Am I crazy? Planning for a marathon in July

tlheppler

This is my first post. I have never done anything like this before. I started 5 weeks ago at 332 lbs. and decided it is time to change my life (turning 40 helped) and I asked a friend to be my personal trainer, he agreed. I have logged all my food and exercised 6 days a week and I feel lots better so far. I have a goal to do a marathon on July 4th before I turn 41. Do you think its possible? We have a plan, but I wonder if I'm being too agressive. I think I can do it.

econut2000

As long as your doctor agrees I think it's absolutely wonderful! I did a half marathon several years ago after not being able to run 0.25miles. You've given yourself plenty of training time so that's a big plus. It will be tough but will be so worth it! Good luck :flowerforyou:

Elzecat

Congratulations on deciding to get healthy!

I think even a heavier person can do a marathon or a half marathon. I have several friends in the 250-330 range who have done half marathons (no marathons yet)...but they had a pretty strong base mileage. A July marathon gives you about 9 months to train--what kind of exercise are you doing right now? Are you running, or walking/running, or something else?

Look into different training plans--Runnersworld.com has several different ones, also look up Hal Higdon, Jeff Galloway, and Couch to 5k. There are lots of different plans to meet different needs.

I started running 1 1/2 years ago and have done 3 half marathons in the past 11 months, but no full marathons yet. I did my first half about 9 months after I started running, and I still do a run/walk method and take walking breaks as I need them...I think your goal is attainable but I would start off really slowly and carefully so you don't injure yourself.

Good luck and feel free to add me, I always like talking to other runners.

tlheppler

So far I have been walking and stationary bike to get the weight down before I start to run. I thingk I am too heavy still to run much.

Elzecat

So far I have been walking and stationary bike to get the weight down before I start to run. I thingk I am too heavy still to run much.

Hey, that's a great start! Maybe do that for a couple of months and then try a walk/run interval program. Also, if you have access to a swimming pool , you could try swimming and water walking/jogging as well--there's no impact on your joints, so it is good exercise when you are carrying extra weight, but it can definitely get your heart rate up.

tlheppler

So far I have been walking and stationary bike to get the weight down before I start to run. I thingk I am too heavy still to run much.

Hey, that's a great start! Maybe do that for a couple of months and then try a walk/run interval program. Also, if you have access to a swimming pool , you could try swimming and water walking/jogging as well--there's no impact on your joints, so it is good exercise when you are carrying extra weight, but it can definitely get your heart rate up.

Thanks so much

gmallan

Maybe a little crazy but this is a great goal. I'd love to run a marathon one day. Was going to do a half in a few months but am having knee issues and haven't been able to do much running. Remember to take your time, work up to it and listen to your body. I think starting with interval walking/running would be a good idea. You could set yourself some mini goals in the lead up: a 5km, 10km, half... Fun runs are great motivaters though. Sounds like you're on the right track

Masterdo

I don't think it's impossible, but I think your main focus should be to avoid injuries while training. Keep your goal well in mind and focus on it, be sure on a daily and weekly basis to do as much as possible towards that goal, but do it safely. 42 is a great number too, if it takes one more year to do it, so be it, as long as you work steadily and focus on steering clear of injuries, you'll be crunching marathons for breakfast before you know it.

So yeah, work aggressively but make sure you appreciate the progress and do NOT be discouraged if by July 4th you are not 100% ready yet. I'm kinda having trouble expressing exactly what I mean, it's not to be content with "failing" to reach your goal, it's just a reminder that the purpose of setting that goal is to motivate you to achieve grand things, not to set yourself up for emotional setback and/or injuries trying to reach it at all costs.

Anyway, hopefully I didn't discourage you or bore you to tears, and I wish you luck When you are comfortable with running, try Couch to 5K, it's really a nice run/walk program!

nkyjennifer

Sounds like you have a doable plan - congratulations on setting such a fabulous goal! Signing up for a half-marathon was the big motivational push I used to get healthy, too. I walked nearly all of it, but had a friend encouraging me along and we finished (just not fast!)

You can do it! :flowerforyou:

NavyKnightAh13

congrats on wanting to do one!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am aiming hopefully for next year to do a half, but so far have ran five 5ks!!!!!!!! I agree with everybody here as far as the preventing injury and sounds like you are on the right track!!!! You can do it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

robpett2001

Well, first off, major congratulations on taking charge of your life and your fitness! As you're discovering, the more fit you get, the better and better you're going to feel overall. I'll echo some of the sentiments here that building up your swim-walking...walking...and then running base will be the key to avoiding injury, which should be your first concern. Ya can't get fit while you're sidelined for a couple weeks with an injury.

