first marathon any tips.

curlsintherack
curlsintherack Posts: 465 Member
edited November 21 in Fitness and Exercise
I'm running a marathon in less than 3 weeks. I haven't trained for it because up until 5 days ago I didn't know I was running it.

My wife's friend asked me to run it with her and didn't accept no as an answer.

I just finished a half marathon a few weeks ago on equally short notice and ran a PR.

I will run it.
I will finish it.
I will not fail.
Whatever I run is a PR.

The course is flat. Much flatter than any of my regular running routes and with about 1/4 the elevation gain of the half I ran.

Since I clearly don't have the time to properly prepare is there any tips anyone can offer?

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Replies

  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    whats your current weekly mileage?
  • curlsintherack
    curlsintherack Posts: 465 Member
    20ish these days because I was training for another half in October. I wanted to see what I could do with actual training in place.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
    I had a friend that ran a marathon without training, actually far less than you. While it destroyed his legs & feet for days, it somehow got him hooked & has since gone one to train a bit more properly and just finished a 70.3 tri. His next goals are to properly train for a marathon & eventually spring board that into a 140.6 iron man.
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,743 Member
    Best way to finish it at this point is to run/walk - run 4 minutes, walk 1, run 4, walk 1, etc. Start that from the beginning and you'll save some wear and tear on your legs. Just don't run the running portions too fast. Is there a time limit on the race? Chances are you'll be walking the last several miles. Try to walk as briskly as you can.

    Your mileage is really low for a half, much less a full marathon. There's a reason they say to 'respect the distance'. A marathon is much more difficult than a half, especially in the last few miles. Good luck.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    Best advice is to just find a comfortable pace (slower than what you ran for the HM) and settle in for the ride and if you feel the need to take some walking breaks do so. There may be some suffering involved........
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
    untrained marathon...yikes - I honestly don't know if I would recommend that...but probably too late for that

    I would go with @spiriteagle99 idea of run/walk intervals - you'll find lots of people do them - even some of the pacer groups have established r/w intervals

    I'd probably start in the back with a slower pacer group (5ish hour) and then adjust at the halfway point
  • curlsintherack
    curlsintherack Posts: 465 Member
    thanks everyone for all the advice. I started running last year and I thought all runners were nuts. I ran day 1 of week 1 of the c25k plan at nearly 290 pounds. I remember my heartbeat pounding in my ears and a metalic taste in my mouth at the end. I never would have considered attempting a marathon until she signed me up.
  • cbeutler
    cbeutler Posts: 667 Member
    Run for fun not for time.
  • curlsintherack
    curlsintherack Posts: 465 Member
    cbeutler wrote: »
    Run for fun not for time.

    The lady I'm running with has ran several marathons she tends to run between 4:20 and 4:30 she's been told to just leave me in the dust when I can't keep up anymore.
  • ROBOTFOOD
    ROBOTFOOD Posts: 5,527 Member
    Doable: definitely. Painful: definitely. Run slower than usual and don't be afraid to take walking breaks. Don't eat too much pre run. The real race starts at mi 20. Enjoy! B)
  • amtyrell
    amtyrell Posts: 1,447 Member
    Walk it.
    You are doing only 20ish miles a week now that's about what I am doing training for a 10k. Seriously a marathon is insane now.
    Walk it or maybe about half walk. I would run walk maybe run 2 min walk 2 min. But really walk at least half the time.
  • curlsintherack
    curlsintherack Posts: 465 Member
    wow again thanks for all the advice and moral support?

    I'm not stupid I know this is a dumb thing to do but when you have friends sometimes dumb things are required. She knows fully that at some point she's leaving me behind and we are both ok with that. at a 4:20 to 4:30 pace its a reasonably easy pace for me to maintain for 13 miles so I'll have at least the first half covered and would expect to have a few extra miles in the tank based on the way my last half marathon went. I understand the full is much different than the half but intend to give it my best shot.

    For the past few days I've been experimenting with run/walk doing hilly terrain in the hottest part of the day I can to best simulate a fatigued state. Since I'm going in without the huge training base and therefore not beaten up by training I'm gonna run as many days as possible next week then start a 1 week long taper with shorter easier runs every other day or so.

