First Marathon Training Advice

Mountain_M78

Hi there -

After postponing my first marathon - last April (Connemarathon , decided to do Half only due to time constraints, limited training ) I feel I am ready to think about a Full in the new year.

I know if it is Limerick - I have plenty of time but just need to advice on making sure I don't over-train ,
the reason I have selected Limerick is that it is close to me , firstly and secondly, the heavy final months will suit my work situation.

So here is where I am at present.
I have been running for a couple of years - limited enough mileage from 150km per month - gradually building up to 200 -240k in last 2 months.
I've done 4 halfs in just over 1 year.
Last 6 months -
August 2019 - 250k / July 2019 - 225k
/ June 204k / May 213k / April 184k / March 202k

I have found myself doing a regular 10 miler on sundays and then 1 speed session (usually 2 or 3 mile repeatsfor 5k or 10k) and maybe 3 or 4 days of easy running.
5k times around 19.15-45 / Half Marathon 1.32PB / 10k just short of 40mins
Nothing spectacular (I'm 41 , as I said running lots of parkruns and generally as I said 150 k per month up until the past 6 months.

QUESTIONS
1. Should I delay upping my mileage to the New Year?
Basically, I will of course be a first time marathoner and will totally respect the distance and the extra training it will entail.
Should I back off in terms of my mileage for a few months?
or maintain 250k and then maybe increasing by 10 per cent in the New Year?
Again, there will be a lot of people on here who will know a thing or 2 about injury prevention.

2. Which marathon plan would be most suitable to me? I have read some beginner ones and to be honest , quite sceptical that a marathon would be achievable with low mileage in the case of some plans. I really like the idea of 2 rest days per week and need a plan which reflects this.

3. Should I forget about "fast" (for me) runs and instead just start to log longer runs. I certainly wll dispense with fast mile reps in the new year, I presume.

4. Should I worry at all about "Easy Pace" . basically, according to most calculators will say if your 5k time is 19.00 ish - your easy pace would be around 4.55 per k.
How can this be applied to longer runs. Im OK with easy runs in prepping for a 5k...but surely in marathon training my easy runs should be considerably slower?

5. Previously, I struggled getting enough time for runs during the week . I have done a bif of pre- breakfast running (however never on empty, always had something before heading out)
I have really found that doing some doubles (early AM - 5 or 6k / an evening 3 or 4k ) helped me up my mileage a bit without interfering with family life. Are Doubles a good idea in my case going forward?


PS I have NO goal time for my first marathon. I just want to finish and build from there. I suppose sub 4 hours would be nice for (hopefully) a first marathon effort. However, im not putting pressure on myself vis a vis times.

THANKS SO MUCH GUYS!