Marathon Training

Mr Slow

Jewelsmousey wrote: »

Hey guys - Im the same - Ive signed up to the Edinburgh Marathon having only done 1 half marathon in 2.5hours last year although I was pretty sore afterwards and found it tough. Edinburgh is in May but the hills are supposed to be mental and Im training alone so Im nervous about long runs and mental blocks. I gave up on the Dublin marathon last year because the long runs were killing me mentally. I just got so bored. I'm more determined with an ipod full of stuff now but just need to get over the hurdle I suppose. Training has been tough with the snow so Im back to square one of 3 miles 3 times a week and 7miles this sat hopefully. Signed up to the wicklow half in MArch and a 10k in Timon Park in Feb to try get a series in

Get yourself over to this thread http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055449727&page=45 there's a group run organised at least once a week in the Phoenix Park.

Jewelsmousey

Mr Slow

Thanks a million for that- Ive been looking for something like this so definitely going to join in a few of these. I have 2 races in the next two weeks so probably see you in 3

G-Money

I see this thread has taken on a life of it's own somewhat since I originally posted it

My own training has been a little stop-start recently. Been a little unwell over the past week but I think I've finally shaken it off now, although strangely enough I think the 3.2 mile run I did this morning seemed to help.

I think I'm going to stick to Hal Higdon's Novice plan as mentioned in previous replies and see how that goes.

I'm not really decided on a marathon to be perfectly honest. It's hard to describe. It's something that is at the back of my head and for some bizarre reason it seems appealing. I can't quite work out why as I run very, very slowly (took me 47 mins to do 3.2 miles today) so obviously a marathon distance is going to take me probably 5 hours or longer probably. But I don't know, there is just something nagging me at the back of my mind thinking it would be good.

I think it's just me being naive and not knowing how much effort it takes

But as I say, it's not something I've decided to do. It's just a possible long-term objective, but I was just thinking initially it would be nice to build up my weekly mileage and see what happens.

maria74

grandmaster wrote: »

I see this thread has taken on a life of it's own somewhat since I originally posted it


Yeah, it was interesting tho!!! And at times great entertainment!!:D

grandmaster wrote: »

I'm not really decided on a marathon to be perfectly honest. It's hard to describe. It's something that is at the back of my head and for some bizarre reason it seems appealing. I can't quite work out why as I run very, very slowly (took me 47 mins to do 3.2 miles today) so obviously a marathon distance is going to take me probably 5 hours or longer probably. But I don't know, there is just something nagging me at the back of my mind thinking it would be good.

I understand what you mean, although for me the half will suffice. I think if you have wanted to run for a while and then finally get into it the marathon is the ultimate state of fitness/accomplishment that you could ever see yourself getting to.

RayCun

There's really no need to rush into doing the marathon. I did it on about a year's running last year, and at times I felt I could have used a lot more miles in my legs before I started the training. If you want a target you could look at the half marathon in September, rather than jumping on the marathon bandwagon.

ecoli

RayCun wrote: »

There's really no need to rush into doing the marathon. I did it on about a year's running last year, and at times I felt I could have used a lot more miles in my legs before I started the training. If you want a target you could look at the half marathon in September, rather than jumping on the marathon bandwagon.

+1 on this

There is no reason why you cant build your miles and progress slowly to the point where you hitting the mileage of the marathin training plans without actually training for the marathon

I have been running 15 years and even though last year i have made the step to half marathon running this year I am back down to targeting 5k/10k racing

Personally i think that you will see more benefit in training for a marathon only after 2-3 years running

Thing alot of people fail to look at is a thing called "training age" basically this is the years and miles you have put in prior to your training plan you follow

There are no short cuts in running and you will see improvements through four different aspects which should be trained in unison slowly;

Consistency, Capacity, Frequency and mixture

these should progress together slowly. Consistency is clocking the miles month in month out year in year out building your aerobic base

Capacity is your mileage. This should be progressing slowly building your mileage (excluding tapers and down weeks). For this one must listen to the body and not progress this too quickly

Frequency is the amount of times you run. The saying practice makes perfect somewhat comes into play here the more times you run the more used to runnin your body will become. These dont even have to be hard runs there are benefits to running at recovery pace or slower at times to. This should progress slowly to till the point where you are training anything between 6-13 times a week ( running or cross training depending on injury history)

Mixture the different forms of training you do. If you run at the same pace every day for a year your body will become efficient at running at that pace you then hop in a race and guess what your body will get a shock. The idea is to stress your body and it adapts in recovery if you do the same thing constantly your body will learn to cope with it and you will no longer be stressing


Try to progress these things too quickly and 9/10 you will see it fail due to the effort not being sustained through injury or overtraining

G-Money

Yeah, the half marathon in September sounds like it might be a good goal. Just wondering if I should consider the 5 and 10 mile races that happen in the preceding two months also.

