Edinburgh marathon - good for 1st time marathon?

[Urbanvoltaire]

I'm wanting to do a marathon next year & this suits my timescale so far as its at end of May & on a bank holiday. Has anyone done it before?

I'm good for running 10 miles just now & feel quite confident I'd manage the training plan ok. I'm a bit of a plodder & have been wanting to step up my pace (9.5 min miles).

I'd really appreciate tips & opinions so thanks in advance.

[newgirl]

Yes - it was my first marathon. Not as crowded as London. V beautiful and varied course. Only pain is waiting for a bus to take you back to start - but better than running back up!

[FairyBasslet]

I've signed up for this as my first marathon. By the way, I wouldn't describe 9:30 min miles as a plodder. I'm 11-12 minute miler for longer distances - now THAT'S a plodder

[Doyouthinktheysaurus]

Go for it! Edinburgh always gets good reviews from what I've read!

9:30 minute miles is not a plodder though

I'm with FairyBasslet nearer the back of the pack! My long runs are normally 11+ minute miles.

Do remember though that your long runs should be at an 'easy pace' very conversational, do speedier stuff over much shorter distances.

I've just signed up for the Three Forts off road Marathon and a bit, it's 27.2 miles that's in May next year. Here's me worrying if I'll get round within the 6 hour cut off It is extremely hilly though!

[feetheart]

Anyone else got Brighton as their first one?

I did the Silverstone Half-marathon this year and really enjoyed it but swore I would never be able to 'do the same again' as I crossed the finish-line after 13.1 miles. Guess what I'm doing in April? And I will be a happy 11.30 plodder :)

Do we need a support thread?

[Doyouthinktheysaurus]

I'm near Brighton feetheart but have never done it. My neighbours have and absolutely loved it but I have a strange aversion to seafront running for someone who lives by the sea so it doesn't float my boat! It's meant to be very well organised and with good support, gets very good reviews too, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

A support thread would be really good. After I crossed the finish line of the London marathon last year I truly thought I would never do it again and it has taken me nearly 2 years to bring myself to sign up for another! Whilst parts of it were incredible it was so unbelievably painful and never ending......I have no idea why I'm doing it again

The only difference this time is it will be a much smaller affair and hardly anyone apart from cows and sheep will see me as I fall apart on the South Downs

[feetheart]

As an exile from the seaside who now lives as far away from the sea as is possible () the idea of seafront running is VERY appealing, not sure that alone will get me through though :)

Think I need to sort out a training plan and see where I am supposed to be by now!

Will def need support :)

[Clure]

I' m doing Brighton! Its my first marathon.

[Doyouthinktheysaurus]

Have we convinced you to enter yet Urban

feetheart my plan until marathon training starts proper is to maintain a good consistent base of running reasonable mileage with lots of hill running. For me that's about 35 miles a week, plus I want to try and introduce a 5th run but last time I did that I got injured Then come the new year I'll pick up a programme properly.

I ran a little bit of the route my marathon will take today and frankly, I can't imagine how I will manage all the hills, none of it is flat!

I'm looking at Hal Higdon Intermediate 2 programme but I'll probably make some adjustments and fudge it a bit.

[feetheart]

Hello Clure, its my first too and probably my only.

Doyouthinktheysaurus - I try to avoid hills. Silverstone was very, very flat. Are there many on the Brighton route - starts to have palpitations remembering Ditchling Beacon on London to Brighton cycle ride many moons ago :)

I need to build up to a reasonable weekly mileage after taking most of the summer off through injury and laziness. My 'reasonable' is rather lower than yours though and I only go out 3 times a week though I may be adding an extra 'little' run in as DS (just 7) wants to do the local Santa Run with me so he needs a bit of practice.

[Doyouthinktheysaurus]

feetheart Brighton has one hill in the first half I think and the rest is pretty flat, mostly along the seafront. I'm not sure ow steep it is to run up, I've only driven up it but don't think it's too bad tbh. Nothing like Ditchling Beacon I promise! I've done London 2 Brighton too and that hill is an absolute never ending hell!

