Advice on couch to Dublin City Marathon training with gap in the middle

tvc15

So turning 30 and with a child on the way i decided to have an early mid life crisis and try for the DCM this year. I had done couch to 10k a few years ago hitting 46 minutes training twice a week for a few of months but I know the marathon is a whole different type of challenge

I went completely sedentary after the 10k and never so much as jogged until about 3 weeks ago where I had this notion that I would have a crisis for the craic. The first two weeks involved a few 1-2 mile runs to break me in and this week I decided to try start Hal Higdons novice 1 training to see if I am any way near fit enough to begin training. I have done the 3 x 3 mile runs this week all around the 25 minute mark and will attempt the 6 mile run this weekend.

All of this gets to my question around the fact that I have a baby on the way in June and assume I will not be doing anything other than being a new father for a month or two after that. What training should I put before June given that it will be around 12 weeks before the DCM that I will be back training after a 2 month break.

RayCun

tvc15 wrote: »

...until about 3 weeks ago where I had this notion that I would have a crisis for the craic. The first two weeks involved a few 1-2 mile runs to break me in and this week I decided to try start Hal Higdons novice 1 training to see if I am any way near fit enough to begin training. I have done the 3 x 3 mile runs this week all around the 25 minute mark and will attempt the 6 mile run this weekend.

Nothing to 15 mile weeks (and growing) is a good way to get injured. Best to build up slowly, three runs a week, gradually increasing the distance by about 10% a week (and one week a month reducing the distances to give yourself a break. There's no point in trying to cram in more training, it will do more harm than good.

When the baby arrives... if you find the time to run, great, if you don't, who cares? Your first kid is more rewarding, and more challenging, than any marathon.

tvc15

Well I'm not married to the Marathon at all, baby comes first! the reason I ramped up to a 15 mile week after 3 weeks was to test my general fitness and to see if my body was ok to get back to running to the extent that I could even train for a Marathon

If I can handle the 6 miles tomorrow I wont be damping up next week

My question was more in relation to what a non runner like myself could do before June so I could train for the Marathon in 12 weeks after coming back

rom

Best advice is read the DCM Novice 2011 thread from page one until then end.

tvc15

Ok, I read (almost) the whole 2011 thread, maybe I wrong to title this as couch to marathon, I know that sets people off on the wrong foot. I am in relatively decent shape naturally, no excess weight, no problem with any athletic activity I have tried, I’m probably as fit as a lot of people are 37 weeks away from their first marathon. My 10k run was 57:23:01 on Saturday and I was purposely running slower than was comfortable, given the fact I’m over the 6 foot mark anything slower than about 8:30 per mile seems un-natural and forced to me.

So I want to get back to the main point on the training, I have worked forward from now to half marathon and backwards from DMC according to the Hal Higdon novice 1 method and it has left me with this:



Basically I want some idea of a training plan with lower time requirements between mid May to mid July and then an idea on how I should ramp up again in the 5-6 weeks before week 9 of the Higdon plan is due at the end of August. And, if it’s not asking too much, some idea on the training I should put in between my first planned half marathon in early April to Mid May which would keep me well prepped without wasting training

ger664

I agree with Ray here.

Looking at that chart you will have a very low mileage base when you start the 12 week training plan in August, add to that lack of rest(sleep) and recovery you will encounter with a newborn.
I just think adding a marathon in October is asking for trouble. Not saying it cant be done just it carries a big risk of injury in some form or another.

tvc15

ger664 wrote: »

I agree with Ray here.

Looking at that chart you will have a very low mileage base when you start the 12 week training plan in August, add to that lack of rest(sleep) and recovery you will encounter with a newborn.
I just think adding a marathon in October is asking for trouble. Not saying it cant be done just it carries a big risk of injury in some form or another.

Well essentially its still a 16 week training plan, just one where I can do a lot of prep work for in advance for the next 12 weeks and a gap of about 8 weeks where I can only do about 3 hours a week. The gap in the graph needs to be filled in with a plan, it does not mean non-training time

Basically, if I run this I am going to be well prepared, I will only run if I have put in the miles and I will not train on any injuries, I will cancel and wait until a better opportunity.

So with that in mind I want to plan the best possible training for myself so that I can follow it until a decision has to be made to commit to the marathon or not

ThePiedPiper

TVC15, I don't think that it's necessarily whether or not you can physically do the training, etc. It's more a case of what you're going to have to sacrafice in order to invest sufficient time into training for a marathon. I've not stopped running or training for marathons since we started having children, but then, I've always done it and my wife is used to me disappearing for 2-2.5 hour runs or legging it out the door for an hour after the kids go down at nighttime. Will you have sufficient motivation and support do actually get out the door in the evening times when you and your OH are both wrecked tired? You probably won't know that until June/July, but I would definitely try and start building up a bit of a base now and not leave yourself with a mountain to climb in September/October.
Best of luck with training and fatherhood.

RayCun

As I said above, build up slowly over the next couple of months, increasing the weekly mileage by no more than 10% each week, and taking a stepback week every month.

But when the baby arrives, there is no point in having any kind of schedule that you think you should be following. You will have enough on your plate without kicking yourself for not meeting your training targets. And if you think you will get to August and suddenly things will return to normal, and you will be able to jump right into a marathon programme... the next few months are going to be a learning experience, that's for sure.

When you have time, go for a run. When you need to get out of the house for a while, go for a run. But two and three hour LSRs? This is not the right year for them.

tvc15

Thanks for the advice guys, I should probably have tried for the 2011 one in hind sight.

At the moment I still expect to be able to put in 3 hour LSRs on the weekend where needed, with my other runs done before 8am during the week. If I cant I wont and I wont do the DCM this year - that said this wont be our last baby so it still might be my best chance for a good few years

My plan now:

RayCun

tvc15 wrote: »

that said this wont be our last baby so it still might be my best chance for a good few years

things do settle down eventually, and the marathon will always be there. There's no need to get hung up on the marathon as a goal though - there are plenty of other races you can do instead.

rom

Daughter born 15th Oct 2011, was almost 2 weeks late. DCM 2011 in 2 weeks 3 days latter. The lack of sleep, good food, stress etc was a lot to deal with. Training went good but it didn't go much once the baby came.

So I did DCM with my wife and daughter in her sisters in Dublin. Would I do it again this way. Hell no. My advice is do a few 1/2's this summer. They won't put too much pressure on you and then the following year you will have your partner and child waiting at the line as a motivator. There is no graph or spreadsheet that plots the time baby will wake you up a night

Did I enjoy DCM 2011, not really for a number of reasons. I enjoyed the Dungarvan 10 a few weeks ago much more when I met my wife and daughter after the race with a nice PB.

Saying that you won't get the chance for a few years is not true. I am working 40 hrs a week, in college 3 nights a week for 4 hrs each night and I ran my first 60 mile week last week. You will just get better with time management and no more evening sitting in front of the TV etc.

"Your first kid is more rewarding, and more challenging, than any marathon." exactly X 100