't really have any ambition to run in a 10,000+ person marathon. I was thinking more along the lines of just doing a local competition where there would be 150-500 people depending on which 1 i pick. I hope that this doesn't take me 9 months to be able to meet this goal... but however long it takes will be okay with me.

There are a few problems with a small race. You can't trust that the distance was measured properly. Lack of support. You better be able to run with very few water stops.
I do know quite a few runners who have run the 10K in under 40 minutes and still never broke 3:10 in a marathon. Real marathons aren't like running on a treadmill. People are in your way. The road isn't flat or straight. And it is incredible how much speed you lose when you're tired after the 2 hour mark.
Normal people aren't capable of running a full effort marathon more than 2 or 3 times a year. It takes a long time to recover.
The longest race I've ever run and was able to run well the entire distance was 25K. 1:37:30. The year before I ran 1:40. It was amazing how just 9 seconds faster per mile took a lot out of me. I was tire for days. After the 1:40 effort, I was able to run the next day at a normal training pace.

You must train on the roads. Running on a treadmill just isn't the same as the roads.

Woke up today and my legs feel great. Almost feel perfect. It turns out I started my base weight at 175lbs and not 170lbs as stated before. Anyways my morning weight is now 170lbs. I expect it eventually drop to about an average of 165lbs. If I need to drop it to 160lbs to complete this goal I will.

Jogsxyz: When i used to run 1/2 marathon at 1.5hr pace I used to do it with shot legs and no water/fueling. I know what it is like to do a miserable run 5 seconds at a time. I do plan on running on the roads and doing the majority of my training on them. Its just far too cold where I live right now. It will probably be far too cold for some time. I definitely realize this is a tough goal and will be taking my training very seriously.