First Marathon Training

[Mae]

I'm training for my first marathon (OKC - April 25). I have been running for the past 17 years - but
have never tried distances over 10 miles. I completed my first half marathon December 14 in 2:11 and
felt just great.

But now my long runs are getting into the long mileage - I did 17 miles yesterday in 3:25 and boy
was it hard... My motivation began to go at mile 14 and by mile 15 my left leg just ached (nothing
specific, just dull throb and I have no pain today) I really have begun to doubt my ability to
finish a full marathon. (I'm not concerned with time, I just want to finish). Is this doubting
normal? Does long mileage affect others like this? I have been doing 30-40 miles a week. I do one
speed workout, one pace run and 2 or 3 easy longer runs (7-10 miles). I then alternate weekends for
my long runs with a rest weekend after each long run weekend. I increase my long run mileage about
1- 2 miles each time... Any advice / motivation suggestions would be appreciated!

Thanks Mae

[Donovan Rebbech]

In article <bdaef31f.0401121402.ca21f2c@posting.google.com>, Mae wrote:
> I'm training for my first marathon (OKC - April 25). I have been running for the past 17 years -
> but have never tried distances over 10 miles. I completed my first half marathon December 14 in
> 2:11 and felt just great.
>
> But now my long runs are getting into the long mileage - I did 17 miles yesterday in 3:25 and boy
> was it hard... My motivation began to go at mile 14 and by mile 15 my left leg just ached (nothing
> specific, just dull throb and I have no pain today) I really have begun to doubt my ability to
> finish a full marathon.

Well you possibly can't just yet. But you've got 3 months to train, right ?

> (I'm not concerned with time, I just want to finish). Is this doubting normal?

I don't run marathons, but I do use long runs in training. Long runs are very hard at first.
Hopefully, you adapt. Was this your first run over 10 miles ? If so, I'd expect that your legs would
probably feel like jello by the end, completely unresponsive, even though you're going at a slow
pace. That's how I usually feel when I run distances I'm not well-adapted to anyway.

They should get much easier. That's why you're training! You're supposed to adapt, but it's not
going to be easy the first time.

> I have been doing 30-40 miles a week.

Not really enough to support training runs of that length. You should be aiming for 40 miles and up.
This is probably part of the reason that your long run was so difficult.

> I do one speed workout,

IMO -- not time well spent. At 11 minutes per mile, with a goal of finishing, you're hardly pushing
the upper limits of your speed. However, you are pushing the limits of your ability to handle
milage. I'd suggest investing whatever energy you have for laying down milage.

> one pace run and 2 or 3 easy longer runs (7-10 miles). I then alternate weekends for my long runs
> with a rest weekend after each long run weekend.

There's nothing wrong with only running 4 times a week, but training more frequently might be a good
idea if you hope to run a marathon.

> I increase my long run mileage about 1- 2 miles each time... Any advice / motivation suggestions
> would be appreciated!

Keep your weekly milage consistent, and make it at least double your long run milage.

Cheers,
--
Donovan Rebbechi http://pegasus.rutgers.edu/~elflord/

[Jonathan Sydenh]

"Mae" <bbuckalew@belo.com> wrote in message <snipped> I expect everyone worries about being able to
finish their first marathon. After all, the training is an enormous investment of time and personal
commitment and you're afraid to see it blown away. The initial long runs are always a grind. But the
body adapts very quickly and a month from now you'll smile at the memory of that aching leg as you
plod past the 18 mile mark (actually that's too soon to be doing 18 miles - you want March to be
your biggest month. Don't rush to get too many long runs under your belt before then). Keep on going
and enjoy those crisp winter mornings as you head out into the hills on journeys of exploration to
places you'd never usually reach in training :-) Jonathan

[Max Power]

What has helped me a great deal is joining a running club with a marathon training group. It is fun
to run with other people. The support and motivation is awesome. That's my $0.05 of free advice.

bbuckalew@belo.com (Mae) wrote in news:bdaef31f.0401121402.ca21f2c@posting.google.com:

> I'm training for my first marathon (OKC - April 25). I have been running for the past 17 years -
> but have never tried distances over 10 miles. I completed my first half marathon December 14 in
> 2:11 and felt just great.
>
> But now my long runs are getting into the long mileage - I did 17 miles yesterday in 3:25 and boy
> was it hard... My motivation began to go at mile 14 and by mile 15 my left leg just ached (nothing
> specific, just dull throb and I have no pain today) I really have begun to doubt my ability to
> finish a full marathon. (I'm not concerned with time, I just want to finish). Is this doubting
> normal? Does long mileage affect others like this? I have been doing 30-40 miles a week. I do one
> speed workout, one pace run and 2 or 3 easy longer runs (7-10 miles). I then alternate weekends
> for my long runs with a rest weekend after each long run weekend. I increase my long run mileage
> about 1- 2 miles each time... Any advice / motivation suggestions would be appreciated!
>
> Thanks Mae