Forums >General Running>1st marathon-no time to taper - UPDATE: I did it!!! (Details below)
Old , Ugly and slow
Do the half. If you plan on running for a long time do the marathon next year.
first race sept 1977 last race sept 2007
2019 goals 1000 miles , 190 pounds , deadlift 400 touch my toes
Are we there, yet?
If one is planning on running for a long time, wouldn't an ultra be a better choice. There's a 10 day race going on in NY now, and a 6 day starts soon if you aren't up for the 10 day yet. Or they could run the marathon very slowly which would keep them running for a longer time.
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.
Don't do a marathon. I've been in that boat before and it won't be a pleasant experience. This past year I ran a marathon with my long run of only 14, and even though I was taking it easy I paid big time. I cold barely walk at the end because I pushed a not prepared body to the finish. My hips were hurting so bad, and I was not even tired. It was mental torture.
You can do it, but you have to check your ego. Walk all the hills from the start. I ran the pig one year as a training run for an ultra, so walked all hills from the start. It's hard to do as everyone is pumped and will be running past you on bridges. Just keep in mind you'll pass a lot of these people in the last few miles as they walk it in. You'll also lose less time than you think. Also, be very careful on the big downhill on Erie ave. if you run it too hard (again, easy to do), you'll blow out your quads and suffer the last 6 miles.
Thanks so much everyone for your advice and encouragement. The very day I posted this I knew I couldn’t do the full if I couldn’t at least get one 20 under my belt. That night I ran a full 20 covering the middle part of the course. I ran super slow, making sure I could carry on a conversation the whole time. It was so hard but I knew then I could possibly finish a marathon. After that I only ran a few more times, all under 10 miles because I caught a bad cold. I bought some really good compression leggings to support my knee, took a prednisone for my cold symptoms, and literally hoped for the best, just to finish. I actually think the low miles helped rest my knees. The tights were the way to go, I ran knee pain free until mile 23 when my legs started cramping. I ran the entire first 18 and ran walked the rest. My goal was to finish under 5:00 and I managed a 4:55:39 with a 10:58 average pace. The crowd pushed me to run faster than my training pace the first half, 9:44 -10:30, it was so thrilling I couldn’t help myself. The last 2 miles I was so cramped up, but my 14 yo XC running son ran me in encouraging me to keep running, a moment I will always cherish. Thanks to everyone here for your advice, it was all I needed to attempt that training 20 miles. One and done, a marathon is now checked off my bucket list. I do plan to run the Flying Pig half next year which falls on my birthday, May 5 and I turn 50. 🐷
I lost my rama
Squeakers - Congrats! And you met your goal, which is icing on the cake for your first marathon (note, that I won't ever say last ). While I don't think that 20 was necessary physically, it certainly helped mentally and giving you that extra confidence. Nice work!
3/17 - NYC Half
4/28 - Big Sur Marathon DNS
6/29 - Forbidden Forest 30 Hour
8/29 - A Race for the Ages - will be given 47 hours
You are absolutely correct, Berto, I did need to have the mental confidence that I could go from 20 to 26.2. The uncertainty of going from 14 to 26 was overwhelming and I needed that 20 to keep training, otherwise I would have switched to the half. Thanks so much for your guidance and support!
not bad for mile 25
Congratulations!
Pace Prophet
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