Marathon training panic!
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michellemybelll wrote: »your top weekly mileage on your training plan is less than the entirety of the marathon itself. that does not seem logical.
Actually the plan has kind of an interval set up. One week my miles add up to 20, another they are over 40. It just happens that the average over all is 25.
I'm not sure why my plan has shaken out to be that, it might be because I missed a week in December when I was down with flu (got my shot but didn't spare me! lovely)
I have a 14 this week followed by an 16 next before the plan has me taper with a 10 as my last long run.
I might push one of those to an 18 and see how I feel then, would that be advisable?0 -
michellemybelll wrote: »your top weekly mileage on your training plan is less than the entirety of the marathon itself. that does not seem logical.
I can't even begin to imagine attempting a full marathon on weekly mileage that low. Personally I wouldn't even attempt a half marathon with weekly mileage that low.
Sorry OP but I am not one to sugar coat things. You will be in for a rough time.
Is it strange that a half marathon doesn't phase me? I'm not fast, ever, but when I finish them I'm not even sore. I actually have never experienced soreness after a run (or race) until I hit 15 miles, 16 hurts the next day but I feel like I can keep going. I get tight after a 13 but with rolling and yoga it's no big (except my quads, I roll those but just can't quite get it)
I've done halfs for a year and a half now consistently. It's like my comfort distance. I'm still really concerned that my overall average weekly mileage is as low as it is. I don't want a catastrophic injury, obviously. Who does?
I just want to finish this one, not finish with good (even for me) time. I just want to survive it, hopefully without anything in my body exploding.0 -
If you keep to the 10% weekly mileage increase rule I don't see where that would be a problem. You might want to shorten one or both of the other runs that week to compensate for the extra two miles, if needed.michellemybelll wrote: »your top weekly mileage on your training plan is less than the entirety of the marathon itself. that does not seem logical.
Actually the plan has kind of an interval set up. One week my miles add up to 20, another they are over 40. It just happens that the average over all is 25.
I'm not sure why my plan has shaken out to be that, it might be because I missed a week in December when I was down with flu (got my shot but didn't spare me! lovely)
I have a 14 this week followed by an 16 next before the plan has me taper with a 10 as my last long run.
I might push one of those to an 18 and see how I feel then, would that be advisable?
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michellemybelll wrote: »your top weekly mileage on your training plan is less than the entirety of the marathon itself. that does not seem logical.
I can't even begin to imagine attempting a full marathon on weekly mileage that low. Personally I wouldn't even attempt a half marathon with weekly mileage that low.
Sorry OP but I am not one to sugar coat things. You will be in for a rough time.
Is it strange that a half marathon doesn't phase me? I'm not fast, ever, but when I finish them I'm not even sore. I actually have never experienced soreness after a run (or race) until I hit 15 miles, 16 hurts the next day but I feel like I can keep going. I get tight after a 13 but with rolling and yoga it's no big (except my quads, I roll those but just can't quite get it)
I've done halfs for a year and a half now consistently. It's like my comfort distance. I'm still really concerned that my overall average weekly mileage is as low as it is. I don't want a catastrophic injury, obviously. Who does?
I just want to finish this one, not finish with good (even for me) time. I just want to survive it, hopefully without anything in my body exploding.
No. That's not strange at all. I can run a half marathon every weekend and never feel sore. Not just casually either. 2 hours isn't that difficult to hit. I did my first full marathon last month. It felt like I ran about 3 half marathons back to back to back, non-stop. That's pretty much what it felt like the next day. I was pretty sore. Nothing crippling but even by the next weekend my hamstrings were still a bit fussy about it.
What's your half marathon time? Double that and then add 30 - 45 minutes. That's my guess as to how long it's going to take you to do the full.
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Nerves running up to your first marathon is very normal. I happened to do mine in a similar timeframe to several other MFP friends and many of us were getting anxious about a different doubt each week; have I done enough enough miles, what pace should I go, is my nutrition plan right, have I done enough long runs, etc.
What you're about to do is a big challenge, it's something quite new and so it's normal to have these doubts. You're a month out. You've done the work, there's not much you can do now that will make a difference. Accept that as fact and it will help.
Will you reach the finish line? Sure you will. Will it be easy? Nope. Will it be comfortable? Probably not. Could you have done more and would it have been easier if you did? Yep, probably. Doesn't matter, you are where you are.
