From Zero to Hero (the simplest way to a Marathon)

JEmily

Right, let me introduce myself:

I'm 29, female, literally walking was my thing for last couple of years, i'm not a jogger and never have been. Sister done a marathon last year but i thought "oh i wouldn't be able, she has better limbs etc.".

Started jogging few miles a week in early January.

Had a joke with friend of mine that if he would do the Marathon i would too. He's well fit and well able to jog. He said "if i'm doing it your doing it with me and your jogging".

Ended up agreeing, sort of, only to build it up to 7 mile jogs twice a week. Was loving my new skinny arms, legs and washboard stomach by now. Not to mention the skinny jeans looked actually quite good:D

Built up to 23 miles a week, but was not improving on distance. Needed a sensible plan to increase distance without increasing any injuries. Hence i ended up here (only this week!) and you guys have been great with Hal's program and tips/enthusiasm.

I'm loving my new program and also Kirby's sensible idea's and program alterations. Haven't tried her PMP's yet, but am on her plan from next week.

Completed week 5 today of Hal's program, just completed my first 10 mile jog an hour ago, i am so happy right now, how sad is that...:D

So onwards and upwards...my first Marathon battle begins from now! Prepare to fight...

DigiJem

Good luck with the training log, and the Marathon battle!

RayCun

Well done, it's great to get into double figures for a run.

RacoonQueen

Best of luck with the log. We need more women around here. Is it the Dublin marathon you're planning on doing?

JEmily

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Best of luck with the log. We need more women around here. Is it the Dublin marathon you're planning on doing?

Yep it's the Dublin Marathon, i thought it would be more women than men here. Weird.

xebec

Best of luck with your training! Keeping a log is a great idea and can be a useful motivational tool. Some great advice on the marathon novice thread too so keep in there with RK and you'll do great things

JEmily wrote: »

Yep it's the Dublin Marathon, i thought it would be more women than men here. Weird.

Ah there is quite a few, they just aren't as vocal for some reason. Reasonably high proportion of females in the novice marathon thread in particular, and some of the women have run very impressive times/distances.

JEmily

3 miles done tonight, felt good. Picked up the pace from my longest run, hope this is correct? The small jogs should be at a faster pace than my longer one's??? Hope someone can answer that.

Done it in 30 mins. Was a bit pushing myself but not to the point i couldn't breath or talk. So felt ok pace if anything a bit erratic starting off. I so want one of those Garmin watches now:(

Wish me luck tomorrow, have to do the 5 miles at 6am in the morning as i have appointments tomorrow evening and can't fit the run in.

It's my first week to run 3 small jogs in a row, normally i'd run and have a day off in between. So here's hoping RK's plan and Hal are kicking my butt in the right direction.

I'm at wedding Thursday afternoon so will get up early and jog my 3 miles beforehand, how dedicated am i.

Hope your all doing well too.

racheljev

Good luck with your log, you'll fly through the program. I'll be out tomorrow about 6ish as well, I'm an early morning girl - I find it easier to get the run out of the way asap!

JEmily

racheljev wrote: »

Good luck with your log, you'll fly through the program. I'll be out tomorrow about 6ish as well, I'm an early morning girl - I find it easier to get the run out of the way asap!

Thanks, do you eat before your morning runs or find you have plenty in the tank and can eat when you get back? Just wondering as i've never done an early morning run this early.

Getting the run out of the way is so handy and leaves you your evenings to relax or socialise.

racheljev

I don't have anything, just get dressed and get out the door as quick as I can. But I do have something small as soon as I can, when I get home. I brought a few jelly babies on my long run last week and they helped.

RayCun

JEmily wrote: »

3 miles done tonight, felt good. Picked up the pace from my longest run, hope this is correct? The small jogs should be at a faster pace than my longer one's???

Only a little faster, those 3 mile runs should be relaxed and comfortable. If you look at the weekly plans Rainbow Kirby posts, I think you'll see that all of the speed work - strides, fartlek, PMP miles - happen in the longer midweek run. The shorter runs are for recovery.

JEmily

Thanks racheljev - i done the same. Up, changed and out the door at 6am this morning. Was starving by the time i got back so sat down with a huge brekki, yummy.

Done my 5m this morning, felt a bit weird as i never normally exercise that early in the morning and then my legs were in surprise as we never normally done 2 jogs in a row. anyway, we managed fine if not a little sweaty by the end of it, pushed myself for the 3 miles in the middle, then slow 1 miler to start and finish.
It wasn't easy but i never pushed my pace before yesterday and today on a shorter run. I'm pushing it to the point i'm motoring but not in a heap (yet!). Think i found the 10 miles last Saturday easier than today, because the pace was so slow!

Anyway, i get the benefits of exercising that early. Fells so nice sitting here and knowing i've it all done for the evening, yippee.

Am looking forward to getting the last 3 miler out of the way tomorrow morning and then i've a wedding in the afternoon. Can chill out Friday (with hangover) and then prepare for Saturday's run.

Oh and today's 5 miler completed in 50 mins.

