Want to run a marathon but not lose weight?

grrrrrrrrrr

Hi all,

Ok so a bit of background info. Running isnt my primary sport but I would run at least once a week (6-7 miles). I'd do cycling most of the time, maybe 5 times a week, then weights and gym work.

Getting to the point I always wanted to try a marathon, done quite a few 10ks, but would it mean losing a lot of weight and power in both my legs and the rest of my body? What has been your experience with this? I dont want to try it if it means losing too much power that it would infringe on my competiveness in other sports.


Basically, will I lose power and/or weight?

Krusty_Clown

Probably a question best answered by Tunney, but my humble opinion would be that depending on your diet you may lose a couple of pounds, but you may make it up in muscle instead. You will definitely not lose muscle in your legs, in fact you could develop further muscle in your legs and potentially further strengthen your cardio system and core (though if you're doing a lot of cycling and gym work, you may not gain significantly). The only disadvantage is that it will consume more of the time that you would have previously committed to other sports (e.g cycling). To run a marathon you'd probably be looking at a minimum of 30+ mpw to avoid injury and run the distance comfortably. Based on your current mileage though, you may be better off starting with half marathon, etc before beginning a marathon program, so that you build up your mileage more gradually.

Not sure where you got your image of a typical marathon runner, but only those at the top of the field are of the bean-pole type build!

What's your current 10k time?

paulmcd1973

Ran my first marathon last year, DCM, in 3hrs 43mins. Started my marathon training weighing approx 70 kilos. Weighed myself a few days after after the marathon, weight was 75 kilos. The negligible weight gain I'd probably attribute to leg muscle.

My background before I started serious(ish) running was commute cycling a few days a week (11km each way), running 1-2 times a week and then football at the weekends.

tunney

grrrrrrrrrr wrote: »

Hi all,

Ok so a bit of background info. Running isnt my primary sport but I would run at least once a week (6-7 miles). I'd do cycling most of the time, maybe 5 times a week, then weights and gym work.

Getting to the point I always wanted to try a marathon, done quite a few 10ks, but would it mean losing a lot of weight and power in both my legs and the rest of my body? What has been your experience with this? I dont want to try it if it means losing too much power that it would infringe on my competiveness in other sports.


Basically, will I lose power and/or weight?

Lets differenciate between "weight", "lean muscle mass" and "fat"

Will you lose weight? Probably
Will you lose lean muscle mass? Not if your diet is good.
Will you lose fat? Yes if your diet is good.

Will you lose power? Not if your diet is good.

Some other questions you haven't asked?
Will my power to weigh ration increase? Probably
Will my cardio fitness improve? Probably

If the act of training for a marathon meant the body shape of elite marathoners would be attained there would be alot of happy campers on this board. It doesn't. Assuming your present weights and cycling routine are compatible with a marathon programme and will allow adaquate recovery, then if you consume a proper amount of calories and protein then you will maintain muscle mass.

grrrrrrrrrr

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Probably a question best answered by Tunney, but my humble opinion would be that depending on your diet you may lose a couple of pounds, but you may make it up in muscle instead. You will definitely not lose muscle in your legs, in fact you could develop further muscle in your legs and potentially further strengthen your cardio system and core (though if you're doing a lot of cycling and gym work, you may not gain significantly). The only disadvantage is that it will consume more of the time that you would have previously committed to other sports (e.g cycling). To run a marathon you'd probably be looking at a minimum of 30+ mpw to avoid injury and run the distance comfortably. Based on your current mileage though, you may be better off starting with half marathon, etc before beginning a marathon program, so that you build up your mileage more gradually.

What's your current 10k time?

Ok well I'll start here i guess... So 30+ mpw for a marathon. Q1 how many weeks beforehand would i want to start is this?

Q2 How many miles a week would I want to be doing to do a half marathon?

My 10k is about 40 mins.

paulmcd1973 wrote: »

Ran my first marathon last year, DCM, in 3hrs 43mins. Started my marathon training weighing approx 70 kilos. Weighed myself a few days after after the marathon, weight was 75 kilos. The negligible weight gain I'd probably attribute to leg muscle.

My background before I started serious(ish) running was commute cycling a few days a week (11km each way), running 1-2 times a week and then football at the weekends.

Q3 How many miles a week were you doing and for how many weeks beforehand?

tunney wrote: »

Lets differenciate between "weight", "lean muscle mass" and "fat"

Will you lose weight? Probably
Will you lose lean muscle mass? Not if your diet is good.
Will you lose fat? Yes if your diet is good.

Will you lose power? Not if your diet is good.

Some other questions you haven't asked?
Will my power to weigh ration increase? Probably
Will my cardio fitness improve? Probably

If the act of training for a marathon meant the body shape of elite marathoners would be attained there would be alot of happy campers on this board. It doesn't. Assuming your present weights and cycling routine are compatible with a marathon programme and will allow adaquate recovery, then if you consume a proper amount of calories and protein then you will maintain muscle mass.

