Dublin Marathon

topdeal4u

hey all,

Im thinking of doin the Dublin marathon,6 wks from now, but since i havent done any type of running before, its an good option to stay in fit and stay off junk(food & alcohol) for 6 wks, just wonderin if anybody has any tips on trainin etc and even more important what type of runners are recommeded??

im in pretty good shape as i have being a cyclist for the last 6 months(doing road racing and lots of training(thanks too the good weather)).

anyway any sort of tips would be appreciated.

thanks

mcguiver

Best advice ...DONT!

I run with a cyclist buddy, he's pretty good (RAS standard), but even though he cycles a few hundred miles each weekend he takes about 6 months to prepare for a marathon. It's a different dicipline, differrent muscle groups etc. Even though I ran a handy 20 miles yesterday...I know I wouldnt be able to cycle any major distance.

You would need to be doing a long run of 15 miles each week at least now, and remember that the final week is tapering , i.e. a rest week.

Fair play to ya if you do...but you'd want to be really taking it serious for the next few weeks... diet/sleep and training.

leftism

I'm in a similar position of debating running the marathon for the first time.

I don't have a massive amount of running experience (apart from schools cross-country races) but i train for canoeing at international level and on average, 2 or 3 sessions per week would be cross-training runs. I'm sure its going to hurt like hell but i'll give it a bash!

Sure if it was easy then EVERYONE would be doing it.......

P.S- Gearoid Towey (irish olympic rower) recently ran his first marathon in 2hrs 30mins. Then again, he's daft as a brush and is currently getting ready to row across the Atlantic!

Domer

Ok...another Virgin Marathoner here, unsure of what to do!!!
I ran on Saturday in the Half Marathon, 1:36, and felt very good and relaxed. 15 mile is my longest run to date. 6 weeks to go...running around 25/30 miles per week for the past 6months....
Should I run the marathon this year, or wait till next?
Have a history of running...mostly middle distance, but have been out of the sport for nearly 10 years, and back running for less then 1 year.
Advice welcome!!

bazman

I ran last year with only 2 months specific training for the marathon, but I was running regularly throughout the summer (about 20mpw). Still just about managed a 3hr marathon, so it is possible.

Long runs are key if you already have a running base - I think you need at least 3 long runs (15-20 miles) with at least 2 weeks gap in between.

If you don't run regularly then I think you would need at least 4 months to train for a marathon - building up slowly.

Someone mentioned Geariod Towey - he's a legend alright, but think his time was around 2:50 for the Belfast marathon. Very few people would have his level of fitness to be able to run a marathon with much specific training

Squirrel

My friend in the army did it last year, he is an athlete but hadn't trained for about 3 months before, his longest run ever was 12 miles before he did it. He still claims he was stupid though.

p.pete

Domer wrote:

Ok...another Virgin Marathoner here, unsure of what to do!!!
I ran on Saturday in the Half Marathon, 1:36, and felt very good and relaxed. 15 mile is my longest run to date. 6 weeks to go...running around 25/30 miles per week for the past 6months....
Should I run the marathon this year, or wait till next?
Have a history of running...mostly middle distance, but have been out of the sport for nearly 10 years, and back running for less then 1 year.
Advice welcome!!

That's an excellent HM time and if you were comfortable then you should definitely be able to push for a longer distance. The potential will be there for an injury but sounds like you're in pretty good shape. Recover from the HM and maybe try get up around the 20mile mark (don't push for time, just a relaxed run) and see how you feel / recover after that.

Domer

Thanks p.pete

I will try to get a 20 miler in weekend of 8th october and see how it goes. Entries close on monday 10th, so that will be the decider.

thetrickykid

Go for it fella. That's a half decent half time you ran, and with your running background you should have the experience and common sense to listen to your body when increasing the mileage for the longer runs.

I was in a similar position to yourself in 2003 - having run the half I wasn't sure if I could make the step-up to tackle the full marathon. But with a couple of +2hr runs (or 18 milers) 3/4 weeks before marathon you'll be laughing. Just be careful when increasing your long run that you don't go completely mental and go from running a 12 miler one week to a 20 the next. Be sure to warm-up and stretch thorougly before and after runs too. I managed to run that marathon in 3hrs23mins that year.

Best of Luck. It'll be the worst and best experience of your life!