Is anyone training for a marathon?

@FellRunner94 I had a stretch goal of around 2.15. I’m sure I would have got closer to that if it was on the well-marked course through London’s royal parks as originally planned.

My biggest concern at the moment (apart from a very sore knee) is the foot pain that started at about mile 11. Not sure what I can do to avoid that and I wouldn’t be able to continue with it for another 15 miles.

I will be on holiday in the Lake District in August so will have to do a long run while I’m there. I would love recommendations for a flat route where it’s not too easy to get lost 🙄😀

@fellrunner85 oh good to know thank you!
I’ve done a road before but this feels quite challenging...

@Icenii if you’re not sure how your feet will hold up maybe wait until October, take the training slow and hopefully hold off any injuries

I've done Coniston before @fellRunner94 - for a Lakes race it's actually surprisingly flat and runnable. Really beautiful course too. I'd like to do it again one day

I'm thinking of signing up for another half. I'm not sure my bunion will last a marathon. Anyone else have them? My foot was so painful after my last half to walk on. Felt like the arch had collapsed.

Currently running under a runpack, they've created me an improvement plan and have scheduled strength and flexibility sessions which are great but I don't yet have a race goal to aim for. My siblings have had a few moved to later in the year so not sure whether to wait or join them for October ones. I think they are doing Bournmouth.

May I join you? I’m running the Stirling marathon in October. I have a number of hms under my belt and prior to this year, 19 miles was my longest run. I’ve lost my mojo though and am at a point where I’m trying to build my stamina back up. Such useful advice for scheduling runs on here, I really appreciate it, thank you!

I am!

I’m doing my first trail marathon on the 6th June in Coniston... go hard or go home

How’s everyone finding their training? I need all the motivation and support I can get if you don’t mind me joining

What time were you hoping to run today, @annperkins , and are you aiming for a time in the marathon in October?

I did a half marathon today which went ok. Final time was 2.39 which was a bit disappointing but I had a sore knee from the start (and had to stop for a country wee) and we also had to keep stopping to find the correct way due to rubbish signposting.

I simply could not imagine doing the same distance again though. I’m feeling extremely daunted at the prospect of London in October now ☹️

Me too @AnnPerkins. I love the rural runs.

I just attempted hill reps. It was awful, soo much harder than I thought. I guess that shows how good they are. I managed 6 reps so a place to start from.

I'm doing London in October (my first marathon) and a virtual HM on 11th April (my second, first HM was 15 years ago though).

I did a 12 mile long run on Sunday which went ok (considering I'd forgotten to put the insoles back in my running shoes after they got soaked a few days before ) The main problem I experienced was needing the toilet for almost the whole time. I've got to pay more attention to what I'm eating and drinking before long runs.

I'm following the BUPA HM training plan for beginners which seems to be working for me so far. After the HM I will have five months to double the distance for London and I'm conscious that I have to keep the momentum going. The drier weather means the local footpaths are becoming runnable again and I'm really looking forward to doing some more relaxed long runs in the countryside.

I'm trying to train for a July race, but I'm struggling with motivation. I have just about kept up with running over the winter, barely any long runs though. I'm really looking forward to the weekend because I'm meeting mates TWICE for runs on Friday and Sunday. This last year has made me realise how much I like to run with people. Not every day but even once a week is great for motivation and especially on a long run when you just need to grind the miles out, a bit of company to chat rubbish with is wonderful.

I've got fatter and a bit slower over winter so I'm hoping for some magical transformation now the weather is nice. Fingers crossed

I'm still not convinced my races will happen which I think is part of the issue. One has been moved this week from June to the week after my big race in July 🙄 the times I was running last year seem like a dream now - I'm not even close. I'm glad my July race is a hilly trail ultra so I can take my eye off the clock a bit

Thanks @fellrunner85! I have just downloaded an intervals app which I will try this week. I already have a route planned for Tuesday which includes a set of 50 steps which a plan to run up and down a few times but I will definitely do intervals this week. Do you think the treadmill could be of any benefit for any kind of drills or is running on the roads better?

How many times a week do you run? What does your running schedule look like when you are training for a race?

Hi @ellie2105 - ideally, replacing one of your shorter runs with an interval session would have the biggest payoff.
Something brutal like a 10 min warm up, then 10x400m, and a 5 min cool down would have big results, esp compared to your current steady 10 or 12k.
Some really good ideas are on the runners world website here:
www.runnersworld.com/training/a33436890/running-interval-workouts/

I don't eat before any runs of less than 15 miles ish, but if I'm going out for a properly long run I'll have weetabix and/or a banana first. I always have coffee though!

Treadmill inclines don't really replace a hill session so tbh I wouldn't bother with that - what you want to do is find one steep hill and run up it, as hard as you can, then jog down slowly, for half an hour.

Thanks for the advice @fellrunner85
I would be happy to add in an extra (shorter) run during the week but when I was running 4/5 times a week previously I hurt my ankle and had to take 3 weeks off.
When you say speed, do you mean a shorter run at a faster pace for the whole thing or intervals? I meant to say that I have a treadmill which I hope to use for intervals, we are having air con put in our summer house at the moment as I find it really difficult to exercise when I’m too hot.

As for hills, there aren’t too many hills around where I live so I may have to find one and run up and down it several times! Or would running on the treadmill on an incline work ok?

