Rsespaniak Member

Love the concept of this group. I'm coming back from knee arthroscopy for a torn meniscus and I'm not bouncing back from it the same way I did when I was in my 30s. ;) Struggling to lose the weight I gained back after not being able to run regularly.

I'm going to second this advice. What works for one person doesn't necessarily end up working for everyone. So your training is a little bit of a trial and error process to find what works best for you. In addition to the mileage, you want to find the fueling strategy that works best for you. This includes both what you…

It starts to seem less crazy with time. As you start running the longer training runs, it starts feeling less so. I look it there being three parts to marathon training - the physical/endurance part, the mental part and the fuel/hydration part. The mental part is challenging at times. And there will be training runs that…

The thing about weight training is that it adds balance by working other muscles. Personally I aim for doing it twice a week. I find when I back off on the weight training is when I tend to get injuries. That said, the running part of marathon training eats up a lot of time, so it can be hard to fit any cross training in.…

I'm another one that is pretty much always in training mode. Next up is the Cape Cod marathon in October. Keeping the long runs in the 15 mile range makes it easier to ramp up when you actually decide on which one to do next. Helps to have training partners with similar approaches.

Glad to hear you've got your sights set on another marathon after that experience. Running when you're not feeling good is a challenge at any distance. But it's tough not to go for after putting in all the hard work. Hopefully you'll have a much better experience at Aukland.

Don't go out too fast, trust your training and run your pace. Passing people who rabbited out at the start is a wonderful feeling. Have a great race.

Injuries late in training suck. You've invested all that time and effort and the end is in sight. Cross train this week and you might try doing some additional stretching. I've been dealing with plantar fasciitis for about a year now and it's the stretching that really made a difference for me. (FWIW, I only deal with pain…

If your last long run was 23 miles and you've done some other 20 milers (and even if you hadn't), I'd just enjoy the taper at this point. You've done the work to build your base. Now you just want to make sure you don't injure yourself and that your body is adequately rested to run the marathon. You don't need to try and…

Running on Empty by Marshall Ulrich Chasing the Runner's High by Ray Charbonneau

If it was just this one run it happened on, I wouldn't worry about it. There are occasional days my stomach just rebels against running. That said, there are particular brands and flavors of gels that don't sit well with my stomach. Those I need to avoid. You might also want to see if there's any correlation between what…

There's no one size fits all approach to fueling (or other aspects of running marathons) and it takes a bit of trial and error to figure out what will works for you. Using your long runs to try out your fueling strategy is a good move but it may take more than a couple of tries to get it right I thought I had it right with…

I ran the Mount Desert Island Marathon last October and highly recommend it. It has been voted one of the most scenic marathons in the US and definitely lives up to that hype. It is also extremely well organized. The course goes from Bar Harbor (Maine) to Southwest Harbor. I don't think there's a flat spot on the course…

Going out too fast is definitely the number 1 race day error. Been there, done that, paid the price. As far as training, the error I have to watch out for is slacking off on the stretching and strength training once the mileage starts really ramping up. Every time I do that, I end up with injuries (which of course I run…

I'm new to MFP but was pleased to find a group for marathoners. I have two under my belt (Sugarloaf and Mount Desert Island) and have clearly caught the marathon bug. (I'm blaming my husband, he runs ultras.). Currently trying to figure out which one to do next. I tend to lean more towards small and scenic. I'm managed to…