Interesting beginner situation..

jenniferinfl

So, here's the deal, until November, I had a very active job where I typically walked 12 miles in the course of a shift. Unfortunately, I also had frequent foot injuries. I had the opportunity to grab a desk job and took it. Feet feel great now.
Now it's been a few months, and I hate the sedentary level I hit on my pedometer. But, I can't just go walk. I get bored, I have to have a goal. So, I was thinking about walk training for a marathon. You know, follow the mileage goals, but fast walk it instead.
Something like this one:
http://www.halhigdon.com/training/51137/Marathon-Novice-1-Training-Program

I already walk three miles at a time on a fairly regular basis.

I would love to do couch to 5k, but I'm afraid of risking injury jogging until I get some of the excess tonnage off. I tried a couple years ago, but, all I did was end up injured over and over.

Are there any reasons not to train for a walking marathon? Thoughts?

CarsonRuns

How about an intermediate goal. Train to walk a 10K, 10 miler or Half Marathon first. 26.2 miles is a looooooong way. No need to rush into it.

jenniferinfl

I could just stick with the first half of the training, I believe it's 9 weeks to a half marathon. That would be what I used to walk at work on a daily basis. Maybe hang out around there for awhile and see how it goes. I would think it would go better as I won't be carrying freight or pulling a pallet jack. But, yeah, I had foot injuries all the time with that.

_Waffle_

jenniferinfl wrote: »

So, here's the deal, until November, I had a very active job where I typically walked 12 miles in the course of a shift. Unfortunately, I also had frequent foot injuries. I had the opportunity to grab a desk job and took it. Feet feel great now.
Now it's been a few months, and I hate the sedentary level I hit on my pedometer. But, I can't just go walk. I get bored, I have to have a goal. So, I was thinking about walk training for a marathon. You know, follow the mileage goals, but fast walk it instead.
Something like this one:
http://www.halhigdon.com/training/51137/Marathon-Novice-1-Training-Program

I already walk three miles at a time on a fairly regular basis.

I would love to do couch to 5k, but I'm afraid of risking injury jogging until I get some of the excess tonnage off. I tried a couple years ago, but, all I did was end up injured over and over.

Are there any reasons not to train for a walking marathon? Thoughts?

Yeah. You don't want to walk for 8 hours. :laugh:

Seriously, walking that much distance all at once could potentially give you an injury even if you're walking it. That's a long way to go.

SKME2013

Why not give the C25K a try? It involves quite a bit of walking. You could do the running part very slowly and repeat days if necessary? This is how I got into running and no injuries. Best of luck! Stef.

FromHereOnOut

All those foot injuries are trying to tell you something. You might want to look into some properly fitted shoes that work with your specific gait, etc. I think that if your footwear is "off" even walking will cause injuries. But if your footwear is appropriate and you start S-L-O-W, you might find you could C25k without problems, or train to walk a half. The key is getting you equipment and pace right from the beginning.

kristinegift

Agreeing with all the above. Good, properly-fitted shoes and train up to the walking pace you want for a 10k or a half. Get comfortable with that distance before doing the marathon. Walking a marathon does not sound like it would be a comfortable experience (and might not be within a course cut-off time, as most close after 7 or 8 hours), but to each their own.

lishie_rebooted

Once you get your feet issues straightened out, you could do the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer.
Its a walking marathon, gives you a goal and you fundraise for a good cause.

kozinskey

Dude, as someone who's run two marathons around 5 hours each, you don't want to walk a full marathon unless you've done shorter distances first and know what you're getting into. I honestly believe people who run faster have it easier in a lot of ways, mentally and physically.

Training to walk a half is a good challenge and would give you a better idea of what you might want your ultimate goals to be. I'm not saying walking a full is impossible, but it's definitely a feat and not something I'd want to try, to be honest. Respect the distance!

5512bf

Most marathon around here have time limits for completion. I doubt anyone could walk that distance in the 6 or 7 hour time limit most course here impose. It cost them a ton of money to close street and have traffic control in place. Plus volunteers want to go home at some point. Before you sign up for something I'd check the course rules to make sure it's even possible.