Dublin Marathon

topdeal4u

hey all,

Im thinking of doin the Dublin marathon,6 wks from now, but since i havent done any type of running before, its an good option to stay in fit and stay off junk(food & alcohol) for 6 wks, just wonderin if anybody has any tips on trainin etc and even more important what type of runners are recommeded??

im in pretty good shape as i have being a cyclist for the last 6 months(doing road racing and lots of training(thanks too the good weather)).

anyway any sort of tips would be appreciated.

thanks

fade2che

Congrats for deciding to do it, however be careful about signing up to do it too soon as it can do long term damage to joints.
26 miles of road is no joke. The main thing is to be able to run for at least 23 miles a minimum of two to three weeks before the race.
Training and proper preparation is really really important with marathon distance road running. I know people who have done long term damage to knee joints from not training enough with long distances on the road, or being a little bit too young and/or being of heavy build.
That said, if your properly prepared, go for it because its well worth it.

PS
Im no expert on this (ran two marathons a couple of years back)
But i found www.active.com a help at the time
Best of luck !

topdeal4u

thanks 4 the advice, plan is hopefully..start of on the treadmill for the nxt 2 wks, take it easy and 2 see how my body reacts etc and then do some road training if all goes well.

main plan in the marathon is to just run at a steady pace, dont really care about time etc, just once i can run at a steady pace and complete it then i will be a happy camper!! and of course make sure i take lots of water etc at the water points on the race.....even take a 30sec break at each point just to revitalise myself......

p.pete

It'll be tough to get up to speed in 6 weeks - so good luck
If you can get up to a run of maybe 18 - 20 miles before the race I'd be happy with that. If you want to do the bulk of your running for the first week or two on the threadmill that's fine, my only recomendation would be to make sure you do get out on the road for at least some running straight away.

Long distance running will put a lot of impact on joints etc and the road is going to be harder (more impacting) then the threadmill, so try get out for a few short runs straight away. This is so your joints start getting some exposure to running on harder surfaces now and then in a week or two when you migrate from the threadmill it won't be too big a shock.

After that, I'd suggest you try get yourself up to the 10mile distance as quickly as possibly and see how your body is reacting. Hopefully the stamina will be there from the cycling.

Also, take things steady - for the first week or two, 10 miles may be the longest run you do and try build from there. Normally you're supposed to taper down your training at least 3 weeks before the race, probably not an option on your schedule but try make sure you're relaxing for the final week and taking on loads of cards for a few days before the race, not just one day before.

Don't make every run a long one - your body also needs time to recover. Enjoy

dermCu

Sorry lads have to be the voice of reason here.
Unless you have some running behind you this is a bad idea.

topdeal4u: I'm not saying you cant do it but you will not enjoy the experience at all and your risk of injury goes through the roof.

The majority of marathon training programs advisebuilding a base of 30-40 miles a week, build to at leasst 2 or more +20 mile runs and a taper of 2-3 weeks.
If you were to follow this you would only have 3-4 weeks of good training!!

Why not build a base of training and then attack a marathon in the spring. A lot of people would even say that this is too soon.

Runners: Ascis Kayano are hard to beat.

p.pete

I'd definitely back up what dermCu is saying - it's not sensible at all to train for a marathon in 6 weeks. I believe it's possible though, you can't expect a good time and yes there will be a good chance of injury.

Marathons generally aren't fun regardless - I've only done 2 and the first I ran with an ITB injury sustained a few weeks before the race, quite painful and even though I had to limp the last several kilometers I still feel a great sense of achievement from it.

copacetic

would have to back up the two guys above, I don't think you would have the time to get your legs into shape for a 3-5 hour run.

I will been training for 16 weeks or so by the day and the programme I was on recommended being on 20 miles a week for 2 months before starting the programme.
I am still finding the long runs hard on Sundays and have been doing about 40 miles a week for the last 6 weeks.

Why don't you plan for a spring marathon - belfast or conemara and train properly.

Failing that if you are determined, do the half marathon next saturday morning and see how you get on. If you get through it it reasonable shape maybe you will have a good idea you can do the marathon.

I wouldn't use the treadmill though, you need to get out on the roads and do some proper running, you will risk getting injured more but your legs need to get used to the pounding if you are to make it on the day without gettting injured.

daveirl

This post has been deleted.

Transform

no no no no and no!!!!!!!

Long term injury almost guaranteed