How much tougher will my first marathon be? - Spring Marathon

Ben Zebrowski

27/01/2013 at 01:10

I have signed myself up for the Manchester Marathon at the end of April after doing the Liverpool half and Race the Train last year. I'm reasonably fit anyway through playing a lot of football and some squash and am intrigued/anxious to know what the transition to full marathon is like? For both of these races I did some training in the form of about three 10-mile runs but didn't have a plan with regular miles like I have this time and I'll be cutting down on my alcohol consumption with this too! I did my first half in 1:38 so was thinking I could aim for 3:30 but I don't know how realistic that is. Any thoughts/advice/guidance?

PSC

pirate

27/01/2013 at 02:36

My guess is that you will get to mile 18 and then grind to a halt. Respect the distance and train properly for it and you might achieve your target. You might be naturally gifted with an efficient technique and great endurance. Only you can be the judge of that. Most people train for 12 to 16 weeks for a mara. And it still hurts.

LouiseG

27/01/2013 at 05:49

Fit young friend of mine ran a half early December in 1:37. Followed your plan almost exactly and limped home at his marathon 8 weeks later just under 5 hours. And it still hurt .

RicF

27/01/2013 at 06:58

Tired at halfway

Twice as tired at 20 miles

Four times as tired at 24 miles

Wish you'd never started until you finish.

Then

Matthew Parker 8

27/01/2013 at 07:42

Its nice to see people are optimistic or is it just being realistic! I've been roped into running the Edinburgh marathon in May and I've never run any form of long distance in my life. I'm now out at least 3 times a week either in the gym where 5k is least I'll run also incorperating some road running. I've noticed that road running is a lot harder than being in the gym and It does take some time to adjust. I've pushed the barriers recently and increased my distance from 5k to 10k and so far Its taking my about an hour and my legs are like jelly and bring on the blisters!.. for a beginner runner I'm not overly sure if this is a good time or not or if the pace is suitable to complete a marathon.

I'm from the Teddington area so If anyone is local please let me know as I'd like to have a buddy runner so its not just me who is suffering from pounding the pavement.

I'm an inexperienced runner so if anyone has any guidance or tips feel to let me know

PSC

pirate

27/01/2013 at 08:00

Raise the treadle up 1 notch to simulate being outside. If you are blistering I suspect your shoes are too small or you are wearing cheap socks. Have a look at the beginners schedules on this site. Should get you started properly.

Matthew Parker 8

27/01/2013 at 08:16

PSC thanks. Hopefully my trainers are ok as I purchased them from the sweat shop after they do their assesment on the treadmill. I'm running in a pair of New Balance 1080 and there a size bigger than what I'd normally wear. I've read this morning about the 1000 mile socks so I'll give them a go and update how I get on...

Clearly

27/01/2013 at 09:52

Ben Zebrowski wrote (see)

I have signed myself up for the Manchester Marathon at the end of April after doing the Liverpool half and Race the Train last year. I'm reasonably fit anyway through playing a lot of football and some squash and am intrigued/anxious to know what the transition to full marathon is like? For both of these races I did some training in the form of about three 10-mile runs but didn't have a plan with regular miles like I have this time and I'll be cutting down on my alcohol consumption with this too! I did my first half in 1:38 so was thinking I could aim for 3:30 but I don't know how realistic that is. Any thoughts/advice/guidance?

I suspect that the other posters may have missed this. If you have a reasonable plan then 3:30 is eminently achievable. If you have a good plan, are totally committed and several weeks into your plan already you could be looking at a lot faster.

Stilts

27/01/2013 at 14:33

Matthew Parker Teddington is a great base for running and the Sweatshop there have a running group which I think is free to join and caters for all levels. I'm in Kingston and for this morning's LSR I ran to Bushy Park, round to Hampton Court Palace and along the river then up for a loop of Richmond Park, mostly off road so kinder on the feet. You really are spoilt for choice no wonder so many elite runners are based here. I used to see Sebastian Coe running over Richmond Bridge back in the day

Also-ran

27/01/2013 at 14:38

Agree with Clearly - there is often an assumption that the novice marathoner run underprepared, undertrained, and lacking any strategy going into a race. Many achieve respectable times first go.

A bit more background on the training to date and plan mentioned might help to guess on sub 3.30 or grinding to a halt potential

cougie

pirate

27/01/2013 at 14:46

If you're just starting now and train haphazardly like you did for the half then you're in for a world of pain. 3.30 is optimistic I think. You've really got to be comfortable running over 20 miles to have a good marathon.

seren nos

pirate

27/01/2013 at 14:54

Ben needs to clarify is he going to start a plan soon or has he been folowing one for a few weeks or a few months..........

If he is starting one soon and the marathon is n April then its not a lot of time to build up the mileage needed for the marathon....

If he has already been following a good plan and is managing the runs well and is already built his long run up then the target could be achieved with all things going well......

so really on the information already given.......the question might as well be how long is a piece of string.....

so for anyone to answer I think we need to know what your training for the last few weeks has consisted of

Ben Zebrowski

27/01/2013 at 22:09

Cheers for all the responses, guys. Much appreciated. I guess the proof will be in the pudding! I'm 3 weeks into a basic 16 week plan (mara 28th April), which I've amended to fit around my football. I'm currently playing football 2/3 times a week, having 2 short runs (3 or 4 mile) and a longer one at the weekend, although I'm only up to about 6 miles at the minute due to a slight hamstring injury and snow!

Millsy1977

27/01/2013 at 22:40

3 runs a week is probably the "bare minimum" you can get away with just to get round. If you increase your mileage at the reccomended 10% per week I can't see much time for many 20 milers, which I felt was the key for me going sub 3.30.

helenN

16/02/2013 at 16:53

Hey Ben, coming to this thread late.. How is your hamstring? I'm doing this event too and it's also my first marathon. A few things:

Check out the RW race time predictor. As the webpage outlines, this supposes that you have trained for the distance. http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/general/rws-race-time-predictor/1681.html

If you're following the basic 16-week plan your shorter runs should be increasing in distance each week (I'm doing the RW Garmin ready sub 4:30 and my Thurs run was 8 miles...) Are you following it?

Focus on those long runs - slow and steady - and then when you get home it's rest and recovery, focusing on the next run.

Just wondered how you reached 3:30 as a target and how attached to it you are?

Also, have you tried parkrun's 5k timed runs? You'll meet lots of seasoned runners who can provide info and direction - not directions Bushey might be your closest event.

Good luck and see you in Manc!

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