I really want to run a marathon

[Tiggeroo]

But I am extraordinarily out of shape and pooh sized and 46yo. Any thoughts? I know about baby steps but I really need structure to do anything and I love working with big goals.

 

[Holly]

Have you seen Couch to 5k?


There's some good info there. Best of luck.

 

[Tiggeroo]

Have you seen Couch to 5k?


There's some good info there. Best of luck.

Yes, dh and I were following this for most of the winter and doing well. Then he had work problems and I picked up a ton of extra work and things started imploding at my job. So we got off the healthy train. We're back on. He just wants to be able to jog the boardwalk in the am. I am prone to extremes and want to run a marathon. I have several friends and a son who are distance runners who occasionally do full and halfs. I am very envious of them.

 

[escape]

If you are in pretty good health and injury free - YOU CAN DO IT!

I went from being a couch potato to half-marathon in 5 months. My first half was at WDW in Jan 2007. I was 49 years old and 50 pounds overweight. I did not RUN the half, I walked with some running intervals.

The next year, I did the full at WDW at age 50. I was 40 pounds overweight. I did the walk/run routine as well. Many, many people do this. Many just walk. Many run. As long as you do it in the required time frame, you can get the same medal as the first place finisher.

This year I did the Goofy - half marathon one day, full the next day. It was great!

I would encourage you to join us on the Events/competition board here on the DIS boards. There are many levels of runners/walkers - from beginners to experts. You'll gain a wealth of knowledge and make new friends. If it had not been for the WISHers on that board, I wouldn't have made it to my first half in 2007. Truly, a remarkable group of people!

Come join us!

 

[Sparx]

Good luck!

Make sure you have great shoes!

 

[daisy2jae]

I just started the couch to 5K. I'm running my first half marathon in August. I have done one 5K and thought I was going to pass out. I run 3.5 miles no problem but on my own. Running with a crowd was hard for me. My sister is moving home from a nanny job in canada and I promised I'd run this half marathon with her. (Talked to her today and for fun she ran 7 miles today....yikes I have some work to do) I'm following the couch to 5K in hopes to build up. I get shin splints easy so I have to be careful. When I eat clean and stay on track things go much easier. However when I don't watch what I eat I don't have the energy to run. Make a plan and stick with it. Find one that fits your life style. I lay my stuff out the night before and work out/run in at 5am. I work 6-6 5 days a week. Evening doesn't work for me. If I plan it out I stick with it if I don't I cheat and skip days. I have NEVER been in sports or a runner. Friends find it strange that now I have this goal. Oh well hard to explain the feeling you get when you run to someone who doesn't. YOU CAN DO IT!!! Best of luck! Check out cool running's website.

 

[npmommie]

You can do it!
but take it slow,
I will also say it is a lot of training, a huge time commitment as well. My hubby is a marathoner, he does boston, and he usually follows the training schedule on the bac website.

we hardly see him when he is in training mode..........LOL

a few years ago there was a show on pbs about a group training for the marathon, I think this is the link
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/marathon/calendar.html

the people in the program were not serious athletes

good luck, I try to get motivated myself, but haven't gotten that far yet!

 

[Tiggeroo]

That PBS link is great. There is even a training schedule in there which is similar to what we are doing now, at the beginning. It took their mixed group of fitness folks ten months to prep for a marathon. And they built up very gradually.
As to shin splints you can do things to help prevent them. Number one get the right type of shoe from a running store. Second don't build up mileage too quickly. Do proper stretching afterwards. Look up shin splint stretchs. There is an exercise tool called the stick ( I think) that is supposed to help. Take paper cups and fill them with water and put them in the freezer. Then peel back some paper and rub the ice on your calfs after your run.
I'll check out the wish board and try to find your group.

 

[wickey's friend]

My older DS is a personal trainer and last fall, he organized a running club. He had sessions that helped the participants train for either a half or a full marathon.

Maybe one of the gyms in your area has someone who either does it through the gym or on the side (my son started it before he started working as a trainer, and his great employer let him keep the club going -- even had some of the other gym members train with him.)

Good for you, by the way. I so want to do the same. I just haven't made the commitment yet. If I ever do a marathon -- it will have to be Disney!

 

[Quiksilvr]

I'm a pretty physically active person (gym 5x/week for about 1.5 hrs) but I am also "big boned"

I stayed away from running because of knee issues, but decided that I wanted to run at least a half-marathon. I ran one in December of last year.

