Marathon for beginners?

G-Money

As the title suggests, I'm curious about any short marathons or short distance runs that are held around Dublin.

My situation is that I'm quite overweight and need to lose weight and get fit too. I'm in no condition to run long distances and having tweaked my knee last year, short distances are out of the question as well. At least until I get my weight down.

Having said that, I wondered if registering myself for some sort of short marathon or run, would be a good way to keep me focussed and motivated. I'm having a hard time getting back into the swing of eating right and exercising and I'm trying to find something that I will enjoy and which will keep me going. I really struggle to make myself go to the gym and I'll be honest, it often feels like a chore and something I'm doing because i feel I have to, rather than something I enjoy.

So I suppose I just wanted some info about various runs for beginners and the like. Sorry if this is a bit vague. I know I need to exercise, I'm just trying to find something I like doing. I know from doing gym programmes, cardio was always my favourite and I never really enjoyed doing weights. So that has made me consider the running thing.

Thanks in advance.

Woddle

No such thing as a short marathon, there all 26.2 miles
A good goal for you could be the adidas series which starts in July with a 5 miler in the phoenix park, there will be lots of walkers aswell so you don't have to worry about finishing last, then if your up to it there's a round 2 which involves a 10 miler in August, then in September is a 1/2 marathon. These races are aimed at all levels, there all very well organised and the 5 miler in paticular would be within your reach and it will give you about 20 weeks I think to get yourself in shape.
Best of luck.

http://dublinmarathon.ie/race_series.php

RubyK

Hi there, would you consider starting a plan, like the couch 2 5K - coolrunning http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml

It would be a good way to get into running and build up your fitness levels. You could then focus on doing a 10K later on in the year. There are lots of races out there to keep you motivated. But best thing is to start off slowly, and build up over time.

You could start a log here, to track your progress.

Best of luck

The Rook

Hi GM,

If your knee is still at you I would concentrate on resting it, and getting it fixed (while perhaps getting the weight down through diet first) rather than trying to run on a bad knee which will (a) do more damage to an already dodgy knee and (b) demotivate you when you can't run any further because of knee pain.

I'd recommend maybe paying a trip to a physio, seeing what's wrong with the knee and taking corrective action to fix it. Once that's done there are some training plans which shoudd help, there's the "Couch to 5k" training plan which seems to be recommended by others here: http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml

and as far as races go there's the Great Ireland 10k Run in the Phoenix Park in April which will be very busy but will have people of all abilities running it. (Although that may be a bit soon particularly if you decide to get your knee looked at first).

My recommendation..... get your knee fixed and then look for races. To register for a race first may only pressure you to run that race before you're fully race fit!

G-Money

Thanks for the replies.

My knee is actually fine now. It was just about a year ago I think that I tried to give the couch to 5k programme a go and it was then that my knee started to get sore. At the time I hadn't been to the gym for at least a year and my weight was about 18 stone (I'm 5ft 10 as well). So obviously all the excess weight is flab, not muscle.

I got paranoid about my knee anyway and got a fella I know to have a look at it. He's like a personal trainer and does some physio and stuff at the same time as well. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with it and resting it did the trick. However he confirmed what I suspected which was that my weight is was caused me to hurt it to begin with.

Anyway it's fine now but my weight is almost back up to what it was and it's been a couple of months since I was at the gym. Even then though, I was doing the low impact cardio machines as I didn't want to risk hurting my knee again. Although I occasionally would add in 20 mins brisk walking on the treadmill just to get some extra exercise in. That was fine as well as it wasn't jogging/running.

I'll check out those things you suggested and see if any take my fancy. I know I'm struggling with motivation etc at the moment so that's why I'm looking at other ways to keep fit and keep myself interested. Going to the gym and doing cardio and weights just isn't doing it for me.

I was actually out around my local area in the car the other day and clocked a walking route that is 2.5 miles. I might start doing that once a day or something to start to build up my fitness again. I'm also walking distance to work so I should really do that. However the cold weather is putting me off that

But again, thanks for the replies. I know from going to the gym, cardio was always what I preferred doing. I kind of hate doing weights (that's a very unpopular opinion on certain forums on boards ) so I figured some sort of cardio focussed exercise would be the best for me and I thought perhaps registering myself for some sort of event would keep me motivated too.

