Marathon training gone to the dogs- is there still time?

[thenewaveragebear1983]

I have a ballot place at London 2025 which is on 27(?) April next year. I had a great training schedule which started on 15th September with a half marathon (I was comfortably at that level , in August I ran 23km training run etc) . However, in that half or soon after I trapped a nerve in my hip and was 8 weeks out of action. I'm now absolutely full of cold/flu, and obviously it's December. Life is crazy busy and I have just missed another weekend training because I'm so unwell.

Is there still time to train? I have just under 5 months. I don't think I can go back to my original schedule, I will need to rework it for the 4.5 months now. I can run a few times a week and a long one at weekends if I work it properly. I'm absolutely not fussed about time at all, I'm seeing this as a once in a lifetime opportunity and just want to do it and enjoy it. I was running the other day, did a 10km, and was thinking i could run at this pace indefinitely, and after such a long injury i was just so glad to be running but I'm being realistic about whether it's actually feasible. The jump from 21 to 42 is massive.

I'm thinking if I can continue to run 3/4 times a week with a long one at the weekend, and try to do a super long one every month then it might be doable?? I have a good base level of fitness and have experience of long distances .

Yes. Especially with your base level of fitness. Lots of marathon trading plans are 16-20 weeks long even for beginners.

Yes but you need to start now not January!

It's completely possible. I did it last year and trained up from only running 5k regularly to marathon distance starting about this time of the year.

Plenty of time. Especially if your goal is to just complete it.

Definitely- you are 21 weeks out (I know because I’m running Manchester on the same day!). And I’m injured too.

Find yourself a 16 week plan and have a look what the long run distance is in week 1. Then very gradually over December build up to that as your long run. Think volume not length at this stage.ie plenty of shorter runs, mostly easy, to build your base up.
Good luck!

Thank you!!! 🙏 yes, will start now, (well, once I've shifted this lurgy) and i have been keeping up shorter runs. And bootcamp/cross training.

Still in the game 👍 and at least I don't need to do any fundraising as I have a ballot entry

I run several HMs a year so found when I entered marathon training, the essentials were a 14, 16, 18 & 20mi run beyond my regular training mode. I did them from the January- April and found it all quite managable.

I did the London marathon after never running further than a half marathon. My goal was just to finish though and I didn’t mind how long it took.
It wasn’t fast or pretty but it’s doable - I ran about 15 miles on sheer adrenaline and crowd support and then ran/walked the rest.
It’s an INCREDIBLE experience!

I’m running London virtually and I bloody hope there’s still time because, so far trainings been shit!

Just as gaining fitness isn’t linear, neither is
losing it. You should be fine, as long as you’re not going for a PB.

And you could add in some strength work too, to give you extra oomph and protect your hips.

@YellowAsteroid I do already do bootcamp kind of strength training, usually with weights up to about 20kg ish, so not loads. And I'll sometimes do a running club which is quite technique focussed, eg this week it's hill reps, next week it might be low hr etc.

I'm not too worried about my fitness per se, I think I'm more worried about my mental capacity to just get my head down and my leg giving up on me.

Assuming I'm over this cold by the weekend or Monday I'm going to aim to do 20+ km at a nice gentle pace this weekend, then look at a 16 week programme from half to full.

I think anyone who can even contemplate a marathon will be OK

Yrs,
A deadlifter

Yes, loads of time. I’m not upping my distance and doing any real marathon training until January and also doing London and aiming for a PB.

I should add I am running currently, just focussed on shorter speed work for another few weeks.

Since starting this thread I've had the most rotten cold and have hardly run! I did run club last week for some hill laps and I'm going again tonight for a 7-8km HR session. But still not really picked up any training. I am finally feeling a bit better though so hopefully I'll be back into it after today.

@thenewaveragebear1983 hope you feel better soon. I’d not ran in 3 weeks due to being wiped out with flu but managed 3 miles yesterday and will do 4 tomorrow all being well. I aim to be back to 10 miles by Christmas and then start mile building again from there for London.

We got this. Plenty of vitamin C, water and anything else to pep you up.

I have felt a bit better this week, I did 10km at run club on weds and I just did 5.5km at a decent pace today. I'd really like to get a long one (eg 20k) in before the end of the year so I'm ready to hit the ground running (hah) in January

You've got loads of time. 16 week plan on Runna or bespoke 18 weeks or whatever it is. Get on with it how tho.

Have you decided on a training plan yet? I think in your (running) shoes I would focus on building up your weekly volume rather than focusing on the length of your long run. The danger is always that we push too hard in the early days and then get injured

You’ve got loads of time.

I did London this year (it’s amazing, you’re going to love it)
I has a pretty good base fitness as a regular club runner, but that was wiped out by a lingering chest infection in October and November last year.

I officially started my training this week last year two weeks behind schedule. I was so worried I wasn’t going to catch up and I’d lost too much fitness, but taking the time to get better put me in a better position to start properly.

dont rush to get to the big miles, you’ve got a long way to go.

@Onewildandpreciouslife (love your username) I asked chat gpt to do me one but I need to tweak it a bit. It's almost ready.

I ran 7.5km today, it felt really hard work. I'm not eating brilliantly at the moment, and I slept terribly, and it's day 2 of my period so all those taken into account it was probably ok. This week ahead I have tempo run at run club, a morning 5km (maybe 2) and then next weekend I'm hoping to get sone actual distance under my belt. Christmas week we will run but probably not fit in long ones but dh and I usually get a run in most days over Christmas when we're off work.

I’m in the same boat - doing London this year and had started to build a good base but then got a horrid sickness bug. I’ve done 2 runs back and both have nearly killed me! So disheartening. I never find running easy but it was starting to get easier!

I think the final straw has been reached unfortunately- since I last posted, on 20th December I have been suffering with Bell's palsy, which means I have total paralysis in the left side of my face. I have been so unwell, and I'm still signed off work. There's no chance of me running anytime soon and I'm just not going to be able to get the training in, a month off at this stage is just going to set me back so much. I have no idea how long recovery will take. So I'm going to have to tap out I think 😢 I don't know if I can defer at this stage, does anyone know? It was already a deferred place.

Oh no, that’s sounds terrible. Im sorry you’re feeling unwell.

Unfortunately you can only defer London once. If you really want to do it, then It’s possible to walk the whole thing, they have pacers walking the route. Having said that 8 hours of walking is not to be underestimated.

Focus on getting better and see where you are at the end of the month.

Definitely see how you are in a month as @potplant suggests and you can always walk it.
I have just had a bad fall and am working my way through some soft tissue injuries and a couple of fractures (upper limb fractures thankfully in this case) but I have been doing what I can until im back running. Abs work, long slow walks, just to keep moving.
Do not lose hope @thenewaveragebear1983