Hi there. This is my first post but I really have had good luck w the Hal higdon programs- they're free and online.
Good luck

I was also going to suggest Higdon. Also take a look at Runners World. They have training plans for all distances.

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Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce

Thanks! Those are the ones I was looking at so glad I asked!!

Key is to listen to your body and not be a slave to a plan. See how it responds to the training and adjust accordingly.

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Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce

Hi there. Just recently I downloaded a free app for my IPod that writes programs for you. It is Runners World. You have to fill in all the necessary information, then it will generate a program for you. I think it is from the Runners World website. :)

Will check that out!!! Rather blind about the whole thing, not in an area where there is a runner's group so of anyone has any suggestions, I am all ears!!

It's a great idea to follow a plan, but my only suggestion is to not become a slave to that plan. There's a fine line between being tired and just not motivated to go out and do your runs, and being tired enough that it's more beneficial to stay home and take an ice bath. Any sign of an injury or major fatigue= it's okay to drop the run for that day, or modify the plan a bit.

Also, I believe it's not necessary to do a full 26.2 distance before you do it on race day, but every first timer I know (including myself, whoops) has ignored that advice and do it anyway. :)

If you couldn't run a 10k three months ago, why do you want to jump so quickly to a marathon? Why not do a 1/2 marathon next spring and then train for a full next fall. That will give you a full year to ramp up to the distance.

I have signed up for a half this fall. Next year is planned as "get up the duff year"so I sort of feel that if I don't get off my butt and do it now, I never will. I figure if I start the training now, I should be okay with it as I have been active in various sports since I was a kid - just not a long distance runner if I wasn't chasing a ball!


Npda, thanks for the advice - I am like you and will probably do a full one before just to make sure I can - I don't really understand why training programs never take you to the full distance in running but for things like swimming, they have you over it all the time - and in some cases, double the distance!! Same for biking!

You are completely under-estimating the amount of time required to ramp up to running the marathon distance. You are setting yourself up for injury. Please reconsider.

If you don't mind me asking, why would you suggest that? If I follow any of the programs I've looked into, it seems to build up slowly. I run about 7-8k about 5 times a week right now. Is it too much of a stress to start training and compete in Feb? I am clueless about these things, which is why I posted on here. Certainly want to avoid injuries but, perhaps incorrectly, thought that six months was a good time to start training.

ETA - just realized my first oly tri (10k run) was three months ago so I guess that should be "Six months ago the idea of doing 10k..."

Marathons are hard on the body. It takes a while to recover, even if the muscles don't hurt anymore you still aren't recovered. Running is really hard on your body at that distance. If you do one in training you lose quality training time while you recover from it. Riding and swimming are MUCH easier on the body so overdistance isn't as big a deal.

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Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce

I would recommend just grabbing any of the running magazines from the local library or a friend, I am sure there are plenty of people out there that would be more than willing to help you out. I have been running for 8 years and started my first race with a marathon. Got accepted to the NYC marathon in June 2004 and completed it in Nov 2004. It was rough, but I completed it. Also, check out your local running stores, actually this might be easier, there are plenty of local running training groups at most running stores these days that can help out tremendously. Hope this helps, more than will to help out... I been there before and would love to give you any advise I can.
I have since completed the past 7 years NYC Marathons and plenty of other races. Only in the last 3 years have I stepped over to triathlons and done all distances except the ironman distance and that one will be completed for me next year in IMNYC/NJ
Good Luck

It takes a long time to build up the endurance to run 26.2 miles. You aren't even running that far over an entire week right now and you want to be able to run that full distance in 6 months?? That's just crazy if you ask me. Run another 10km this fall and set a goal time to run it faster than you did before. Pick a half marathon to run next spring and dedicate yourself to building up to that distance properly. Once you've successfully run a half, then find a full that you want to train for. I would suggest next fall at the earliest. Also, there's lots of great info on training for this distance. Read everything you can about training, recovery and nutrition. It will really help you prepare properly.

Congrats Jewel and good luck!! Will look into a running shop here and see what they have in terms of groups. Just rather far from my house - not exactly in a city! Was thinking I might check out the university teams in the area.

Thanks for the advice Dawn. Rethinking based on your comments and advice. The last thing I want to do is injury myself. I will do the half I signed up for this fall and see how that goes. I already entered for full and if I feel my body isn't able to do it, I will try and defer it for a year (though if things go to plans, no way will I be able to do it then) and if |I can't, so be it.

Been reading a lot since I started with the tris - and did a lot for lifting. Sadly not as many nice gels, bars, shakes and whatnot like you guys have - am in Japan and they really don't have that many options! Very jealous of the flavours and options you all have!