Cheers.

Wally Runs

Bully for you Grandmaster, as a former couch man myself I can assure you that you will not look back. You have to bear in mind (and I think you have gone through this) that the start is by far the hardest part, you will have aches and pains all over the place as your body tries to adapt. You will have to learn to distinguish between pains from exercise and pain from injury.

You will also have to think about what you are eating, all too often you will justify the slice of cake on the basis that you did some exercise that morining or the day before! Rewards are important but in moderation.

If I was to identify the one thing that helped me, it was to have an weekly-monthly exercise plan on the fridge (laminted). I could see what I had to do each day/week etc and more important what I had done. Nothing gave me greater satisfaction than ticking off a whole week's exercise. Sad I know, there is is.

Best of luck.

G-Money

Wally Runs wrote: »

Bully for you Grandmaster, as a former couch man myself I can assure you that you will not look back. You have to bear in mind (and I think you have gone through this) that the start is by far the hardest part, you will have aches and pains all over the place as your body tries to adapt. You will have to learn to distinguish between pains from exercise and pain from injury.

You will also have to think about what you are eating, all too often you will justify the slice of cake on the basis that you did some exercise that morining or the day before! Rewards are important but in moderation.

If I was to identify the one thing that helped me, it was to have an weekly-monthly exercise plan on the fridge (laminted). I could see what I had to do each day/week etc and more important what I had done. Nothing gave me greater satisfaction than ticking off a whole week's exercise. Sad I know, there is is.

Best of luck.

Cheers for that.

What type of exercise did/do you do?

I'm very familiar with exercise pains v injury pains. I've been in and out of the gym for the past few years so I know how sore I get once I start exercising again. And having irritated my rotator cuff and hurt my knee from overdoing it, I'm familiar now with injury pains too. Thankfully, both of those things have cleared up now.

chez-moi

Maybe investigate a fit4life group with a local running club. They cater for all standards. The BHAA run a series of races over the year which anyone can enter. Have a look at www.bhaa.ie

sideswipe

Is swimming an option for you?

I have to agree about the gym, I've always found it hard to motivate myself for it, pulling on a pair of runners and getting out in the fresh air can't be beaten and is very addictive once you get into it. (running 6 miles in sleet and snow yesterday are testament to that for me anyway)

I only got into running last year myself and a couple of things I would advise is a good stretching routine, leg strengthening exercises and try to run on grass as much as possible. I just hit the road and started into a marathon training program and although following a set program and having goals and targets set out is definitely the best way to stay motivated, the miles can take there toll when your not used to it as I found out when I developed imbalances in my leg muscles and developed some knee pain as a result. The other thing I would say is get fitted properly from your runners.
Best of luck.

G-Money

sideswipe wrote: »

Is swimming an option for you?

At the moment, not really. I don't know how to swim (never even been in a pool) and I'm not really willing to learn at the moment either, mostly because I don't like the idea of walking around wearing only shorts! Sad but true.

I definitely think walking or something to get me started again is the way to go. I know a lot of people will suggest that I do weights as well as it's a good way to speed up my fat loss but I think they underestimate how much I don't like doing weights.

marathonm@n

was actually out around my local area in the car the other day and clocked a walking route that is 2.5 miles. I might start doing that once a day or something to start to build up my fitness again. I'm also walking distance to work so I should really do that.



If you want a bit of motivation, then start timing this walking route. Eventually you will reach a time you cannot beat. When this happens then SLOWLY jog small sections of it and your time will get better. If you run slowly and in small segments then you will get fitter and will find it easy to run longer and if you take it slowly you will soon be running it.

If there's one piece of advice I can give you, is to take the running very slow so that you are not exhausted at the start. Rule of thumb is that you should still be able to have a conversation. Going to fast at the start takes the enjoyment out of it and is a sure way that you will not enjoy the run and will be more likely to give it up.

BraziliaNZ

grandmaster wrote: »

At the moment, not really. I don't know how to swim (never even been in a pool) and I'm not really willing to learn at the moment either, mostly because I don't like the idea of walking around wearing only shorts! Sad but true.

I definitely think walking or something to get me started again is the way to go. I know a lot of people will suggest that I do weights as well as it's a good way to speed up my fat loss but I think they underestimate how much I don't like doing weights.

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