Transitioning from Half to Full marathon!

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bearylou1990
bearylou1990 Posts: 5 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hello MFP and Runner Friends!

How do you know when you’re good to start training for a full marathon? I’ve been running for over a year now, have run 2 halfs (2:12 and 2:01) and want to run a full in June of 2015. Should I get some more expierence under my belt? I was looking at an 18 week program starting in feb and ending in June. Any tips on making the half to full transition? I hear it’s a whole different beast, much more difficult than just 2 half marathons!

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  • 12_oz_Curls
    12_oz_Curls Posts: 140 Member
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    Not that I am totally qualified to speak on this, as I am planning my first 1/2 this november, but I am already in training for my first full. (Step 1: 5K. step 2: 10K, step 3: 1/2, Step 4: full). It's just another step in the process. I have a few friends who do full marathons, and this is the question they put to me: When were you ready for your first 1/2? When you mentally decided it was time. So are you ready for the next step?
  • mzbek24
    mzbek24 Posts: 436 Member
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    I met an Australian Olympic marathon runner last Thursday, and he said that you should probably allow a good 6 months to train for a half, and 12 months for a marathon. And that it is best to be running 35km before you run a Marathon.
    So, yeah I do think June would be alright if you're in shape now and have already been running halfs. I'm doing my first half in October, and thinking towards August-end of next year for a Marathon myself.
  • bridiemac211
    bridiemac211 Posts: 7 Member
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    Just remember that you shouldn't run a full marathon in practice. Most people at most before they run a race run 23 miles before. You will do a lot better on adrenaline, so if you can run a half that fast, you might already be ready for a full.

    I ran my first marathon at 18 without training. I ran my first half at 24, then 26 (due to just not entering races), but I run various 10k and 5ks through the year. I'm doing another half this fall and have been running pretty consistently. You can do it :)
  • CaitlinT10
    CaitlinT10 Posts: 16 Member
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    Congratulations on your half! If I can do fulls so can you. I've done four full marathons and more halfs to count. I follow Hal Higdons Novice 18 week training program. The only thing is you must follow the runs to avoid injury and make sure you're capable of finishing. I haven't run a full in two years because my work schedule doesn't allow for the hours of training. If you have the hours go
    For it!
    Feel free to add me as a friend on here with any other questions.
  • bearylou1990
    bearylou1990 Posts: 5 Member
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    Love all the suggestions. Interesting about not running a full during training... I feel like I have to run it in training to prove I CAN do it so that I don't psyche myself out on race day. Trust the process I suppose!
  • ThickMcRunFast
    ThickMcRunFast Posts: 22,511 Member
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    To your first question: an 18 week marathon training session will assume at least a base of about 20-25 miles per week (you should be able to do that comfortably before beginning).

    To the question of running the full distance in training: Its not a wise idea for those of us not planning on winning the race. There are diminishing returns for runs over 22 miles - the time it will take your body to recover from that effort will impact your training negatively. You end up doing more harm than good. Even ultra marathoners don't run much further than a marathon in training (relying instead on 'back to back' long run days).

    There's a reason most plans top off at 20 miles for beginners (advanced plans will just run 20 multiple times) - its not worth the needed recovery time.
  • bearylou1990
    bearylou1990 Posts: 5 Member
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    Since I have so many experts at hand! After my next half (few weeks) what should I do between then and Feb when my training plan starts? Just keep clicking the miles?
  • ThickMcRunFast
    ThickMcRunFast Posts: 22,511 Member
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    Since I have so many experts at hand! After my next half (few weeks) what should I do between then and Feb when my training plan starts? Just keep clicking the miles?

    Depends a bit on what you're doing right now, but there are some general things you can do just to put yourself in the best position possible at the start:

    Give yourself time to recovery, then work your mileage back up. If you have any nagging injuries, take this time to let them heal. Make an effort to lose extra weight you might be carrying around (if that is a concern). Once you hit the higher mileage training, it gets super difficult to eat at any sort of deficit. Also, if you don't do any strength training, I would start. Things like lunges, planks, squats, anything to help your glute and core strength.

    Then there's other stuff, make sure you've got good shoes, the right gear (body glide, socks, clothes etc), and any nutritional supplements you may want to try ready to go, so you don't find yourself rushing around at the last minute. I always make sure I have new socks and sports bras, just to make the process more enjoyable :smile:

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