Good luck with the training! A few things to remember that you may already know. In running there's a 10% rule of thumb/guideline. Increase your distance by more than 10% per week, and you increase your chances for injury greatly. (You should look it up - don't take my word for it.) If conducting the training means you don't do that, excellent! If it means you have to increase too much too soon, then push things off a bit.

Marathoning is tough on the body - but everyone's different. Watch out for common injuries after about 16 miles - my IT bands began bugging me after that far, but were fine before. Don't push through the pain just to finish a race. That was my problem - I had a goal and I wanted to complete it. Three years later and I still have nagging IT band injuries. That's because of my stupidity. Don't be like me! :)

Marathoning is also largely mental. Don't neglect your brain while you're working on your body. Just like you would for an ironman, prepare yourself mentally for the distance. You do NOT need to run 26.2 before you run 26.2 on race day to do that. And you shouldn't. In fact, running that far basically ensures that your body will still be recovering when you run the marathon if you follow your training plan. Usually the taper begins after a final long run of 20 miles or so three weeks before the marathon. I've always assumed that's because of another rule of thumb: you need one day of recovery for each mile of a marathon. (Recognizing that you run between the last long run and the marathon, you still don't do a "long run" that taxes your legs in the same way. It's a different animal.) So if you run 26.2 as your last long run before the marathon, you're doing that on legs that still need rest. Don't take my word for it - ask around and you'll hear the same advice. And check out the training plans from the Brooks running team - they don't even run 20 in training anymore, if memory serves. Unless you have the body and stamina of a world-class marathoner, running that volume is just going to beat you up more than it's worth.

My two cents! Good luck!! Have a great time, and remember - if you're not having fun, you're not doing it right. Change something.
belly

Here is something that might help you out, I got it part of my email today.
http://www.runnersworld.com/...g-_-TrainingGuidePDF
Good Luck

I think you can get to a marathon in the time frame you're looking at, but you will have to be realistic about your time goal. (A rule of thumb that works for me is to double my half marathon time and add ten minutes.) The important thing is to get to the start line healthy and injury-free, and to finish with a smile on your face. BarryP's 3-2-1 run plan, which emphasizes frequency and low-intensity has worked really well for me. Search for it on the main forum.

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No coasting in running and no crying in baseball

Thanks for the link - that is the plan I plan on using. Using the South African runner's world half first - also metric!

Thanks for all the advice and support on this. Slow and steady and we'll see how it goes! Enjoying the training so far but wish it would cool down!!

google "marathon dominator - Ben Greenfield".

Thank you!!!

Honestly between the PMs and the replies on here, so happy I found ST to help me out with training! Thank you!

Just wanted to bump this to say thank you for the advice - I didn't end up getting in for the marathon so am going to do a half. The runs are going well, using the runner's world half in under two hours to train. Going well.

Just a quick question - my distance runs are at 15k and I am not in any pain at all, able to run the next day... Any thoughts on me signing up for two halfs that are a week apart? Feeling good after all my runs, time is getting better...

Good idea, once you do a half, and they can be pretty hard on you, you will have a small idea of going the full distance. I write "small" because the first half is always a heck of a lot easier than the second... they call mile 20 "the Wall" for a reason ;-).

Re: 1 half's a week apart, well, what are you trying to achieve with these races? If you want long training runs that give shirts and medals out, then sure, go for it, sometimes it's fun just to be part of it all.... But if you are expecting to "race" either of those events, you may end up (1) disappointed that you were "average" in both or (2) happy that you kicked butt in event #1 and super slow + sore in event #2 and dramatically increased your chances of injury or illness. I personally love racing, so when I start an event, I race it (even if I am only racing myself/the clock). I do not expect to be running the next day after a 1/2, so for me, doing two 1/2s that close to each other just doesn't make sense. Back to back races, the max I would consider is 10k or OD racing; or a 5k/half (Sprint/1/2IM) combo. In 09 I did a sprint 2 weeks before IMC, and it was the best decision - kept me fresh, got me moving at a higher pace than usual. I'd consider the same approach for road racing, shorter/faster then longer/slower...

Good luck on your racing, whatever you decide! Let us know how it goes!

AP

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"How bad could it be?" - SimpleS

That's great, but beware that racing is sometimes a different story. You're going faster :-)


I'm in the "sure" camp if the goal is just to have fun doing them. If you do 2 halves a week apart, keep the week between them really, really light. Your goal for that week has to be recover + get ready to race again.

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD