My first marathon (Read 1293 times)

I ran NJ last year and will repeat this year. Since it is pancake flat, no need to do hill work unless you really want to punish yourself. 10 weeks out, so try to get 3 20 milers in. That should not be to hard to cram in there. Don't worry if you only get one or two done, your goal is to finish, and as long as you want to you will. Last year some walkers finished since the course allows for 7 hours, and get this, they had a pacer. Just do the best you can to get the training done, and on race day, more than likely, there will be a pace group for you to keep you focused. Just do it. Let's face it, you would not want to try it if it was easy.

Probably the only thing I would be concerned with might be whether you're done with growing or still in the middle of it. While still in the growth spurt, your bones are fragile and, with their growth in length, muscles and tendons would be stretched and easily get sore. As long as you keep the pace comfortable and you're not going beyong that comfort zone, I don't see any problem a young kid of 15-year-old going for a long run. I don't think being at 45MPW being behind to prepare for the marathon. I think having done a 16-miler is very encouraging (if you're doing it at 10-minute pace, that's over 2:40 of running) though you would still need to work your way a bit longer in duration. If anything, don't over-do training--meaning, if you're also doing some tempo runs or intervals, be very careful of how much total mileage you'd do (per week). If you're more or less concentrating on this marathon and working your way upward, make sure you do plenty of EASY jogging to enhance your recovery. Structure your longs run in such way that you're not simply increasing the mileage, say, 2-miles every weekend. Mix them up from something like 14--12--16--13--18...something like that. Moreover, mix the terrain from flat to undulating. I used to go things like 2-hour flat--1:40 flat--2 hours hilly--1:40 flat--2:20 flat...something like that. It is a very good idea to include some hills because it builds strengths in your legs as well as encourage range of motion which otherwise could be lost in monotonous long easy running day after day after day. I'd hate to say this, Willamona, but I'd have to disagree with your comment (along with your comment about hills) about three 20-milers. Be very cautious about what kind of shoes you wear. I don't encourage any youngsters to wear one of those heavy bulky shoes that restricts natural movement of the feet. This could also tamper your natural running form and could lead to more injury possibility than you'd think. If you're one of those 15-year-old kid (my daughter was a bit like that) whose feet are bigger than the rest of the body (still catching up), try NOT to flop around your feet too much. That "flopping" could cause shin splint. Get on a golf course or soft undulating terrain as much as possible and learn to "run more naturally". Having said all this, while it's not a wrong idea to attempt a marathon at your age (going the distance is almost always good); don't get in a trap of slow running. At your age, you should be also concentrating on running FAST. Work on your sprinting ability; good natural form by doing drills; go up and down the hills to work on the power and flexibility in your legs... I'm not talking about some gut-wrecking hill sprint repeats or doing 400m repeats will you vomit. But get up on your toes and RUN FAST. Dont' settle and be happy with 4:30 marathon and become a "jogger". With that base behind you; do 800m or 1500m (or I should say, 1600... What's with this distance anyways?). Sharpen your speed. That's what all those Kenyans do.

These statements regarding minimum mpw and long runs that must be run for a successful marathon are pointless. The overall condition of the person and their mental toughness are much bigger factors than the number of training miles they run. I have run 4 hour marathons with weekly mileage in the mid 20’s and top long runs of 10 miles. I realize that if I want to achieve my goal times then I need to run more miles but even my last marathon of 3:39 was achieved with all but 2 weekly mpw under 40. It is important to stress that someone needs to be in good shape [how ever they achieve that] to attempt a marathon but I do not agree with these claims that someone needs to logs these huge mileage weeks just to have some minor level of success.