Personally, if I was in your position I'd go an do a 20mile long run this weekend. I think 4 weeks out to do a 20miler is fine. Take it easy though as it's quite a bit further than you've done before. 20 miles is a distance that should give you quite a confidence boost.
"Is it strange that a half marathon doesn't phase me?" - a half mara and a full mara are very different beasts. The half is a closer relation to a 10km than it is to a marathon. You definitely need to respect the distance.
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If you're nervous about your fitness now, you're going to be a wreck during taper week. I followed a more strenuous training plan and completed 2 or 3 20 mile runs. During taper, there's nothing you can or should do to increase your fitness and I was worried that I hadn't done enough. I also was stressed that I was going to step off a stair crooked and sprain my ankle or something days before the race I had trained months for.
Don't freak out too hard. There's not much time to make any big changes. You may be able to stretch one of your long runs a mile or two longer but don't push yourself so much you get injured. Save that for mile 24 of the marathon.0 -
So OP update:
I ran it Sunday, the full marathon. Didn't hit the wall, no blisters, no lost toe nails, etc and I finished comfortably with a 13:06 min/mile which was my speed more or less through the whole thing, there's a 15 second difference and i think that's because i took a lou break. My splits were super super super consistent and faster than my training runs.
I finished 17 minutes under my goal and about 30 under what I realistically thought I would get if I did my very best. I had fun, wasn't super wiped after, could have kept going. Heart rate was always below 80%.
Yesterday I was a little tight in the calfs and my knee hurt somewhat but today I'm 95%.
I could go for a run today.
So, yeah. I think I might have gotten blessed by the marathon fairy?
Miles per week might be deceptive but omg pre-race jitters are REAL. I almost vomited several times the morning of and absolutely had a panic attack the night before. Need not have worried.
Splits:
Chip Time: 5:43:04.62 Pace: 13:06/M
5K Time: 40:15.72 5K Pace: 12:54/M
10MI Time: 2:08:12.55 10MI Pace: 12:49/M
13.1MI Time: 2:49:01.66 13.1MI Pace: 12:54/M
18MI Time: 3:53:41.22 18MI Pace: 12:59/M
20MI Time: 4:19:42.46 20MI Pace: 12:59/M
23.1MI Time: 5:02:29.78 23.1MI Pace: 13:06/M
26.2MI Time: 5:43:04.62 26.2MI Pace: 13:06/M0 -
nicely done- and great job on the splits- that is AWESOME to have such consistent running. I find that a very satisfying thing to view- for some reason. Consistency almost matters more to me than speed when it comes to those long runs.... I'm impressed- that's great.
Great job!!!! you should be really proud of yourself!0 -
thanks for the update! good to hear you were able to finish, and do so faster than you goal. good on you!
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Pose your question in the Long Distance Runners group:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/94-long-distance-runners
Heh. Where Carson will tell her that no one should run a marathon until they've averaged 125mpw for 17 years. :laugh:
I like you0 -
Pose your question in the Long Distance Runners group:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/94-long-distance-runners
Heh. Where Carson will tell her that no one should run a marathon until they've averaged 125mpw for 17 years. :laugh:
@sjohnny , you and I both know that is an extreme exaggeration saddled in an untruth.
I have never told anyone that they shouldn't run a marathon. I have suggested postponing a marathon until they are better prepared for the rigors of the marathon.
My recommendation is, and always has been, that one should have a base of ~25 miles per week for a period of 12 to 18 months prior to starting marathon training.
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CarsonRuns wrote: »Pose your question in the Long Distance Runners group:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/94-long-distance-runners
Heh. Where Carson will tell her that no one should run a marathon until they've averaged 125mpw for 17 years. :laugh:
@sjohnny , you and I both know that is an extreme exaggeration saddled in an untruth.
I have never told anyone that they shouldn't run a marathon. I have suggested postponing a marathon until they are better prepared for the rigors of the marathon.
My recommendation is, and always has been, that one should have a base of ~25 miles per week for a period of 12 to 18 months prior to starting marathon training.
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CarsonRuns wrote: »Pose your question in the Long Distance Runners group:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/94-long-distance-runners
Heh. Where Carson will tell her that no one should run a marathon until they've averaged 125mpw for 17 years. :laugh:
@sjohnny , you and I both know that is an extreme exaggeration saddled in an untruth.
