How fit were you when you started marathon training?

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  • chunkytfg
    chunkytfg Posts: 339 Member
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    Never actually done a stand alone marathon but was 260lb when I did my first olympic distance Triathlon and decided it would be a sensible idea to do an Ironman

    1 year later got the weight down to 240ish and did the marathon part of the ironman in 5hr13mins

    So suppose I was doing regular 10k runs at the point where I did the Oly dis tri
  • RedHotRunner
    RedHotRunner Posts: 850 Member
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    These are so inspiring! I can run 10k now, and have been running 5k, 6 day/week for 1 month now. The marathon that I have in mind is in May. My goal is only to finish it. I am going to start training tomorrow! Thank you all for answering my question!

    I would strongly recommend that you reconsider doing a full marathon in ~4 months with that training base. It would make a lot more sense to do a half-marathon first, then look for a marathon in the fall.

    To do a marathon in May, You would have to build up mileage very quickly, and you will very likely get injured. It is very satisfying to complete a half, and when you do a marathon after a year's effort, you will have a much better experience.
    ^^THIS - Is your goal to finish it and have it be a miserable experience, or to enjoy it? If it's the former, go ahead and give it a try. it it's the later, give yourself some more time. I ran my first marathon last October after running half's for 4 years. I had the time of my life and enjoyed every aspect of it, even the dreaded wall (which I didn't really hit though had difficulty from 18-24). I also recovered in record speed and was back up to 5 mile runs within a week.
  • pobalita
    pobalita Posts: 741 Member
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    My suggestion to anyone that wants to run a marathon is to don't even think about starting a marathon training cycle until you have 12 to 18 months of solid, consistent base mileage in the 25 to 30 mile per week range. There are plenty of other challenging race distances to participate in. The marathon is not the end all, be all.

    This! ^ I completely agree.

    After over 10 years of no running:

    started jogging: June 2012
    5k: July 4, 2012 (less than one month after starting)
    10 K: August 2012
    half marathon: late November 2012
    marathon: June 2013

    I was not out of shape when I started running. I was at my goal weight and going to the gym about 5 days per week.

    In hindsight, I wish I would have had more experience than 1 year from 0 miles to 26.2 miles under my belt. Training and the marathon were brutal, it took me a long time to recover, and I injured myself right after the marathon doing something that shouldn't have caused an injury - just a simple misstep (didn't even fall) took me out of running from July - September. I agree with 25 - 30 miles per week for at least a year.

    When I upped my mileage for training, my pace became irreversibly slow and I lost muscle due to the stress I was putting my body through. I didn't see it at the time. I thought training was supposed to be brutal and hurt. Now, 7 months later I am still fighting to regain my muscle and former pace.


    edited to not send a completely negative message here: I did run 6 half marathons in 2013 - 4 before the injury and 2 after the injury and completely enjoyed them.
  • arc918
    arc918 Posts: 2,037 Member
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    These are so inspiring! I can run 10k now, and have been running 5k, 6 day/week for 1 month now. The marathon that I have in mind is in May. My goal is only to finish it. I am going to start training tomorrow! Thank you all for answering my question!

    I would strongly recommend that you reconsider doing a full marathon in ~4 months with that training base. It would make a lot more sense to do a half-marathon first, then look for a marathon in the fall.

    To do a marathon in May, You would have to build up mileage very quickly, and you will very likely get injured. It is very satisfying to complete a half, and when you do a marathon after a year's effort, you will have a much better experience.
    ^^THIS - Is your goal to finish it and have it be a miserable experience, or to enjoy it? If it's the former, go ahead and give it a try. it it's the later, give yourself some more time. I ran my first marathon last October after running half's for 4 years. I had the time of my life and enjoyed every aspect of it, even the dreaded wall (which I didn't really hit though had difficulty from 18-24). I also recovered in record speed and was back up to 5 mile runs within a week.

    We have no time for your voice of reason stuff here...
  • drdonmok
    drdonmok Posts: 1
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    Nov 2012 I was 300+ lbs and could not walk more than 0.3 mile ( the distance from my apartment to a nearby park ) , by April 2013 I ran my first half marathon at 205 lbs , last month I ran the Honolulu full marathon at 175 lbs . So the answer when I started my marathon training I was totally out of shape .
  • SonicDeathMonkey80
    SonicDeathMonkey80 Posts: 4,489 Member
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    I was reasonably fit when I started marathon training - ran a 1:45 half, a few triathlons, etc. The full marathon was nothing that I expected and it totally wiped me out. I had about 600 miles under my belt coming into the full as well. In hindsight, I shouldn't have done it at all last year, but I feel that I'm ready this year. Half? Whatever. Those are aerobic. Fulls are strategic beasts that require a ton of crap to be in line
  • stunningalmond
    stunningalmond Posts: 275 Member
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    I'm just starting to train for a half marathon in August. Right now I can run 4 kms. And I'm not very fit.
  • CarsonRuns
    CarsonRuns Posts: 3,039 Member
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    Nov 2012 I was 300+ lbs and could not walk more than 0.3 mile ( the distance from my apartment to a nearby park ) , by April 2013 I ran my first half marathon at 205 lbs , last month I ran the Honolulu full marathon at 175 lbs . So the answer when I started my marathon training I was totally out of shape .

