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Original poster

London Marathon 2025 Panic!

31 replies

GE237 · 02/03/2025 18:31

Hoping for a bit of positive kick up the arse as am feeling very negative this eve in regards to my London Marathon training for April 😩

My training plan started in January and up until about 2 weeks ago I had built up a good distance up to 16k with a comfortable pace. Right after that I got hit with a bug followed by a rough chest infection which has knocked me off training for 2 weeks. I thought I felt good today and went out for my scheduled 18k long run. Absolute fail and I aborted 3k in as my breathing went to shit.

Am sat here now in an absolute panic that this marathon is in April. Is there any hope? 😪

OP posts:
Original poster
GE237 · 03/03/2025 08:05

@CanOfMangoTango errrr yes. Yes I did 😳 I got a bit too cocky I think seeing as my last few long runs were so easy so thought just jumping back in would be fine. Clearly not! Big reality check!

OP posts:
RunningJo · 02/03/2025 22:39

It takes time to get over a cough and cold so of course you can’t pick up where you left off. But that doesn’t mean you’re starting at the beginning either. Take the next week easy, run and walk if that’s easier.
It’s about time on your feet so even a walk is good training. You could also substitute a run and try swimming instead for a week or 2.

You will be fine, there is plenty of time to build the miles back up. Best of luck, it’s an incredible marathon to do!

FeelinTwentySixPointTwo · 02/03/2025 22:18

Depends what your aim is. Did you have a specific goal time in mind, or want to run the whole thing? If so then, in the gentlest possible way, I think you need to defer. If you have only got up to 8/9 miles in training so far - and that was in January- then you are going to really struggle to get back in track. By this point in training, for the marathon on 29 April, you should be properly into the long runs of 2h30 to 3hrs, but you can't just jump up to that without having built a base.

That said, if you're happy just getting round with a lot of walking, then go ahead and keep building your mileage slowly. Good luck with whatever you decide.

CanOfMangoTango · 02/03/2025 21:56

Hold on, so you've been ill for two weeks and your first day back you tried to jump straight back in to your schedule and do your 18k long run? Is that right?

JollyHostess101 · 02/03/2025 21:21

You're just entering monster march where the long longs are so could you convert your long runs into time rather than distance? And get some decent ones in upping the time on your in your feet rather than the distance?

If you just want to get round and not a time in mind I'd say yes...... I've done a fair few marathons I'm not super quick and always train to time and my longest long runs are only 3.30/3.45hrs

Could you look into run/walking or jeffing?

xsquared · 02/03/2025 21:16

There is still 8 weeks, so I am inclined to say yes.

Rather than writing off the last two weeks, look at it as cut back or recovery, which is still an important part of training.

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