Marathon Training

[lacticacid]

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first off how long is the london marathon?

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Umm, isn't this sort of defined by the fact that it is a marathon?

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uh...non-competitive marathons can vary in length. Thanks for your obviosly helpful post but

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uh... a marathon is always 26.2 miles.

[lacticacid]

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26.5 miles.

I can make as much time as would be needed to complete it in less than 4 hours. Given my fitness levels aren't great the amount of time i can train each week will be limited.

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3)You should train 3-4x a week. Now obviously you can't be doing full marathons every day (nor shouldnt) but every 5th week you should attempt to do the length of the marathon - too see how your progress is. You might just want to go for runs for 1-1.5 hours and try increase distance each time. Start off gradually though - maybe start off at 3x a week for 1 hour and try gradually increase time and then distance.


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You should not be running the length of a marathon in training. If you are training to just complete the marathon there is no need to do more then 22 miles. 20-21 miles 3 times is more then enough.

[lacticacid]

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Secondly, all the training plans have distances, how should i include speeds into it? Having seen what people have to say about miles 21-26 i feel training toward a 3 hours 20 time would give me enough room to struggle though the last part and still keep my side of the bet.

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Do not start off at a pace significantly faster then what you can maintain for the distance. If you are in 4:00 shape, you may want to run the first part at 3:50 pace but nothing faster. If you go out at 3:20 pace and are in shape for a 4:00 marathon you will crash and burn and it will be ugly.

[LetItBe]

I'll just address a few things:

1. Longest distance to run during training: while there is some debate on this, most people are now saying that running 26 or more is not necessary during training (mainly influenced by Hal's philosophy). I would say you do not need to.

2. Don't do speedwork for your first marathon training, especially with only 20 weeks to train. For beginning or average runners, speedwork is best left for the off-season when you are building your base. If you try to cram that in now you will probably just injure yourself.

3. The best advice here was the one about your starting pace. It is beyond easy to go out at a much higher pace than you are capable of sustaining, thinking "hey, this is easy!" and then crashing around mile 15. If you start at your pace, it will feel painfully slow. It is crucial that you start at your goal pace (assuming you are capable of meeting your goal, of course).

4. LOL @ "different marathon lengths." One of the funniest things I have read in a while.

Good luck, you can break 4 hours, just stay on a training schedule and do NOT try to cram in too much training as you get closer to the race and start freaking out.