    Looking back at my logs it was only a couple months ago that I was running 30+ miles a week but I backed off a bit for summer heat.


    played around with gels and sports drinks in the past and have found that as in the rest of my life I have a cast iron stomach while running so I'm hoping this holds true in the marathon. I plan on using 1 every 40 minutes or so.

    Hoping I am successful and I'll pop back in here to let you all know how it went reguardless of how I did or didn' do.
  • WilmaValley
    WilmaValley Posts: 1,092 Member
    What great advice!
  • aportz
    aportz Posts: 12 Member
    If you've decided to do it, just do it. Stick with your friend for a bit. Then wish her luck, shrug and run walk. If you don't finish, bfd. There's always next time. Drink water early and at every stop. Waych the gu, you can overdo. I did it once and have never barfed like that in my life (thought my shoes were coming up!). Ice bath after helps with soreness (helped me anyway). Good luck!!
  • collectingblues
    collectingblues Posts: 2,541 Member
    lsutton484 wrote: »
    wow again thanks for all the advice and moral support?

    I'm not stupid I know this is a dumb thing to do but when you have friends sometimes dumb things are required. She knows fully that at some point she's leaving me behind and we are both ok with that. at a 4:20 to 4:30 pace its a reasonably easy pace for me to maintain for 13 miles so I'll have at least the first half covered and would expect to have a few extra miles in the tank based on the way my last half marathon went. I understand the full is much different than the half but intend to give it my best shot.

    Right. But you're basing that on what happens when you only have to cover 13 miles. You're looking now at doing twice that, and you're expecting to have similar results. I have a strong feeling you're going to be unpleasantly surprised.

    I mean, I can do a half in 2:45ish. (My first one I did 2:47, but that was on a broken toe, so I'd like to think I'd shave those two minutes off when I'm not feeling like my toe is going to separate itself from my foot.) But I have no such delusions that I could keep that pace up for another 13.1 miles, because I simply haven't trained my body to force itself to do that.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    collectingblues wrote: »
    lsutton484 wrote: »
    wow again thanks for all the advice and moral support?

    I'm not stupid I know this is a dumb thing to do but when you have friends sometimes dumb things are required. She knows fully that at some point she's leaving me behind and we are both ok with that. at a 4:20 to 4:30 pace its a reasonably easy pace for me to maintain for 13 miles so I'll have at least the first half covered and would expect to have a few extra miles in the tank based on the way my last half marathon went. I understand the full is much different than the half but intend to give it my best shot.

    Right. But you're basing that on what happens when you only have to cover 13 miles. You're looking now at doing twice that, and you're expecting to have similar results. I have a strong feeling you're going to be unpleasantly surprised.

    I mean, I can do a half in 2:45ish. (My first one I did 2:47, but that was on a broken toe, so I'd like to think I'd shave those two minutes off when I'm not feeling like my toe is going to separate itself from my foot.) But I have no such delusions that I could keep that pace up for another 13.1 miles, because I simply haven't trained my body to force itself to do that.

    Yeah, I've done several halfs and one marathon. In my opinion, you can't assume your pace and endurance will carry over. A marathon isn't just like two half marathons. It's a whole different experience.
  • collectingblues
    collectingblues Posts: 2,541 Member
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    collectingblues wrote: »
    lsutton484 wrote: »
    wow again thanks for all the advice and moral support?

    I'm not stupid I know this is a dumb thing to do but when you have friends sometimes dumb things are required. She knows fully that at some point she's leaving me behind and we are both ok with that. at a 4:20 to 4:30 pace its a reasonably easy pace for me to maintain for 13 miles so I'll have at least the first half covered and would expect to have a few extra miles in the tank based on the way my last half marathon went. I understand the full is much different than the half but intend to give it my best shot.

    Right. But you're basing that on what happens when you only have to cover 13 miles. You're looking now at doing twice that, and you're expecting to have similar results. I have a strong feeling you're going to be unpleasantly surprised.

