Marathon - is it beyond me?

AlwaysWanderer

Ok, so I signed up for a my first marathon. It's at the end of June - 3.5 months away. My longest run was just over 13 miles. Am I aiming to high? Should I do half marathon instead? I really want to do marathon, but I dont know if I've got enough time for injury-free training? Would appreciate some advice... And running tips :happy:
Thanks

BerryH

Well done, how exciting!

I like Hal Higdon's plans, here's his novice supreme - with 13 miles under your belt, you could jump in at week 17 in time for the marathon.
http://www.halhigdon.com/training/51143/Marathon-Novice-Supreme-Training-Program

Rather than just plodding away on the mid-week runs you might want to make one intervals or hills and one tempo, for instance. If you get sore running two days in a row, think about switching to three runs a week.

I'm a real slowbie and get sore on the long runs, so I use Jeff Galloway's walk/run ratios for these, but not mid-week:
http://www.jeffgalloway.com/training/walk_breaks.html

Practice fuelling on the long runs, and don't forget to stretch and take a full rest day.

Good luck!

Weathers58

HI There.

The first thing to say is YES of course you can do it.

You just need to follow a sensible plan and eat the right things.

I'm doing a marathon at the end of May and I'm in my fourth week of training. Soooo

Most training plans follow a 16 week program and make the assumption you already have a certain base level of fitness.

So sign up for a plan this weekend and follow it.

Eat well i.e. loads of uncomplicated inprocessed foods high in proteins. I eat most of my complex carbs in the morning i.e. potato bread oats etc and then proteins in the afternoon, but I do also take a suppliment for protien straight before and after my runs to help recovery.

Friend me if you want any help support or any of my limited advice.

Tim

Aperture_Science

Totally realistic, you have an excellent base to start from so you'll be fine as long as you are willing to put the training in.

I'm not familiar with BerryH's Hal Higdon plans since I used a Runners world plan but the point is you need to follow A plan to avoid increasing the intensity or distance too quickly and risking fatigue and/or injury.

I think most plans work on 5 runs per week (although I have seen 3 and 4 days per week plans) with one long run per week (which most people put on Sat or Sunday.

Best wishes.

avafrisbee

My first (and unfortunately, so far, only) marathon was a full marathon. It was 6 months away when I signed up for it. I was 185lbs (at 5'7"). I never ran more than 2 miles at one time in my life up until that point. I worked and trained hard. I got up and ran every day. 8km minimum. Saturdays I ran up to 25km. By the time of the race, I had never ran more than 30 km. I finished the whole 42km or 26.2 mi in 5 hours (I had also lost 52 lbs by race day).

If I can do that ^^^^^ you most certainly can run a half marathon in 3.5 months! Good luck :-)

iuangina

You can do it. It really only takes 12 weeks to train if you have a good base of mileage. Good luck!

criscricket

NEVER say NEVER!

ItsMeRebekah

Heck no its not beyond you! If you can do a half, you can do a full!!!

Femtec74

Well done, how exciting!

I like Hal Higdon's plans, here's his novice supreme - with 13 miles under your belt, you could jump in at week 17 in time for the marathon.
http://www.halhigdon.com/training/51143/Marathon-Novice-Supreme-Training-Program

Thanks for the link - that's the best one I've seen. I'm trying to train for a half marathon in a year and and 8K in a couple months. This will help a lot!

beccalucy

I have faith you can! Following a plan is definitely the right idea, look around and if necessary adapt one slightly to suit you if necessary.

I have my first marathon on 22nd April (7 weeks to go), feel free to pick my brains with me limited knowledge and experience.

Becca

ATLMel

it's definitely not beyond you! But start training right away. Berry pointed you in a good direction.

Keep in mind that a marathon isn't twice as hard as a half marathon, its more like 3-4. A lot of things happen to you over 26.2 miles and you really want to give yourself the benefit of being as prepared as possible.

I think the minimum training days a week are 4. Galloway's program advocates 3, but I think generally it's a good way to get injured. Look at the Higdon plan. I used that for #1 and it worked very well.

Good luck and enjoy the ride! You never get another 1st marathon!

AlwaysWanderer

Berry - thanks for the links! Nice plan. Do I have to stick to it rigidly? Could I swap rest days for Sundays and do crosstraining on Fridays? or is there a specific reason to rest after 3 days of running?
Thanks everyone for the advice. I've got my motivation back! I will try my hardest to do it!
Related question, how do you guys avoid shin splints? I've had two this far, and I dont know what I'm doing wrong. I've got proper shoes, stopped running hill-to-toe, and I dont know what else causes it?

rybo

16 weeks out & you are at a 13 mile long run already....you should do fine running a full.

I'd pick a plan w/at least 4x week running. If you follow higdon, that's a good one, you might even be able to follow one of his intermediate plans
The plan is only a general guide, be flexible to adjust your schedule, if you shift days around there's no problems.

Sorry I can't help with the shin splint question

BerryH

Berry - thanks for the links! Nice plan. Do I have to stick to it rigidly? Could I swap rest days for Sundays and do crosstraining on Fridays? or is there a specific reason to rest after 3 days of running?
Thanks everyone for the advice. I've got my motivation back! I will try my hardest to do it!
Related question, how do you guys avoid shin splints? I've had two this far, and I dont know what I'm doing wrong. I've got proper shoes, stopped running hill-to-toe, and I dont know what else causes it?

Every plan is a guide and best tweaked to your own ability! Depending on my weekend plans I usually do my long run on a Sunday, for instance.

The rest is not so much after the three days of running, but BEFORE your long run to get your glycogen stores up and let your muscles recover. It depends what your cross-training is - avoid anything hard or that pounds your joints, but honestly rest is best! The day afterwards, I find a swim helps me recover better than complete rest.

As fas as the shin splint question goes, how recently were you fitted for your shoes? If they're old, worn or weren't fitted after a proper gait analysis at a specialist running shop, get fitted for a new pair and tell them you're suffering. Mid foot landing is a great help. Stretch by kneeling down and leaning backwards, and strengthen the muscles by writing out the alphabet with your toes under your desk! If there's any risk it might be a stress fracture, stop running now and seek medical advice. Here's some information:
http://shin-splints.co.uk/

kateroot

You can do it, you have plenty of time! I'd start training now.. like.. today.

I ran a marathon without a lot of training, which I don't recommend... but it sounds like you have plenty of time to get some good training in. My longest training run was only 18 miles, about a month before the race, and only averaged about 20-25 miles a week throughout 4 months of training. (3 short runs, and one 12-15 mile run a week). I pretty much had to drag myself across the finish line by my eyelashes, but I finished. I'd recommend getting in at least one training run of at least 25 miles. That way, if you're going to hit "the wall" during your marathon (which may not even happen), you'll likely know what it feels like. I hit the wall during my race, and thought I was going to die. IMO, that's a feeling you want to be prepared for.

Crossing that finish line is pretty amazing though. Good luck!

sprocket99

no way, go for it! you've already done the half marathon (13 miles)

minnesota

Great! You are not over your head at all! That is super exciting. You will love the training and will do great. Good luck to you and happy running!