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Anselm Murphy
Water Boy
Water Boy


Joined: 24 May 2001
Posts: 69

PostPosted: Tue Oct 15, 2002 6:13 am    Post subject: Marathon Training Reply with quote

I have applied for the London marathon.
My current level of fitness is that I can run 8 miles in one hour but after that I'm knackered. Could maybe do 12/13 miles in 2 hours
My goal time for the marathon is 3:30, that's a pace of about 7.5 miles per hour.

My question is, given that I start training for it with 4.5 months to spare could I get away with doing a run only every second day ( providing they were sensible lengths: eg: rota of short, medium and long runs: ie: 3.4 miles, 8 miles and 12 miles or something like that), obviously doing slightly longer runs nearer the time.

This is because I couldn't stand the idea of running 5 or 6 days a week and probably wouldn't have much time for it easier. Also it seems that this might be the wiser approach as my brother who ran every single day for about a year has all sorts of injury problems and if I got an injury I might not have enough time to sort it out before the marathon.

Or am I going to have to go nuts and run every day??


By the way Im not sure who's username this is under but if it says Anselm then its wrong as this is his brother Ronan.

Thanks for your advice
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Dan
Chief Pontificator
Chief Pontificator


Joined: 22 Mar 1999
Posts: 9334
Location: Salem, OR

PostPosted: Tue Oct 15, 2002 7:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

My opinion: If you don't like running daily, then running a marathon makes no sense... Heading into a large challenge with the mindset of doing as little as possible to prepare generally isn't a good plan...

Quote:
it seems that this might be the wiser approach as my brother who ran every single day for about a year has all sorts of injury problems

Well, running every other day and not taking off a day all year leaves a few gradients in between!! How about running 6 days a week or a day off every other week? Be creative, there are lots of ways to build a regular training plan without overdoing it.

Dan
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Anselm Murphy
Water Boy
Water Boy


Joined: 24 May 2001
Posts: 69

PostPosted: Tue Oct 15, 2002 9:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Im doing this with the mindset of doing however much is necessary to get my goal time of 3:30.
I may well be working 6 days a week and spending my day off travelling somewhere quite far away and then back so won't have that much time to go running in.
So do you think it is possible if I ran every other day? If not I might do 5 days a week but I think any more would tire me out and possibly injure me as each run would probably be pretty long.
Im just being realistic.
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Dan
Chief Pontificator
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Joined: 22 Mar 1999
Posts: 9334
Location: Salem, OR

PostPosted: Tue Oct 15, 2002 9:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Im just being realistic.

Me too. Wink

Realistically, I'm probably the wrong person to ask for several reasons: I don't understand the appeal of the marathon, I don't believe in preparing for something with the mindset you've stated, and I don't believe in doing something just for the sake of doing it. If I were preparing for a marathon, my focus would be on getting prepared as possible, not on figuring out how much I need to do to get prepared. I don't see the latter as being very productive or positive.

Dan
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Distance_Guru
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Joined: 09 Mar 2002
Posts: 1280
Location: Nebraska

PostPosted: Tue Oct 15, 2002 9:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

wrote:
Heading into a large challenge with the mindset of doing as little as possible to prepare generally isn't a good plan...


I second that. What I would recommend is to phase in your running. Start with running two days in a row then taking a day off, do this for a few weeks then go to 3 in a row 1 off 2 in a row 1 off then 3 in a row. Then go to 3-1-3. But basiclly if you aren't prepared to eventually get up to at least 5 to 6 days a week running then you probably had better stick to running 5ks.

As for increasing your ability to run fast over longer distances. One thing I found when I was 19 and training at a really high level for the first time is that with my long runs, when I would go farther than I ever had for the first time I would slow greatly past the farthest point I had run previously. For example the first time I ran 20 miles I had only done a 16 miler for my longest run before. And in the 20 mile run my last 4 miles were pretty slow I finished that run in about 2:34. But after I had covered the distance my body adapted quickly and my next 20 miler (over the same coarse) three weeks later I ran in a 2:16 with a final 10 miles faster than my first. So just keep pushing on those long runs and they'll get better.
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