I just ran my first marathon and would like some advice on where to go from here. My time for my marathon was 3:40 and would like to qualify for the Boston Marathon with a 3:35. It was pouring at the beginning of my race and rained for the first 20 miles. At about 20 miles my legs felt slow, heavy, and extremely fatigued in a way that I never experienced before. I know I took my first half out to fast (1:46 in my first half), however I was feeling very good until my legs started feeling like this. So with this background, I have multiple questions:
1. In future training for a marathon, what should I do differently to avoid feeling like this at around mile 19 or 20 so that I can finish strong?
2. How long should I wait before doing another marathon? I have family member doing the Twins Cities Marathon in October (14 weeks from now - which would give me 3 recovery weeks and 12 training weeks). Is this marathon too soon or feasible?
3. Should I incorporate strength training into my training program?
4. I have been researching the 3:2 marathon training plan with 3 key runs (tempo, interval, and long run) and 2 cross training days. has anybody had good or bad experience with this?
Thanks for all your help!