Need tips on preparation for marathon

Thanks a lot to all of you for clarifying that practice for running is different from other forms of exercise and especially I need to work on this one to be prepared for the marathon. The marathon is in December 2014. I think thats a good news, I have enough time to practice.

Last December, I started jogging, but within few minutes, I would get cramps on my lower left abdomen (also known as side stitches). Because of those cramps, I stopped jogging and concentrated on aerobics and zumba. But no matter how much jumping jacks and high intensity aerobics I do now, I don't get these cramps now. I don't know what was the problem exactly. I still need to check by starting running again as to whether I get these cramps now. Yes, its true that I never did stretching before starting to jog, but I would walk for half an hour and then start jogging, so I thought my body must have warmed up. Am I wrong here?

I already have good running shoes. Will check out the apps that you guys have suggested. :-)

Ok first. I think your crazy to try a full marathon with 1 year to prepare. Good luck! Can't wait to see you post about it in 2014.

I don't stretch before any run. The most I do is a 5 min walk. Or sometimes I will run a short way to warm up. . that's it.
Side stitches are from your heel strike, posture, breathing, etc. Stand up tall. When you feel your one side starting to hurt, breath out on when your Other foot hits the ground. ... Also just slow down.

I'd say ditch Zumba, aerobics, etc. (for now) There are some good articles on runners world about your posterior chain. Point is if you are going to be a runner, you better go at it full bore or just quit now.

Good running shoes are what you need. I like 0 - 4mm drop shoes. I spent about $100USD on them. Go to a place that will look at your running gate.

Sign up for some sort of 5k run in the early part of the year. Couch 25k will take you 9 weeks to complete if you don't have to repeat a week. I had to repeat 2 weeks. Get used to running outside in the elements, or on the treadmill. . once spring hits, get outside.

I'd really recommend doing a 1/2 marathon maybe in August. This would be a good marker to see how you are doing.
I would consider some sort of GPS or smart phone app too. Since you don't know how far you can go or whatever yet. Maybe an HRM too.. maybe.

Find a marathon plan, Hal Higgins or something. Someone mentioned the run/walk plans. do that.. it works. For next week, I'd personally start C25k wee1 day 1:
Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml

If you have no running base and have not been successful in your past attempts at running, why do you want to run 26.2 miles?

Why don't you try becoming successful with 5K's which are 3.1 miles. If they go well, work on 10K's, 6.2 miles.
The next big jump is a 1/2 marathon, 13.1 miles.

It takes a long time for a non runner to work up to a full marathon. I know, I've run 5. It took me several years to get to my first one. Just because you signed up for one in a year, it does not mean you should do it.

Lots of people walk the entire marathon. Depending on time restrictions for the one that you signed for, that may be an option.

Rule of thumb is do not increase distance more than 10% per week. Your starting base before you begin your real training should be the ability to run 10K's easily. Once you get there, you are about 20 weeks out on safely building your base. At this point, you should be running 4-6 days per week.

Good luck, don't hurt yourself, injuries suck.

I have been running on and off since I was in my twenties and running seriously for the last ten or eleven years. I've run shorter races, and I've run the Bay to Breakers in San Francisco twice, which is approximately 71/2 miles. In order to run any race, you must love running. You must be disciplined enough to stick it out through training. You will get side stitches, sore muscles, leg cramps, and water blisters and callouses on your feet. Some days you will feel exhilarated from running, other days it will wear you down to the bone. You just have to be prepared for the good and the bad.

Please also follow the wonderful advice in this thread about fitted running shoes and proper training, as well as joining your local runner's club. Find some running buddies who have the marathon goal too.

That said, how do you feel about running? If you don't run now you may not be able to properly train for any race a year from now. A year just seems to short of a time for a non-runner to train for a marathon.

Whatever you decide to do, the best of luck.

wishing you a lot of luck. with the side stitches there are really a lot of theories about why folks get them from stride to pace to breathing. I've found most times it's more to do with shallow breathing. If you're still getting them even with the increased activity following a running program, I'd recommend doing interval training to help. It can also be from your pace so if you're going to try to run through it, slow it down. There's a lot of speculation on just stopping, slowing down, or pushing through when you're feeling a stitch, best bet just do what feels right for you.

