Advice to the first time marathoner....

A good friend of mine sent the below screenshot to me and asked me to help a friend…

Not knowing much about this runner's "palmares" so to speak…  my advice follows.

From: Chris

Sent: Thursday, September 06, 2012 9:24 AM
To:
Subject: Fwd to Cowart?

Allison (below) is a good friend of mine – do you know (or would you forward to Michael) of any good and reputable online resources for first-time marathoners?

From: Michael
Sent: Friday, September 07, 2012 4:36 PM
To: 'Chris

Subject: RE: Fwd to Cowart?

Good questions…

Firstly Marathon racing – there really are no shortcuts.  There are staples

1.     Long run is absolutely essential.  Impossible to replace.  Time on your feet.  Practicing hydration and nutrition etc.    more on that in the article link below.  But  pace is important.   long run = easy pace if you race every long run your body never has a chance to recover.

;      2.      Easy runs…  much like the long run important for slowly building up strength/stamina.

&     3.      Up-tempo – speedwork.    You will need tempo and intervals normally once a week. Yassos are both a test and a training tool or a specific interval workout.

Good articles:

http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/articlePages/article/30

pace calculator:

http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/index.php/calcUsage/calculate

heck yeah I looked up your River Run time from earlier in the year…

based on your time here are your stats:

And your paces:

I would guess that you are running harder on your long/easy days than you should be….  Especially in the heat…  it is a big factor.

For example: I'm a 3:36 marathoner training for Jax Marathon in December and I will be back at Ironhorse again in February.  Today I ran 8 miles easy at a 10:40 pace.

I have checked out the MM training plan… it looks like a good training plan…  but maybe not for you.

If you are past week 2 you are killing yourself unnecessarily.

This is the disclaimer from the site:

This hybrid training program is designed for individuals that have already run a marathon, and perhaps even a 50K.

I'm not sure if you have done marathons/ultras in the past….  But if this is to be your 1^st marathon…  take the buildup slowly.  And if Ironhorse will be your first ultra prepare (and train) to walk and/or  walk/run (ain't no shame in it) J

Weight training packing on muscle is complete and utter BS J

Remember…  patience grasshopper!