couch potato to marathon help

I'm not a running expert, but I've done two. All it really takes to do a marathon is time and DETERMINATION! You CAN do it!! Good luck with your training! :-)

That's plenty of time to prepare for a marathon! I'd recommend starting with the C25K program (couch to 5K). That's what I did and it helped a lot. To really prepare for a marathon you need 4 months after you have that base, but the more time you have, the better. Go to a running store and get properly fitted for shoes. Do not wear cotton socks nor clothes. Trust me on that. Good luck! I couldn't run a block before, and now I've done 1 full marathon and 6 half marathons. I use the Galloway run-walk method and I feel totally fine after the race.

You could first set some smaller goals to work up to it. I am a 1/2 marathon runner. Start with some 5K's and then work your way up. You can find tons of training tips online. It really does help to find a running partner to keep motivated and for accountability. I am not some super athlete, I run because I need to exercise and I love getting out in my city and getting those different views. Where I live we actually host a big 1/2 marathon every year and a local running store had some training groups. There are organizations out there that train people for races and in return you raise money for charity. Team in Training is one of the more popular ones. They are pretty good about working with beginners and it's a lot of fun. I went out with one of my friends today. We were out early and got to watch the run rise over the city, it was beautiful. I get so much out of it for body, mind and soul.

I went through this same thing many years ago. I went from a virtual couch potato to running a 10K in less than an hour in about 5 months time. It felt great! My next goal was for a 1/2 marathon which was another 5 months away. I started training to hard and fast for it and ended up injured. I was laid up for about 3 months, and picked up my training much slower and the in less than a year, ran my first 1/2 marathon!!! I was not able to run the whole thing, I walked part.... BUT I completed, which was good enough for me!! Since then, I've ran another 1/2 and a few more 10Ks. My goal is set to run a full marathon this fall, but my stopping points are that I always manage to injure myself in NON running related, clutsy issues!!

Hal Higdon has some great running programs to follow. There are also several programs you can follow out there to train for this. I think that you could run it before your April goal. I feel that you can do it in less than a year. Pick up a few 5K and 10K races along your way to gauge your progress and to get a feel for how it feels to run in a race. Even though you're just racing yourself, its a whole different feeling than a training run! Its fun and once you've set the goal its so motivating to hit your goals!!

Best of luck to you! If you want to, feel free to add me as a freind and we can support one another in meeting all of our goals!!!