Marathon Club (questions, training, etc.)

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  • arc918
    arc918 Posts: 2,037 Member
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    I'm all in! 22 marathons so far (actually 21 & a 50K), with a PR of 3:21:11.

    It is a tricky distance, as you really need to learn how to manage your energy for the long haul = don't go out too fast. It took me about 10 races before I finally learned how to run smart (even splits).

    Some of the races (using runpix) give this awesome statistic I call the "truth teller." Over the last 4.5 miles you passed X amount of runners and X amounts of runners passed you. Here is where the truth comes out.

    Happy running!
  • Cletc
    Cletc Posts: 352
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    Glad to see our Veteran Marathoners continue to Join here

    Welcome !
  • FryingPanda
    FryingPanda Posts: 99 Member
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    I'm running my first 1/2 marathon in less then 2 weeks and I have shin splints...... I'm so frusterated!!! I've stretched and stretched, and ben gayed and icy hotted......

    Have you done anything to work the muscles along your shin? Another common shin splint pain can occur when you over develop the calf but don't do anything for the front of your leg.

    One exercise I do it tie a resistance band around something fairly stationary and mt feet while sitting on the floor and then pull my toes up towards me. Both stretches and strengthens the muscles around your shin... tibialis anterior I think it is called.
  • Legs_McGee
    Legs_McGee Posts: 845 Member
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    I'm been running for several years and have done about a dozen half marathons, but I'm running my first full one on June 25th: the Seattle Rock & Roll.
  • sdereski
    sdereski Posts: 3,406 Member
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    I'm in too! I've run 12 full marathons now and several half marathons in there as well. My next goal is a 50k (gulp) Am striving for Iceland's 50km in July 2012.

    Am registered for a half marathon this coming Sunday and for Grandma's marathon on June 18th. Have to back out of both due to achilles tendontits.:sad: :sad: However, I do not want to risk injuring my achilles more seriously that it will put me out for good. Am also registered for Twin Cities in October. i will set my sites on that one. :happy:
  • arc918
    arc918 Posts: 2,037 Member
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    I'm in too! I've run 12 full marathons now and several half marathons in there as well. My next goal is a 50k (gulp) Am striving for Iceland's 50km in July 2012.

    50K is really just a marathon on steriods - for your first one, I would suggest just run at your LSD pace and you'll be fine - if you can schedule it properly, you can do a marathon as your long run a couple weeks before (but you can't race it full out - too hard to recover)
  • myowncrazycool
    myowncrazycool Posts: 42 Member
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    I will be running my first marathon in 12 days! Rock N Roll San Diego here I come!

    (I have done 2 half marathons this year)

    I'm also doing the San Diego Rock n Roll Marathon!!! YAY...I ran it last year at 5:06...hoping for a better time this year. Last year when I ran the rnr, it was my very first race...I became a runner at age 40 ;)

    Advice for the original posting: The best piece of advice I can give to anyone who wants to run a full marathon is to go through Team In Training. You need to raise money for cancer, but you have a mentor that helps you do that. They train you so well. You learn about proper fitting for shoes, proper fueling, avoiding injury / fixing injury, how to properly run up / down hill, how to increase your pace/stamina, the proper way to run a long distance race, thermolytes (essential to long distance running), etc. I ran that race with such confidence, enjoyed every bit of it, and still went dancing that night (while other people were dropping like flies and ambulances were everywhere). Since that first marathon, I have run two 5ks, two half marathons, and will be running my second full marathon (all within a year). I love running now, and I can definitely call myself a runner.

    Good luck!! I hope to see you out there ;)
  • lclarkjr
    lclarkjr Posts: 359 Member
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    I just ran my first marathon on May 1st (North Shore Marathon Hawaii) and I am planning to run the Honolulu Marathon in December, too. My goal for the first one was to finish and now for my 2nd I'm looking to improve on my time. I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to lose about 14 lbs during training (pre-MFP) despite eating quite well during the 16 weeks of my program. And thanks to MFP I have been able to lose another 3.5 lbs since the race despite not logging too many weekly miles. I started tracking my calories on May 2nd because I knew I wasn't going to be running as much while I recovered from the race and I didn't want to gain any of the weight back. Now I hope to be about 10lbs lighter by the time I start training for Honolulu in August and I hope to be in even better shape when I get to the starting line in December. MFP rocks!!
  • baldzach
    baldzach Posts: 1,841 Member
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    Be happy to offer what insight I can. 4 x marathoner and general fitness junkie. Coaching my wife through a half marathon coming up on June 11! Then it's bike-focused for my first stage race on August 5-6.
  • cammons
    cammons Posts: 126 Member
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    Hope you have fun in San Diego....I ran that one four years ago and had a fantastic time...despite the fact that I ran the last 19 miles on a broken foot. The race was THAT GOOD!

