Marathon with very little training?

Armanino foods said:

Hi Everyone, I know you have already read this so many times... I am going to run my first
marathon in two weeks (end of April), but I am not very well trained, especially for what it
regards the long distances. My longest distance training was only 25 km ( 16 miles) 10 days ago.
Should I give up and have a decent training for marathon in the next fall, or should I run this
marathon (running at a vert slow pace)?

I think it depends on your total training volume and duration, previous athletic history, etc. Can
you provide additional background on how you've prepared over the last several months? chris

Age??? I think that might make a big difference.

I know it is possible for a 20 year old female. I've seen a marathon done with a 10k as her longest
run. She even stayed ahead of me until about mile 20 when she stopped for a potty break.

All I can say is go for it. If you have to walk it will be a great time to take photos. ;-)

Roger

Armanino foods wrote in message ...

Quoted message said:

Hi Everyone, I know you have already read this so many times... I am going to run my first marathon
in two weeks (end of April), but I am not very well trained, especially for what it regards the
long distances. My longest distance training was only 25 km ( 16 miles) 10 days ago. Should I give
up and have a decent training for marathon in the next fall, or should I run this marathon (running
at a vert slow pace)? Thank you in advance, Daniele

Roger 2k said:

Age??? I think that might make a big difference.

I know it is possible for a 20 year old female. I've seen a marathon done with a 10k as her
longest run. She even stayed ahead of me until about mile 20 when she stopped for a potty break.

All I can say is go for it. If you have to walk it will be a great time to take photos. ;-)

Roger

Personally I would recomment against it, but it you do try it, follow Roger's advice with the
additional factor of taking drinks at every water stop. IOW, stay well hydrated, even if it means
potty breaks.

Any distance you go beyond 16miles will be a personal distance record. So if you do run
it, enjoy it.

--
Ed Prochak running faqs.orgrunning faqOpen ↗ netiquette psg.comemily.htmlOpen ↗
--
"Two roads diverged in a wood and I I took the one less travelled by and that has made all the
difference." robert frost

Ed Prochak at said:

Roger 2k said:

Age??? I think that might make a big difference.

I know it is possible for a 20 year old female. I've seen a marathon done with a 10k as her
longest run. She even stayed ahead of me until about mile 20 when she stopped for a potty break.

All I can say is go for it. If you have to walk it will be a great time to take photos. ;-)

Roger

Personally I would recomment against it, but it you do try it, follow Roger's advice with the
additional factor of taking drinks at every water stop. IOW, stay well hydrated, even if it means
potty breaks.

At half of those water stops, you may want to take Gatorade or some other sports drink if its made
available. Less-experienced runners tend to err on the side of drinking too much water because
they're understandably concerned about dehydration-- but too much water and too little sodium can
cause real problems, and women are more at risk. Take along a few pretzels to munch on and stay away
from the ibuprofen, too. Just to be safe.

Quoted message said:

Any distance you go beyond 16miles will be a personal distance record. So if you do run it,
enjoy it.

I'll second that-- I've had female friends in generally good shape who've been able to do a marathon
with not much more training than what you describe. (Granted, they didn't exactly enjoy the
experience while it was happening all the time, but they're glad they did it.) You may even want to
decide to do it with a walk/run ratio from the start, so that the walking you may need to do doesn't
feel like a defeat. Many folks do marathons with a 9 minutes run/1 minute walk ratio-- but you can
adjust that as you see fit for your own circumstances throughout the race.

Have fun and report back!

--
Shalom, Peace, Salaam

George Grattan

[email hidden] (Armanino foods) wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

Hi Everyone, I know you have already read this so many times... I am going to run my first
marathon in two weeks (end of April), but I am not very well trained, especially for what it
regards the long distances. My longest distance training was only 25 km ( 16 miles) 10 days ago.
Should I give up and have a decent training for marathon in the next fall, or should I run this
marathon (running at a vert slow pace)? Thank you in advance, Daniele

I just completed my 1st Marathon - London (04:17:36) running for Whizz Kidz but it was really,
extremely painful. I dont want to put you off becuase it was worth it, the feeling as you finish is
just amazing and the atmosphere is awesome. I too had very little training, in total I trained for
about 7 weeks, but before I started to train I was doing regular 3-5 mile treadmill runs nearly
every other night, just as my normal fitness regime. I however soon found out that this meant
nothing in the world of long distance running. I soon threw myself into 10 - 15 mile distances and
damaged my legs, so much that I couldn't even run 6 miles without stopping in pain. I also nearly
broke my ankle and had to take 1.5 weeks out. I like you sent a message to this group as a last
resort and got some great advice, mainly from Ed, he even devised me a training plan! Basically I
had to rest my legs and cut down my training in order for them to recover fully. My next long run 13
miles went like a dream. I think I ran another 2 long runs in total, my last being 20 miles 12 days
before the marathon (My longest before that was 16ish) that also went pretty good but I was in pain.
I'm no expert far from it just giving you advice based on my limited real life experience. If I were
you I'd go for it and grit your teeth, just take it easy and enjoy yourself, I'm sure you'll finish
if you take it easy and dont risk injury. I actually pushed myself hard (For me!) as I was trying
for a sub 4:30 so I didn't really enjoy the experience past 16 miles, until I finished, the crowd
really carried me and got me moving. This may make you feel a little more comfortable - I read some
advice from Paula Radcliff recently which said if your running 16 miles that should be enough to
complete a marathon, however, you dont mention how many 16 mile runs you've done. Whatever you
decide to do good luck oh and remember to drink loads of fluid. I am planning on preparing fully for
my next marathon following the proper rules and all the advice there is available.

