+1 More miles = more endurance. And honestly, the only thing you really need to worry about for your first marathon is endurance. And btw, the Monumental is a great race. I've run it that last three years, and collected my first ever BQ there three years ago. Just be prepared for that boring stretch late in the race; it can be quite demoralizing.
+1
More miles = more endurance. And honestly, the only thing you really need to worry about for your first marathon is endurance.
And btw, the Monumental is a great race. I've run it that last three years, and collected my first ever BQ there three years ago. Just be prepared for that boring stretch late in the race; it can be quite demoralizing.
Interesting. My first marathon (not the Monumental) involved a stretch from roughly Mile 15-18 through an economically depressed area. There were zero spectators, the scenery was awful, and as it was a smallish race, I was essentially on my own for this entire stretch. I didn't handle it well. I ran one mile probably 15 seconds off my pace just because I lost concentration. Then, I got mad and ran the next mile about 10 seconds faster than my pace and that was probably a worse mistake.
I would note that the race no longer passes though that area.
Short term goal: 17:59 5K
Mid term goal: 2:54:59 marathon
Long term goal: To say I've been a runner half my life. (I started running at age 45).
miscreant
In the Monumental, this stretch is about mile 19-23+, once you leave the art museum and until you turn south onto Meridian for the stretch run. Kind of the same scenario; not the best part of town, very few spectators, the "herd" has thinned out and you're not running with nearly as many people.
These stretches of marathons require a lot of mental toughness, which is something not a lot of people train for but which can really be critical late in a race...
I'm happy, hope you're happy too...
KillJoyFuckStick
I think this is where training solo comes in to play. I really don't have a problem running when no one else is around but I know it fawks with some people's minds. I think most all of the smallish marathons are going to be like this in the later miles as the pack has spread out and you're still a few miles from the finish.
You people have issues
I was lucky that my two marathons were big. Houston and Cincinnati. There were lots of other slow runners to keep me going.
As far as training, miles = goodness.
”Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.”
“Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right.”
Tomas
I'm training for a hilly marathon with just 100 finishers. I'm hoping I get to at least see another runner in my vicinity the last 10
Smaller By The Day
I do train alone but maybe on race day for my first I'll stick with a pace group, or something. My last half, I ended up out on my own for a while and it was a mixed bag. I felt good and strong though because the distance was familiar. This could be much different.
Improvements
Weight 100 pounds lost
5K 31:02 Sept. 2012 / 23:36 Sept. 2013 (Same Course)
10K 48:59 April 2013
HM 2:03:56 Nov. 2012 / 1:46:50 March 2013
MARATHON 3:57:33 Nov. 2013
my 2nd marathon i was planning on hopping in with a pace group. My sister got caught up in the porta potty line and we never saw our group. oops.
Okay. I know that most people take a cutback week before they make another increase, but I knew that next week was going to be the Independence Day. So, I took another increase this week, and I'm thinking next week could be a cutback week. I am at 55.9 right now, and have a short recovery run planned for tomorrow. So, my month will be something like 51, 52, 53, 59-60.
How much do you guys typically cut back on a cutback week?
With all of the 5K's that people will be having next weekend, is a cutback week a good time to squeeze in a little 5K to break things up? Or, does running any type of race during a cutback week defeat the purpose?
Are we there, yet?
I don't schedule cutback weeks. If I need to back off a little because I'm tired, I do whether it takes a day or a week of reduced mileage and/or intensity to recover. In my opinion a race would defeat the purpose of most cutback weeks, though I've seen some structured so that you can fit in a short race.
2024 Races:
03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles
05/11 - D3 50K 05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour
06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.
Go figure
In some ways a race during a cutback week is nice because you almost have a built in taper for it and will probably get a pretty nice result. If it's just a 5k I don't know that it entirely defeats the purpose, but it certainly does make it a tougher week. As for the amount of a cutback, I think there's some trial and error in it. If I'm not feeling particularly tired, I'll go back to what I did in the first week of the build-up. If there's more fatigue, then I'll take a little extra off.
Trying to find some more hay to restock the barn
Truth be told, I was feeling a little fatigue during the middle of the week, but that could have been the stress of the work week and too much time in the car. My 14 mile run today felt great, and I was really tempted to keep going. Then, I just reminded myself that I have until November to get in longer long runs. I'm just trying to build up weekly miles right now. Why ruin a great run? LOL