    I'm in for a marathon group. I trained to run the full in Cleveland two weeks ago but the pollen kept me out of the long haul (asthma) so I ran the half instead. I hope for a comeback in October with the St. Louis Rock and Roll this fall (hopefully it will great, but not running on a broken foot great, I don't think my husband could handle another one of those!)
  • johnwhitent
    johnwhitent Posts: 648 Member
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    A good friend ran his first marathon years ago (decades ago!) when Gatorade was new and relatively unknown. My friend became severely dehydrated and at 3 am called his doctor for advice. The doc told him about Gatorade and his wife got him some and it worked for him. Later he found out that he had dialed in error and reached his veterinarian not his doctor. Good thing the vet was a runner!

    Sorry if this is not really training advice; I just laugh every time I think of it and wanted to share it.
  • kicklikeaGIRL
    kicklikeaGIRL Posts: 867 Member
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    I love checking up on these marathon support posts....

    I would LOVE to run a Full Marathon....it is one of my goals for 2012. My goal for 2011 is to shed some excess weight and run like a mad woman! I want to properly train and have as much energy as I can to train for a Full...and I feel like if I were focused on also trying to shed pounds, that I wouldn't be able to really amp up my training. I know this sounds silly, but with what I've heard from others, is that its difficult to be training for a big major race and lose weight at the same time. Is there a lot of truth to that?

    I'm running 7 Half Marathons this summer....just completed my first Half of the year last weekend and PR'd! Yahoo! Looking forward to some challenges with my races this summer, as well as a few speedy downhill courses. :smile:

    Also, what kind of doctor/physical therapist do you start with when you feel you are having some joint/tendon/muscle problems? I'm just curious...I've had a slight pain in my knee, and I wanted to go get it checked out to see what I can do to heal it before I mess it up completely....and I don't even know where to start, or I guess who to start with?!?
  • YogaRunner
    YogaRunner Posts: 652 Member
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    I'm running my first 1/2 marathon in less then 2 weeks and I have shin splints...... I'm so frusterated!!! I've stretched and stretched, and ben gayed and icy hotted......

    I used to get shin splints when I first started running. Then I found a simple and effective exercise and haven't gotten them since. When sitting down, stretch your legs out in front of you with your feet flexed (toes up and back toward your nose). Hold that flexed position for two minutes straight, then release. Repeat this several times a day for 2-3 days and your shin splints should subside. Hope it helps!
  • YogaRunner
    YogaRunner Posts: 652 Member
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    I love checking up on these marathon support posts....

    I would LOVE to run a Full Marathon....it is one of my goals for 2012. My goal for 2011 is to shed some excess weight and run like a mad woman! I want to properly train and have as much energy as I can to train for a Full...and I feel like if I were focused on also trying to shed pounds, that I wouldn't be able to really amp up my training. I know this sounds silly, but with what I've heard from others, is that its difficult to be training for a big major race and lose weight at the same time. Is there a lot of truth to that?

    I'm running 7 Half Marathons this summer....just completed my first Half of the year last weekend and PR'd! Yahoo! Looking forward to some challenges with my races this summer, as well as a few speedy downhill courses. :smile:

    Also, what kind of doctor/physical therapist do you start with when you feel you are having some joint/tendon/muscle problems? I'm just curious...I've had a slight pain in my knee, and I wanted to go get it checked out to see what I can do to heal it before I mess it up completely....and I don't even know where to start, or I guess who to start with?!?

    Hey girl! You are doing awesome!!
    As for knee pain, I'd suggest starting with a Chiropractor, one who specializes in working with athletes or runners. If there are running stores in your area, they often know of docs that work with runners and can make recommendations. If you need someone more specialized, like a bone doctor,, a good chiro should point you in that direction if its needed.
  • CakeFit21
    CakeFit21 Posts: 2,521 Member
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    I love checking up on these marathon support posts....

    I would LOVE to run a Full Marathon....it is one of my goals for 2012. My goal for 2011 is to shed some excess weight and run like a mad woman! I want to properly train and have as much energy as I can to train for a Full...and I feel like if I were focused on also trying to shed pounds, that I wouldn't be able to really amp up my training. I know this sounds silly, but with what I've heard from others, is that its difficult to be training for a big major race and lose weight at the same time. Is there a lot of truth to that?