    Using this logic, we all started training for our first marathon with the first running step that we took. We all know that is disingenuous though. I think the OP is more interested in how fit we were at the time we made the decision to run a marathon and start training for it.
  • timeasterday
    timeasterday Posts: 1,368 Member
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    I had a year of running under my belt and just completed my first half marathon when I decided to sign up for a marathon that is another 11 months out. I was already very fit when I first started running.
  • georgiaTRIs
    georgiaTRIs Posts: 231 Member
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    I was 60 years old on my first marathon. I signed up in January for the Marathon in October. I had only ran 3 10 K's before that. I worked on pace and time on my feet. It took me 5 1/1 hours to finish my first marathon, but I did it. The last 2 months are important to push as much as possible. It was one of the things that I dreamed about and my son said "sign up and commit" so I did. I was never a super fast runner and my goal was to finish and not be last. I ended up 3rd in my age group and will always remember the feeling of crossing the finish line and completing my goal. I have done 5 others since that time but nothing is like your first finish line. Go For It!!!! You are never to old and if you really want it, you can get yourself in shape. There are many great training programs out there - use them.
  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
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    These are so inspiring! I can run 10k now, and have been running 5k, 6 day/week for 1 month now. The marathon that I have in mind is in May. My goal is only to finish it. I am going to start training tomorrow! Thank you all for answering my question!

    I would strongly recommend that you reconsider doing a full marathon in ~4 months with that training base. It would make a lot more sense to do a half-marathon first, then look for a marathon in the fall.

    To do a marathon in May, You would have to build up mileage very quickly, and you will very likely get injured. It is very satisfying to complete a half, and when you do a marathon after a year's effort, you will have a much better experience.

    I am usually not one to discourage people from trying to reach their goals, but I have to agree with this advice. It is very important for marathon training to have a strong base. The difference between a 5K, 10K and half marathon is just mileage, but the full marathon is an entirely different beast. Just having the mental fortitude really isn't enough. Your body has to be physically ready to run for 3, 4 or 5+ hours. I think it is important to understand that. I completed my first full marathon last year, after running regularly for 15+ years. I am very, very grateful that I had a strong base built up from years of running.
  • PeteWhoLikesToRunAlot
    PeteWhoLikesToRunAlot Posts: 596 Member
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    I started in Feb 2010, couldn't run a half mile. Worked my way up to my first 5K in June 2010 on 15-20 mpw. Had back surgery in the fall and had to re-start in April 2011. Started making more gains in 2011, first 10K, up to 25 mpw. Kept it up, gradually worked up to 30-35 mpw through 2012, did my first 13.1 in Sept 2012. After that, decided to sign up for my first 26.2 in Oct 2013. Worked my base mileage up to 50-60+ through summer 2013, with some speed work. Did alright for the 26.2, missed my target but wasn't off by much.

    Agree with others who say that the 26.2 is an entirely different beast. It requires strategy in pacing & effort to manage your fuel to avoid hitting the wall when you get up to ~20+ miles.
  • runs4zen
    runs4zen Posts: 769 Member
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    I started training in May of 2013 for an October Marathon. At the time, I could run 13.1 miles and had done so. I was in good shape, in other words. That said, when I started running in October of 2011, I couldn't run to the end of the block (from the middle) without getting a sharp side pain. By December of 2011 I could run 4 miles and it was onwards and upwards from there.

    Training your body and learning the science behind running is actually the easy part. Training your brain to be dedicated, single minded (where running is concerned) and determined to overcome obstacles...that's the hard part! It's also the part that is key to being a distance runner, in my opinion.
  • jwdieter
    jwdieter Posts: 2,582 Member
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    A marathon runs near my house every year, around the 18-mile mark. After the first few waves, you get pretty much every ambulatory body type. It's not just a bunch of super-fit people. Thousands and thousands of very ordinary folk. When they can't run anymore, they walk. Shrugs.
  • Bonnieg318
    Bonnieg318 Posts: 156 Member
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    First 5k I was 250lbs trained and completed in 44 min and sicker than a dog I should not have ran!!
    First half marathon at 240lbs. No my times were and are not great but I have finished every race I have entered! It's not about coming in first, it's not about beating so and so, it's about doing this for me. If I can better my last run by one second I am happy, I am happy just being able to get out there and doing it. It is very motivating seeing all sizes of people out there. I cheer when the front people make the loop back past me but I give encouraging words to the people that I loop back on. I was one of those last few to cross the finish line more times than I can count!
  • estatitra
    estatitra Posts: 80 Member
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    Well thank you all for your comments. I am doing the training and today I ran 12.5 miles! I am so pumped and hoping to complete the training. I guess my cycling had put me in a good shape in terms of cardiovascular fitness. I started running in 2008, but had never ran more than 6 miles before. The clinic that I am training in, is following a very gradual increase in milage, and so far I have been doing well, despite running outside in -30 and snow!

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