I had a lot of time off over the summer too My 2 week holiday stretched out to nearer 7 weeks of very little running! It's so easy to get out of the habit and then you lose the motivation. I found once I got running again regularly I was able to build up my miles again pretty quickly and now I feel pretty much back to where I was.

3 times a week is fine. We all work with what we can fit in. Nothing I do seems to make me any quicker so I've learned not to push myself too hard

For anyone doing a marathon or thinking about it I highly recommend the Marathon Talk podcasts. They talk about all things running, have really inspiring interviews and very interesting training talk slots. It's not all about marathons, if you like running any distance you'll enjoy it....

[Clure]

Hi all great to have a thread for support!

I have been running for quite a few years, I also do triathlon, spin, combat and pump at the gym. I guess I train for a minimum 6 hours a week. I think now I will swap some of the classes for runs. I am planning on doing the "Run Less Run Faster" training plan. A couple of my friends used this plan and said they definitely improved their time and is very do-able - basically with 3 runs a week (one long, one tempo, one interval) along with a base of other fitness training such as cycling, weights, swimming etc.

At the moment I am struggling with some such muscle strain in my hamstring/butt area and am thinking of visiting my local sports physio to get checked out as it is ongoing and is hampering my running!

[Doyouthinktheysaurus]

Clure I would definitely recommend getting yourself to a physio. Now is the time to sort out any niggles so you start your training programme at your best.

[Urbanvoltaire]

Thanks for all the replies, I've had a change of plan & am now doing the Brighton marathon as my first in April (I live in London but come from Scotland hence my Edin query).

My training (proper) will start at Christmas but I'm doing a 10km in a few weeks so in training for that anyway.

The marathon milage daunts me, I hope I get through it injury free. My sister did the London marathon last year & had a terrible time with an Achilles injury 2-3 months before it so missed a chunk of training.


Let's keep this going as a marathon support thread (or start a fresh one?)

Keep running !! (strictly style)

[Clure]

Doyouthinktheysaurus, I went to the sports physio tonight and he said I have an impact injury in my hip. This has lead to the muscles around buttocks becoming very tight, also my pelvis is slightly misalighned (which I knew about) Also a very tight hamstring which he said were all secondary muscular pain caused by my hip problem
He did some deep and very painful manipulations and "digging" into my muscles to try to relieve tightness. I can do only swimming with a float between legs or upper body and core strength - nothing with legs. I go back monday. He said no running yet. I am gutted. I am trying to be sensible but if you are a regular runner I get twitchy if I can't!!
I am also taking ibuprofen and he gave a couple of specific exercises to do and also doing heat packs

[Doyouthinktheysaurus]

Being injured is every runners worst nightmare Clure

It's good that you are getting it sorted though and hopefully you won't be off for too long. It really is worth doing exactly what the physio says and giving your body some time to heal. I hate not running, hate it but I've learned the hard way that running through an injury just makes it worse.

I had loads of time off in the summer because I was lazy and the dses were off and while it felt really hard coming back initially, within 6 weeks I was back to normal running distances. You really don't lose as much fitness as you may think and if its only a week or 2 of no running you won't lose any! And you'll be starting your marathon training in the best shape possible.

Oh, exciting Urban, welcome to the dark side Staying injury free can be the toughest bit really. Gradual increase in miles is so important and a whole lot of luck is involved tbh.

I made it through my training injury free last time but got injured halfway round I then spent the next 6 months trying to shift it and get back to where I was......which kind of explains why it's taken me nearly 2 years to give it another go.

I did finish the marathon in an okay (for me) time but it was an ITB problem which are really hard to shift and very uncomfortable!

[Clure]

thanks for your kind words and good advice doyouthinktheysaurus

[Poosnu]

I just loved Edinburgh. It's net downhill so a relatively easy course, and not as hot weather (generally) as mararhons in the south east - making for much easier running conditions. The only downside was the lack of crowds as you went out alog the coast.

Good luck with training whatever you go for!

[Pinkglow]

Edinburgh was my brothers first marathon and aside from the freakishly hot weather over that weekend he really enjoyed it. I supported him near the end with a mile to go and the crowds were pretty big making for a good atmosphere.