    I'm running 7 Half Marathons this summer....just completed my first Half of the year last weekend and PR'd! Yahoo! Looking forward to some challenges with my races this summer, as well as a few speedy downhill courses. :smile:

    Also, what kind of doctor/physical therapist do you start with when you feel you are having some joint/tendon/muscle problems? I'm just curious...I've had a slight pain in my knee, and I wanted to go get it checked out to see what I can do to heal it before I mess it up completely....and I don't even know where to start, or I guess who to start with?!?

    Hey girl! You are doing awesome!!
    As for knee pain, I'd suggest starting with a Chiropractor, one who specializes in working with athletes or runners. If there are running stores in your area, they often know of docs that work with runners and can make recommendations. If you need someone more specialized, like a bone doctor,, a good chiro should point you in that direction if its needed.

    I'll second that chiro suggestion. Look for one who can perform ART. It hurts in the moment but you can get almost instant relief. I'd also suggest going sooner than later. Knee problems only get worse and in runners the problem isn't usually your knee at all. Good luck!!
  • kicklikeaGIRL
    kicklikeaGIRL Posts: 867 Member
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    Thanks ladies!! I think I will start looking for a good Chiropractor in the area.

    My next race is completely opposite of my last Half Marathon on Saturday. Saturday's race was a 1/2 mile hill followed by 12 miles downhill (coming out of the canyon in the mountains) and about 1 mile flat. It was fantastic! My June 11th Half Marathon is completely opposite! Pretty much the first 10 miles are uphill...its up&down hills that gradually escalate in elevation followed by the last 3 miles downhill. So, in this case I cannot even compare my two times. Its funny living in the mountains....either your race is going to be freaking hard as can be...or an amazing speedy downhill course. Either way my quads or my big fat butt are going to hurt after one of my races, despite the training I do on both up and downhill courses. I DO have 2 races planned that are FLAT! :) One of them is in Minnesota and the other is just some little farmland rolling hills.

    I was planning on a hard 5 mile hill run tonight...hoping it doesn't snow. WHAT? snow you ask? Yes. Weather forecast predicts scattered rain AND SNOW showers! What the heck!? I don't mind if it snows or rains, so much...but I sure hope the wind isn't 30mph like it is now. yikes.
  • arc918
    arc918 Posts: 2,037 Member
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    A bunch of my running friends rave about ART, so I tried it on two occasions (for a couple months each time). For me, I found they were treating the symptoms but doing enough to help me address and resolve the cause. They'd work me over, then tell me to stretch and spend 30 seconds showing my how to do it.

    I credit my physical therapist with my recovery from 1.5+ years on hamstring and glute injury issues. He showed my exactly what I needed to do (stretch,etc.) and we'd spend an hour and half doing it each appointment. He made sure I knew what each movement felt like so I could do them on my own instead of having to come to his clinic.

    I also tried some massage appointments and confirmed what I already knew - I HATE MASSAGES. Just not my thing, even if it was effective. Laying under a sheet with new age music and smelly oil = no thanks (for me). Working out in the gym like clinic of my PT = right up my alley.

    Moral of the story, you need to figure out what works for you.
  • scottb81
    scottb81 Posts: 2,538 Member
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    I know this sounds silly, but with what I've heard from others, is that its difficult to be training for a big major race and lose weight at the same time. Is there a lot of truth to that?
    It can be done, but it takes some discipline and calorie management. The problem is that when you start running higher mileage nearly every day you cannot cut calories too much or the training will suffer. Glycogen depletion on top of the normal fatigue that accumulates leads to extreme tiredness and poor workouts. At the same time it is really easy to tell yourself that you can eat anything you want since you are running so much. So, you can lose weight but only by tracking calories closely and making sure that what you do eat provides to needed nutrients to support muscle recovery and refueling between workouts.
  • sdereski
    sdereski Posts: 3,406 Member
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    A good friend ran his first marathon years ago (decades ago!) when Gatorade was new and relatively unknown. My friend became severely dehydrated and at 3 am called his doctor for advice. The doc told him about Gatorade and his wife got him some and it worked for him. Later he found out that he had dialed in error and reached his veterinarian not his doctor. Good thing the vet was a runner!

    Sorry if this is not really training advice; I just laugh every time I think of it and wanted to share it.

    :laugh: Love that story. :laugh:
  • DrAlexz
    DrAlexz Posts: 4
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    Thinking of running the Colorado Marathon in Fort Collins. Has anyone run it?

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