    I mean, I can do a half in 2:45ish. (My first one I did 2:47, but that was on a broken toe, so I'd like to think I'd shave those two minutes off when I'm not feeling like my toe is going to separate itself from my foot.) But I have no such delusions that I could keep that pace up for another 13.1 miles, because I simply haven't trained my body to force itself to do that.

    Yeah, I've done several halfs and one marathon. In my opinion, you can't assume your pace and endurance will carry over. A marathon isn't just like two half marathons. It's a whole different experience.

    And I freely admit that I have no desire to do a full, because OMG the long training run for that would be more beyond what my tolerance for mindless would be. I run outside, on a hilly loop, but to do a 20-mile long run would involve doing that loop four times, and NOPE. I'll happily stick to my halves, 10-milers, and 10Ks.

    I'm all about endurance, and I like the longer distance because I feel like superwoman (albeit a very slow superwoman), but I can't fathom doing a 20-mile long run every week.
  • curlsintherack
    curlsintherack Posts: 465 Member
    thank you everyone. I know there is no way with my current level of training that my half marathon pace would cary through If I were foolish enough to believe that then I'd be saying that the 4:20 to 4:30 pace my friend can keep would be slow. I'm fully aware that the 6 hour course shutoff is a more realistic pace to shoot for.

    But I am in and I'm in to finish not to quit, back out early, or just quit before I even try.

    I'm sure that all of you who have done this before know a lot more than I do and I am taking all your advice into consideration but since I'm doing this please give me advice of how to get there not tell me how dumb I am for doing it or telling me not to do it.

    Some questions I have are what do you do for your feet. My friend that I'm running with uses tri spray which is a wetsuit lube on her feet. I'm wondering if this is a good idea for me? what type socks? My shoes themselves are fairly new and in good condition ut I've read that people prefer certain socksall I have now are some cheap moisture wicking ones.

    I learned in the first half marathon I ran that covering my nipples is important. are there any other areas I should be concerned with? I plan on wearing the exact same clothes I wore for my last half because there was no irratation of any kind so I'm hoping for this.

    I've been experimenting on my longer runs with gu gels and will just carry a bunch of these with me rahter than taking the chance of the race having something different that I'm not used to. Is there any other mid race nutrition I should consider?
    I'm a heavy sweater but water and gatorade is available every mile along the race course so I'm not planning on taking my hydration pack that I use on long trail runs. If you think this is a mistake please let me know.
  • bikecheryl
    bikecheryl Posts: 1,432 Member
    Okay..... :)
    Body Glide is your friend.... use it EVERYWHERE you think or don't think will rub & chaff.... I've even used it on my feet - get some & try it before race day.
    I don't know how hot/humid it will be where you are but don't be afraid to use some water on your head along with drinking it.
    I always wore double layer socks... helped with blisters but everyone is different.
    If your thirsty it's too late...... drink water whether you think you need it or not.
    Decide on how often your going to take your gels and stick to it whether you feel you need them or not - unless you develop GI problems - hopefully you won't.
    I also carried a couple of vitamin I..... Ibuprofen wrapped up in my shorts pocket just in case.
    .
    The day before........... if you don't have to run - walk, if you don't have to walk - sit, if you don't have to sit... lay down. REST
    And....
    DON'T CHANGE YOUR ROUTINE! DON'T DECIDE TO TRY SOMETHING NEW THE DAY OF!
    .
    Lastly..... I do not care what anyone says..... you cross that finish line and no Olympic Gold Medalist will fell a bigger rush than you will.

    Hope this helps just a little and again.... this is just from my experience....

    Good luck! :)

    "Success isn't how far you got, but the distance you traveled from where you started" - Pre
  • Tried30UserNames
    Tried30UserNames Posts: 561 Member
    I don't run anymore and I've done only one marathon, but here's what I remember...start off slow. You'll be excited and want to go faster, but don't. If you do, you'll regret it in the second half. Don't try to keep up with your friend. Add some walking in every few miles. As someone else mentioned, use Body Glide everywhere. I did carry water with me and was happy to have it. I forgot to bring lip balm and was desperate for it. I thought the first 21 miles were pretty easy. The last 5 were miserable. Please get some different socks to experiment with quickly, before the race gets any closer...you need comfortable socks.

    Good luck!
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