Lastly quick question, are you all training on flat routes or hilly or bit of both? Just most of my runs have hills, not that i'm complaining as i know it all helps, but should i be sticking more to the flatter routes

RayCun

JEmily wrote: »

Lastly quick question, are you all training on flat routes or hilly or bit of both? Just most of my runs have hills, not that i'm complaining as i know it all helps, but should i be sticking more to the flatter routes

A bit of both is best, so you're ready for hills in the race

JEmily

3 miler done yesterday, limbs bit tired as it was my first week to follow this boards plan. Running 3 days in a row (even though it's small mileage) is a first for me. Also, needed to up the pace slightly from my LSR's.

Anyway, completed it in 28 minutes, not bad for me, 2 minutes quicker than last week's 3 miler.

Was at wedding last night, so needless to say hungover and craving carbs and sugar/sweet things today.

Looking forward to 7 miler tomorrow, although half wishing it was a 10/12 miler as i seem to be better at the longer slower paced runs than shorter picked up paced one's. I know that's a mad thing to say but hey ho.

Roll on next weekend for my longest yet, 12 miles...oh my god:eek:!!!!

On a different note: does anyone notice their legs are totally muscled up by now, mine are seriously muscly, had my dress on last night and was like, "who's legs are they?". Not sure i'm liking them that muscular (especially with a dress), but come marathon day i'll be glad to have them...:rolleyes:

JEmily

Week 7

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday rest3 m6 m3 mrest12 mcross
Starting to get serious now - 6 miles midweek and 12 miles at the weekend. Stepping up the mileage again, so no tweaks this week. We're starting to get to a stage now where slower runners will be on their feet for 2+ hours with the LSR, so having a source of hydration is very strongly recommended and this is something you need to plan for.

Week 7:
Feeling bit tired and heavy this week. Done my 3m on Tuesday, was ok, but it was very warm and i really felt very heavy for some reason.

6m done last night, done a couple of Fartlek sprints to get used to doing them. Never done them before. But am feeling the pain in my arse glute muscles today. Am looking forward to a nice 3m run later to loosen them out! 6 miler took me less than an hour last night, not sure exactly the times as got talking to neighbour at gate and forgot to check until i finshed said talk, doh.

I'm secretly waiting on my LSR to come, i hope i finish.

I'm at the RDS Horseshow tomorrow and tomorrow night, i think i'll have hangover Saturday so might leave the LSR til Sunday. Will see how the head is i suppose...

JEmily

P.S. Brought out a small hand held water bottle last night, was suprised i drank all the water by the time i got back. But i did feel uncomfortable carrying it, suppose it was my first time holding a bottle while jogging.

Hopefully i'll be a bit better tonight (and lighter).

JEmily

Good points this week: done a bit of Fartelk trainign and have to say it helped me up my times on the 3mile runs etc. It was awesome. Hoping to integrate it into every week.

Bad points this week: I'm an idiot, was supposed to do my LSR yesterday (Sat) of 12 miles. Ended up jogging 10.1 miles (1H26Mins), post RDS Horseshow hangover was to blame. Was so gutted last night and today...

Anyway, just back from short cycle.

An hoping to swap my LSR next weekend to this Tuesday as am entered for the Blessie Nessie this Saturday (small Triathlon in Blessington). Am hoping to do either the 12 or 13 miles on Tuesday. Without a hangover this time.

I might actually stick to the plan this week, ha...

shazkea

Well done on starting the log and good luck with the training.

Don't be too hard on yourself for the 12/10 mile LSR - good time for it and you'll be fine for the LSR on Tuesday - and without the hangover

JEmily

Right so it's not a Garmin, but for 13.99EUR, you can't go wrong.

Lidl Sports Watch with Pedometer:

With 7 day memory for storing calories/fat-burned, training times/distances (km/m)/speed
Lap-timing (up to 99 laps)
BMI calculator
Stop watch, timer and alarm with snooze
Water-resistant to 3 bar*
Lightweight with built-in pedometer
Includes batteries
Price per item 13.99*

Actually doesn't look too bad on, better than i thought.


Looks better than i thought, will be road testing it later and will check out all the functions...

Mr Slow

JEmily wrote: »

P.S. Brought out a small hand held water bottle last night, was suprised i drank all the water by the time i got back. But i did feel uncomfortable carrying it, suppose it was my first time holding a bottle while jogging.

Hopefully i'll be a bit better tonight (and lighter).

I bought a 10k bottle belt from Irish Fit.eu I find it great but have to upgrade now for longer runs.

JEmily

mrslow wrote: »

I bought a 10k bottle belt from Irish Fit.eu I find it great but have to upgrade now for longer runs.

Must look at those, someone said to try the belts alright. Yep, i'm extremly awkward with a handheld bottle, feel as if i'm carrying a ton weight. Belt would be better for me i think...thanks.

Mr Slow

JEmily wrote: »

Must look at those, someone said to try the belts alright. Yep, i'm extremly awkward with a handheld bottle, feel as if i'm carrying a ton weight. Belt would be better for me i think...thanks.