G-Money

F*** it! I've signed up for the Half Marathon in September! :eek:

Mr Slow

grandmaster wrote: »

F*** it! I've signed up for the Half Marathon in September! :eek:

It seems like a daunting task just now but train sensibly (10% rule) and run to complete the race rather than win it and you'll really enjoy it! Good Luck

maria74

grandmaster wrote: »

F*** it! I've signed up for the Half Marathon in September! :eek:

Great! Gives you something concrete to aim towards. Thoughts of Connemara half has got me out the door so many times over the last couple months when all I wanted was to sit/sleep/watch TV/eat!!
You have loads of time to work towards it and can decide about a few other races nearer the time!!

Dutchie

grandmaster wrote: »

I see this thread has taken on a life of it's own somewhat since I originally posted it

My own training has been a little stop-start recently. Been a little unwell over the past week but I think I've finally shaken it off now, although strangely enough I think the 3.2 mile run I did this morning seemed to help.

I think I'm going to stick to Hal Higdon's Novice plan as mentioned in previous replies and see how that goes.

I'm not really decided on a marathon to be perfectly honest. It's hard to describe. It's something that is at the back of my head and for some bizarre reason it seems appealing. I can't quite work out why as I run very, very slowly (took me 47 mins to do 3.2 miles today) so obviously a marathon distance is going to take me probably 5 hours or longer probably. But I don't know, there is just something nagging me at the back of my mind thinking it would be good.

I think it's just me being naive and not knowing how much effort it takes

But as I say, it's not something I've decided to do. It's just a possible long-term objective, but I was just thinking initially it would be nice to build up my weekly mileage and see what happens.

Grandmaster, trying to get back to your original post

I had never run before.

I went to a physio for gait analysis, she recommended orthodontics.

I purchased a Garmin 305 hrm (used during all sessions)

I went to human performance lab and tested my Vo2 max

My first run was on the 23rd of April.

I watched my diet, ate the right foods and drank the correct liquids.

I ran the Adidas series in the park (5m 34.30 10m 66.30 13.5m 1.24)

I stretched/warmed-up/warmed-down every session.

I followed a the runners-world sub 4hr program, then the 3.45 program, then the 3.30 program, then the 3.15 program- to the letter.

I went for regular sports massages (tight hammers and IT bands)

I ran the DCM 2010 in 3.01.53.

The reason i didn't break 3 hours: in-experience.

Good luck and don't let small obstacles like a cold stand in your way.

YOU CAN DO IT

RayCun

Those were pretty fast times for the 5 mile etc Dutchie - can I ask how old you were, and if you were already fit from some other sport?

Dutchie

I'm 34.
I have trained in other sports over the years. I generally look after myself and not too much over weight. I currently weigh 90+kg.

Headdy

claralara wrote: »

I'm also curious about this...I have (stupidly?!) signed up for Connemara in April. 14 weeks from next Sunday. It'll be my first marathon and I'm not sure what type of plan to follow. My longest run to date is 14 miles about 2 weeks ago and I havent done much since. I ran 2 halfs in 2010 and am attempting Waterford on the 15th January. I'm starting to worry that I really shouldn't have chosen Connemara for the big debut as it seems pretty tough... That said, after the last two weeks, I am ready and prepared to give it 100% because not only do I want to get through the race, I want to enjoy it and still be able to enjoy running after it. Therefire I'm really going to commit to altering the lifestyle and training properly. Can it be done...I hope so!

Hi claralara - Have you any more details on the Waterford event on 15?

claralara

Yep I think it's going ahead next saturday alright - seems that way from the facebook page.

Check out this link too http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055993907 - people are discussing it.

delta_bravo

Dutchie wrote: »

I went to a physio for gait analysis, she recommended orthodontics.

I think you need to see another physio that isn't a dentist

Dutchie

delta_bravo wrote: »

I think you need to see another physio that isn't a dentist

Sorry i should have made it clear that she is a combined phsio/dentist based in Kildare. She gives my teeth the once over at the same time as checking my gait Damn you spell check.