Marathon runners... any advice for me?

[Kimberly]

Well I've entered the lottery to run in the New York City marathon this November. I've never ran a marathon before, and probably the longest I've ran at one time was about 12 miles with my friend last summer. I play in a local soccer league for adults and work out at the gym about 6 days a week, so physical activity is not a challenge for me. But 26.1 miles? Even I have to admit that this is really going to be a real physical challenge. Any ideas to help prepare for this, other than a good pair of running shoes? Any help will be appreciated!

 

[westcliffemom]

I would recommend getting Marathoning for Mortals, but John Bingham. It has training plans and great advice. I was just using it today to plan out a training plan for myself. It's practical and encourages you not to overtrain and injure yourself. I'm glad I got it!

 

[MiniGirl]

I would also recommend visiting the events sub-forum near the top of the page. Lots of experienced marathon runners there that will answer all your questions. It's a great group.

 

[ohMom]

i'll move this to the event's sub-forum for you..............

 

[gatorphipps]

Go to http://www.tricharlotte.com. Scroll down a little then click on the training. There are LR mileage here for the different marathons, but the mileage works for any marathon. There are directions and hints at the bottom. Plus some cool pics and race reports of runners (lots from the NYM)

 

[Jodi]

Kimberly

Marathoning for Mortals is defintely the way to go. I ran the WDW 1/2 in '06 using this book, not having run more than 5 or 6 miles beforehand & it got me through the 1/2 no problem.

You need to start building your base as more experienced marathoners will tell you. I ran the NYC half in August & in October signed up for the Hartford 1/2. The day b4 i said "what the heck" & switched my registration to the full . I had never run more than 13.1 miles b4 this.

It was, well, interesting. I ran 15 miles ok, then did run walk intervals for the remainder of the marathon. It started to get hairy @ around mile 21 or so. The miles seemed to drag by & I wanted to cry some of the time - not sure why that was. But I made it in 5:09. I too, want to enter the lottery again for NYC this year (didn't get in last year). Right now I'm actually training for a marathon (figured I should train correctly this time) in VT over Memorial Day Weekend. I'm hoping this will go better than Hartford.

Oh, & GOOFY '08 is gonna be great (pray for cold weather).

Buy the book & start building. Sound like you're pretty darn active & should be fine by Nov.

Good Luck

Jodi

 

[blueroses]

I've only run a half marathon, but I think the same advice applies here: even if you are in good cardiovascular shape and have good strength in your legs, pay attention to your feet. Long mileage is going to pound your feet like nothing else. I've known several people, myself included, who have increased their distances because they were already in good shape only to end up injuring their feet. And plantar fasciitis can take MONTHS not weeks away from your training.

 

[angietuck2]

I was just looking at the title of this post and laughed to myself. Six months a go I was like yourself, went to the gym consistently and very active, but not a "runner" and certainly not a "marathon runner". We ran on the treadmill a lot and in August decided to do the RFTT which was only 3 months a way.

We trained and completed it, and the next day decided to register for the Disney 1/2, which again we had 3 months to prepare for. When my husband told me we were going to do it I laughed at him and told him there was no way I could run 13.1 miles. WE DID IT!! and much better than I expected. We are preparing for another 1/2 marathon in Tampa in 3 weeks, we are addicted. - Next year we are doing the Disney full !!!

My point is, I guess now I can say I am a "Marathon runner" , that sounds so funny to me and the main advice I can give is consistency. Raising our long run distances each week and running even when I did not feel like it, (motivation was the fact that I was signed up for those darn races)!!


It's amazing what you can work your way up to

Angie

 

[bizarlee]

I'd recommend DisneyRunning.com - great advice, pictures, etc. I also like Jeff Galloway's training schedule - good training for people with a life. I've done the full marathon at Disney 3 times and the half once, and will be attempting the Goofy this year. It is such a fun race! Here are some of my personal tips - double caffiene power gel at about mile 18 - this is after you run through Animal Kingom and before you get to MGM - the longest stretch of the race for me, all on overpasses and road. This is where I usually hit the wall. The caffiene hits just before you head into MGM and all of a sudden, you are sailing! Not running any faster, mind you, but you feel good! Also, bring some sweats that you don't mind throwing away for the start line. You have to get there so early for the start, you'll want to stay warm (even though it's FL) but once you start running, you won't need it. So, go to Goodwill, buy some cheapies that you won't be tempted to keep and throw them to the side right before you start. Oh, and bring your camera - lots of photo ops! Hope this helps!