4 Week Marathon Training Programme Required

gassan

Signed up to do the Rome marathon on the 18th of march, due to college exams etc. I haven't been training and am just starting today!! I am pretty comfortable on 15 k runs, looking for advice from anyone who has a 4 week training log to help me push through to marathon distance??

RacoonQueen

My advice is not to do it. Otherwise, enjoy the taper...

RayCun

There is no such thing as a four week marathon training programme. You have to build up the distances slowly, each week building on the last, so you adapt to the training. That doesn't happen in four weeks.

gassan

Ha, ok not the optimistic approach i was looking for
I've everything paid for now, race, flights and accommadation so I'll have to struggle on.
Did you do this run before Racoonqueen?

menoscemo

gassan wrote: »

Signed up to do the Rome marathon on the 18th of march, due to college exams etc. I haven't been training and am just starting today!! I am pretty comfortable on 15 k runs, looking for advice from anyone who has a 4 week training log to help me push through to marathon distance??

There ain't one because you should be resting up for 3 weeks before the marathon having been training for 12+ weeks beforehand.

gassan

RayCun wrote: »

There is no such thing as a four week marathon training programme. You have to build up the distances slowly, each week building on the last, so you adapt to the training. That doesn't happen in four weeks.

True, but has i say I'm comfortable at 15 k or half distance, completed the sea 2 sumitt in Nov in under 4 hours,
so I guess I'm looking for the last 4 weeks of a good programme?

donothoponpop

You should run a marathon in training two weeks before your goal race, so you'll have a target to beat. Bring your own pasta for carbo-loading, in case you can't find anywhere that sells pasta in Rome.

gassan

menoscemo wrote: »

There ain't one because you should be resting up for 3 weeks before the marathon having been training for 12+ weeks beforehand.

Cheers for the reply, a 4 week programme will allow me two weeks rest before the marathon.
I'll try a half distance this weekend and see how I get on.

RayCun

gassan wrote: »

so I guess I'm looking for the last 4 weeks of a good programme?

The last four weeks of a good programme? Okay, the last four weeks in the Hal Higdon plan are
5 mile, 10 , 5 , 20
5, 9, 5, 14
4, 8, 4, 8
3, 3, 2, marathon

Going from a max distance of 15k to a max of 30k in a week is a bad idea.
Any marathon programme is going to look something like that.
You have no time to train for this marathon.

RacoonQueen

gassan wrote: »

Ha, ok not the optimistic approach i was looking for
I've everything paid for now, race, flights and accommadation so I'll have to struggle on.
Did you do this run before Racoonqueen?

Have I done Rome before? No, but I've done a marathon or two in the past. When's the last time you ran further than 20k? If you're only running 15k a marathon in 4 weeks time is going to hurt a fair bit.

average_runner

Your asking for trouble, putting unnecessary strain on your body or even more importantly your heart. Sometimes you just got to know when to say enough is enough, do the trip and enjoy it but skip the run

gassan

RayCun wrote: »

The last four weeks of a good programme? Okay, the last four weeks in the Hal Higdon plan are
5 mile, 10 , 5 , 20
5, 9, 5, 14
4, 8, 4, 8
3, 3, 2, marathon

Going from a max distance of 15k to a max of 30k in a week is a bad idea.
Any marathon programme is going to look something like that.
You have no time to train for this marathon.

Thank you for the programme RayCun, sure I'll give it a go.
Worst case senario is I have to walk home.

Oisin11178

Maybe adopt a run walk strategy to get you home in one piece. No. Shame in a little bit of walking if you have to. If you truly are comfortable upto half distance then run to half and your feeling good keep going. If your not feeling good walk a little bit to recover and get running again. Your not going to get a magic 4 week plan that is going to get you to run the whole way and finish in one piece. I would advise againest doing 20 miles 3 weeks before by the way, its more likely to do more harm than good.

gassan

Oisin11178 wrote: »

Maybe adopt a run walk strategy to get you home in one piece. No. Shame in a little bit of walking if you have to. If you truly are comfortable upto half distance then run to half and your feeling good keep going. If your not feeling good walk a little bit to recover and get running again. Your not going to get a magic 4 week plan that is going to get you to run the whole way and finish in one piece. I would advise againest doing 20 miles 3 weeks before by the way, its more likely to do more harm than good.

Thank you for the advice Oisin, just checked the calander and I have actually got 8 weeks, finished the Dublin Marathon in 4:15 with 10 weeks training in 2010 so I'll see how it goes.
I had been training pretty well up to xmas so feel i might be able to pull it together however at the moment a run and walk strategy looks very likley.

--amadeus--

Yeah I'd agree with that. After all you haven't trained so far, so why change a winning formula...

Get out and do some gentle runs between now and the race and be ultra conservative on the day. If you normally run 8 min miles then slow down to 10 - 11 mins and take a walk break every 4 or 5 miles or whatever, even if you don't feel you need it early on. Check the cut off as well (the time they close the course) to make sure you'll come in under it. And lose any traces of ego before the start line - little old men will go past you like you are standing still. Don't try and chase them or get over excited at the start or you will regret it.