When you get to the point where you're thinking of adding running to your routine, the various Couch to 5K programs out there are really effective at turning non-runners into runners. There are hundreds of C25K graduates running around MFP these days. There are lots of programs out there, but my favorite is: http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/c25k

Here's a great podcast for people interested in running ANY distance: http://www.marathontrainingacademy.com

Angie and Trevor host this podcast, and they are very personable, regular folks. They give lots of great tips and advice, and have interviews with big names in the distance-running world, but it's all very approachable for the newbie runner. Great info, whether you're preparing for your first 5K or your 12th marathon.

Here's a good episode to start with:
http://marathontrainingacademy.com/questions-new-runners-ask

Best wishes to you! Your future is so bright ya gotta wear shades!

BrianSharpe

With almost exactly 9 months to train for it yes, it's doable. The real question should be is it advisable?

I would never want to discourage a new runner and running a marathon next year is one of my goals too so I can understand completely your motivation.

My suggestion would be to break it down into smaller goals, aim for a 5K then a 10K then a half-marathon etc and constantly assess how you feel and how you're progressing. Some people respond far more quickly to fitness programs than others, and you have enough time to work through each training plan, it would be great if you can run the marathon next July.

Running, especially while you're still heavier (I started when I was about 235 and have been hovering around the 200 mark) places a lot of stress on your body. The good news is that your body adapts (bone density, increased blood flow to muscles, increased glycogen storage etc etc) but the adaptations take time and rushing your training is the perfect recipe for an injury.

On a brighter note (I can't remember the runner's name) I do recall the story of a local guy who, within the course of a year, quit smoking, lost weight and ran his first marathon here in Ottawa and qualified for Boston.

Best of luck!

drgndancer

As someone currently training for his first half marathon, and considering a marathon next year, I'd advise you to slow down a bit. Your goal is good, your plan might be a little ambitious. As others have said, there's several things you need to consider here. It takes time to build up a good base of running endurance. While it's not impossible to get from the couch to marathon shape in 9 months, it may not be smart. You're not old by any stretch (I'm 38 myself so I feel your pain on the "Oh ****, I'm not the stud I used to be" factor), but you're older than you were, and it takes the body a little more time to adjust the older we get. You're also heavy, and running and heavy aren't a great combo. Neither of these things is a deal breaker, but together they warrant caution.

You're walking now, which is great. I think a good first goal would be to walk three miles, *outside*. This is somewhat important; treadmills are nice, but if your goal is to run road races then you need to do the majority of your prep on the road. You can use the treadmill to fill in when the weather is nasty and stuff, but try to do most of your prep in the environment you intend to compete in. When forced by circumstances to use the dreadmill, set it to 1-2% incline. That helps make it more like like track conditions. After a while, if you're like most people, you'll find that the treadmill is an evil boring beast, and regret the times when you're forced to use it.

Your next goal should be something like couch to 5K. That will take you from walking 3 miles, to running three miles. C25K is two months by itself, so from whenever you get to three mile walks it'll take you a minimum of two months from then to get to three mile runs. You may take longer than two months, lots of people do. Don't be discouraged. At this point, evaluate your progress. It may take you 3 months from now to get to your first 5K, it may be 4 months or even more. 5 months is just barely enough time to go from a 5K to a marathon, and even then it's a tight call.

Get to three miles and decide where to go from there. For one thing, you'll have a baseline. If it takes you 5 or 6 months to get to the 5K, you know that your progress is slow, and you need to take time for your ultimate goal. If you breeze through C25K, you know that you might stand a chance of a July 26.2.

The important thing is to remember that goals should be ambitious, but realistic. Your goal is to lose weight and get healthy. Your goal is to run a marathon. If you tie yourself to an arbitrary timeline this far out, with no real knowledge of how you and your body react to any sort of training, you could sabotage yourself before you start. It's really hard to get into marathons shape. Trust me, I'm not in marathon shape, and I know how hard I've worked. I'm frankly a little intimidated by how much harder I'll have to work to go twice as far next year. Don't set yourself up for disappointment and failure by trying to set your ultimate goal before you know what your capabilities are.

krisiepoo

I just signed up for my first marathon too! I'm almost 34 and just started running not too long ago. Feel free to add me for the encouragement, we'll both need it!

nkyjennifer

Just thought I'd add - check out the minimum minute-mile for your race. Know and be ok that you might walk a lot of it.

I really do get where the words of caution form others are coming from, but I think they're assuming marathon=run and it defiantly doesn't have to (depending on the race and their minimums).

It would be good to consult with your Dr, too.

Here's my experience - I trained 6 days a week (3 days doing run/ walk intervals, 3 days doing cross training like rowing, biking, and sometimes zumba for the fun of it) for about 3 1/2 months. I started at 275lbs, and was about 260 on race day. And I'm 35, so not far off from your own age. My friend did the half with me and we walked almost all of it, doing some running intervals in the beginning before the hilly part of the course. We finished at 4 1/2 hours and were not the last ones to do so. The last person to finish the half I did was at about 5 1/2 hours.

