7 weeks until marathon

bonjour24

i just thought i'd pop it in here that i have 7 weeks until the auckland marathon. it's fair to say that i'm bricking it a little.

my training is going ok- i did a 30k run 2 days ago. i've been trying to do weights 3 days a week too. the only thing i'm concerned about is hills. the first half is quite hilly, and the 2nd half is flat, so i think i need to do some hill repeats then carry on for a bit of a run.

any suggestions?

i was doing ok until my friend (who is also running) called me to tell me she was freaking out, and she's fitter and thinner than me! i was just trying to focus on my half next sunday, then the 32k race the week after. then i was going to freak!

FoxyMcDeadlift

Hills arent nothing to worry about, especially if they're in the first half. Try and find somewhere nice and hilly to train and remember dont overshoot your target race pace! I dont think you necessarily want to be doing hill repeats, just run somewhere thats not flat!

Dizzle_65

My first Marathon is in 7 weeks too. Mine is pretty hilly so virtually all my training has been on trails with lots of elevation. I also run hill intervals once a week.

I'm guessing you'll have a three week taper so at this stage you're limited what you can do to physically improve your hills. It's worth doing intervals though to build confidence. If you've been doing squats and deadlifts as part of your weight program them they will be a massive help.

Don't be scared of hills, they are your friend, if they are that steep then power walk up them, there's no shame in that.

Good luck

redredy9

I have my first marathon in about 7 weeks too. Don't let your friend rattle you. You say you have been doing well on your training runs so why worry? Every runner is diffrent and a lot more than size and overall fitness factor in to how well you will do. Was she just suffering from a case of nerves or was she actually having some running related injury issue?

Just keep up you good work and listen to your body. Running hills is never a bad idea (as long as you don't over do it) - adding some to your training might help boost your confidence.

We can do this!

CarsonRuns

Hill repeats are for the strength building phase of training which is the first phase of 4. I would not suggest running hill repeats with 7 weeks to go. As others have said, just run hilly routes for you normal runs. If you can find a nice, hilly route for your long run, that would be ideal.