Hydration pack for my 1st marathon?

heaps of people carry whatever they want, Ive seen someone down a mcdonalds milkshake halfway through a half marathon!

If the hydration pack works for you, why replace it with a haphazard drink station system, some water, some isotonic, not the one you're used to?  I once ran a marathon, mixed up  with a half and got to a drinks station that had run out!

PS have a good one.

I have this belt thing, it holds two bottles, car keys and energy bars... It cost me less than a marathon entry and you can use it again and again.

How far are your lsrs?

You don't want to run a marathon and fail. 

You should do a 20 3-5 weeks before, if you are under 30 years old 3 weeks OK if you are 45+ 5 weeks.  You taper, so 2 - 1.5 weeks before you do 10-11 miles.

To  get from 11 -20 miles is 8 - 16 weeks.  Once ever two weeks add 2 or 1 miles, on the other weekend do ten+ building to 13, do them quickly. 

Minimum 11 weeks, (add 2 weeks per fortnight) assuming nothing goes wrong, better take it slowly so 21 weeks (1 mile per fortnight).  

11 weeks is the end of May, which may be hot, but is a traditional time for mararthons.  For a first marathon steer clear of the multitude of off road/trail events that happen at this time of year.  They really are on a different level.

21 weeks takes you to August (very few events).  However September/October there are loads of events.  My advice would be to go for one then.  Or maybe two, leave atleast 4 weeks between them.

Anyway whatever you go for, enjoy... otherwise why do it?   But take it easy, an injury can knock you out completely for weeks... and set you back to square one.  Nightmare!

so have i got this right..1 mile every 2weeks

but one week building longer that the other

ie

week1 say for eg. (15)

week2  ....10-13

week3 add1 =(16)

week4 10-13

and so on

Yup, that's it. 

Once a fortnight do your longer long run, building towards 20,(if you can go to 22 that'si deal).  The other Sunday you do 10, building to 13.

On the short Sunday's throw in some hard paced running for a mile, two or even three, in half mile efforts, with half mile rests.  Mind you if that seems too much, don't worry, you'll be OK, this is about giving you pace and a boost when/if you need it.

In the week at least two other sessions in the range 4 -7 miles, prefrably one speed work, builds your fitness and one hill session builds endurance.

If you run the day after the lsr, keep it short and not too hard, recovery is important.

Taper, that is reduce your mileage as you come up to your event.  depending on your age, older = longer tapper. 3-5 weeks.  So the longest run (20 - 22) takes place 4 weeks before, 3 weeksbefore 13, 2 weeks before 16/15 SLOW, 1 week before 10 SLOW, Then 4/5 days 3 miles. Then nothing.

Eat pasta the nightbefore.  Bran flakes and banana on the day NO SUGAR.

Good luck, leave it till September and make sure it goes right, where do you live, if you are North/Midlands I can suggest an event, maybe. 

PS  I do sit down with a calendar and work back frtom the event i want to do, how many miles my lsr is each weekend, I then throw in a couple of weeks extra, just in case.  work around family comitments, and sometimes it may get moved to a Friday or Monday.  The big thing is once you make the plan and enter the event, you are committed, you have to do the training runs on the calendar... no excuses.

I used a 1.5 litre camelpack. I heard that wasn't enough for marathon distance so I expected to pick up some drinks on the way. As it was, since I was scoffing jelly babies on the way, the mix I had in the hydration pack seemed too sweet so I tended to drink more water from drinks stations and I still have a half full pack by the finish.

I used the same pack on a 10k, wouldn't race without it. Much prefer it to drinks stations just have to get the right mix for conditions and distance.