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Long runs for slow first-time marathon runners

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Maz Heeps Feb 2015 11:59am, 13 Feb 2015 7,252 posts	Quote Pin Maz Heeps Still a long way from my marathon date of September but i have a 10 mile road race looming in 2 weeks which was always where i saw the jump ups beginning, most i have done in recent weeks training being 7.5 twice.... i would like to get an 8 or 9 under my belt for assurances sake, then weekends training runs will move up to always double figures in earnest for the long slow build up to twenty something....
Thespare Feb 2015 12:00pm, 13 Feb 2015 87 posts	Quote Pin Thespare Good luck!
RevBarbaraG Feb 2015 10:59am, 18 Feb 2015 3,076 posts	Quote Pin RevBarbaraG Nice to see this thread is still hanging in there!! I have no intention of doing another marathon this year (maybe in the future)..... but I can testify that a longest run of 18 miles is sufficient to get you to the end. Provided you are content to go slow, that is. I also did a planned walk-run strategy from the very start. It was forced on me by injury, but I think if and when I do another marathon that I will use RWR for my long runs and the marathon itself. At the moment, though, I'm content with 3-4 miles, three times a week. I have a niggling achilles tendon, and no reason to do more than that just now.
Maz Heeps Feb 2015 12:46pm, 18 Feb 2015 7,273 posts	Quote Pin Maz Heeps Planning the 9 tomorrow night, then it'll be a holding strategy til my 10 miler on 1st March.... After this i am still 29 weeks away from my marathon, but having got to 10 miles, i wonder how i maintain my core distance, but not ramp up the miles too soon.... not wishing my life away, but it feels too early to be on the plan!!
Ashgreeno69 Feb 2015 1:40pm, 18 Feb 2015 7 posts	Quote Pin Ashgreeno69 i am entering for London this year after 7 years of not getting in and not expecting too hence my running had tapered off i have been training since Nov and am up to 14 miles last sunday which is the longest run ive ever done the thought of another 12 miles fills me with dread i am finding the 2hr runs tough due to the loneliness the cold and general boredom and the after run tiredness i counteracted this with a lot of food after and this seemed to help. to be honest my concern is that i am only doing this LONG run and nothing in between its very hard to fit anything in during the week in fact its impossible will this one run per week be good enough i plan a 20-22 at some stage probably about 4 weeks b4 is that ample time do you think? My times are about 9.30 mins per mile but as the distance increases its getting slightly slower, i know i'll never sustain that for 26 i am aiming for 4.30 im probably doing all the wrong things in that i dont run more than once a week and my water intake when running is extremely minimal, toilet breaks i want to keep to a minimum!! anyone else experience similar?
Maz Heeps Feb 2015 2:50pm, 18 Feb 2015 7,274 posts	Quote Pin Maz Heeps Ashgreen, are you doing other sports in the week? If you're Xtraining in some way, or you have another major sport, then you might get away with it...
Crooked-smile Feb 2015 3:18pm, 18 Feb 2015 2,474 posts	Quote Pin Crooked-smile It's difficult to train for a marathon well on one run a week. For one thing, your body will find the longer runs more of a struggle if you're jumping from nothing. An ideal marathon training plan will have you running a longer run (say 10 miles) mid-week, so that it's not such a jump to 16+ at the weekend. from 0 to 20 is a big jump! the one person I knew who ran a marathon well running only once a week was super fit and did a load of x-training through the week I also think you're more likely to get injured just running once a week as your body will not get used to the running At the end of the day if you can't fit the training in, you can't fit the training in, but if you really can't fit the training in, maybe it's best to consider if running the marathon is really right for you. at the end of the day it's a massive commitment and needs to be treated as such.
RevBarbaraG Feb 2015 4:06pm, 18 Feb 2015 3,077 posts	Quote Pin RevBarbaraG I echo what the others have said.... even if you can only fit in a couple of 20 minute runs during the week, that would be better than doing nothing. They would need to be hard, though..... 5 minutes easy to warm up, then pretty hard for most of the remainder, a couple of minutes easier to cool down.
Ashgreeno69 Feb 2015 10:37pm, 18 Feb 2015 8 posts	Quote Pin Ashgreeno69 No other sports just work commitments means Runnings not possible at other times currently i just hate running in the dark also!! I'm loathe to run Sat and Sunday take all your points on board though I hadn't thought about the effect on my body yes 0 to 20 in an age !!! im 46 but I am committed otherwise I wouldn't do the long run either it's the only chance I'll get to run London so with two months to go I need to make time as you say maybe 20 mins midweek
Tim of MK Feb 2015 8:43am, 20 Feb 2015 2,030 posts	Quote Pin Tim of MK My four-day target is 4 hours, which I seem to recall equates to 9.09 mins a mile. I am doing my shorter (6-8 mile) training runs at 8.10 to 8.20 mins a mile. As to my longer run, I did yesterday's 14-miler (in the wind and rain) at 8.35 mins a mile and it was fine. Ten weeks to go. So far, good.