I have never told anyone that they shouldn't run a marathon. I have suggested postponing a marathon until they are better prepared for the rigors of the marathon.
My recommendation is, and always has been, that one should have a base of ~25 miles per week for a period of 12 to 18 months prior to starting marathon training.
THAT is wisdom. That is also going to be my plan for my fourth marathon. I've been doing that kind of mileage for about 6 months now and will probably go another 8 or 10 before starting my next full marathon cycle. I'm personally not a fan of 5-6 hour marathons (having done THREE before). I'm ready to respect the distance.
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Well done0
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OP your splits are on point, way better than when I attempted this distance years ago. See another marathon in your future?0
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I ran my first marathon in October. I trained for 3 months. I averaged about 25-30 miles per week during my training. My longest run prior to the marathon was 15 miles. I can count on one hand the number of runs I had over 12 miles during my training.CarsonRuns wrote: »My recommendation is, and always has been, that one should have a base of ~25 miles per week for a period of 12 to 18 months prior to starting marathon training.
I finished with a time of 3:18:38.
25miles/week for 12-18 month is a ludicrous prerequisite for marathon training. That basically was my training except for 4-6 times longer.0 -
CarsonRuns wrote: »My recommendation is, and always has been, that one should have a base of ~25 miles per week for a period of 12 to 18 months prior to starting marathon training.
I won't argue with this one bit. But at this point I guess "traversing 26.2 miles" counts for "running a marathon" even if it takes 6 hours... Personally I couldn't be happy with that, but that's just me.0 -
I ran my first marathon in October. I trained for 3 months. I averaged about 25-30 miles per week during my training. My longest run prior to the marathon was 15 miles. I can count on one hand the number of runs I had over 12 miles during my training.CarsonRuns wrote: »My recommendation is, and always has been, that one should have a base of ~25 miles per week for a period of 12 to 18 months prior to starting marathon training.
I finished with a time of 3:18:38.
25miles/week for 12-18 month is a ludicrous prerequisite for marathon training. That basically was my training except for 4-6 times longer.
Don't take this the wrong way but you are a drastic outlier. An exception. You could, with proper training, easily be in the 2:50-3:00 range. Very few people are gifted at running as you apparently are. For the VAST majority of people on this planet, they will need to be doing quite a bit more running to even consider tickling 5 hours, let alone 4.
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I ran my first marathon in October. I trained for 3 months. I averaged about 25-30 miles per week during my training. My longest run prior to the marathon was 15 miles. I can count on one hand the number of runs I had over 12 miles during my training.CarsonRuns wrote: »My recommendation is, and always has been, that one should have a base of ~25 miles per week for a period of 12 to 18 months prior to starting marathon training.
I finished with a time of 3:18:38.
25miles/week for 12-18 month is a ludicrous prerequisite for marathon training. That basically was my training except for 4-6 times longer.
Don't take this the wrong way but you are a drastic outlier. An exception. You could, with proper training, easily be in the 2:50-3:00 range. Very few people are gifted at running as you apparently are. For the VAST majority of people on this planet, they will need to be doing quite a bit more running to even consider tickling 5 hours, let alone 4.
Agreed. I bet I followed a similar plan as this poster for my first marathon and my time was 5:45. It was a horrible experience. I ran a second marathon about 7 months later and dropped my time closer to 5 hours. Everyone's different, but I'll say I'm seeing HUGE drops in just my 5k times from running 20-30 miles per week for about the last 6 months or so, so I'd be really excited to apply the idea of more mileage into a marathon training cycle for 2016.
Of course, everyone's goals and reasons for running are different. And, there are anecdotes aplenty it would appear...
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First marathon, I assume?
Biggest issue with the first is overtraining, getting shin splints, etc. If you're targeting "just finish", then it sounds like you're on the right training schedule. Sounds like your friend is targeting a much faster finishing time, setting himself up for injury, or both.
I kinda have to agree with this. I admit that during my last marathon training, my longest training run was something like 15 miles. I didn't want to burn out and hurt myself before I even got to the big day. I tend to get injured if I overtrain. I didn't break any records on race day, but I came in just under 6 hours, and that was cool with me.
Glad everything worked out well for you! I kinda thought it would. (*)0
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