Any Marathon runners out there?

yowla

Hello, I am thinking of trying my 1st Marathon. I have done a 25k before (this past may) The marathon I want to do I need to sign up on Dec 1st. Does anyone think that I will have enough time to train for a marathon on May 25th 2013?

CarsonRuns

How many days and miles per week are you currently running?

macdiver

Are you still currently running?

If you did 25 k (15 miles) last may, you should have plenty of time to train for a full marathon starting in Dec / Jan. Most "To Finish" training plans are 16 weeks for people who can already run 5 to 10 miles.

yowla

This week so far I have ran 17 miles in 5 days. I like to do an early 3 mile run before work. Maybe I should bump that up to 4 miles and then on the weekends I have been doing 4 miles. I can start bumping that up by a mile or so each weekend. I think I have 30 weeks to train for it. I don't want to do a 1/2 marathon because I passed that doing a 25k.

atsteele

Yes and here's a good site to start your researching your training program: http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-591--14253-0,00.html

Here's another good one (maybe even better because it has the training chart all on one page): http://www.halhigdon.com/training/51137/Marathon-Novice-1-Training-Program

arc918

What is your longest run in the past couple weeks?

3 or 4 miles a day during the week probably isn't enough for marathon training - think more like 7 or 8 miles

Pick a training program and start ramping up right now. Just be careful not to push too hard too fast.

1holegrouper

If you are at 17 miles a week now I think that you are on the verge of pushing it. That is only because you pretty much have just enough time to properly train for it. So, yes you can do it, barely.

ETA; I'm assuming that right now a 5 mile run is easy for you. Follow a careful program that increases your distance systematically and if you fall behind schedule due to injury or illness you can still run/walk your marathon.

ejwme

I don't think it's a "barely" or "ramp immediately" issue, it sounds like you're in line to try to finish your first marathon.

The beginning training plans I've seen and used all assume a year of running an average of 20 miles a week - 15-25 is what i've seen most commonly. The longest novice/beginner/"I just want to finish" plan I've seen is 21 weeks, which still gives you plenty of time to spare. When you look for a plan, I'd look for one that's at least 18 weeks long, and has at least one 20 mile run.

When you pick your marathon, pick one that can support the pace you want to keep. I ran a small race last weekend (I did the half, but the full started at the same time), it had maybe 200-300 people total running the full, half, 10k, and 5k. They didn't close the roads, and the support was pulled at a pace of 12 minute miles on the marathon course - if you were slower, you didn't even get your time recorded, let alone flaggers to point the way (the road was painted, I didn't hear about anybody getting lost). There was one marathon walker that we saw as we were driving home - she got passed by the truck that was picking up the mile marker signs. She looked like an old hat, though, and didn't slow down at all.

Compare that to another marathon that's near me, where over 10,000 people run just the full marathon, and a number of people walk the whole thing every year. They close the course, and won't open it until the last participant goes through, or 8 hours after the start (whichever is first). That's a pace around 18 minutes per mile, and if you're in the 12 minutes per mile category you'd still be with a pack and a pacer.

Put the miles on your shoes, and get your mental game squared away. You'll do fine.

yowla

I think I can run a good 5-8 mile run on any given Saturday or Sunday. I love to push myself. I have 30 weeks but only the weekends to get my distance in. My workdays I might be able to get up to 4 1/2 or 5. I just get up at 5am as it is to go 3 miles.

I have 6 hrs to do this race. I run a pace anywhere between 10 to 11.5 mph (depending on how tired I am)
I finished the 25k in 3hr 1 min.

ejwme

I think I can run a good 5-8 mile run on any given Saturday or Sunday. I love to push myself. I have 30 weeks but only the weekends to get my distance in. My workdays I might be able to get up to 4 1/2 or 5. I just get up at 5am as it is to go 3 miles.

I have 6 hrs to do this race. I run a pace anywhere between 10 to 11.5 mph (depending on how tired I am)
I finished the 25k in 3hr 1 min.

Your marathon pace won't be the same as your 25k pace, not necessarily. It could be, maybe, but it might be slower. If your training does wonders for you, it could be faster - that I can't predict. But it will give you an idea if you'll have company on your run - look at the results for the marathon you're considering running. If your particular pace is thin in the finishers, you will be by yourself. If there are 20 people all with similar times, you'll have company. Just make sure the marathon is open for your pace OR you're ok with it if they're not.

I've seen some "new" plans come out in recent years that tout ditching the super long weekend run in favor of longer weekday runs - making the longest weekend run about 15 miles or so, and weekdays getting up to 10 miles or so. This appears to be the opposite of what you're looking for, so what you want is a more traditional plan. So you can likely find one that has lower week mileage and longer weekend mileage. Don't forget you can split a day's run into segments, run 5 in the morning and 5 at night. But if 5 miles on weekdays is pushing it, you might need to think pretty hard if it will really fit in, I've never seen any that low during the week.

I have seen training plans for marathons that are 3, 4, 5, and 6 days a week running. I've heard of people doing it in two days a week, but usually in combination with some hard core cross training (I've never seen a training plan for it).

good luck!

donnam40

Make sure you have the time for the long runs. As the training ramps up there should be some long runs of up to 35km. That puts a big hole in your weekend. I know when I have trained for marathons (I have done 3) this has had some impact on my family too.

You have the time to train, but find a beginners program and mostly stick to it.

Donna