Although the purists may pooh-pooh this idea, the Jeff Galloway method was great for me because it allowed me to save a significant amount of wear and tear on my knees. It's worth checking out Galloway on Running (he has a website) and maybe reading one of his books.

 

[NeverlandClub23]

My eventual goal is to run a marathon. I've done one half and will do my second in WDW this October (I also ran a 10k this past weekend).

I found the book Marathoning for Mortals to be my favorite resource (with training programs in the back of the book).

It is quite the journey and something I never really thought I'd be able to do. Me? A runner? My parents came to watch the 10k I ran and I think even they were surprised. I was athletic in high school but then moved to OH and became a couch potato and put on 35 lbs. I started VERY slow (I could barely run/jog 8-10 minutes when I first started) and would add more time/distance through the weeks and months. I loved having a challenge and I started to eat better because I started to feel better. My knees bothered me at first but I would ice them after runs and take some Tylenol and now I rarely have been getting knee pain (especially lately). Now I'm addicted and actually miss running when I'm taking a couple of days off to recover. It's amazing what the body can do when you push it and expect things out of it but you also have to be able to listen to it.

My two greatest running tips would be to read a really good running book/website and to invest in a really good pair of running shoes from a running store. And maybe start with a few smaller races. I feel like this 10k has given me even more motivation for the half this October. I would like to eventually run a marathon but that's still a couple of years away for me.

**BTW, the guy that won the 10k(6.2 miles) this weekend was 55-60 years old and finished it in 38 minutes. You can do ANYTHING you set your mind to!

 

[NeverlandClub23]

And you can always head over to the WISH board here on the DIS! There's lots of helpful people there too.

**Nevermind, I get so excited talking about running that I don't read all of the previous posts

 

[FireDancer]

If you want to run (or walk or jog) a marathon you can. It takes hard work and determination but you can do it. As Kim recommended, get a good pair of running shoes at a good running store. After that I would start training for a 5K, then a 10K, then a half, and then a full. There are plenty of programs out there. A PP mentioned the C25K program which is a good start. After that I would go to Hal Higdon's website and pick a half program, then a full program.

The key is to start slow and build up at a reasonable rate. I would stick to the 10% rule until you are a more seasoned runner. The rule says you shouldn't increase either the distance of you longest run or the total mileage per week by more then 10%. This is fairly conservative but will keep you from making the mistake many rookie runners make and double your mileage in a week.

As for the schedule problems, make you runs an appointment on your calendar. If they are inked into a spot and you treat it like an appointment instead of an option you will be more likely to get the run (or walk or jog) in. After a little while you will find a way to get them in. There are days I don't even go out to start my run before midnight in the summer but I make sure to get the runs in.

Good luck, you can do it. It is a rough road but once you put in all the time and effort training you will understand why the 26.2 on race day really is the easy part.

 

[C.Ann]

What a great goal to have! I say, "Go for it!!!"

 

[WriteDisney]

If you want to run (or walk or jog) a marathon you can. It takes hard work and determination but you can do it. As Kim recommended, get a good pair of running shoes at a good running store. After that I would start training for a 5K, then a 10K, then a half, and then a full. There are plenty of programs out there. A PP mentioned the C25K program which is a good start. After that I would go to Hal Higdon's website and pick a half program, then a full program.

The key is to start slow and build up at a reasonable rate. I would stick to the 10% rule until you are a more seasoned runner. The rule says you shouldn't increase either the distance of you longest run or the total mileage per week by more then 10%. This is fairly conservative but will keep you from making the mistake many rookie runners make and double your mileage in a week.

As for the schedule problems, make you runs an appointment on your calendar. If they are inked into a spot and you treat it like an appointment instead of an option you will be more likely to get the run (or walk or jog) in. After a little while you will find a way to get them in. There are days I don't even go out to start my run before midnight in the summer but I make sure to get the runs in.

Good luck, you can do it. It is a rough road but once you put in all the time and effort training you will understand why the 26.2 on race day really is the easy part.

This is great advice!

I think it'd be better to go the safe route then to try and do too much at once and hurt yourself. I would get a physical first too and talk to your doctor about it.

 

[Tiggeroo]

You guys are great. I am starting the 5k program and would love to do the Princess next year. I love the C25K podcasts.