26 miles is a long enough way but assuming you are fairly young (in college), moderately fit and have no health issues then in the worst case you could walk the whole thing. It's a pretty stupid thing to do and it'll hurt like hell - especially the next day - but you won't die.

GoHardOrGoHome

gassan wrote: »

Thank you for the programme RayCun, sure I'll give it a go.
Worst case senario is I have to walk home.

Worst case scenario is you're injured for months and not recovered by Sea2Summit this year.

shels4ever

There was me worried about only having 12 weeks . If there is a 4 week plan let me know, i can rest another 8 weeks

donothoponpop

Oisin's advice is the best, walk if you need, anyone can get around a marathon distance. You're going to be a great city, may as well enjoy the experience.

You've actually 7 and a half weeks till Rome, so if you forget about a taper, you could just try jumping into week 8 of the Hal Higdon Beginner program, and build up to the 20 miler, except this would be your marathon, so its a 26 miler. You'd cut down the milage that last listed week too. It's far from ideal, won't be pretty, but you should be able to get around.

8 Rest 3 m run 6 m run 3 m run Rest Rest Half Marathon
9 Rest 3 m run 7 m run 4 m run Rest 10 Cross
10 Rest 3 m run 7 m run 4 m run Rest 15 Cross
11 Rest 4 m run 8 m run 4 m run Rest 16 Cross
12 Rest 4 m run 8 m run 5 m run Rest 12 Cross
13 Rest 4 m run 9 m run 5 m run Rest 18 Cross
14 Rest 5 m run 9 m run 5 m run Rest 14 Cross
15 Rest 5 m run 10 m run 5 m run Rest 20* Cross

*Marathon

unichall

Ooooh you are going to be so sore when you finish. I was training pretty good gor DCM last year and got struck down with an illness that took me out of action for 4 weeks, 8 weeks before the race, so i decided not to do the marathon. I slowly got back into training in Sept and ran a reasonable 10mile race and stupidly decided to run the marathon again as i was all payed up. I ran the first 18miles fine and then cramp after cramp after cramp all the way home. The body just wasn't ready for the extra miles, still glad I done it but boy was I sore for a few days

gassan

Cheers guys, I know its not wise to do it but I'm going to run with that 8 week programme provided.
If on the day I'm not feeling ready I'll pull out.
Fight or flight, at the moment I'm for the fight attitude.
By the way Im from the same village as Noel Carroll (founder of the DCM and olympic runner), we're all natural runners around here

brutes1

Depends on your background, if you are a runner/strong triathlete already or reasonably young/fit , it can be done .
Have trained with a couple of guys , who went from very low mileage 30 miles max , to a 4 week marathon plan with two long ones, 15/20 milers, and ran 2.50 low in Dublin, but these guys had talent, and a base !
If you have no base and no background in running you will struggle even off any other sport fitness, take it handy .Not much point in walking 26 miles its tough enough.

tunney

gassan wrote: »

Ha, ok not the optimistic approach i was looking for
I've everything paid for now, race, flights and accommadation so I'll have to struggle on.
Did you do this run before Racoonqueen?

Fvck it , give it a lash. You've run 15km and are probably better trained than most who do DCM.

bonaparte2

Agree with brutes1. It can be done .
I ran the DCM last year on very little specific marathon training, but I had done a couple of olympic distance triathlons in summer so my base fitness was really good.
I didn't do it by the book but I ran twenty miles three weeks out and when I did that I knew I could run a marathon, so I more or less wrapped myself in cotton wool until the day and was perfectly prepared
to ditch if things went pearshaped. Ran well within myself , just cruised around and it was painful but worth it.
I was similarly apprehensive as you are beforehand but a couple of marathonners I knew had stories of people who had ran marathons on very little mileage so I just went for it.
I might not be typical.
I may be exceptional .
I don't know. Nothing stopping you but the possibility of horrendous career ending injury .

rom

Some lessons are best learned the hard way.

bart simpson

gassan wrote: »

Thank you for the advice Oisin, just checked the calander and I have actually got 8 weeks, finished the Dublin Marathon in 4:15 with 10 weeks training in 2010 so I'll see how it goes.
I had been training pretty well up to xmas so feel i might be able to pull it together however at the moment a run and walk strategy looks very likley.

ah......that post changes things a bit
before this post we persumed, 4 weeks, never ran more than 15k.
after this post, compeleted the 2010 marathon, and 8 week to go to the race

that give you a much better chance, good luck

Mac Cormaic

Not sure how old this post is, but when I ran the Galway marathon two years ago, one of the lads that came in a few paces behind me had only run a 10 miles (as his longest run) prior to the marathon.

If you still have four weeks left, I'd suggest, run 15 miles this week as your long run, and run 20/22 next week. Then suffer in the pain for two weeks and run the marathon.

If possible get in two five mile runs every week as well, especially last two. You won't do a great time, but you'll be able to complete the marathon, even if you struggle for last 4 - 6 miles. Nothing wrong with walking for a minute and running for a minute, if it comes down to it for last few miles.

If you aren't mentally up for a 20/22 mile run, try running two half marathons, one on a friday and one on the sunday. I know lots of people say it can't be done, but it can, and other than pain for a week or two after the event (and flu and depression lol), you'll be grand after that to start running again.