i started training for my first marathon in December 2023.
since then I've gone from a
3:00:55 marathon to 2:41:54.
On November 1, 2026 i'm racing the NYC Marathon for the first time and i'm chasing sub-2:35:00.
this is a bit of the data behind the climb: how fast it happened, the mileage, and my garmin's inability to recognize the DOG in me lol. i'll aim to update the data ~bi-weekly for the homies AND haters.
every race scored as a VDOT — one running-fitness number, computed straight from the result and comparable across distances, so half marathons and marathons sit honestly on one line. higher is fitter. the hollow node is the November goal; hover any point for the real chip time.
the dashed line is Garmin's own race time predictor, derived from
training activity alone.
the dots (marathon) & triangles (half marathon) are what i actually ran.
green means i beat the watch's number;
red means i underperformed. my watch can
measure a lot. it can't take into account race-day adrenaline, pacing, or sheer
DOG.
same effort, faster splits. monthly average pace for easy runs at 130–152 bpm. a rising line means more i can push more speed at the same heartbeat — the cleanest physiological proof that the engine got bigger, and not just stronger legs.
bars are weekly totals; the line is a 4-week rolling average — the build underneath the race line. volume is the single biggest driver of marathon improvement, and this curve is where the speed comes from.
two and a half years of training, one square per day, shaded by distance. the build blocks, injuries, taper weeks, etc. all show up at a glance. this is what 2.5 years, a "short period of time" actually looks like up close.
total ground covered since i started rocking a garmin in December 2023.
running sub-2:35:00 requires a nearly 7-minute marathon PR for me. here's the pace, the splits it implies, and where Garmin says i stand today.