First time marathon?

Question

I will be running my first marathon (The Honolulu Marathon on Dec. 9) and I was wondering if anyone has any good websites or advice on training. I have 6 months, so I am sure that is plenty of time to train, but I want to make sure I approach training right so I can avoid injury. Any input would be appreciated!

The marathon is a little over 26 miles...I don't know the exact fraction.

Hawaii is hot, but I live here (for now) so I'm used to the heat!

Thanks for all the help!

Answer 1

I have run 3 Marathons already and I never ran 5 years ago. I started to run to get healthier and fell in love with doing it. I would definetly look at running your longer runs with someone or a group. If you go to the Marathon's website alot of times there will be a training group that will run together. Running 10 miles or less is ok by yourself, but anything over that gets boring, even with music. This is the website I have used for every one of my Marathon trainings. I wanted to run my first one in 3 hours and 45 minutes and with the training it prepared me for it, and I finished in 3 hours and 44 minutes and 48 seconds. So it definetly prepared me! It is one of the greatest feelings crossing that finish line, something you cannot explain in words. Keep your focus on your goal, because their will be some aches and pains along the way. When you cross the finish line, stand there for a minute and just appreciate the moment, that was advice I got and followed through with. Good LUCK!!

http://www.halhigdon.com/marathon/index.htm

Answer 2

some tips: don't try to break any records, make sure you start your training at a comfortable pace. once yoou begin to get in shape, you will be able to try out some 5-10 kilometer races, so that you get to know what running in a race is like. it might help if you find someone to run with, it won't get so boring. Also, don't be afraid to slow down during the actual race, it is better to finish than to go out fast and die. you might want to try this link, i think there is a training schedule for a marathon where you only have to run 3 days per week. i've never actually done a marathon before, but i did a half, and it was pretty hard. i think that if you have six months though, it should be plenty of time to get in shape and prepare for the race. be careful of the heat, running too hard in the heat can cause dehydration, which can actually damage your brain. good luck, try out this link and look around the website for the thre day per week training guide. the one diesigned for the half-marathon helped me a lot.

Answer 3

I ran my first marathon in Jan 2006 and got hooked. Just completed my 8th this past Sunday. I have had great success with Hal Higdon's program. Basically I put the recommended distance in a spreadsheet and recorded my workouts against them. Good to run some shorter races so that you get a feel for running with crowds. Also, make sure you figure out what fuel (food the day and evening of longer runs) that work best for you. Finally do not do anything unique the week before your race. Plan your running and run your plan. Good luck!

Answer 4

Build your mileage consistently but slowly - no more than about 10% additional miles per week. Long slow runs once a week (or every other week) are critical to building endurance. This works much better than running a similar distance day after day. If you can run about 16 miles or so without too much trouble on a training run before the event you should be able to finish. But this is kind of a minimal number. You might want to push more for 20 miles or just over.

Answer 5

You have received a lot of good answers. My favorite is www.runnersworld.com Also a marathon used to just be a long run, but in the London Olympics of 1908 it was going to be 26 miles, and it was decided it would be nice to start in front of Buckinham Palace so 385 yards were added. Now the official distance is 26 miles 385 yards. Good luck!

Answer 6

Here are two websites that offer good marathon training/coaching.

The first is a site with marathon coach Art Liberman

The second is a site that offers coaching from Professional Athletes

Good Luck!!!

Answer 7

Just remember this~The first Marathon runner died immediately after delivering his message. Hawaii is very hot. Why do people run marathons?

Answer 8

http://www.syracusechargers.org/info/marathon.html
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2001-05-07-marathon-table.htm
Hope these help ....good luck
ps how far is this marathon?