Good luck!

Richard

Hello,

I have great memories from my first marathon that I did in Stockholm. I had not done very long
distances before (half-marathon being the maximum) but I did not experience any cramps, pain or
anything of the like. I think you can run a marathon well and not suffer from it if you can do 10 -
15 km at an easy pace and you feel energetic after the training. What did it feel like for you after
you did the 25 km? Did you walk home in one piece?

The key is to start off at an ok pace for yourself and once you feel the crowd is going too fast,
slow down. Drink at first wherever possible. The liquid will help release oxygen in you body and
this helps to keep down pain in legs. Bananas are good food and their will not stick in the stomack,
whereas raisins can be a bit heavy.

What marathon are you planning to go to?

Kadri

Armanino foods <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi Everyone, I know you have already read this so many times... I am going to run my first
marathon in two weeks (end of April), but I am not very well trained, especially for what it
regards the long distances. My longest distance training was only 25 km ( 16 miles) 10 days ago.
Should I give up and have a decent training for marathon in the next fall, or should I run this
marathon (running at a vert slow pace)? Thank you in advance, Daniele

One factor may be the marathon set up itself. If you have to walk most of the way, you want one that
has the course open for about 7 hours. Some pack things up a lot sooner and it's probably no fun
showing up at the finish line and the party's over. Doug

Armanino foods said:

Hi Everyone, I know you have already read this so many times... I am going to run my first
marathon in two weeks (end of April), but I am not very well trained, especially for what it
regards the long distances. My longest distance training was only 25 km ( 16 miles) 10 days ago.
Should I give up and have a decent training for marathon in the next fall, or should I run this
marathon (running at a vert slow pace)? Thank you in advance, Daniele

Quoted message said:

My longest distance training was only 25 km ( 16 miles) 10 days ago.

Its possible, but you may be quite sore. If you been running for at least a year and are under 40,
you may be able to avoid injury.

First of all, I must thank you, because you were all very kind to answer me and to advice me. I am
Italian, the marathon I would like to run is in Padova ( 2500 runners will go for it).. It's a local
marathon... I am 29, 6 foot tall for 165 pounds ( not exactly a lightweight...). I've already run a
half marathon in 1.45 ( In Italy I will be defined as a Tapascione). Thank you again, have a nice
day Daniele

Quoted message said:

but you may be quite sore.

Umm, that will happen no matter what.

Bill R.

=============> - -- - (_!_)
OO

Bill flaccid Rodgers chirps:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

but you may be quite sore.

Umm, that will happen no matter what.

Not quite, with little to no marathon training you are talking about big time sore and lengthy
recovery not the usual discomfort for a few days. Then again, maybe a price he is willing pay
albeit unwise.

--
Caveat Lector "the further you go outside, the further you go inside" - B. McKibben Doug Freese
[email hidden]

Bill Rodgers said:

Well I've never run a marathon without sigificant soreness ans stiffness. You probably walk when
nobodys watching...

Train better and the soreness goes away faster.

--
Caveat Lector "the further you go outside, the further you go inside" - B. McKibben Doug Freese
[email hidden]

[email hidden] (Bill-always hard-Rodgers ) wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

but you may be quite sore.

Umm, that will happen no matter what.

Not true. When I am in "marathon condition" or 60 mpw with long runs, a marathon is only somewhat
harder than the long run. Maybe a couple days of soreness.

Now that's a good word. What does it mean apart from a 29 yo 6 foot 165 lb Italian who does halves
in 1.45???? Can I be one too? Jonathan "Armanino foods" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

First of all, I must thank you, because you were all very kind to answer me and to advice me. I am
Italian, the marathon I would like to run is in Padova ( 2500 runners will go for it).. It's a
local marathon... I am 29, 6 foot tall for 165 pounds ( not exactly a lightweight...). I've
already run a half marathon in 1.45 ( In Italy I will be defined as a Tapascione). Thank you
again, have a nice day Daniele

I just finished the London marathon, on average 30mpw during the last 6 months with one long run of
18miles and 2 10 mile runs in the last two weeks before marathon.

I averaged 9 min/mi and was looking good for a 4hr marathon until I reached mile 21, and was
compensated for my lack of long training runs, and started to feel real pain, and had to walk and
run the remainder. Still made it to the end, and found resolve to keep running through the last mile
it was a very very long mile. My finishing time was 4hr 19min.

I would probaly do it again, I know not very smart, but not always possible to get the training in.
It was a fantastic experience, I got to see Paula Radcliffe start for her record performance, run
with 33000 runners, and experience spectators 3 deep through most of the course. Hoping to do better
next year.

--mikeb

In article said:

Armanino foods said:

Hi Everyone, I know you have already read this so many times... I am going to run my first
marathon in two weeks (end of April), but I am not very well trained, especially for what it
regards the long distances. My longest distance training was only 25 km ( 16 miles) 10 days ago.
Should I give up and have a decent training for marathon in the next fall, or should I run this
marathon (running at a vert slow pace)?

I think it depends on your total training volume and duration, previous athletic history, etc. Can
you provide additional background on how you've prepared over the last several months? chris