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I run the local 10K every year and this year, I decided I'm going to do it! I'm going to run a full marathon! The local marathon is in November so I have plenty of time to train for it. I've downloaded schedules.
I still intend on doing the 10K I normally do in March. I'm also doing a fun 5K in May, possibly a half in Aug and then the Marathon in November. I'm really excited about it.
Any marathoners out there have any words of advice?
November isn't as bad as September or October races, but you'll still be doing a lot of long training runs in the summer. Depending on where you live, this can be a challenge with the heat. If you have a proven plan you should be fine. If you don't have a solid base right now, it's a good time to get that established. I'm very conservative when it comes to increasing distance, so while it's 10 months out now is the time to start building up mileage so that you have a good base to start whatever program you've chosen.
November isn't as bad as September or October races, but you'll still be doing a lot of long training runs in the summer. Depending on where you live, this can be a challenge with the heat. If you have a proven plan you should be fine. If you don't have a solid base right now, it's a good time to get that established. I'm very conservative when it comes to increasing distance, so while it's 10 months out now is the time to start building up mileage so that you have a good base to start whatever program you've chosen.
I am definitely trying to come up with a good plan. I too am conservative with increasing distance, which is why I planned for the November race. I feel that's when I'd be the most comfortable with running such distance.
I'm a vet of two (and only 2) full marathons. I don't want to discourage you, but just focus on that half marathon first and then proceed from there as you wish. Half marathon is an ideal distance to for many (including me) because it's a real challenge (13.1 miles is FAR) but it does;t require 3-4 or more hour hard runs on the weekends or whenever. Don't get me wrong, it's good to try a marathon if you have it in your mind (I did) just know that it is a truly grueling feat, especially on your first run. Make sure you can run a full 17 miles beforehand otherwise so much lactic acid will build up that it may become incredibly painful to move your legs at all much less run on them. If you do NOT reach a point where you can comfortably run 17+ miles on your own (I don't mean that you have to smoke them in record time, just not quit or breakdown crying (which is easy to do, even for the best) then make sure to walk as much of that marathon as you're comfortable with, especially int hose earl y miles. Otherwise you may be setting yourself up for so much pain that I can only compare it to child birth (not that I'd know> Sorry, I'm really not trying to scare you off, but that's the reality of not being fully prepared, which I experienced first hand. The second one was fine, but still really tiring of course and I decided the half was a much better fit for me at that point.
I'm a vet of two (and only 2) full marathons. I don't want to discourage you, but just focus on that half marathon first and then proceed from there as you wish. Half marathon is an ideal distance to for many (including me) because it's a real challenge (13.1 miles is FAR) but it does;t require 3-4 or more hour hard runs on the weekends or whenever. Don't get me wrong, it's good to try a marathon if you have it in your mind (I did) just know that it is a truly grueling feat, especially on your first run. Make sure you can run a full 17 miles beforehand otherwise so much lactic acid will build up that it may become incredibly painful to move your legs at all much less run on them. If you do NOT reach a point where you can comfortably run 17+ miles on your own (I don't mean that you have to smoke them in record time, just not quit or breakdown crying (which is easy to do, even for the best) then make sure to walk as much of that marathon as you're comfortable with, especially int hose earl y miles. Otherwise you may be setting yourself up for so much pain that I can only compare it to child birth (not that I'd know> Sorry, I'm really not trying to scare you off, but that's the reality of not being fully prepared, which I experienced first hand. The second one was fine, but still really tiring of course and I decided the half was a much better fit for me at that point.
This was actually very helpful. I am definitely focusing on that half marathon first. I really want to run a full marathon before my 30th Birthday which is August 2015, so that's why I was/am pretty set on the November race. I intend on walking and taking it easy. Honestly, I'm not trying to be the best, I'm just trying to finish.
I really appreciate the advice and your words of experience. It is something I really want to do at least once. Once I do it one time, I'll be ok with sticking to my 10Ks and Half Marathons. =)
I've never really been a "runner." I like weightlifting, interval training and things like that. However, I ran a half marathon and a marathon last year. The furthest I ran to train for the half was 5 miles but I did a lot of circuit style weight training, rowing on the erg, etc. However for the full, I ran a 20 miler about 4 weeks out from the marathon and was planning on a 22 miler the following week but I wasn't feeling it so just did two shorter runs; something ~10 milers the next two weeks.