Lastly what kind of thing do you eat before a longer run? Currently I have some high protein yoghurt with a few nuts/seeds and a few blueberries about 90 mins - 2 hours before I head out. It seems to be ok but I wondered if there was anything better?

Thanks again for the advice and sorry for all the questions! X

Totally agree re time on feet, @iVampire - too many people get hung up on hitting exact mileage IME, whereas time on feet is a better measure. Not least because, say, an 18 mile hilly trail run will be harder and arguably have more training benefit than 20 miles on a flat road. I also need to shift a bit of weight before my next race, I think, but equally I don't want to under-fuel. That said, when I ran my marathon PB I was about 5lb heavier than I am now, so I'm trying not to get hung up on hitting my theoretical "racing weight" of 8st 12.

And @ellie2105 - your training plan at the moment is pretty good, but you need to make the most out of your three runs if you're not going to do an extra run a week. At the moment your runs are all pretty samey - two middle distance runs and one longer one a week- so I'd suggest swapping one of your shorter runs for a proper speed or hill session. Either that, or do your 10k at HM race pace of 9min miles (which should pretty much be a 10k tempo run for you).

Given your current 10k PB, I'm wondering if sub 2hrs will be a bit of a stretch, but with some decent training - including speed sessions running at less than 9min miles if poss - it should be doable

Really good advice. I think I will just be happy to finish. I was choked when I did my first half, could not believe I ran that far.

Now a ten mile run is easy, not something I thought I would say.

For anyone reading this thread and wondering about running, it all started with c25k 4 years ago because I couldn’t run for a bus!

So if I can do it, anyone can

Yes!!

I have a charity place for the London Marathon (rolled over from last year, when I did the virtual). It’s my first RL marathon - I’ve done lots of Halfs and one 20 mile event in the past

I agree about having goals. My dream is sub-4 (Half PB is 1:53, so a definite ‘stretch’ target, but as I said, I can dream). Realistic but good target is 4:30, third tier is 5 and after that it’s ‘just get round!’ I was slower in the virtual, but I wasn’t fully fit, it was cold, wet and had no sense of occasion!

I need to map out my proper training plan. At the moment, I’m running regularly (3 or 4 times a week up to about 8-10 miles for the longest) with the aim of consolidating basic fitness at Half level (by which I mean that if someone told me any day to run a Half tomorrow, I could do it in a reasonable time)

I’m also doing strength and conditioning at least once a week.

I’ve got two virtual Halfs and one RL one booked already - first next month - and will add more

When in proper training, one of the runs will be a challenge run (intervals/hills/tempo) and one will be long slow distance - aiming to cumulate with five weeks 18, 18, 20, 22, 20; then taper for 2-3 weeks. If I can get to the fitness when I did the 20 mile event at the tail end of 2019 (decent time, and could have kept going) then I’ll be happy

Agree that you need to get in to the habit of just dropping in to target marathon pace - it needs to feel comfortable and automatic

Remember to do as many of your long training runs on similar terrain to the race - so for me that’s flattish roads

I also need to lose a bit of weight! My best running weight is about half a stone lower than my ‘normal’ weight

Make sure your kit is really comfy (including in the wet) and sort your nutrition and hydration out by experimenting during training. Some gels give some people diarrhoea and that’s something to find out beforehand not on the day!!

And my final thought is not to get too hung up on the mileage of each run - some days can go badly. Think about time on feet as well. If you’d aimed your do 20miler, but ‘only’ cover 18 in say 3:30, that’s still good enough

Hi I wonder if I could ask for a quick bit of advice too? I am training for a half in September (my first). I am doing it with my husband to raise money for the hospital which is looking after my premature niece so it’s important to me to do well (I’d like to finish in 2 hours)

I am currently running 3 times a week. Tuesday 10k, Thursday 12k and Saturday is my longer run which I am increasing by 1k per week. I did 16k yesterday in 1hr 29 mins. I currently do 10k in about 58 mins.

Does this seem ok? I know I should probably do a shorter, faster run too but I don’t like to run more than 3 times a week as I am fairly injury prone.

I also have a spinning bike and do 3 x 45 min endurance classes and 2 x 45 hills classes per week.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated (sorry for long post!)

I would suggest having an A goal, a B goal and a C goal, so you're not disappointed on the day.
One of those goals should just be to finish, and the others can be different time goals. But honestly, just getting round the first time is a massive achievement. Don't put too much stock on a sub-5.

2 hours 22 is my best half time. So far anyway! With that in mind I think 5 hours is achievable.

What sort of times have you run your halves in, @WingBingo? Some people say that doubling your half time and adding 20 minutes is a good rule of thumb for calculating a predicted marathon time, but I reckon that's a bit ambitious for the first time.
It roughly works for me now though.

Ooh and I need to start some strength training too, I have managed to avoid injuries after 4 years of running, don’t want to start now. At the age of 46 I need to be wary of that.

I feel I’ve hijacked your thread OP, but all good advice for us to share I hope.

Thank you so much!

Yes it is my first. I have done 3 half’s and I didn’t need to take water or fuel so I know I need to experiment with that.

I can add in an extra run on the Monday after my long run I think.

So far I have stamina but not speed! I know I need to do tempo and intervals to nail that. I’m off to do a flat run alongside a canal today, will be a treat after the 10 miles on hills last week!

As for my aim? I want to finish in under 5 hours, a good goal for my first I think.

Sorry, noticed a missing word in my post above - should've read a half is roughly twice as hard as a 10k. Oops.