Pine Belt Pacers Forum

I'll run the Lake Wobegon Trail Marathon, in Minnesota, May 10, 09. (Imagine dropping the Long Leaf Trace into the movie, "Fargo") 10 training weeks away. I need lots of training advice, eg: what is "gu", and why should I eat it?

I ran my first 13.1 December 6, 08. My average pace in the half was 8:38. What pace should I shoot for in the 26.2? And should I distance-train near that pace? (I'm 54)

Where I am now: Since the first of January, I've done one distance run a week, 6 and 10 miles alternating, 9:00 to 9:15 pace. I also do speed-training and a 5K every week. 10 training weeks left before the race. I was thinking maybe increased mileage every other week, such as: 12-6-14-6-16-6-20-6-22-6-race.

I'm open to any and all advice here. Eric

I would not drop back down to 6 miles every other week. I would drop back to maybe 6-8-10-12 etc.

Hi Eric, great to hear you go for your first marathon. You are a strong runner and will do great. I agree with Robyn, don't go back to 6 for a "long run". The other observation is that you should try to run your last Loooong run (more than 18-20) 3 weeks before the race. the last 3 weeks you start tapering. I don't have any idea about training, but look at the following schedule with 3 rest days (good for someone lazy like me in his first one! hehe! If you run 5 or 6 days a week, of course you can modify the schedule a lot!) - -->

March 1: 4 - Rest - 6 - 4 - Rest - 12 Rest
March 8: 4 - Rest - 6 - 4 - Rest - 10 Rest
March 15: 4 - Rest - 6 - 4 - Rest - 15 - Rest
March 22: Rest - 7 - 4 - Rest - 12 - Rest
Marzo 29: Rest - 8 - 5 - Rest - 18 - Rest
Abril 5: 5 - Rest - 8 - 5 - Rest - 12 - Rest
Abril 12: 5 - Rest - 8 - 5 - Rest - 18 - Rest
Abril 19: 5 - Rest - 8 - 5 - Rest - 20 - Rest
Abril 26: 5 - Rest - 8 - 5 - Rest - 14 - Rest
May 3: 3 - Rest - 5 - 3 - Rest - 10 - Rest
May 10: 3 - Rest - 3 - Walk 2 - Rest - 26.2 Rest

Welcome aboard - it's a wacky world, hopefully, you will love it. If not, you can say that you have run a marathon and that will be a great accomplishment.

Someone will be able to answer the Gu question very technically, but I will get started. Your body only has approximately 1 hour of glycogen stores, after that, you are basically running on empty. The gu is a carb with electrolytes to replace what you are losing through sweat, etc. I would highly recommend practicing using the Gu's during all of your long runs over 12 miles for a couple of reasons. One - many people have stomach issues so using the gu s during training helps you to get accustomed to using them. Also, it is my belief that you body learns to use them more effectively if you use them during training and not just on race day.

I would recommend on your 20 miler, 3 weeks out from your race, that you wear exactly what you will wear on race day, wear your gu s and wear the shoes that you will run the race in, for your 20 miler. I always get a new pair of shoes, break them in for a little while, and then run my last 20 miler in them, a few of the shorter runs during the last 2 weeks, and then the race (I always have less than 100 miles on my marathon race day shoes). I would recommend eating whatever you will eat on race morning for breakfast, on all of your later long runs 16, 18, 20. This way you should have no surprises on race day.

If you are like most runners this will not be an issue, but eating as soon as possible after your long runs is good for recovery. Carbs and protein for me.

Of course, I have to mention the ice bath again. I do an ice bath after all long runs 14 miles and longer. 50-54 degrees for 10-20 minutes (use an aquarium thermometer). speeds recovery

Enjoy the journey. I am excited for you.

Ginny, Raul, and Speedy. This in great stuff! Ginny, I will definitely do the gu. Good comments about the shoes. I'da never thought about that. Raul, I'm gonna run your suggested schedule pretty closely, but substitute speed training for the 4-mile runs. I picked this particular marathon because it's a rails-to-trails with no bad hills. Race day temp in May will be low-to-mid 40's. I'm also a fan of NPR's Prairie Home Companion. And I like the way people talk in Minnesota. "Oh, yer darn tootin'!"......"You Betcha!".......

Eric

Hi Eric,
I don't know how often you run weekly. The schedule is for 4 days a week. If you add another day, you could probably avoid doing those 8-milers in the middle of the week. In other words, you could break those 8-milers in 2 days.

When I was training for my first marathon, I never went for a run longer than 16 miles and did not get gels or any other energy stuff. Of course, I paid the price and when I did the real 26.2m in NY, I just ran out of gasoline after mile 17. I had crossed the half point in 2:02:40 but finished the whole journey in 4:49:06 after having to walk for a while in miles 17, 20, and 23.

Keep running and have a lot of fun in the training!

Eric:

Please post your training each week. I'm interested and I'm sure others can learn from what you are doing. You have a short time frame for training but if you are careful and be sure to get in the long runs, I think you can complete the marathon without *too* much pain. Ginny gave very good advice regarding shoes, clothing and diet. Everything needs to be done in such a way that you reduce your risk of having any major surprises. I say major because a marathon always presents surprises; you just want them to be as minor as possible.