Any marathon runners out there?

[ace2000]

Started training this week to run a marathon next year - with a target date of October 2016. I believe I've got a pretty good training plan from another runner I trust. I currently run 3 miles a day at a 9 min/mile pace, and I'd love to do a sub 4-hour finish on my first one.

I just turned 53 and I trained for a marathon about 12 years ago, but never ran the actual event due to injury (abdomen area). I suffered through that injury for about a year afterwards and stopped running for a long time. I'm just now getting back to speed 12 years later! This might be my last shot.

 

[artringwald]

I would suggest that you vary your training. Have you ever used the fartlek training method? You run intervals at a faster pace, with walking in between to aid recovery. It helps build up leg strength and endurance.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fartlek

Disclaimer: I have never run a marathon, but I'm 65 and I still do a triathlon each summer.

 

[am1]

Increase the amount of miles your run each week slowly. At this point distance is more important then speed. If you need to add walking breaks every 5 or 10 minutes to extend the length of your runs.

I have never run a marathon but have done a few halfs and a lot of shorter races.

Which one are you looking to run? A course can make a lot of difference in your time.

Good luck and enjoy experience.

 

[SMHarman]

This is a good resource.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/18/time-to-train-for-your-first-marathon/

Sent from my LT26i using Tapatalk

 

[Marathoner]

I've run a number of marathons. 1 year of training is not much but doable. Google marathon training schedules since there a lot of resources on the web.

The important thing is to get up to at least 40 miles of running per week. Oftentimes, people get too excited early on and overtrain which leads to injury. You need to follow a schedule and ensure that your body strengthens so that you can avoid injury as you increase your mileage.

 

[svwoude]

I would not be too concerned with the sub 4 hour marathon. (At least not on the first one). You will need to average just over 9 minute miles for the entire 26.2 miles.
Have you ever run a half marathon? I would work one of those into my training to get a good feel for my race pace.
Stick to your schedule, but allow some extra time for injury, or illness.

Steve

 

[ace2000]

Thanks for the comments and the links everyone. I am already starting to vary my pace and I do different types of runs each day. I believe I've got a pretty good formula. The real test will be remaining injury free. I've got a fast run today and then I've got an 8 mile run this weekend and the plan builds to an 11 mile run in four months. I've got a 5K planned next week and then a 10K planned at the end of October. I will definitely do a half-marathon sometime next year.

On the question about which marathon, it will be somewhere in the midwest near Missouri. I've been running 3 miles a day for the past year and I feel that I need something to motivate me to keep improving.