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is it reasonable to train for a marathon in 16 weeks?

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i've been running twice a week for about 4 months but i've only been running about 2-3 miles at a time. a have been doing two bike rides of 15-20 miles and two swims from 1650-2000 yards a week as well. according to the charts i find on the internet, i'm more than 30 pounds overweight as well.

i know that i'm capable of doing it as long as i don't get injured, but i'm wondering if my chances of injury are high enough that i should set my sights on the half marathon instead.

are there any runners with words of wisdom here?


"Your scrotum is quite nice" - Skymama
www.kjandmegan.com

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i've been running twice a week for about 4 months but i've only been running about 2-3 miles at a time. a have been doing two bike rides of 15-20 miles and two swims from 1650-2000 yards a week as well. according to the charts i find on the internet, i'm more than 30 pounds overweight as well.

i know that i'm capable of doing it as long as i don't get injured, but i'm wondering if my chances of injury are high enough that i should set my sights on the half marathon instead.

are there any runners with words of wisdom here?



We seem to have a TON of marathons where I live (at the beach) and I have friends who--while active individuals--do not train and just do them for the sake of timing themselves and comparing to their previous year. :D They are typically sore the next day, but seem to fair well...

If you are capable and you want to--try it. If you are afraid of injury, don't.

I run two to four miles, five days/week. I do not care to run more than six miles. If my friend who never runs wants to run 26.2 and be sore for the next few days, but have bragging rights, more power to him. I never did understand the need to push oneself to unhealthy limits no matter what the cause.

I prefer to pay NOT to run. Thankyouverymuch.
Paint me in a corner, but my color comes back.

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If you have only been running 2 -3 miles, you should set your sites on a 1/2 marathon.
Distance running is physical AND mental. Your mind does funny things at the 14 mile mark after you've been training for months!
Check out Cool Running for great tips, stories and training plans.
Be patient with the faults of others; they have to be patient with yours.

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I just completed the Chicago Marathon in October using the Galloway training program. It is a run/walk method that reduces the chances of injury and increases the percentage of finishers. The full program is longer than 16 weeks, but since you have been active you should be able to modify the schedule and remain safe. My next marathon will be in February and I am going to continue using Galloway. I don't know how to do the clicky, but the site is jeffgalloway.com.
The strong can always afford to be gentle, It is only the weak who need to "give as good as they get."

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I just completed the Chicago Marathon in October using the Galloway training program. It is a run/walk method that reduces the chances of injury and increases the percentage of finishers. The full program is longer than 16 weeks, but since you have been active you should be able to modify the schedule and remain safe. My next marathon will be in February and I am going to continue using Galloway. I don't know how to do the clicky, but the site is jeffgalloway.com.



Clicky

I agree with the run/walk method.
Paint me in a corner, but my color comes back.

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If you're already active, I don't see why not. There was a NOVA program on earlier this year that took 9 couch potatoes and trained them to run a marathon in 9 months or so. Every one of them completed the marathon. If I remember correctly, it took them 3 months to get to the 4 mile mark. If you work as hard as they did, I would think you'd be able to finish it.

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that would be great. i've been working on a training calender, but i could use a little help. i think i've got my weekly long run figured out, but i'm trying to figure out how long my tempo runs and my interval workouts should be.

go to my website (link at the bottom) and click on "email kj". also you can click on "races" to read about the three races i've already done.


"Your scrotum is quite nice" - Skymama
www.kjandmegan.com

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1. Get your daily average up to at least a third of the distance of the race.

2. If you start to get shin splints, STOP running immediately even if it means walking 5 miles home.
Never try "run through the pain", as it will only make matters much worse.
"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

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when i first started i got shin splints and they fucking sucked. its a little tedious, but i run mostly on a track now and if anything, my shins are sore the next day. during the run they are fine. i'm thinking of doing my weekly long runs on the road not only to get used to it, but the idea of doing 40 laps to run 10 miles just sounds boring.


"Your scrotum is quite nice" - Skymama
www.kjandmegan.com

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1. Get your daily average up to at least a third of the distance of the race.



This is the guideline I used when I did my 2 marathons, however, I wanted to have a good finishing time and not just slog in after 4 hours. If your goal is to just finish, expect plenty of walking over the last 10 miles. I was doing about 50 miles a week, with a long run of about 10 to 13 miles on a weekend day and a short easy run the next day. Tapered that down to about 20 miles the week before the race. Came in at 3:29:12, and I had been shooting for a sub 3:10:00 to make the Boston Marathon standard. I still hit the wall at 18 miles and the last 8 miles was torture in 35 degree weather and a headwind for the last 3 miles. :S I was sore for 2 weeks.

So you got 3 months? Please, think about the half marathon. Your body will thank you. ;)
"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

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Aim for a 1/2 marathon.

If you can get through the training you can definitely finish the race. Coming into the training w/ at least some aerobic conditioning will make a big difference in fitness, but the problem is that your tendons and ligaments take a lot longer to adjust to the pounding of running than the aerobic system takes to adjust. Running is a high impact sport (not quite as high as skydiving done incorrectly, though).

Even if you finish I would venture to say you will not enjoy the process very much, either of training or racing. Running rewards consistency and you are best off if you put a year or more into preparing to run a marathon.
"What if there were no hypothetical questions?"

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If you're already active, I don't see why not. There was a NOVA program on earlier this year that took 9 couch potatoes and trained them to run a marathon in 9 months or so. Every one of them completed the marathon. If I remember correctly, it took them 3 months to get to the 4 mile mark. If you work as hard as they did, I would think you'd be able to finish it.



Awesome episode. Inspired me to add the ironman 70.3 to my bucket list. :)

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I think it depends on a lot of things. If you have previous injuries, your age, your motivations, the weather...

In theory, you have enough time..

I used to run a lot and one day I sprained my ankle quite badly.. The doctor told me I'd never run again, and I was so upset about it. I actually felt really depressed for months. Then one day I decided this guy didn't know *me* so he wasn't in any position to tell me what I could and couldn't do.

I started doing exercises to strengthen my ankle and help it's healing. Eventually I started running again, and after a few months I thought "I want to do a marathon". The one I wanted to do was 2 months away.. I registered, didn't follow any particular programme and I did the marathon just fine in 4 hrs 37 minutes (or something like that). Not record speed, but ok.

I found the experience really inspiring. And listening to why other people were running was quite something as well.. Some were fighting cancer; some were running in memory of a lost one; some wanted to do an iron-man; some were doing their first marathon at 60+..

It's a very personal thing.. I think if you want to do it - go for it. Keep us posted :)

"There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse."
- Chris Hadfield
« Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. »
- my boss

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i'm getting enough people saying that i should do the half marathon that i am starting to lean that way. more importantly, when i think about the workouts for the full vs the half, i get this feeling of dread.

my main goal is to lose weight, but the only way i can stay motivated to exercise is to commit to a race and put it on the calender. i think i can achieve my goals by doing the half.


"Your scrotum is quite nice" - Skymama
www.kjandmegan.com

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Train? Who needs training?:S

In 2003 a friend convinced me to run the Naha Marathon in Okinawa, I was already in good shape, but have never been much of a runner and usually ran about 5 miles about 3 times a week, nothing close to what I should have been training for. Anyways, I forgot about the marathon until the morning of when he was pounding on my door. With a hangover from hell I threw on some shorts and a shirt, didn't take a shower (I was stinking up a storm) and grabbed some band-aids at a family mart to cover my nipples.

5h 57m 23s....2 min from the 6 hour deadline! But I made it!

It is pretty sad when old Japanese people who have never ran a day in their life are flying past me wearing bunny costumes. :P

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