First Marathon Post D3 college career

Good advice from "Marathon Salem Lake"

You have been given excellent advice, especially by the "Salem" poster. No need to warm-up for a marathon. Just ease into the race. You have 26.2 miles to speed up or adjust, and a slower or "easy" first or two miles will have very little, if any, impact.

In your training, get accustomed to marathon pace. By the time the race comes around, you should feel very comfortable at this pace. You should be able click off mile after mile at that level of effort.

I think you can run a bit faster than 3:10. My 10k and 5k PRs are both a little slower than yours, and I ran a 3:02 in my first marathon. I trained quite hard, topping out at 70 mpw. I am a master's runner, and my experience over the last 2-3 years seems to indicate that I am an "endurance guy," and so your results in the marathon may be different than mine.

In any case, I wish you well in the marathon. I never thought I would say this, but it is now my favorite race. I like marathon pace (or thereabouts) and do not like the faster stuff.

Thanks for all the advice. I ran a strategic 10k/5k double at conference: 38:51 and 18:41 (very slow start). Now onto the marathon! It is 1 week away and the forecast looks good, high of 61. Stay tuned for the results.

lisathelady wrote:

Thanks for all the advice. I ran a strategic 10k/5k double at conference: 38:51 and 18:41 (very slow start). Now onto the marathon! It is 1 week away and the forecast looks good, high of 61. Stay tuned for the results.

All the best to you, lisa. It sounds like you will have good weather for your marathon. Good weather is essential. Be conservative in your final week of training, which I gather is part of your taper.

I will never forget my first marathon. When you get to mile 20, say to yourself: "I got this." Lets us know how you fare.

Congrats on the PR at your Conference Meet. I did not know your marathon was going to be this weekend.

You definitely can go with the following taper of 8 miles three days out, 6 miles two days out and 3-4 miles the day before.

No need for you warm-up at all and most definitely EASE into the pace. 7:15 for the first 5 miles and shoot for 1:35 to 1:36 at the half. You CAN always pick it up but the marathon can humble you if your pace is too ambitious. You eventually will be a great marathon runner (Sub 2:50 potential) but now is the time to be patient (up to 20 miles). Finish this one and as others have stated on here properly prepare for a late fall or early winter marathon.

Just so you know you CAN have an incredible negative split if the pace is way too easy. You will know by Mile 15 (but until that mile stay at 1:35 to 1:36 half-marathon pace. 7:15 to 7:20 pace... This is the pace that will give you the best chance for your fastest possible debut marathon.

Hope your race goes very well and I look forward to hearing the results!

Thanks!

One last question: Should I wear racing flats or trainers?

I own Lunaracer 3. I wore them for tempo runs and the 10k/5k.

What did you run your 17miler(s - hopefully) in? wear that assuming you were fine.

I was also a d3 runner and I ran my first marathon a year after I graduated, when I had no longer been training seriously. Like you, I averaged around 60 mpw and my longest run was 17 miles (though I did 17 miles 4 or 5 times during the buildup). I struggled with anemia and lost almost 3 weeks of real training about 2 months before my marathon.

However, my 5k PR from college was 2:30 faster than yours, and my 10k PR was over 4 minutes faster than yours. I ran 13 miles @ 6:15 pace about 3 weeks before the race.

Even so, I only ran 2:50 (and was very happy to do so). Running the marathon while undertrained is HARD. I felt great for 18 miles and was still on 2:47 pace with about 4 miles to go but I blew up completely.

2:53 sounds, to me, like an absurdly ambitious goal. 3:10 would be the way to go, and anything better is icing on the cake.

If your longest run to date was 17 miles, run it in your trainers. The minimal boost the flats give you early on will be nullified by the incredible abuse your feet will feel by mile 22 or so.

Do you have some fairly light trainers? I'd use them.

Results?

I ran 3:22.08. Ran strong and smart for 18 miles...all under 710ish. My knee started hurting near mile 21 (probably IT band) so I had to slow down in hopes that I would not have to resort to walking. Ran 5, 9ish minute miles. I had a clear head and am proud of my effort. I got the award for 3rd female overall.

There were a couple steep bridges and some strong wind at times, but with good temperatures, I can't complain.

Finally, I am TERRIBLE at drinking while running. Oh well.

Thanks for the advice and support, letsrun!

Nice first effort at the distance! You'll be amazed at how much better you run the next one, now that you know what to expect.

Congratulations! A good effort in your first marathon. Enjoy it and take it easy for a while. Thanks for sharing this with us. Always interesting to know what others are doing.

Nice job! You're off to a great start. The drinking while running does get a little easier, but never easy.

Reviving this thread. Last weekend I ran a 1:26:37 half marathon, marathon coming up on the 28th. This half was at the end of a 70 mile week. This training cycle has been the most consistent and high volume I've ever done and I'm still healthy! One more 20 miler on Sunday and then backing down on mileage slowly until the big day. I could not believe how comfortable 6:35 pace felt for most of the race, started at 6:53 for the first mile. I've kept time goals completely out of my mind this whole time but now it's getting closer to the race. Any advice would be appreciated!

Note this will be my third marathon, my second was severely undertrained and just awful.

Great times. I'd recommend trying a half first.

I'm dumb sorry

Big HONKING birds wrote:

Great times. I'd recommend trying a half first.