Will I get much faster with training?

m83

I've been running since last november, completely new to it and training for the dublin marathon next october. Loving it so far.

I did the half marathon in connemara in 1 hr 44 and ran 15 miles this morning in 2 hours dead. From this the mcmillan.com predicts a marathon time of 3hr 40.

I'm just wondering how much faster i could do the dublin marathon in seeing as i'm well ahead of shedule as far as my long runs are concerned. I was hoping to run sub 3hr 30, is this realistic do you think? Will added fartlek and sprint work help with my goal?

I was going to increase my long runs initially by one mile per week. Would adding on a half mile a week be a better idea? This way it'll take 10 weeks to get to the 20 mile mark which would give me plenty of mileage before the big day. I could cut the length then and try them at a slightly quicker pace and build up to 20 miles or so again.

Thanks in advance :P

hunnymonster

The connemara half is a tougher course than the Dublin marathon so it's not a good comparison. You should be well able to aim for sum 3:30 but the reality is you'll never know how you're going to react over the magic 20-22 mile mark until you get there. I've known excellent half marathoners who have completely blown up at 22 miles in a marathon and crawled their way home.

Your plan sounds good. Up your mileage until you get to the 20 mark. If you're feeling fine, I don't see any reason not to add a mile a week but maybe have a "down" week every 4th week i.e 15 this week, 16 next week, 17 the week after, then back down to 13, then 16, 17, 18 back down to 14,17, 18,19,15,28,19,20. The down weeks are important. Then try to introduce some speed work. As you have a definite goal in mind yasso 800's might be fun for you to try.

Marathon Man

m83 wrote:

Will added fartlek and sprint work help with my goal?

Yes they will. you should combine some fast interval sessions with your weekly mileage. this should be done at least once a week and probably no more than 3 times per week. additionally i would recommend some circuit and weight training to get some extra speed in those legs. of course this training is not the same as that of a bodybuilder, and your weight training should focus on endurance and not so much on power due to the nature of your event.

m83

Thank you both for your help, I'll certainly take it on board.