Its a 5K marathon that I have registered for. There were two more options of 10K and 3K. Now after reading your comments, I am thinking of shifting to 3K one.

And I understand that its very naive of me to sign up for a marathon being a complete non runner. But this I have taken up as a challenge to myself. I do not want to compare running with aerobics or zumba, but there was a time when I couldn't do these either. But now I do these ones daily without any feeling of passing out. All my life I had led a very sedentary lifestyle but for the past 6 months, I have completely redefined my priorities. And nothing comes before fitness.

Running was always on my to do list and signing up for marathon is a big motivation to me. I have one whole year to practice. So, I am gonna do it. And I don't care much about the final result. I am more concerned about the journey, i.e. getting myself prepared for the marathon.

Thanks for your tips. Would definitely check the sites that you all have mentioned and I hope, next year I will make a new post of 'how I felt when I touched the finishing line in the marathon.'

I'm really confused. Are you doing a marathon (26.2 miles) or a 5k (3.1 miles)? If you are in fact doing a 5k you are just fine and will have all the time in the world to conquer that challenge. You can definitely be more than ready for that in a year, get fitted for some good shoes, get the c25k program and you're good to go. But you might want to get your lingo straight. The word marathon only means a 26.2 mile race. Good luck to you!!!

I have been running on and off since I was in my twenties and running seriously for the last ten or eleven years. I've run shorter races, and I've run the Bay to Breakers in San Francisco twice, which is approximately 71/2 miles. In order to run any race, you must love running. You must be disciplined enough to stick it out through training. You will get side stitches, sore muscles, leg cramps, and water blisters and callouses on your feet. Some days you will feel exhilarated from running, other days it will wear you down to the bone. You just have to be prepared for the good and the bad.

Please also follow the wonderful advice in this thread about fitted running shoes and proper training, as well as joining your local runner's club. Find some running buddies who have the marathon goal too.

That said, how do you feel about running? If you don't run now you may not be able to properly train for any race a year from now. A year just seems to short of a time for a non-runner to train for a marathon.

Whatever you decide to do, the best of luck.

Hey,

Thank you for your valuable advice. You asked me how do I feel about running? Last year I started running. And I was absolutely in love with running. I think this is the only form of exercise which I enjoy the most. But why I stopped running was because after few minutes of running I would feel a sharp pain on my left abdomen, i.e. side stitches. And although I was regular in running, the pain would still persist. And thats why I stopped running and switched to other exercises. Do you have any solution for preventing side stitches?

You are very welcome. I have not gotten side stitches in years, but I think it's because I run on an empty stomach. When i did get them, I slowed down until they went away.

I'm glad you are running a 5k race instead.

Its a 5K marathon that I have registered for. There were two more options of 10K and 3K. Now after reading your comments, I am thinking of shifting to 3K one.

And I understand that its very naive of me to sign up for a marathon being a complete non runner. But this I have taken up as a challenge to myself. I do not want to compare running with aerobics or zumba, but there was a time when I couldn't do these either. But now I do these ones daily without any feeling of passing out. All my life I had led a very sedentary lifestyle but for the past 6 months, I have completely redefined my priorities. And nothing comes before fitness.

Running was always on my to do list and signing up for marathon is a big motivation to me. I have one whole year to practice. So, I am gonna do it. And I don't care much about the final result. I am more concerned about the journey, i.e. getting myself prepared for the marathon.

Thanks for your tips. Would definitely check the sites that you all have mentioned and I hope, next year I will make a new post of 'how I felt when I touched the finishing line in the marathon.'

I'm confused.

Buy Richard Benyo's book: Making the Marathon Your Event

My suggestion is to follow the 20 week training program in the book. It's terrific and the book will walk you through all the running jargon and teach you how to approach this goal.

I am prepping for my 4th marathon. I went from a non-runner to a committed runner.
Having stamina is nice but you will need to commit to some serious training. It's incredibly rewarding.

Have fun!

Just to clarify, I think OP actually signed up for a 5k, not a marathon (42k)...which as nearly everyone knows is an entirely different race. Somewhere near the end, she mentioned changing to a 3k, not that that really matters since a 5k is completely doable for nearly everyone with an entire year to prepare.