[split] From CCM to DCM for inexperienced runner

Corkie100

Hi, I'm a first time poster, so forgive me if this message is in the wrong place! am just looking for a small bit of advice from all you experienced marathoners. I did the Cork city marathon this year. It was my second marathon and I felt my training went very well for it, I did 6 long runs of over 17 miles, my longest was about 22. My target for cork was to break 4 hours, and I did it in 3:54 so was delighted. What I am wondering is, what would now be the best way to tackle Dublin?? Do i need to complete same amount of long runs in the next few months?? I followed a vague plan for cork, based around the long run mileage and i run about 4-5 times a week. Just a bit worried that it's quite soon to start long runs again, I'm doing plenty short stuff now but feel fairly tired. I'm not sure of a realistic target for dublin either, don't know if i could push training any harder than I did for Cork. Is it too soon to even think about another marathon this year, given that I haven't got a huge amount of experience??

hunnymonster

Corkie,
Welcome to boards.ie and to athletics/running/triathlon in particular. Congrats on running CCM and coming in under your target time as well. I've split your question off into a new thread so that people can give you specific answers to your question.

For what it's worth (and some would argue, it's worth little!), I say go for it. Dublin is a great marathon with huge atmosphere. In terms of training, yes the long runs are important. What have you been doing since Cork? If you're going to develop a marathon addiction, then it probably is worth following a plan quite closely. Hal Higdon plans are highly regarded by some. Plans have the advantage of adding structure to your training, and if you're doing a couple of marathons a year will hopefully prevent you from overdoing it.


In terms of choosing a target time, there are various calculators that estimate your predicted time based on your times at shorter distances. McMillan is a popular one. It's generic so if you're better at shorter stuff it might be a bit off (ditto if you're built for endurance) but it's a good starting point.

Krusty_Clown

+1. Follow a program.

One thing working against you is the fact that there are only 15 weeks remaining until DCM, so the standard 18 week programs are not available to you (unless you cut out the first few weeks and jump-start the program). Look at HH's plans and see if there is one that suits you (the Intermediate II program for example has an achievable 13 mile LSR with 15 weeks to go and builds up the LSRs again gradually with rest/recovery weeks).

If you follow the same strategy but are not planning on training at least as hard as you did for Cork, then you won't gain make any significant gains. However if you train more intelligently (work hard on hard days and easy on easy days) you could shave off some time. If you're tired running significantly shorter runs though, it may not be the right time to launch into a marathon program. It's a long hard slog, so it's time to make a long hard decision.

Corkie100

Thanks for the help. I just looked at HH program intermediate II and i reckon I could join it at week 4, as I already did a couple of ten milers since Cork and plenty of shorter runs. Will give it a shot for now anyway, and see how I feel when the mileage gets higher!