"Will my power to weigh ratio increase? Probably" I like

So basically if I eat well there's no negatives to be gotten out of a lot of running training!!

Thanks all for the advice! Its much appreciated! :D

paulmcd1973

Q3: I followed the Hal Higdon training plan for beginners, http://www.halhigdon.com/marathon/Mar00novice.htm. It's an 18 week program that maxes out at 40 miles in one week. Apart from a slight injury that knocked me out for 10 days, I stuck to it fairly well.

Good time for the 10K by the way.

Krusty_Clown

Is that 40min 10k on a treadmill, or in race conditions? Did you train for it, or stick to your 6-7 miles per week? When was your last 10k race?

Typically a first time marathoner will follow an 18 week plan. 30+ mpw would be quite low for a marathon plan, but you'd probably get away with it for a first timer, particularly if you can manage a 40 minute 10k in the times you listed above.

Have a look at this plan, which peaks at around 42 miles per week.

grrrrrrrrrr

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Is that 40min 10k on a treadmill, or in race conditions? Did you train for it, or stick to your 6-7 miles per week? When was your last 10k race?

Typically a first time marathoner will follow an 18 week plan. 30+ mpw would be quite low for a marathon plan, but you'd probably get away with it for a first timer, particularly if you can manage a 40 minute 10k in the times you listed above.

Have a look at this plan, which peaks at around 42 miles per week.

Thanks for that!

As for the 10k i guess the last one was last summer, wasnt around for any of the local ones this year! So no they werent on the treadmill. And I guess I used do more running before alright.

If I was doing the above mentioned programmes could I do the run in the morning and then train cycling or something else in the evening?

Or could you do a 3 mile run as a warm up for weights, still push myself tho?

Thanks for the sound advice, looked it up on the net but you'd drown in all the info that's there!!Its also better than listening to my dad who ran back in the 70s and 80s who's advice has some big holes in it! ha

Krusty_Clown

a 40 minute 10k time is very respectable. The equivalent marathon time (assuming you did all of the appropriate training), would be pretty impressive, however, to run an equivalent time you'd want to be running 50+mpw (a very rough estimate, and there's no specific rule about what works for each individual).

It all really depends on your goals, and what you want to achieve in the marathon. If you just want to get around, and get the medal and the T-Shirt at the finish line, then sure, you can mix and match with other training on the same day (though the amount of exercise will ultimately end . If you want to run a solid marathon time (like the equivalent of your 10k time) it will take dedication, some of which will come at the cost of your other sports.

I may be wrong, but you don't sounds entirely convinced or motivated. If I'm right, you may be better off training for and running a half marathon first, and seeing if it's something you're actually interested in pursuing, and something you'd be willing to make some sacrifices to achieve. The website I linked to has some half marathon programs too. Why don't you study them and see if they'll fit in with your other sporting commitments? Kind of like getting a taster, without impacting your other sporting interests.

grrrrrrrrrr

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

a 40 minute 10k time is very respectable. The equivalent marathon time (assuming you did all of the appropriate training), would be pretty impressive, however, to run an equivalent time you'd want to be running 50+mpw (a very rough estimate, and there's no specific rule about what works for each individual).

It all really depends on your goals, and what you want to achieve in the marathon. If you just want to get around, and get the medal and the T-Shirt at the finish line, then sure, you can mix and match with other training on the same day (though the amount of exercise will ultimately end . If you want to run a solid marathon time (like the equivalent of your 10k time) it will take dedication, some of which will come at the cost of your other sports.

I may be wrong, but you don't sounds entirely convinced or motivated. If I'm right, you may be better off training for and running a half marathon first, and seeing if it's something you're actually interested in pursuing, and something you'd be willing to make some sacrifices to achieve. The website I linked to has some half marathon programs too. Why don't you study them and see if they'll fit in with your other sporting commitments? Kind of like getting a taster, without impacting your other sporting interests.

No it's always been a big ambition and goal of mine to run one. What if I started training for a marathon in Oct and did a half marathon in september and see how it goes. I wouldnt mind just doing my first marathon and build on that then!

I'd love nothing more than to just concentrate on doing a sub 3 hour marathon but cant but that kind of time into it with my current commitments. But I could do the plan you linked to me easily. Sure what harm coulld it do if I went for a cycle in the evening if I just did a 5 miler in the morning.

I'd be happy to get over the line comfortably for my first marathon, as they say "you've to learn to walk before you can run", if that makes any sense at all.

Thanks again, this is a real help!!

Krusty_Clown

Yeah, that sounds like a healthy attitude and there's no harm in going for a cycle in the evening, after a morning run. But just be aware of the signs of over-training, and if you burn a lot more calories than you take in, you will start to lose weight.

