First time marathon - help! (Read 94 times)

Hi all! Any advice here is appreciated. For the last couple months I’ve been training for my first marathon (October 13). However, my training has consisted of mainly long runs every weekend: with my work schedule and a toddler running around, morning and night runs during the week haven’t been easy to fit in. Last week I ran 15 miles and felt good. I looked down to see I was running paces of 9s, 845s which is fast for me, so I kept slowing down or I knew I’d burn out but overall felt good. Today was supposed to be my 18 mile but I was sick. I plan to do 20 - or 3.5 hours whichever comes first, which is 3 weeks before the race. With the training I’ve done, and missing today, I’m torn on what to do. Has anyone been in this boat and finished? Should I go for it or does this not seem finishable?

It's really hard to say without knowing more of what your running background is (how long you've been running, typical weekly mileage, other distances you often race, etc).  However, if your 20miler may be an okay indicator for you.  When you finish your 20miler, try to imagine this is where you start a 10k -- could you finish?

 

I'm guessing the answer is going to be "Yes".  And really, if you can make it to 20 in a training run, unless you really muff the race by going out too hard, you could always limp in the last 6 miles.  So, you're going to finish.  Hitting under 4hrs is going to be a feat, though.

Thank you for your input! I knew going in I probably wouldn’t hit under 4 hours since all my long runs my average pace at the end is around 10:40. I’ve been running for years off and on. I’ve done many 5ks, a few 10ks and 15ks and 3 half marathons. Much of this training has been just my long runs and a cross train during the week. I’m going to try to add a couple more runs in during the week these next couple weeks. The race is quite flat which may help my case more than a hillier race. I also have done all my training alone, so I thought being able to take advantage of a pacer team at the race may help me keep a good pace. But I’m very new to the marathon race so I could be wrong.

 

Sounds like your overall average weekly mileage is on the low side, which is typical of first time marathoners using a plan like Higdon's Novice 1 or 2.  Just to clarify, do you mean your overall average pace for your long runs is 10:40 or that you start faster and slow down to 10:40 pace over the last few miles?   With these types of programs, it's not unusual for your actual race pace to be about the same as your long run pace or even a bit slower, so keep that in mind when you decide which pace group to join.

Thanks for the tip! My overall average pace of each of my long runs has been 10:40 - these have all been on pretty hilly up and down terrain.

If you haven't done as many miles as you'd like, you might not be as dialed into your pacing as the statement below reflects.  Depending on which race you're running, you might jump in a pace group to make sure you keep it easy for at least 16-18 miles.  Running 1:30 faster per mile than what you planned is likely to be an issue on race day.  Not sure which marathon you're running and whether they have pace groups...most do.

I looked down to see I was running paces of 9s, 845s which is fast for me, so I kept slowing down or I knew I’d burn out but overall felt good.