9 weeks to Cork marathon. Longest run so far 11 miles.

southernstar

Can I do it...? I intend to find out.

I've been running 5 or 7 miles a week every day or two for the past couple of years so I have some basic fitness.

I have registered for the Cork Marathon- just over 9 weeks away. The furthest Ive run so far is 11 miles- in about 1 hr and a half. Ive done that four or five times now and my tolerance for this type of distance is improving (I got real, deep exhaustion after doing this the first time- it still takes a lot out of me but I was still fresh now at the end).

So I have a bit of a challenge on my hands- how to ramp up the mileage so that I can become capable of running the full Marathon. Is this possible do you think?

Tomorrow I will do 13 miles.

Any advice or tips appreciated.

Sosa

southernstar wrote: »

Can I do it...? I intend to find out.

I've been running 5 or 7 miles a week every day or two for the past couple of years so I have some basic fitness.

I have registered for the Cork Marathon- just over 9 weeks away. The furthest Ive run so far is 11 miles- in about 1 hr and a half. Ive done that four or five times now and my tolerance for this type of distance is improving (I got real, deep exhaustion after doing this the first time- it still takes a lot out of me but I was still fresh now at the end).

So I have a bit of a challenge on my hands- how to ramp up the mileage so that I can become capable of running the full Marathon. Is this possible do you think?

Tomorrow I will do 13 miles.

Any advice or tips appreciated.

If you have been doing 5-7m as often as you say and now you can do 11m comfortably enough,there is no reason why you cant get through the marathon.
If you do 13 tomorrow,do 14-15 next 2 weeks,then 15-16 for 2 weeks,then a 17-18 ,then 20..that will leave you 3 weeks to Cork and you could do 16,13 and 10 the 3 weeks before.
Just take your time,nice and handy.
Good Luck.

southernstar

Did 13 today in 1hr 45 minutes- and didn't feel too bad.

Thanks for the encouragement and the schedule Sosa. You reckon I should gradually reduce in the weeks coming into the marathon- so that I just do 10 the week before? Why reduce so much?

xebec

southernstar wrote: »

Thanks for the encouragement and the schedule Sosa. You reckon I should gradually reduce in the weeks coming into the marathon- so that I just do 10 the week before? Why reduce so much?

It's called a taper, lots of different theories about how to do it and what works best but for most people it would be something like what Sosa has described above. It allows the body to recover from all the stresses of training and long runs while keeping the fitness level up so that you are ready to go on the day of the marathon...

RayCun

I'm a complete newbie myself, but from reading the training programmes and logs, they emphasise that your long run should be a slow run. Run a minute or more per mile slower than you plan to in the marathon, so you're getting the time on your feet but not draining yourself completely.

You should probably look up a training programme, like the Hal Higdon programmes online, and jump in at the 9 weeks to go stage.

southernstar

Just had a look there and the next week on the programme is 15 miles http://www.halhigdon.com/marathon/Mar00novice.htm

Looks like Sosa was on the ball.

You'd think I'd have known about these things considering how much time I have spent running around the countryside in circles

Dont feel too bad at all now after my half today. Knees are ok too still.

southernstar

Didnt get as much done as I wanted this week- did a 3 mile and 7 miler.

Tried doing 15 miles this morning and after 13.5 got cramps in my legs so had to stop.

I'll ramp up the mileage this week and make sure I can do the 15 at the end of it.