Marathon questions for runners

[yoshii8]

I have always wanted to run a marathon, and I am seriously considering running the one in Ashland on October 10th, and I had a few questions for the runners out there.

 

I play soccer competitively, I have games on Sunday's and practice at least once a week. Is that going to be a problem w/ the training?

 

What steps should I take to get started?

 

Where do I find a good training program, and is from now until October 10th enough time to train?

 

I would also appreciate any other helpful tips that you have for me, as I have never ran a race before.

[homer]

Others probably have more experience than me, but when I ran a marathon my training was four days a week - medium runs on Tues and Thurs, short run on Sat, and long run on Sundays.

[John Brew]

It's been awhile since mine, but I followed Hal Higdon's novice training program fairly closely and liked it.

http://www.halhigdon.com/#marathon

 

I don't think playing soccer should be a problem, cross training is helpful. Just listen to your body.

 

I'd recommend reviewing the marathon course closely and as you get into your longer runs, try to find a training run that sort of mimics the elevation gains. In the marathon I ran there was a big hill at mile 18 that killed me. I wish I would have trained a bit more specifically for the course. Try to mix in some sprinting, too, even a little bit.

[Jimbo]

I've been running competitively for 28 years and have done 13 marathons.

 

That said, I don't want to be the one to pee on your Wheaties, but I can't recommend going from 0 to 26 in 19 weeks. Maybe concentrate on a more modest goal like a 10K or half-marathon to build up some experience.

 

But if you're up for it, the Hal Higdon plan John Brew mentioned is what most newbies adhere to. Go in and have someone analyze your form so you can be fitted with the proper training shoes.

 

Remember to respect the marathon, otherwise it will eat you up.

[SeriesFinale]

I ran cross-country and track and roadraces in high school and college, and just started running roadraces again (not really "competing" per se) earlier this year (I've ran a 5K and a 12K...two 10Ks coming up in June and July) after 15 years off, and am planning on doing my first half-marathon ever(longest race I'd run before was the Gasparilla 15K when I was younger).

 

That's in December in Vegas, and even that seems too short a time for me to prep for that distance--maybe I'm not giving myself enough credit though. But yeah, if you can go from nothing to 26.2 in just a couple months, you're a better (or crazier!) man than I am. I suppose you're in pretty good shape from the soccer, but man, all those miles on all that pavement can beat your bottom half down.

 

Good luck either way!

[owbc]

I just completed the Madison half-marathon last week and plan to do a full next year. I have slowly been building up my milage over a period of a year and a half. Over that time, I have suffered a number of injuries due to overextending myself which has prevented me from attempting a marathon to this point. From this, I have learned: 1. Don't increase your mileage too fast, better to train more shorter runs and only 1 or 2 long runs/week. 2. If something starts to hurt (more than normal soreness), stop right away and take a day off or reduce your milage 3. Develop a stretching routine 4. Try to run on soft surfaces as much as possible 5. It doesn't matter how fast you run or how many walking breaks you take as long as you get the miles in.

[OldHoss]

I agree with Jimbo and I'm proof positive of what can happen if you push too hard. I always ran more miles more often than I should have. Running tired leads to bad form; bad form leads to injuries. Now, two surgeries later, I've got no cartilage in my left knee and my running days are done

Build up slowly and take some days off. I don't think soccer will get in the way-- In fact I think it'll be a good way to ensure that you're not running too much.

I don't know if they still do it, but Badgerland Striders used to do a Marathon build up program on Saturday mornings at Lake Park in Milwaukee, starting in the spring to get ready for the Lakefront marathon. It was nice having that as the long run because it was supported with a couple water stops.

There are plenty of programs available on the web. Runner's World has some good advice: http://www.runnersworld.com/subtopic/0,7123,s6-238-244-255-0,00.html

Good luck!

[yoshii8]

Thanks for the advice guys! I'm not exactly going from 0-26 in 19 weeks. I've been running pretty much my whole life to train for soccer, and that includes usually running about 3-5 miles a couple of times a week for the last year or two.

 

I know it might be too difficult to do a full marathon, but I plan on training for it and making sure that I slow down if I feel my body can't handle it.

[PrinceFielder28]

Yes the badgerland striders do still have the build up training. I am going to be doing the training. I have done two half marathons in the last 6 months and will be running my first marathon the Lakefront in Oct.

[homer]

Good luck, PF28. A roommate of mine was a big marathon and triathlete guy (participated in an Iron Man once) and he said if you can run a half marathon you pretty much have the endurance to run a full marathon. During training I got up to 20 miles on one run and that was mostly to pass the mental barrier that I could actually run that far.

[M Skjellyfetti]

It probably will be tough to build up for your marathon, but it is also possible. Be careful and listen to your body as others have suggested. I would suggest checking out runnersworld.com for some tips for training. They have a lot of good resources there, and there are a few training plans for first-timers. One thing they tend to stress is that you can do a marathon while training 4-5 days a week. I just did my first marathon in February, and I started running from scratch (although with somewhat of a cardio base from other sports) in October. I know it wasn't ideal, and I actually encountered a few problems because I tried to do too much too fast (I tried to incorporate some speed training and my knee wasn't ready for it). However, I still was able to complete the marathon, and if your goal is to finish, not necessarily to run it too terribly fast, you should be fine. Just be careful and don't overdo it, and good luck!

[homer]

One warning: you might have to say goodbye to a few of your toenails. I lost three (and one of my big ones turned black) from running on the balls of my feet.

 

Also, depending on your, uh, body type you might have to lube up your nipples on long runs with a little vaseline (like Andy in The Office). You'd be amazed how many people get bloody streaks on their shirts at the end of a marathon from chaffing. Yes, that was too much information but you'll thank me later.

[Houlie24x]

I have played soccer all of my life and ran cross country one year in middle school. The year I ran cross country I felt like I lost a lot of speed and quickness when playing soccer. My endurance was a lot better, but I think it hurt my overall soccer game. If you are pretty serious about soccer, that is something to consider. Although I don't know if that was just me or if there are other ways to train to overcome that. Someone else might know better, but I'm just sharing a personal experience.

[Diskono]

I have played soccer all of my life and ran cross country one year in middle school. The year I ran cross country I felt like I lost a lot of speed and quickness when playing soccer. My endurance was a lot better, but I think it hurt my overall soccer game. If you are pretty serious about soccer, that is something to consider. Although I don't know if that was just me or if there are other ways to train to overcome that. Someone else might know better, but I'm just sharing a personal experience.

Did you do any sort of speed/strength training in practice? Things like track work, intervals, hills, etc? I've seen a lot of coaches who don't do very much of this, but I always found it helpful to do something like this at least once or twice a week. Interestingly, I felt like my cross country coaches in high school did more for my overall speed/quickness than my "distance" coaches in track ever did...though I don't think the track coaches really knew what they were doing.