I have never been so proud of myself in my whole life as I was that day. The medal hanging over my desk reminds me that if I work at it and stick to a plan, amazing things can happen.

Good luck!!!

tlheppler

As someone currently training for his first half marathon, and considering a marathon next year, I'd advise you to slow down a bit. Your goal is good, your plan might be a little ambitious. As others have said, there's several things you need to consider here. It takes time to build up a good base of running endurance. While it's not impossible to get from the couch to marathon shape in 9 months, it may not be smart. You're not old by any stretch (I'm 38 myself so I feel your pain on the "Oh ****, I'm not the stud I used to be" factor), but you're older than you were, and it takes the body a little more time to adjust the older we get. You're also heavy, and running and heavy aren't a great combo. Neither of these things is a deal breaker, but together they warrant caution.

You're walking now, which is great. I think a good first goal would be to walk three miles, *outside*. This is somewhat important; treadmills are nice, but if your goal is to run road races then you need to do the majority of your prep on the road. You can use the treadmill to fill in when the weather is nasty and stuff, but try to do most of your prep in the environment you intend to compete in. When forced by circumstances to use the dreadmill, set it to 1-2% incline. That helps make it more like like track conditions. After a while, if you're like most people, you'll find that the treadmill is an evil boring beast, and regret the times when you're forced to use it.

Your next goal should be something like couch to 5K. That will take you from walking 3 miles, to running three miles. C25K is two months by itself, so from whenever you get to three mile walks it'll take you a minimum of two months from then to get to three mile runs. You may take longer than two months, lots of people do. Don't be discouraged. At this point, evaluate your progress. It may take you 3 months from now to get to your first 5K, it may be 4 months or even more. 5 months is just barely enough time to go from a 5K to a marathon, and even then it's a tight call.

Get to three miles and decide where to go from there. For one thing, you'll have a baseline. If it takes you 5 or 6 months to get to the 5K, you know that your progress is slow, and you need to take time for your ultimate goal. If you breeze through C25K, you know that you might stand a chance of a July 26.2.

The important thing is to remember that goals should be ambitious, but realistic. Your goal is to lose weight and get healthy. Your goal is to run a marathon. If you tie yourself to an arbitrary timeline this far out, with no real knowledge of how you and your body react to any sort of training, you could sabotage yourself before you start. It's really hard to get into marathons shape. Trust me, I'm not in marathon shape, and I know how hard I've worked. I'm frankly a little intimidated by how much harder I'll have to work to go twice as far next year. Don't set yourself up for disappointment and failure by trying to set your ultimate goal before you know what your capabilities are.

I've been walking 3 - 3.5 miles 4 times a week for 3 weeks now (outside) and it is feeling great. It takes me about an hour. Thanks for the post, I think if the stars align I can do it.

scottb81

I think its possible if you approach it carefully, although a half marathon might be a better choice. Whichever you choose though I recommend you look into the Galloway training method. http://www.jeffgalloway.com/

This will minimize the risk of injury as you lose weight and build up your running and will get you across the finish line in the race. Later, after you get in better shape and lose some weight you could continue with this method or switch over to running only.

If you do this you should look into a Galloway training group. You can see if they have one in your area on the website. If you do it on your own I recommend you buy this book from his website. Galloway Training Programs

The Starter Kit For Half and Full Marathoners here: http://www.jeffgalloway.com/store/galloway-starter-kits/galloway-starter-kit.html will get you the book plus an interval timer needed to time the run walk intervals.

DIsclaimer: I don't sell stuff for Jeff Galloway. However, I do help lead one of his training groups and have seen that it will work to get anyone over the finish line that follows the program.

gigglemachine

Haha yes it's crazy but the best plans and people always are! You can do it, just build yourself up slowly so your muscles develop and do lots of research on the internet (like the c25k programme that others have mentioned, running magazines, running websites etc etc).

krisiepoo

I think its possible if you approach it carefully, although a half marathon might be a better choice. Whichever you choose though I recommend you look into the Galloway training method. http://www.jeffgalloway.com/

This will minimize the risk of injury as you lose weight and build up your running and will get you across the finish line in the race. Later, after you get in better shape and lose some weight you could continue with this method or switch over to running only.

If you do this you should look into a Galloway training group. You can see if they have one in your area on the website. If you do it on your own I recommend you buy this book from his website. Galloway Training Programs

The Starter Kit For Half and Full Marathoners here: http://www.jeffgalloway.com/store/galloway-starter-kits/galloway-starter-kit.html will get you the book plus an interval timer needed to time the run walk intervals.

DIsclaimer: I don't sell stuff for Jeff Galloway. However, I do help lead one of his training groups and have seen that it will work to get anyone over the finish line that follows the program.

You don't need to buy all that stuff... there are free apps that time your run/walk intervals and you can find the information about training and stuff online... there are tons of resources out there

I'm doing the galloway method for my first marathon