Mile 17 Almost Broke Me — Week 1 of the 2:57 Marathon Build (Ep. 3)

Welcome back to Episode 3 — Week 1 of my five-week marathon build to a sub-2:57 marathon at age 63 is officially in the books. Today I break down the whole week, including the big one: a 20-mile long run with 15 miles of progressive and marathon-pace work tucked inside — and the mile-17 moment that almost broke me. ⏱️ WEEK 1 — THE SUNDAY 20-MILER 3 miles easy warm-up 10 miles progressive (7:10 → 6:45/mi) 5 miles solo at 6:45/mi marathon pace 2 miles easy cool-down Total: 20.0 miles 📋 CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro — welcome back & early fall colors 0:37 The goal: sub-2:57 marathon at 63 1:08 Week 1 in the books — the plan (6:45/mi) 1:37 Two key workouts: tempo + Friday session 1:57 Sunday's test: the 20-mile long run 2:18 The game plan — 3 easy / 10 progressive / 5 MP / 2 cool 2:39 The 10-mile progressive block (7:10 → 6:45) 3:37 Mile 17 — the key moment (headwind + hill + HR spike) 4:23 Backing off, and the mile-18 payoff 5:20 Final numbers from the watch 5:54 What matters: the body under stress 6:37 Where Week 1 leaves us + Week 2 preview 👇 How did your weekend long run go? Drop it in the comments below. SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss Week 2's marathon-specific push! 🏃‍♂️⚡ #MarathonTraining #Sub3Marathon #RunningAt63 #LongRun #MarathonPR