The Adidas race series, (starting fairly soon) is a great build-up, with a 5 mile, 10 mile, and 1/2 marathon, building up to the Adidas Dublin Marathon. But you would want to start training and building up the mileage very soon, if you're planning on tackling DCM this year.

grrrrrrrrrr

Ha thanks. I'll start tonight so! Thanks for all the help!


As for the weight issue, we have a George Foreman here, I'll just drink the fat from that or something!


Thanks!

Grapefruit Moon

Hi,
I've been reading this thread with interest (and most of this forum actually!), I'm hoping to run the Dublin marathon this Oct too and it's also my first marathon. The weight loss thing had been a concern but I'm trying to change my diet accordingly so hopefully that'll be ok.

I had planned to follow this prog, the 4.15 to 5.00 plan: http://dublinmarathon.ie/dublinmarathontraining.pdf
But I see that alot of people here are recommending the Hal Higdon training program. Just wondering if people would recommend one above the other, or if anyone has had any experience following either? The main difference seems to be the length of the long run at the weekend (longer in the Higdon plan) and the use of cross training in the Higdon plan rather than just running.
I don't have huge ambitions re: time for the marathon etc, I just want to enjoy doing something I never thought I would and also to finish it! At the minute I'm running 10 min miles, regardless of the overall distance and am on wk 3 of the DCM plan (but struggling to fit the 5 runs in a week tbh).

Sorry if I've hijacked this thread, I just didn't want to start another when people were already discussing various training plans etc.
I appreciate that most of the posters on here are alot more experienced and run alot more/farther/faster than I even plan to but any advice/input at all would be appreciated.
Thanks,
gm

This is the DCM plan I'm doing at the min

SCHEDULE FOR 4:15 to 5:00

Weeks one to four

Monday 3m very easy
Tuesday Rest
Wednesday 3m very easy
Thursday 3m very easy
Friday Rest
Saturday 3m very easy
Sunday 4m very easy

Weeks five to eight

Monday 4m easy
Tuesday Rest
Wednesday 5m easy
Thursday 6m easy
fartlek
Friday Rest
Saturday 6m easy
Sunday 7m easy

Weeks nine and 10

Monday 6m easy
Tuesday Rest
Wednesday 6m easy
Thursday 5m fartlek
Friday Rest
Saturday 6m easy
Sunday 10m easy

Weeks 11 and 12

Monday 6m easy
Tuesday Rest
Wednesday 6m easy
Thursday 6m fartlek
Friday Rest
Saturday 6m easy
Sunday 12m easy

Weeks 13 and 14

Monday 6m easy
Tuesday Rest
Wednesday 6m easy
Thursday 6m fartlek
Friday Rest
Saturday 6m easy
Sunday 14m easy

Weeks 15 and 16

Monday 6m easy
Tuesday Rest
Wednesday 6m easy
Thursday 6m fartlek
Friday Rest
Saturday 6m easy
Sunday 16m easy

Weeks 17 and 18

Monday 6m easy
Tuesday 6m fartlek
Wednesday 6m easy
Thursday 6m fartlek
Friday Rest
Saturday 6m easy
Sunday 18m easy

Weeks 19 and 20

Monday 6m easy
Tuesday 6m fartlek
Wednesday 6m easy
Thursday 6m fartlek
Friday Rest
Saturday 6m easy
Sunday 14m easy

Final week, starting Oct 23

Monday 4m easy
Tuesday 2m fartlek
Wednesday 3m easy

Thursday 3m fartlek
Friday 2m easy
Saturday Rest

Sunday Rest

Krusty_Clown

I'm not an expert (may not know nearly as much as the person who put the plans together), but I've looked at those plans before, and would have concerns about following them, particularly the faster plans.
2:30 - 3:00: has 14 consecutive weeks of 20-22 mile runs, including a 20 mile run the week before the marathon. Taper, what taper? There are 6 speed sessions in 22 weeks. All others are: Easy, easy with strides, fartleks.
3:00 - 4:15: has four consecutive 20 mile runs, and an 18 mile run the week before the marathon. Again, 6 sessions. All the rest are easy runs, or fartleks.
4:15 - 5:00: A 22 week plan without a single 20 mile run? Seems crazy.

Maybe the coach knows something we don't and the plans are great, but to my untrained eye, they seem to run against the grain of most other plans. It seems like a lot of mileage without a lot of structure.

HalHigdon is usually suggested to beginners, because there are a range of plans available for free on the internet, and they are better than training without any plan at all. If you look his beginner plan, it takes you up to 20 miles in a more linear fashion, with step-back weeks, so you can recover.

At the end of the day, you have to make up your own mind. You'll probably find a lot more people on this forum who have started out with a Higdon plan (because they're there) than the DCM/Cork training plans.