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Poll: Have you run a marathon?

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Re: Poll: Have you run a marathon?

#11

Post by shivamantrik23 »

waderoush wrote: post #2

I was a first-time marathoner in 2012 and I found Hal Higdon's site very useful. http://www.halhigdon.com/ FWIW, training for a marathon isn't too complicated. Start at least 18 weeks beforehand. Run about 10-11 miles during the week and do one long run on the weekend, building up to 20 miles two weeks before your race.

2013 Chicago - Oct 13; 2013 NYC - Nov 3

I did 4 marathons, 200lb guy with 5hr finish times. 3 Marine Corps and 1 Big Sur. I enjoyed each and every race, except my first. but I would take that painful race again anytime.

Tip for back-to-back marathons: Based on my experience, two back-to-back is a killer. I would NEVER enjoy NYC after running chicago, if chicago is going to be your first. Again.. this is my experience and I would never do it. But some people are driven and they are able to do it.

For Training: HalHigdon is best and simple.. The way I do every time is, take 18 wk plan, and stretch it to 36 weeks.. that way, each week is repeated twice.

As you have lot of time (you might think ;), make sure you include Weight Training and Speed Training. Helps a lot.

Take lots of breaks, even when you are a 7min miler. http://www.halhigdon.com/training/51137/Marathon-Novice-1-Tr...

btw.. get off the phone, and enjoy the Race, Scenery and Crowds.

Re: Poll: Have you run a marathon?

#12

Post by RLindley »

http://running.about.com/od/marathonprograms/a/marathonbeg.h...

Really the best training program is just to get out and run. Push yourself for long distance over a flat terrain. I did my elevation training on an elliptical. Long distance built the stamina, and the elliptical built the strength. I did the Flying Pig marathon last year for my first marathon. The combo of long running with elliptical cross training really did the trick for me. Everyone is different though.

Re: Poll: Have you run a marathon?

#13

Post by ChuckJohnstone »

waderoush wrote: post #2

I was a first-time marathoner in 2012 and I found Hal Higdon's site very useful. http://www.halhigdon.com/ FWIW, training for a marathon isn't too complicated. Start at least 18 weeks beforehand. Run about 10-11 miles during the week and do one long run on the weekend, building up to 20 miles two weeks before your race.

I'll second the Hal Higdon plan. I ran my first marathon in 2009 and followed the plan almost to the T.

Re: Poll: Have you run a marathon?

#14

Post by pseut »

SF marathon in 2003 -- for just finishing in a decent time, the long runs are key. I think I used the online run "diary" at coolrunnings.com, printed out a random training schedule, counted backwards from the marathon date, and started at "week 8" or whatever the current date fell on. I do not recommend that training strategy.

Edit: I've been playing with the "zombies, run!" iphone app and it's been fun for short runs, but (as I'm sure you know) it's going to get tedious quickly for training for a marathon. Audiobooks are wonderful, though. Especially stuff that's light, escapist, and fun but somewhat embarrassing: I listened to most of the Harry Potter books, for example. If you're disciplined enough to only listen to the books when you're running, it can be a surprisingly strong motivator.

Second Edit: (now I'm nostalgic) I also don't recommend a 2 mile warm up jog to the start of the race (I lived on Fell at the time).

Re: Poll: Have you run a marathon?

#16

Post by cullenking »

Whatever you do just realize that marathons are, for most people, bad for your body. I ran my first (and last!) marathon last year and ended up not being able to go on light runs for over 6 months. This isn't an uncommon story.

There are a bunch of training plans you can find online and they all share one thing in common: start out easy and work your distance up, then back off a month before the run. Make it to 16 or even 18 miles as your longest training run, give yourself at least a couple weeks to recover from it before running an actual marathon.

Identify your pace! There's a ton of rules of thumb out there based on half marathon times. I looked at my finishing time in a half marathon 2 weeks before the full, then used that to determine the percentile I was in and how it corresponded to the full marathon results. Saw that it wasn't crazy to do a sub 4 hour, so I set my pace accordingly. I used both a running watch, and in general kept with the pace flagger.

Final word of wisdom: don't do what I do and train in only 5 weeks! It's way harder on your body that way, even if you are in good cradio shape (I bike alot). Your muscles need to build up to stabilize your knees.

Re: Poll: Have you run a marathon?

#17

Post by grdvnl »

jefflinwood wrote: post #7

I think the best thing you can do is run with a group, especially if you can find one training for the same marathon. It'll keep you a lot more motivated than running by yourself, and it's a lot more fun. Plus if you're a techie, it's a good way to get outside and meet people. FWIW, the 2013 Chicago Marathon and the 2013 NYC marathon are pretty close together for a first-time marathoner. I would suggest just doing on…

Running with a group while training for the marathon could be the best approach. Before I started training for my first marathon I had never run more than 3 or 4 miles. Just being in a group forces you to show up for the those long runs on weekends. Plus, I have met some amazing people and made great friends during the training. I trained with this group back then: http://sf.team-asha.org/ (a charity that funds education in India)

Since my first marathon I have trained alone for a number of them. But, I have consistently trained well and timed well when I trained with a group.

In terms of what organizations to choose: if you are looking for charity based training groups there are a tonne.

If anyone is in Chicago and planning to train I would recommend checking out CARA(Chicago Area Runner's association). They have an excellent marathon training program.

Re: Poll: Have you run a marathon?

#18

Post by mrspeaker »

I've run one. I hit the "wall" at the 25Km (out of 42) mark - which was really weird, because I was doing 21Km runs 4 or 5 times a week leading up to it - and they were no problem!

Once I got passed it was fine, up to the 39Km mark when I decided to walk for a bit. BAD DECISION! I walked for a few hundred meters, then went to start jogging again. No way. My body refused to start up! I had to do a weird shuffle-my-shoulders-in-a-circular-motion to get up a rhythm and work up back to a jog.

Got a banana at the finish line. Best thing I ever tasted.

Re: Poll: Have you run a marathon?

#20

Post by benburleson »

jefflinwood wrote: post #7

I think the best thing you can do is run with a group, especially if you can find one training for the same marathon. It'll keep you a lot more motivated than running by yourself, and it's a lot more fun. Plus if you're a techie, it's a good way to get outside and meet people. FWIW, the 2013 Chicago Marathon and the 2013 NYC marathon are pretty close together for a first-time marathoner. I would suggest just doing on…

I had a great experience joining Team in Training for my first marathon. It's a great group of people with diverse athletic abilities, so it was easy to find someone at my pace.

The catch (if you want to call it that) is that it's a fundraising group for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society so you're obligated to raise some money (or make a sizable donation yourself).

The entire experience changed my life forever.

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