Marathon Training

Yes, but being mentally ready is essential, too. You need to be able to dig deeper when you hit your wall out there (normally by mile 20, I hit mine between 14 and 17 -- so i was in hell a little longer than average). Keep this in mind, too. I'm doing my second in less than a month and did my first in September. I trained 2x prior in 2009 and 2010 but wasn't mentally prepared to handle it at the time.

Yes, I used to work in a gym and had plenty of people who were training for their first marathon and I have always heard everyone say it takes about a year to prep. Best of luck to you...keep up the strength training as well. I believe you can find training guides on the web for first time marathonees.

I've never done one I'm training for my first 5k now but i think you should train for a 10k then a half marathon and then keep going

5-6 months

Im training for a half in March. I have ran 2 5ks...and have an 8k Nov 12th. My longest run so far has only been 6 miles. And I have to run double that! I have a 6 mile time of 1:14:00....so I want to do the half in 2:40:00. (knowing Ill hit the wall somewhere along there too!) But..ideally..I just want to finish without passing out or throwing up and have a 13.1 sticker to go with my 3.1 sticker on my car...lol. There are some really good training programs and forums on runnersworld.com

google the victoria goodlife marathon. They have really good training programs you can print off for free. Each run is dated leading up to their marathon, but you can just change the dates working backwards from when you plan to run yours.

That said, some tips for you...

Run a few half marathons before training for a full! There is a HUGE difference between the two distances... anyone in reasonable shape can run a 1/2 - though it will hurt if they don't train. Going into a half you're hoping nothing goes wrong and that you'll make it to the finish pain free. Going into a full you KNOW something WILL go wrong, and you're mentally preparing yourself to deal with the pain.

I know you said you don't have a goal time, but having a target pace is important in training. Not every training run is the same. Your schedule should be made up of easy days (where you run 1-2 minutes slower than your target pace) long run days (where you run 30-45 seconds slower than your target pace) tempo days (where you run at your target pace) and interval days (where you run sprint intervals to increase your VO2 max). To find out your target pace get a heart rate monitor, or borrow one. First you need to find out your max heart rate (run 3km easy then 1km fast then 400meters full out sprint - check your heart rate immediately after finishing the 400m sprint, thats pretty close to your max) Once you have your max you can calculate your target marathon pace, which should be around 75% - 85% of your max. Then go for a run and monitor your heart rate till your running as close as possible to your target, and record that pace. As you get in better shape the pace you can maintain at your target heart rate may increase, so keep checking it every couple months. Treadmills are pretty bad for accuracy so try to do this outside! Also, I know it seems weird to run your long runs slower than your goal pace - but the system works. On race day you'll naturally run faster as you get caught up in the hype, and over training by trying to run all your long runs too fast will just cause injury (trust me - I've popped a rib 5 times, had runners knee and joint problems in my feet - overtraining will only slow you down!)

Get a copy of "born to run." Best book about running you'll ever read - from technique and injury prevention to the reasons why we run - there are some really inspiring stories in it. The biggest thing I got from this book was no matter how much pain I am in while running, to concentrate on making it feel light and easy, and to smile and try to have fun even if I am massively hurting inside. Don't let yourself be the person who has mentally given up, who is dragging their feet and grimacing and thinking every step of the marathon sucks. Be the person who is smiling despite the pain, laughing at the funny signs bystanders have like "humpty dumpty had wall problems too" and high fiving people who are cheering you on.

Ps. "Hitting the wall" if you haven't heard this expressions, you will!

My $.02:

some people want to check the "I've completed a marathon" box, while others want to learn how to run and race the distance

so the answer depends on which camp you fall in

to the extent that you want to run and keeping run, I always suggest 6 months of running 25-30 miles a week BEFORE starting an 18 week marathon training plan - for sure run some half marathons while ramping up the mileage

you will find lots of people who started with less training, but if I want to learn how to do it right, then you have to put in the miles

you will find lots of people who started with less training, but if I want to learn how to do it right, then you have to put in the miles

This! So very, very true!

Sometime being the voice of reason makes me unpopular, but it really is a tough distance (even when properly trained).