How do I train for a marathon?

Hi, I am very interested to see what others say also, especially regarding the nutrition. It seems like the more I run, the more hungry I become. I am considering running the NYC marathon in November and I have a couple of 18 week training schedules that I am looking at. There are tons of schedules out there, I have heard a lot of good things about the F.I.R.S.T. training program, it's very high intensity training 3 days a week so it's good for people that don't have a lot of extra time.

Right now, I am increasing my long runs every Saturday (i think most schedules say to not increase by more than 10% a week) Good luck, maybe we can keep each other motivated!
The thought of running 26 miles is still hard for me to fathom but can you imagine how wonderful the feeling is at the finish line??
:drinker:

Hi and congrats - thinking about it is the first step!

The Hal Higdon program is a good one. It provides so much good, first-time knowledge. I also suggest ordering these books:

"Marathon - You can do it!" by Jeff Galloway and "The Courage to Start" by John Bingham. Both are extremely inspirational and chock full of great information. Knowing what to wear, eat, when to run, etc. is half of the preparation.

Training while dieting is another tough challenge. This months Runner's World magazine is focused on losing weight while training. You can read through the articles on their website.

Another thing to consider are fund-raising groups that train together. I ran a bunch of races with Team in Training, a fundraising component of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. They have coaches and mentors dedicated to each team, and take normal people who have never run long distances before (like me!) and teach all you need to know. They also do other endurance events like triathlons and century bike rides. Their website is Teamintraining.org.

The NYC Marathon is a lottery which has recently closed. If you don't get in this year, the Marine Corps Marathon is the week before, in Washington DC, and the Philadelphia Marathon is a few weeks later. All are good, big races you are certain to enjoy! I've done many marathons but never Disney - I hear it is a lot of fun!!! GOOD LUCK!!!!

i second the recommendation to train with team-in-training or a similar group. i ran a marathon in june '07 and my husband and i did all the training on our own, and although we made it through the race, we weren't prepared for the whole 26 (we only made it up to 21 miles before the marathon). team in training runs at least once a week, and the support system is really motivating. on race day, there are hundreds (thousands at the race i did in san diego) of people cheering for team in training, and all of the team in training members are cheering for eachother throughout.

thoughts on marathons in general....i've never enjoyed running. ever. but what i can say about the marathon was it was some of the worst moments of my life (i eventually got to the point where i would walk till my feet hurt too much, then run till my hips hurt too much, alternating for 3 hours), followed by some of the best few minutes of my life (crossing that finish line). it was totally worth it, crossing the line is incomparable to anything i've ever felt before. i haven't had the guts to sign up for another one, but like i said i've never liked running to begin with. if you enjoy it even somewhat i don't think you'll have a problem getting there.

good luck!