Here's the post/group I've been looking for! My first full marathon is Nov. 1, day after my birthday. I have been running since August 2012, and have completed 7 half marathons. I've got a supportive husband and a few runner friends that have offered to tag along for parts of long runs.

My main concerns are 1) not gaining weight during training and 2) I'd love to actually lose the last bit of spare tire that I am still carrying. I've been been scouring the forums (lurking, not posting) for anything related to nutrition while training.

I look forward to reading everyone's training posts and going through this journey together!

I'm reading: "The New Rules of Marathon and Half Marathon Nutrition" by Matt Fitzgerald. It was highly recommended by people in this group.

Group member schmenge55 posted this for me on a friend's wall the other day. Cliffs notes version of the book:

 In a nutshell eat more vegetables than fruit. More fruit than nuts/seeds. More nuts/seeds that fish/lean protein. More fish/lean protein than whole grains. More whole grains than dairy. More dairy than refined grains, more refined grains than fatty meat. More fatty meat than sweets. More sweets than fried foods.

Group member schmenge55 posted this for me on a friend's wall the other day. Cliffs notes version of the book:

 In a nutshell eat more vegetables than fruit. More fruit than nuts/seeds. More nuts/seeds that fish/lean protein. More fish/lean protein than whole grains. More whole grains than dairy. More dairy than refined grains, more refined grains than fatty meat. More fatty meat than sweets. More sweets than fried foods.

I am unsure into which category beer and bbq fit?

Oh Gillian if you are in Scotland you might be able to give me some further advice!

My hubby is from Glasgow we are heading over in a few weeks, I am hoping to walk the west highland way I only have a few days to do it hopefully 4/5, going to bnb it for the first couple of nights then himself and the children are going to camp and I will meet them. All advice greatly appreciated!

For our american friends - its a fab 96 mile walk through the highlands, great pre-marathon training plus if I do that I think it will give me a bit more confidence running the marathon.

regards,

valentine

Hope you're looking forward to The West Highland Way, if you're doing some or all of it, I would look at this company http://travel-lite-uk.com/ they pick your baggage up and will meet you at the next point and drop it off for you (repeat the following morning), means you can walk pretty much unemcumbered and enjoy the scenery and only have to carry waterproofs), I know that there also appears to be an increase in the tick problem this year, so they are recommending checking throughly every night for the little ****s and also checking on the symptoms of Lyme disease, never known it to happen to anyone but, better safe than sorry (I would also go onto amazon oe ebay and get a tick remover, it'll be in the pet section but works on humans as well, I always have one in my car for just in case), I actually drag the dog over to Loch Lomond on a fairly regualr basis for a lovely (read ***** of a hill) walk.
If you're only doing sections of it, I would make sure the Glencoe. Buachaille Etive Mhor, Devils Staircase sections are in it, might just be me and because I'm over at Loch Lomond etc on a more regular basis than I'm in Glencoe but the scenery there is not to be missed.
There's also this company that organise all accommodation (it's Scotland, camping Glencoe way etc can certainly be an experience and they've only shut the ski routes in last 3/4 weeks, so there's still snow), this company organises the full walk for you, staying on B&B's/Hotels etc and does the bag drop at each overnight stay http://www.westhighlandwayinfo.com/index.htm

Edited to add, most people do this in 7 days, but I think a lot of time is spent looking at the scenery and taking it in (and getting your breath back from climbing the hills), you could probably do it in 5 days but would really depend on your speed 9or the childrens) and taking time to enjoy it (they do have a race, which the winner completed it in 14hr 20min 11sec, so 5 days should be doable)!!!

I'm running my first in mid-October in Atlantic City

Hey @sassycraftyfi - That's my first marathon too! I'm just trying to finish it. If I can get it in under 4 hrs, that'd be awesome, but I just want to get through it.

I have decided to try training again for my first marathon. I tried last year and well had a foot injury and hip problems that sidelined me from running until now. So I have decided to give it another go. I found a new training plan that I believe will work better for me. My goal is just to FINISH my first marathon. I don't care the time or if I have to walk part of it, I just want to finish. So I am basically starting over with my running since it has been a long time off. So I need to pick a marathon to be my first. Anyone have any good suggestions? Want it to be in December - March time frame. Good luck everyone with their first marathons!!

I ran my first marathon in March... it was a 26 mile solo training run on the trails prepping for my first 50k. I wasn't sure how I would do, so I just ran 13 miles away from my car so I had to finish it no matter what. At mile 22, that strategy did not feel very smart. I had drained my camelbak and was talking to myself. Took me a little over six hours to finish and I was hoarse from cursing the hills...but when I finally dragged my sorry *kitten* to the car, I never felt worse or better in my life... it was awesome...lol

My brother, who has a couple dozen marathons under his belt and probably a dozen ultras, reminds me that training programs are just good suggestions, but don't get too hung up on following them to the letter... listen to your body... miles on feet is key... he also says you are always better off going into a long race under-trained rather than over-trained.

Good luck to everyone doing their first! Keep us posted...

I'm training for my first Marathon, Prairie Fire Marathon in Wichita KS on October 12. My longest run, to date, is 20 miles. I knew training was going to be more difficult than that for the Half, but boy it's much tougher than I thought. I knew training in the summer heat was going to be a challenge (At least it hasn't been as hot as a normal summer, but over 80-85 and my performance greatly degrades. It's unusual for us to have summertime low under 73 and the lows have been around 69-73 with a heat index of 73-78. Temps at the end of long runs have been around 80-85 with a heat index of around 90 (Starting the run at 5 am.) ). I've felt like giving up on the full and just changing my registration for the half, but It'd cost more, I have put in a lot of time/effort for the full, I am improving, I don't want to be a quitter, and I really do want to run a full for many reasons.