Marathon Training

I suggest using a novice plan from Hal Higdon or similar. Or, better yet, find a local running group or running store that offers training. Running for hours is more fun with a group.

From now until you start your plan just keep running. Slowly build up your base until you can comfortably start week one of your training plan.

For you first marathon, focus on finishing and don't worry about how long it takes. Enjoy the experience. For food, you will have to experiment to see what works for you. I usually have a peanut butter sandwich before a long run (15 or more miles). You should also experiment with in run fueling. See which gels or chews work best for you.

You have plenty of time to try things and be ready by spring.

Good luck.

There`s an old proverb that says the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the 2nd best time is right now. So, if you`re not already running consistently 3 to 5 times per week the time to start is now (depending on your fitness level etc start short & slow and build gradually)

I`m a big fan of Hal Higdon`s training plans, they`re free & well structured and his Novice 1 Marathon plan is 18 weeks long. It`s based on 4 runs weekly and the longest run the first week is 6 miles (about 10km)

halhigdon.com/training/51137/Marathon-Novice-1-Training-Program

Like you I do most of my training fasted, for longer runs (anything over 2 hrs) I`ll have some toast & PB and a banana a couple of hours before heading out. Generally speaking if you`re eating a well balanced diet you should have enough stored glycogen to get you through about 90 minutes of moderate exercise. You can experiment with nutrition during training as you will want to eat as your training runs get longer and you should also consider training with gels once your runs are much more than 2 hours (I`ll take one gel a few minutes before the race and one every 45 minutes or so, I`ve bonked before and it`s no fun.....)

Most races will offer aid stations along the way and most will offer both water, a sports drink & often energy gels. It`s best to check with the race director to see what they offer as you don`t want to be consuming something on race day that you haven`t used in training.....not all gels are created equally and peoples tolerances vary. Once you know what they offer you can decide to train with that product or bring along your own (some people will race with hydration belts that have a pouch for gels, I use a race belt that has loops for holding gels)
Have fun!

TavistockToad wrote: »

CyclingRoadie6 wrote: »

jayjay_90 wrote: »

Hey folks!

In the spring I ran my first half-marathon. I kind of buggered off my training more than I wanted to leading up to it (life.) but I still finished ahead of my goal time by a few minutes, so I was overall happy with it. At the time I thought there was no way I wanted to train for a full but.... I've got the marathon itch now! I'd like to be able to say I've run at least 1, so I'm planning on doing one next spring.

Hoping for some advice from marathon runners like, how long in advance should I start my training, what kind of training do you find helped you, what kind of food do you eat before running, (I'm used to running on empty, even for the half I only had a protein bar and a banana before the race because I'm prone to cramping.) to bring nourishment along for the run or not, etc! I'm excited to give it a go but I want to be smarter about this one than I was my half.

Advice or links to some solid articles would be lovely!

Thanks

I could help get things started, if you're interested. Training for a full marathon is no east feat, and more is needed than what you did for the half you ran in the spring. I am currently helping another MFP friend go through the same training process for his race in October, and I am quite familiar with "running on empty" and how to manage that. I'll leave it to you if you would like to send me a quick note or send me a friend request, and we can talk more about the next steps.

who not post it on here so lurkers can also benefit?

Probably looking for $$......

BrianSharpe wrote: »

TavistockToad wrote: »

CyclingRoadie6 wrote: »

jayjay_90 wrote: »

Hey folks!

In the spring I ran my first half-marathon. I kind of buggered off my training more than I wanted to leading up to it (life.) but I still finished ahead of my goal time by a few minutes, so I was overall happy with it. At the time I thought there was no way I wanted to train for a full but.... I've got the marathon itch now! I'd like to be able to say I've run at least 1, so I'm planning on doing one next spring.

Hoping for some advice from marathon runners like, how long in advance should I start my training, what kind of training do you find helped you, what kind of food do you eat before running, (I'm used to running on empty, even for the half I only had a protein bar and a banana before the race because I'm prone to cramping.) to bring nourishment along for the run or not, etc! I'm excited to give it a go but I want to be smarter about this one than I was my half.

Advice or links to some solid articles would be lovely!

Thanks

I could help get things started, if you're interested. Training for a full marathon is no east feat, and more is needed than what you did for the half you ran in the spring. I am currently helping another MFP friend go through the same training process for his race in October, and I am quite familiar with "running on empty" and how to manage that. I'll leave it to you if you would like to send me a quick note or send me a friend request, and we can talk more about the next steps.

who not post it on here so lurkers can also benefit?

