Quote Originally Posted by zoom-zoom View Post
Colby, you have made such amazing progress with each marathon. How was your training different from race-to-race? I have run 3 and the difference from my fastest to slowest was only about 3 minutes...regardless of training. My training for my most recent one was better than the first 2, but I lost my PR in the port-a-john (first time ever that I've needed to use one. I tried to hit the toilets one last time before the start, but the lines were too long...by 7 miles in I had to pee like a racehorse!). That kinda stunk!

Kudos on a great job, especially while fighting off some bug. If you are anything like me you will get sick with a cold any day now.
That's a really good question. I have dropped weight/increased muscle mass, which helps certainly. I have built up significant endurance base/capacity just by doing it year after year (and triathlons all summer). I have done different training plans each time, so I don't think that really contributed much. I think if I had to boil it down, I have more or less learned how to run and how to like running (note that I didn't say "love" running)

I have tried that "not pee before the race" thing and it only works for a triathlon because you get to pee in the water. Every time I don't pee before the race and it's a running race, I have to pee really bad no earlier than 30 minutes in, and usually can't take it anymore around an hour or so in. That's okay for a 10k, but for anything longer... always always wait in the line.