Forums >Running 101>5 months until first marathon ... best approach?
I started running again in October/November after a couple year break, and just completed my first longer race ever - a half marathon. I was horrible at pacing and died after the 8 mile mark (the first 5k was in 19:00, 5 mile at ~32:00, then finished at ~1:32:45), but I hadn't really trained intelligently so was relatively happy.
Now I'm about 5 months from my first marathon. Here are some things on my mind, but I'm not sure where to go from here:
Any thoughts on my best approach for completing a great marathon?
If you really want to break 3 in the marathon then I'd suggest:
You're really close. I'm not experienced enough to say if your next one could be it or not. I think with laser sharp focus on training it's quite possible.
Oh, and I see no need for running 26 miles as part of your training. I'd scratch that thought.
Thanks! How many miles would you suggest per week? I did get up to ~55 before the half (basic idea was to run three 8 milers, one 13 miler, and one 16 miler on the weekend).
I would like to break 3:00 in the marathon I am running 5 days a week, and would like to stick with this to minimize the chance of injury (1 day is a long run) I ran long runs up to 18 miles in prep for the half marathon, and plan to run over 26 in training for the marathon I have not done much speed work, probably 4 days total on the track 3-4 of my 5 runs I am running part of the way with partners who are slower (over the past 5 months, this has made up about half of my mileage, but having company helps me stay sane so I don't want to give this up) I am still way heavier than when I ran in high school / college (I am 180 lbs at 6'1", vs. 150 lbs or less back then) Any thoughts on my best approach for completing a great marathon?
www.running-wizard.com
Nobby, real cool. Thanks!
Looks like it's ready for us.
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old woman w/hobby
Yes. I highly recommend running wizard. It is great!
steph
With the proper endurance training, I think you can run sub 3 at some point, based on the 19:00 5k split from your half. I'm assuming that you were/are capable of running 18:30 or faster in a 5km race which puts you in the right ball park in terms of short-distance ability. With that said, I think you have quite a ways to go in the endurance department, but with 5 months to go you do have some time for significant improvement.
Here's what I would do if I were in your shoes:
Good luck, keep us updated!
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