Probably looking for $$......

Nope! I'm not looking for money at all, but am more than willing to help others achieve their goals, as others have helped me. Thanks for immediately assuming though.

I ran my first marathon last year and I used a Hal Higdon novice plan. I highly recommend his plans (I'm training again using one of his intermediate plans this year). You get the miles in, but they're also built in a way that lets you have a fairly normal life while you're training.

I would recommend following the plan as closely as you can, especially for the longer runs. You might want to pick a marathon that won't have you training in the winter if that's going to be an issue for you. I run an October marathon because the summer training works really well for me.

I recommend trying to find ways to eat *something* before you run. I also was a "run on empty" person and I didn't eat enough during my marathon last year and the last six miles were like a nightmare. So this year I'm focusing on eating something light before the run and being consistent with refueling with Gu packs during the run. I've got two 20-mile runs on this training plan, so I will have two chances to really practice my strategy.

jayjay_90 wrote: »

Hey folks!

In the spring I ran my first half-marathon. I kind of buggered off my training more than I wanted to leading up to it (life.) but I still finished ahead of my goal time by a few minutes, so I was overall happy with it. At the time I thought there was no way I wanted to train for a full but.... I've got the marathon itch now! I'd like to be able to say I've run at least 1, so I'm planning on doing one next spring.

Hoping for some advice from marathon runners like, how long in advance should I start my training, what kind of training do you find helped you, what kind of food do you eat before running, (I'm used to running on empty, even for the half I only had a protein bar and a banana before the race because I'm prone to cramping.) to bring nourishment along for the run or not, etc! I'm excited to give it a go but I want to be smarter about this one than I was my half.

Advice or links to some solid articles would be lovely!

Thanks

I'd echo the advice around using a structured plan, the Higdon ones are pretty good and build in cross training opportunities.

Rather than try to answer all the nutrition and feeding questions now, you'll get more from experimenting as you increase your mileage. And as upthread, using the time now to increase your base volume will make the plan easier to follow.

Some of the advice also depends on the terrain you're running on. Road marathons are quite a different proposition then a trail marathon, particularly if you're having to carry extra kit or using poles.

In terms of cross training I prefer cycling and swimming, whereas others would suggest resistance training. Again, down to personal preference and circumstances.

jayjay_90 wrote: »

Thanks for all the helpful advice everyone! I'll check out that long distance runners group, totally forgot groups are a thing on here.

I did a training plan for my half but I honestly only vaguely followed it. I typically run 4 times a week in the spring/summer, but that tends to go down in the winter cause it's cold and I'm a suck! Also running anything more than an hour on a treadmill is just the pits.

Sounds like the sooner I can start experimenting with food and gels the better so I'm gonna focus my research on that for a bit.

I'm doing a 15km in September so I wasn't really planning on doing another half, but I'll look into what's around, cause that makes sense to me and having a race to focus on helps keep me motivated to train. I believe there's one here in October. Those Higdon plans look like a good guide to follow, I'll definitely be checking those out.

Thanks everyone!

Weather is a puzzle for marathon training. If you pick a fall marathon that's likely to have good weather, you get to train in the heat and humidity of summer. If you pick a spring marathon, you get to train in the cold and snow of winter. If you pick a late enough spring marathon that you don't have to train in January or February, you have a substantial chance of hot weather for the race. And hot weather for a marathon is a much bigger deal than hot weather for a half.

Since formal marathon training plans tend to be 14 to 20 weeks long, depending on the plan, you might want to start looking at the calendar and balancing the likely weather during the training plan with the likely weather on race day. That could influence which marathon you want to run.

And yes, running on a dreadmill is really the pits.

bendyourkneekatie wrote: »

I'm in my last peak week for my third marathon. What's worked for me is:

- I looked at a bunch of training plans, my own schedule, and my training limitations (I'm prone to injury if I run too many consecutive days thanks to absolutely rubbish feet), and wrote out my own training plan.
- I use a combination of running and elliptical work
- I tested out gels and found the only one I can stomach (salted caramel gu) and bought a couple boxes. But I don't use them much during training, usually only an over 30km run
- I always eat before running, but I suck without breakfast generally. If I could train fasted I would. I have a particular pre race breakfast: two pieces of toast and a certain protein bar I can only get from a certain shop
- I always set 3 time goals for the marathon to help me focus. So far my times have been 3:41 and 3:32 so my A goal next month is 3:20something, B goal faster than last marathon, C goal faster than first marathon

Hope you have fun. I love marathon training

Off topic I realise but that is awesome, good luck with race!