If you really can't talk while running 'at any pace' you probably just aren't taking it easy enough, even if you do think you're going slowly. Before you start your marathon programme, perhaps you should try and build a base of really really slow easy miles, building up gradually but seriously making yourself slow down. Rather than paying a coach for this, can you join a running group or club (you say you did a group training session before)? If you're with others you're much more likely to run at a pace where you can talk to them.

rrcoffey wrote: »

Do you have one for the guidance? Accountability? Company?

Just a little about me . . . I started running the Summer of 2014 when I realized I'd run 2.5 miles during a group training session and didn't die - LOL! I ran my first 5K that Fall and was hooked, each race longer than the last. I'm now registered for a full in January and will start (dedicated) training this summer.

I don't know if I've learned how to run "correctly." No matter what pace, I can't carry a conversation while running, esp. not for any distance. I'm comfortable with how I feel during/after runs, but I wonder if it could be better with some experienced guidance. I'm also a little concerned that, by only being accountable to myself, I could allow life to get in the way of training . . . I'm not above paying for a little accountability - LOL!

So, is a coach worth it?

To answer the explicit question, I have a coach. I got him as part of the deal when I joined a local running club, and I joined because I thought that having a group to do speed work with would motivate me to do more speed work than I had been doing on my own. That worked, and the value of the coach was a huge unplanned benefit. It's not primarily about accountability or company for me; it's about having someone with a ton of experience to bounce ideas off and to tell me when to back off.

Like many runners, I am stupider for myself than I am for other runners. I will get to a situation where I dither between backing off and pushing through. Maybe I make the right decision, maybe I don't. If I make the right decision, maybe I talk myself out of it later. Having a coach tell me which way is the right decision eliminates a lot of angst and second-guessing.

Today I showed up at practice in jeans. Told my coach what had been going on. He told me to go home and take a hot bath to warm my muscles, then do some stretches he showed me for my particular issue. I would *never* have figured that out on my own. But my coach has 5 decades of running and coaching experience, and his suggestions have been spot on to date.

Now, to address the question you didn't ask: Yes, get some experienced guidance. If you can't carry on a conversation when you run, you are not running as a distance runner should. You might be okay up to 5K, or perhaps even 10K distances; but when you start aiming at a half marathon you are likely to injure yourself. Been there, done that, came up injured twice trying to get to a half before I paid for a training program that got me to the start line of my first half marathon. The most important thing I learned in that paid program was to SLOW DOWN.

Oh, yeah . . . you're aiming at a full marathon. If you don't learn to slow down to a conversational pace, it is unlikely you will be able to train to run that distance at all. You'll get injured before you get to the start line. (Maybe you could train up to that distance in walk/run intervals, I don't know that much about walk/run training.) I'll put it bluntly: If you want to run a marathon, you need to learn to run slow enough to hold a conversation while running. And then learn to run a bit slower than that.

Seriously, running slow enough will feel unnatural. It will feel like you aren't running at all. It will be hard to keep it that slow. But this is a skill you will need if you want to run long distances. You don't necessarily need a coach to learn it; but it's very hard to learn on your own. At a minimum, it would be helpful to run with experienced distance runners who can slow you down to an appropriate pace. The tricky thing is, *your* appropriate long slow pace will be different than other runners' appropriate long slow paces. Learning what your long slow pace should be, and learning to run at that pace, is much easier with experienced help.

I didn't always have the excellent coach I have now. I started with no coach, and repeatedly ran myself into injury. I got into that paid group program with 2 coaches who were turning out batches of first time half marathon runners. As coaches, they weren't the best thing for my needs. But they were good enough to show me the rudiments of speed work, and I learned an awful lot from an excellent pace leader for the long slow runs and from a bunch of experienced marathon runners in my pace group. I learned stuff I could not have learned on my own, and it was well worth paying for some experienced guidance.

I've been playing with the idea of getting a coach, but haven't yet. One thing to keep in mind if you decide to get one is that they all have different training approaches. I know I wouldn't do well with the way some of my friends' coaches have them train, but it works for them.

Also, I'll echo the advice to slow down. I've run 8 HM (9th is in a couple days) and 1 full, and my easy run pace is 60-90 seconds/mile slower than my HM pace.

I'm in a triathlon training group with a group coach. I've also done a group training program for a marathon (years ago), that wasn't really coached but had a training plan and pacing groups with leaders for the long run. That was a good experience I'd recommend, and running with others you will get used to talking at the pace you are running.

I do think slowing down for a while is the answer if you are struggling to talk (I know it's hard to do). Typically your long slow pace WILL be slower than race pace. It's hard to trust the training, but you end up being able to run faster in the race. Maybe if you found a group to run with occasionally it wouldn't seem like such a bummer to go slower?

My marathon group was through a big local runner's club and aimed at the local marathon, but there are often groups affiliated with running stores or on meetup.com.

I have no coach.

Just a bit of background: I started running in May 2014 and never, ever ran before. At that point I was 49 years young.

I started with the free app C210K which gets you from couch to 10K. This worked very well for me.

After that I started to build up my weekly running base. I started with somewhere around 20 km per week.

Two years later: I ran successfully two full marathons, 8 half marathons and a couple of 10K races. My weekly running volume is now around 60 km with at least one long run a week (more than 20K).

As it has been said above: you must learn to run as slowly as possible. It might take some time but you WILL get there!

Whether with or without coach: this is a bit personal preference. I do not like it but for others it seems to work very well. Otherwise there are numerous free training programs online that you can easily follow.

Best of luck and yes (!) you can and will run a marathon as long as you keep on training.

Best of luck
Stef.