Running my first marathon
 

Well, I'm gonna do it. I'm running my first marathon this year. I'm running the Twin Cities Marathon on October 1st. 26.2 miles of fun.

I ran a half marathon a couple or months ago to give me some idea what to expext, and that went well. It'll be difficult, but I'm really looking forward to it.

Anyone here ever run a marathon?

Congratulations! I've never ran a marathon. Running is not particularly my thing. I'm tempting the idea of participating in a Century Bike Race (100 miles on bike).

Once again, congratulations, hope it goes well!

I have thought long and hard about the idea. I actually went online and printed out a whole routine on how to train for a marathon. Unfortunately, it looked a little too much for me and I backed out. I did not want to spend 9 months training for just one race. I am the type of person who does not run every day but could easily go out and run 3 miles without much problem.

Hi Val,

Well done on committing, its a real challenge and not something I can do yet. My SO is running a Marathon in October and she is about halfway through her training schedule. Needless to say I hear quite a lot about her plans and training tactics and I even partake in some of the runs. She is following the training guide by a man called Hal Higdon:
http://www.halhigdon.com/

Which is really fairly simple, it comprises three components:
1) The Long Slow Distances (LSDs), once a week, starting low and building up to several 22mile runs (up to 1m30s per min mile slower than race pace).
2) Pace runs (at marathon pace), mostly 6-11miles as you progress.
3) Cross training, short 3-10mile runs once or twice a week with another session of tennis/swimming/squash/etc.

She is now on 40 mile weeks and is aiming for a sub-4 hour marathon, which I'm sure she'll make.

Anyway, best of luck mate and let us know how you're getting on!

Hello Val,

I've done two London Marathons. My best time is 4 hours and 17 seconds!!

I've just signed up for my latest challenge. A triathlon http://www.thelondontriathlon.com/LThome.html

There is loads to think about for the marathon. But the main thing is getting good quality runs. I ran 3 times a week. Two short quick runs and one long steady pace run. And gym and swimming on the rest days.

Have you thought about taking on energy during the marathon e.g. energy gels, banana's, power bars, energy drinks?? Some people can react badly to some energy foods.

Absorb the crowds. I found the got me round!

Well, good luck, I'm sure you'll be fine. Enjoy the day.

I spent a lot of years as a competitive runner, and I wish that I was the first to congratulate you on the decision, but I guess I missed this thread the first time around. Anyway, good luck!

I've run either one marathon or roughly 40 (as best I can guess), depending on how you count it. I've only been in one marathon race (Chicago, 1996, 3 hr, 0 min, 7.1 sec), but I spent several weeks adding base milage where my long runs were scheduled to be between 25 and 30 miles. The first time I ran the distance, I was only scheduled to do 25 but I felt good at the end and just tacked on another 1.2 miles just to see if I could do it. My best time was 2 hr, 31 min, 8 sec with a couple of buddies on a most certainly uncertified course. It was almost definitely off since we went 35 seconds past the 13 mile mark before we turned around. That one hurt a little at the end since there were some egos getting exercised at 12 when some mouths (ok, mine) started running and the pace just kept dropping. I'd have to check my logs from a couple years to get an exact number of 26+ mile days, but there have to be at least 40 given my macrocylces at the time.

The Twin Cities Marathon is supposed to be great, and I've run parts of the course a few times. It's a little bumpy, but the crowds are supposed to be great. Have fun and let us know how it goes!

Best of luck. I am envious. I wish i could get that kind of commitment.

Holy hell. I have a lot of respect for anyone who can run a frickin marathon.

Good luck with the race!

hey there
i just ran my first marathon this year!
it was really hard work, but i actually got to the point where i was enjoying my training runs, except the long one which i did once a week...was never fun getting up on a sunday leaving my baby in bed and going out into scottish weather to run for a couple of hours.
but it was all worth it! the feeling when you finish, and the feeling that i got at about 24 miles when i knew i was going to make it are amazing and worth every bit of the training pain...
any questions or advice fire away, i'll try to answer if i can.

good luck, you won't regret it!

Same here! Just wanted to say Good Luck! :thumbsup:

A lot of commitment? Yes. Some days I can hardly wait for the race, other days, I think I'm crazy for doing it. But, the more I talk about it the more people I find that have run marathons, and that keeps me encouraged.

I've got a pretty well laid out training schedule. Long runs on Sundays, shorter runs
throughout the week. I completed a 21 mile practice run last Sunday. That's the longest training run I've had so far. I cut out alcohol and caffeine for a couple of days before. I Ate 4,000 calories the day before and toolk energy supplements (GU packets) along the way. I did great for the first 19 miles, averaging 7.3 mph. The last two miles I did have a tremendous decrease in performance. But, most discourageing, at the very end of the run I felt a huge surge of depression rush over me for some reason. Physically I felt alright. Lack of energy? I normally feel elated at the end of runs, even longer ones. I've got a two more 20+ training runs before the big race. I hope to perform better the next one.

One thing I know I'm not doing properly is cross training. To substitute for a few of the shorter runs it is recommended to substitute some cardio that will work your legs in a different plane than running. I do some biking, but, roller blading is strongly endorsed. So, I bought some roller blades. Wow. Did I
feel like a fool. Scooted around my kitchen for a bit, till (I thought) I had the hang of them. Then I went down to the park and proceeded to fall on my ass a few times. Luckily, the place was nearly deserted!

The_Jazz, wow! You have put some miles on! :thumbsup: And real good times, too! Congrats. I'm shooting for sub 4, but won't be too upset if I don't make it the first time around.

sounds like it is going well!
when is the big day now?
remember to rest up in the last week and a bit!

So what is the pace like in a marathon? Is it constant? Or walk to jog, run, jog, etc? How long is the downtime/recovery afterward? Is the area you run a marathon hilly at all or perfectly flat the whole way?

thanks.

The race is October 1st. So, I've got about a month to go. The last week is all rest. Early to bed, late to rise.:thumbsup:

The pace for a marathon should be constant. Ideally:rolleyes: . But, you've got to slow down a bit to drink every couple of miles. Then you should get right back up to pace as soon as you can. But, over all, the second thirteen miles should take about the same amount of time as the first thirteen miles if you're well trained.

Some people start running again the next day. Usually it's recomended to take some time off, a week or so, then ease back into training. I plan on taking at least a week off. Then back to my normal three miles three times a week (I like the number three and base large parts of my life around it).

The elevation of marathons change from place to place. Some are hilly, some are flat. According to the USATF, the finish line must be of an equal or greater elevation than the start. Other than that, there's a lot of variance. Oddly enough, the original marathon, the Boston Marathon, is not an official marathon because the end is of slightly lower elevation than the beginning. It's still one of the most difficult races though because of the incredibly hilly terrain.