How I did it: I VERY loosely followed Hal Higdon's intermediate 1 training plan.  Prior to starting training, I had run a half marathon, but I started with a long run of 8 miles.  I topped out with a long run of 19.5.  Basically, I did not log nearly as many miles as I should have, but I was still able to come pretty close to my goal time in the marathon (finished at 4:38, hoped for 4:30). 

I ran the Lakefront Marathon in Milwaukee.  It was a flat course with cool weather, which was fantastic.  If you can find a marathon like that to race as your first, I'd highly recommend it.  Conquer the distance first, and if you feel like being hardcore and doing mega-hilly, hot races after that, fine. 

Lessons & tips: Run as much as you can, but listen to your body.  If you get a 40 mile week in and something's starting to twinge, make the next week an easier week.  Until you have a solid mileage base, hold off on any speedwork.  I didn't do any speedwork while training for my marathon.  Part of me wishes that I had, but part of me is glad that I didn't.  I stayed injury-free the entire time and finished my race, which was the main goal. 

Figure out why you want to run a marathon, and keep that reason in your head every time you want to freak out because you missed a run, or you had to resort to walking, or you have to go to bed at 9 on a Friday in order to get up and beat the heat for your 4 hour long run on Saturday. 

Running isn't easy; otherwise everyone would do it.  Keep that in mind during your long runs.  Also keep in mind that Oprah ran a marathon.  (And she beat me by 9 minutes.)  If she can do it, so can you.

Figure out what types of sports drinks they'll have at your marathon, and try to incorporate those drinks into your training.  Or, plan on carrying your own fluids in a fuel belt.  They are handy, and that way you don't have to get bogged down at the aid stations.

People like to spend lots of money on fancy gels.  They're pretty much sugar with some electrolytes mixed in.  If you're drinking a sports drink, you should be fine for electrolytes.  If you need more carbohydrates on your runs, I found that gummy bears worked just as well as gels, but for about a tenth of the price.  I tried to consume ~100 calories of carbs every 45 minutes during my runs.  You may need more or less.

Resources: mapmyrun.com is awesome for planning routes

marathonguide.com is awesome for picking a marathon

halhigdon.com has lots of good training info

community.livejournal.com/runners is filled with tons of great people who will motivate the crap out of you and give you great advice/encouragement

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Oct 24, 2009, 09:18PM PDT | 0 comments | 2 cheers