My first marathon (Read 1312 times)

You could probably run one in decent time within a couple months but if you want to break 3 hrs I'd give it another year. Try to keep your miles up and see if you can bring your 10k time down to 38:30 or better and run a HM in 1:25. If you can hit those targets then you will be ready to start pointing specifically towards a sub-3 marathon.

+1 Eddy, I don't think you're ready to go for a sub-3 (I'd be psyched if you proved me wrong, btw) but September is definitley not too soon for you to run a decent marathon. Don't believe the hype about 20 week training plans and all that. You've been running long enough now and you're coming off a couple back-to-back 175-mile months. If you can get in 200 miles each for June, July and August you can run a really solid debut marathon. It's not all that complicated. Just run a lot. You don't even need to start hitting the really long runs until mid-July. I think I decided at the very end of July last summer--after I got back from my family's summer vacation during which I ran a grand total of 30 miles--that I would run Hartford in October.

I say go for it. You have a solid base and could get yourself into marathon shape in 3 months without too much difficulty. I'll agree with Mikey that you'll probably have a better chance to debut under 3 years next year, especially if you can meet some shorter distance goal times. If you don't go sub-3 in your first try, though, it isn't the end of the world and you certainly have enough training behind you to be able to handle the race. You very well could make it under 3 hours, and if not then the experience of having run one race and an extra 6-12 months of training should serve to give you a good PR for race #2.

Eddy, Why not take some of the pressure off and get your first one under your belt in 3:30-3:40. I'd be willing to bet you go knock that it without too much difficulty. Not sure you get style points for going under 3 hours on your first one.

I felt like I was running/racing and not just surviving (except for mile 22).

Funny you mention this. I ran my first marathon last year, and mile 22 was when I felt my legs were going to quit. After that I was OK, and ended up running the second fastest mile of the race the 26th mile. I had less base than Eddy going in but was able to get in 2 200 mile months before the race.