I think getting those long runs was the single most important part of training. My highest mileage week was 26 miles; a 20 miler, a 4 mile tempo run and a 2 mile recovery jog which is downright paltry compared to the 80-100 mile weeks most people put in. Without putting in long runs, your body won't really make the adaptations to keep going to whole time.
After the half, I started at 10 miles and increased 2 miles a week for three weeks and then halved the fourth week. So 10, 12, 14, 7, 16, 18, 20, 10 was sort of the plan. It turned into something like 10, 12, 14, 7, 16, 3, 18, off, 20, 10 just from being tired or injured. Biggest thing is just listen to your body. You have plenty of time to build so you can add a mile a week and still be good.
This was actually very helpful. I am definitely focusing on that half marathon first. I really want to run a full marathon before my 30th Birthday which is August 2015, so that's why I was/am pretty set on the November race. I intend on walking and taking it easy. Honestly, I'm not trying to be the best, I'm just trying to finish.
I really appreciate the advice and your words of experience. It is something I really want to do at least once. Once I do it one time, I'll be ok with sticking to my 10Ks and Half Marathons. =)
Thanks again!
I totally understand, that's the same reason I did a marathon. I'm over it now but I'm glad I did so I don't have to wonder. Well, I did two, actually, and I registered for a third but was not in shape for it at all so I just ran the first 8 miles to help pace a friend and then met him for the last 2-3 miles but did not cross the finish line myself.
The main take-away, including what others have said, is that it's very important to a) get your base up, and b) get some long runs of NO LESS that 17 miles (preferably 20-22 or more) a few weeks before the race.
Your base needs to increase so that you can do 5-6 miles per run routinely, like most people would just do 1 or 2. And then you need to have a weekly long run starting at about 7 or 8 miles (or lower if your base is really low) and working your way up from there. It's important to do the really long ones at least a couple of weeks before the race, certainly not a few days before, because you need all that recovery time to condition your body to such distances. If you don't have a solid base or you haven't done any very long runs, your body will not be able to stay ahead of the lactic acid buildup and it will be incredibly painful. Of course, if you don't mind walking the whole course, you could probably go off the couch. But if you're 'off the couch' and you run the first half to exhaustion, you probably won't even be able to walk most the 2nd half because of the cramping and acidic pain.
A lot of people do tempo runs too, which is good for speed and overall fitness. The best book I've found on training for running is Run Less, Run Faster by Bill Pierce (among others --- it's a Runner's World Pub). It is geared toward marathoners, but can be applied to other events as well. The point of it is a non-time-intensive program that will get you in shape and competitive while still managing the rest of your life and avoiding injury. The principles in it are not much different than what I (and others) already outlined, but I just like it because it takes a pretty casual approach toward serious results. It's sort of like the difference between diet programs that want you to have a kitchen scale and meticulously count calories and the ones that just say, eat a portion no bigger than your fist (or whatever) and you're good. Same principles and similar results in most cases, but one is a lot easier for the average person to understand and stay with. You can write everything down and closely chart your progress if you want, that's certainly a good thing to do if it suits you, but you don't HAVE to do that and you can still get some surprisingly good results by just having fun.
Last edited by otterprods; 01-31-2014 at 10:12 AM..
The marathon is perhaps less painful than the 5K. You have to constantly tell yourself not to go out too fast. With the 5K it's push, push, push.
It all depends on what your goal is and how fast you want to go. If you want to run fast you have to do some speed work. A simple method is the Yasso interval. Yasso 800s | Runner's World
Run 800 meters (approx. 1/2 mile) at a hard pace, then 400 meters very slow. Repeat this 10 times. (work your way up of course). Do this only once a week. Get in a long run also once a week, and try to hit 20-24 miles about 6 weeks out from your marathon which will stimulate capillary development. Run a tempo run each week (30-60 minutes at a hard pace). Apart from that run as many miles as you can at a slow, easy pace. Taper off the week before the race. Cut your speed and distance.
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