Marathon Training advice appreciated..

bluefox9er

Hi everyone..after graduating from c25k and going on to doing 10k's and now up to half marathon distance, I have decided to enter my very first ever event, the Toronto goodlife marathon in May next year.

Whilst I have only been running for 8 months from scratch, I feel confident I can achieve my goal of simply finishing the 26.2 mile distance.

My marathon training starts on New Year's eve, and I am following the Hal Higdon novice 2 training plan, via he iPhone APP.

I have studied this plan and noticed that the longest 'long' run is 20 miles, then tapering down starts.

I have spoken to a few runners ( I don't know many) and their advice is conflicting as to whether the longest 'long run' should be 20, or as I suspected, the entire 26.2 miles.

I am tempted to make the longest 'long run' a 26.2 mile run simply because it will give me an idea of what that sort of distance entails, in-running nutrition/hydration habits etc in a training environment rather than 20 miles...

I get the feeling those 'extra' 6.2 miles would feel like 15 miles because of depleted energy reserves and fatigue etc...

Should I make that longest 'long' run 26.2 miles or stick with the program of 20 miles?

All help sincerely appreciated!


P.S any experienced runners or runners with similar aspirations would be very welcome as new friends...I am a supportive and very active member of the MFP community.

runningchick70

I have done a couple of fulls now. I never did 26.2 miles until race day. IMO, 20 miles is enough. With that distance, you will learn how your body handles these longer runs. Marathon training is tough & you don't want to tax your body more than needed during training. Adding more distance also increases your risk of injury. Good luck!

arc918

The problem with going 26.2 in training is recovery. You need to be able to run long and get right back to your training.

For me, I find 21-22 is enough. Once I go more than that, I have to slow down my training. I am a fan of doing 4 or 5 20-21 milers in a training cycle - but I would not suggest doing that until you learn a bit about how your body reacts and recovers for longer runs.

Bottom line, in all things running we are each an experiment with a sample size of one. We have to figure out what works for us by trial and error. My best tip to you is make sure you are not "racing" all your training run.

meghannrenee

Stick with the training plan - there's a reason that most of them don't have you run a full 26.2.

Your long runs are supposed to be done at a pace slower than your expected marathon pace - a good 30-90 seconds slower depending on which particular article you're reading or which plan you're following. The idea here is to build up your body's endurance, and the put you on your feet for the same amount of time as race day without you pushing to that distance (and speed) and putting yourself at risk for injury before you ever see the starting line.

schmenge55

I've done 11 marathons and never done longer than a 20 mile (might have been a 22 once). There are some that say you do not even need to do 20 for your longest. It can maybe help you mentally but think more "leg time." By that I mean that your 20 will be no where near race pace but might be close to total running time. Stay the course. No pun intended

spa9177

I just ran my first marathon this October, and the advice I received when doing your long was to do 23. I mean it was long but I achieved it and achieved my first marathon. The runnng plan I did was marathonrookie.com and it helped me through my training. Good luck!

bpotts44

The long runs are to help train your body for endurance. Therefore they are run slower and in a tired state. Therefore, 20 is plenty. Enjoy.

supertracylynn

BUMP!

Erica262

Hal Higdon's plans are great. That's what I did for my full marathon and my last two half marathons. You don't need to do more than 20. Make sure you focus on all the mid-week runs just as much as the long runs. That's the mistake I made. Make sure you take care of your body by feeding it healthy, real food. Good luck! Let us know how it goes!

dorianaldyn

I could have written the original post myself so thank you for posting and thanks to all who have responded!

scottb81

I've done up to a 29 miler as part of the training plan I was using. If your training plan only goes up to 20 then you should probably stick to that distance. As far as getting the targeted training effect, anything over 2 hours is physically enough.