1st Marathon Training Tips Needed

sebachie

Hi! Today starts training for my very first marathon. I'll be running NYC on Nov. 6 and I am a bowl of nerves. I keep getting in my own head thinking that I'm not going to be able to pull this off. I'm aiming to complete it in less than 5 hours. I'm not a very fast runner but stay within the 9:50 to 10:15 pace. I'm going to try and slow down a little during training to help in not burning out too quick. I've completed 5 half marathons and a gazillion 10 milers, 10k and 5ks so not entirely a newbie. I'm using the HH novice 2 training plan. What other good advise can you share with me that has worked for you? TIA

MobyCarp

The first half of the marathon should be about the slowest half marathon you've ever run. When you get to 13.1 miles, you should feel like you haven't worked at all. Don't worry, you'll feel like you worked later in the course.

One of the pithier things I've heard says, "If you feel bad at 10 miles, you're in trouble. If you feel bad at 20 miles, you're normal. If you don't feel bad before the finish line, you're abnormal."

The saying that really felt true after my first marathon is, "A marathon is a nice easy 20 mile jog followed by the hardest 10K of your life."

FWIW, I've run 2 marathons and I'm still trying to learn how slow to run the first part of the race.

sebachie

@MobyCarp-That's a great point!! That seems to be a huge problem for me. In a HM I go all out the first 8 and then I'm fizzling out and do not finish as strong as I intend to. I'm going to start using my watch more often to pace myself. TY!

lporter229

Going out too fast in a half marathon and tiring out can be a lot different than going out too fast in a marathon because in a marathon you are far more likely to deplete your glycogen stores. If you are not very familiar with the concept of glycogen depletion, I would suggest doing a little Google research on it. A proper fueling strategy for a marathon is critical and definitely something you want to build into your training.

IMO, one of the most beneficial training runs for a marathon is a fast finish long run. I try to do the majority of my long runs as fast finishes, meaning I try to make my last two miles my fastest. There are multiple benefits to this run. It prepares you mentally for pushing yourself on tired legs, it trains you to pace yourself on long runs and it also trains your body to know that the hardest part is yet to come. Even if this is your first marathon and you are not relying on an advanced training plan, I still believe there are benefits to this run. The final laps don't have to be tempo pace or anything like that, just concentrate on conserving the energy to finish strong.

STrooper

Although I've never run the NYC marathon, you definitely won't "be alone" at any stretch of the race.

Five hours is a nice pace and for someone who has run other races, the basics around the start and things like "don't go out too fast" will seem familiar.

I've run eight marathons, all since turning age 60 in 2013 and am in training for my 9th (and maybe my 10th on the same day as NYC, I'm still thinking about it).

About Higdon's Novice2 plan. You'll definitely increase mileage fairly quickly beyond the HM distance. By week 11, you should be feeling the challenge of the increasing distance beyond the HM distance. Don't run too fast on these long runs. It is all about building endurance and it is a balance between stressing your systems (cardio, muscular and skeletal) to adapt without injuring yourself. There is a balance between the stressors of the shorter runs and the endurance adaptations of the long runs.

@MobyCarp has it correct, though, about the 20 miles followed by the hardest 10K of your life. I sustained an injury at mile 14 in my first marathon but was able to keep going. I was still feeling okay at mile-20 (at 3:40 and change) but everything began to take its toll after that. Still, I finished in 5:10:55. But that first "last 10K" under race conditions was a bit different from training for it.

So, what can I pass along to you.

First, unlike the shorter distances you've run, energy management will be crucial and running a marathon is more about that than anything else. Yes, the training is about endurance adaptation so that systems can keep functioning at distance, but "the wall" really is all about energy management...how fast you expend it and what you are able to replenish along the way. You rarely run out of "on-board" glycogen in shorter races even though you can outrun your aerobic capacity. The rate you burn through glycogen during a marathon, however, can make all the difference in the world. I've only found the wall once in all my marathons. Met the 850 pound gorilla that lives there who jumps on your back and is hauling a refrigerator/freezer full of goodies that he won't share with you on the final miles of the marathon.

The long runs are the place to try your replenishment strategies (e.g., if you are going to use gels and sweetened electrolyte drinks, which ones and when should be tested on the long run days, not on race day). I train differently now compared to my first marathon.

For my first marathon, even in my mid-distance runs of more than 10 miles, I'd carry some form of energy supplement (gels, Power Bars) with me and consume them every four miles or so. I felt like I needed it. Now, any run shorter than 16 miles I run "unfueled." What does that mean? No supplemental energy carried with me while running. I usually carry water beyond 10-12 miles (but no electrolytic or sweetened drinks). If I run first thing in the morning, I run "fasted." If I'm running later in the morning, I'll probably have a very light breakfast more akin to what I'll consume on race day (e.g., an English muffin with some honey or jam and a small cup of coffee). If I'm running midday, I'll have my normal breakfast knowing I'll be running 5-6 hours later.

Even on the long runs in excess of 16 miles, I may only consume a single gel towards the end of the run just to be certain that they are still digestible by my system. I have my favorite flavors and I stick to them. My longest runs are between 20 and 22 miles so I may only take one or two gels with me on those long run days. Some don't like the consistency and for some it can be a challenge to find something that isn't disagreeable to the digestive system. It's the digestive system to be concerned about not. If the taste is just so-so, remember: you are running a race not attending a wine and cheese social party.

On race day, it is a completely different strategy to fueling. Ten to fifteen minutes before the race, with the last swig of water, my first gel is consumed. It seems that most marathons I've run have water and Gatorade (or some equivalent) stations about every two miles along the course. My "standard approach" is water at miles 2, 6, 10, 14, 18, 22 with gels consumed as I am approaching each water stop with the exception of mile 2. Depending upon what sweetened electrolytic drink the race is serving, I plan to drink that at miles 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, and 24. I'll adapt this plan to the actual water station layout, but that is the basic plan. I rarely consume both a gel and a sweetened electrolytic drink at the same station.

The first marathon I did this was in conjunction with a three-day carb load (following some basic recommendation through Matt Fitzgerald's books). I was amazed at how good I felt (energy wise) through the entire marathon. Tired, yes. Out of energy, no. But it was also my fourth marathon, so I was developing a sense of the distance and of my own body's response over that distance. I found out what could go wrong on the fifth marathon if you go out too fast, even with a good fueling plan. A week later on my sixth marathon, I set a new PR by really good energy/pace management through the entire race in brutal weather conditions (had no business setting a PR just a week after hitting "the wall" and to set it in such cold and windy conditions). I basically limped through my seventh marathon having injured myself on a mid-distance taper run less than two weeks out from the race.

I ran my eighth marathon a year later, this past April, on the same basic course as the seventh marathon (after completely healing). Although I had no intent on trying for a new PR on this incredibly hilly course, I used a different training plan but the same fueling plan in training and as in the previous three races. I was just cruising along during this last race. I had a 5-minute negative split and was running progressively faster over the last 10K. I felt great, and strong, and missed a PR by only 3:20 on an extremely hilly course.

I was "abnormal" in the sense that @MobyCarp wrote above.

Actually, I needed a marathon like that for the next breakthrough in racing.

A few other things. Any problems you experience at the shorter distances will be magnified at the marathon distance. Chafing, blisters, muscle aches and pains that you experience routinely will be much more challenging at the marathon distance. As in the other distances...nothing new on race day.