I just ordered a new one, it has a larger pocket for gels and 4 x 8oz bottles with everything detachable so you can take what you need depending on the distance. I imagine once we get up to 20 miles I'll need a fire engine full of Lucosade sport following me on the run;)

JEmily

Woo hoo, i'm on a high and also feeling some pain after that run. Was a fab evening for my first ever 14 miles run. First couple of miles were torture, felt heavy, felt all over the place, alot of uphill to start, couldn't get my stride.

Then an hour in, all the clouds seemed to break and i felt like i was on rocket fuel. Next hour seemed to fly and before i knew it was on the home run. Felt as good a run as i'll ever have, effortless, light and quite pleasent.

Time: completed 14.1 miles in 2 hours 5 minutes. Am a very happy, if not stiff bunny right now, can you see my cheesy smile from there...:D:D:D

Took 2 gels, 1 half hour before my run, 1 an hour into. And i think they done the trick!!!
P.S. The Lidl watch is still alive and seemed to do what i wanted, albeit a stopwatch was all i wanted for now anyway.

Wish me luck getting out of bed tomorrow, think i might be very, very stiff...
Night all!

Mr Slow

JEmily wrote: »

Woo hoo, i'm on a high and also feeling some pain after that run. Was a fab evening for my first ever 14 miles run. First couple of miles were torture, felt heavy, felt all over the place, alot of uphill to start, couldn't get my stride.

Then an hour in, all the clouds seemed to break and i felt like i was on rocket fuel. Next hour seemed to fly and before i knew it was on the home run. Felt as good a run as i'll ever have, effortless, light and quite pleasent.

Time: completed 14.1 miles in 2 hours 5 minutes. Am a very happy, if not stiff bunny right now, can you see my cheesy smile from there...:D:D:D

Took 2 gels, 1 half hour before my run, 1 an hour into. And i think they done the trick!!!
P.S. The Lidl watch is still alive and seemed to do what i wanted, albeit a stopwatch was all i wanted for now anyway.

Wish me luck getting out of bed tomorrow, think i might be very, very stiff...
Night all!

Well done, you did that in the time it took me to run 12 - Congratulations:)

RubyK

Great work JEmily, you must be delighted! You're in flying form.

JEmily

mrslow wrote: »

Well done, you did that in the time it took me to run 12 - Congratulations:)

Thanks. Appreciate it. I didn't realised it was a good pace until my sister calculated it. For my first half marathon and first 14 mile jog i'm very pleased.

No bother to you either, i really want to do a Phoenix Park run with some of the group here in the next 2-3 weeks. I need a change of scenery. So i'll keep in touch.

Mr Slow

JEmily wrote: »

Thanks. Appreciate it. I didn't realised it was a good pace until my sister calculated it. For my first half marathon and first 14 mile jog i'm very pleased.

No bother to you either, i really want to do a Phoenix Park run with some of the group here in the next 2-3 weeks. I need a change of scenery. So i'll keep in touch.

I'll be there every Saturday morning and you're welcome to join in but will I be able to keep up with you???:)

marrona

hi JEmily,
really like your log! im in similar position i think. friend and i always talked about doin mini marathon...then without even putting one foot on the pavement we decided that that would be too easy and to do a half. so we started a 10 week programme in april and one week in were talking about marathon (tend to get a bit ahead of ourselves!) not gonna lie, the main aim was to achieve the washboard stomach and skinny arms, but they never materialised!!

like the look of that Lidl watch. can you only get it if it's advertised in paper for a certain day? or did you just come across it in shop by accident? might take a look in Argos too...

rainbow kirby

Just nip into Lidl (preferably a quiet one), and they may still have them in stock.

JEmily

marrona wrote: »

hi JEmily,
really like your log! im in similar position i think. friend and i always talked about doin mini marathon...then without even putting one foot on the pavement we decided that that would be too easy and to do a half. so we started a 10 week programme in april and one week in were talking about marathon (tend to get a bit ahead of ourselves!) not gonna lie, the main aim was to achieve the washboard stomach and skinny arms, but they never materialised!!

like the look of that Lidl watch. can you only get it if it's advertised in paper for a certain day? or did you just come across it in shop by accident? might take a look in Argos too...

Hey,

Those watches only came into their shops Monday. I doubt there is any left, get in this morning asap and as RK said if it's a quiet branch you may be lucky. They are not permanently on sale, when they are gone they are gone as such! But it does the job for the price, loads of functions on it but i haven't had time to go through it yet.

Yep, I'm still in the "am i really doing this" bracket. I'll register for it when i hit the 20 mile mark. Told myself that is my aim, if i get there i can do hopefully the 27 miles. I'm nearly there, at the 14 mark now.

What time you hoping to complete, hoping to do a run soon in the Phoenix park, so maybe we can all meet up. Would be nice to have some company.

Good luck and hope we can support eachother on the day...you'll definitely have a washboard stomach by the time your finished for sure;)

marrona

haven't thought too much about times. initially just wanted to finish. but now im coming to think, the rate im going...could finish in 5.5+ hours, which isn't good! the furthest i've done yet is 13.1 miles in a half marathon which i did in 2 hours 22...and i walked from mile 11-12 so really longest i've run in a row is 11 miles. 13 miles this sat on Hal's programme will be the test!

good luck with the rest of your training, sounds like you're flying!