Ran 20 Miles Fri, got first marathon Sun. NEED ADVICE

Nice job!!! I was there, too.

I guess you saw the results. Pretty slow out there for lots of the elite runners. Top Canadians in 2:16 and 2:44. Ouch.

Howd you do?

Yeah, I was predicting that someone would beat 2:09:30 this year until the sun and wind came out around KM 25.

I think the weather added 5-10 minutes to the average runners time.

^^The second time is always funner. First you conquer the distance, then you work your speed.

I'm already looking forward to my next marathon! There's another one here in Toronto in two weeks but I think I'll just do a half then. Definitely want to do another full in '08. Maybe Niagara Falls.

run on soft surfaces as you build up your mileage, do it gradually, do a tempo of 4-6M every week or two (or 2x2M, etc.) and a track workout of 1200-2k repeats, shortening the rest as you get fitter, do a long run every week. not sure of the virtue of doubles vs. singles as far as marathon training goes but doubles will allow you to run faster in training. also you need to take more gels in a marathon, not just two. at least every 45 minutes, but a gel or powerbar 15 minutes before the race.

wak9 wrote:

I'm already looking forward to my next marathon! There's another one here in Toronto in two weeks but I think I'll just do a half then. Definitely want to do another full in '08. Maybe Niagara Falls.

Don't get too excited about doing marathons. The first couple may go by fine, but you will eventually start having numerous injuries.

My excitement led to running a marathon with ITband problems and a sore foot which turned out to be a stress fracture. Ended up taking 8 weeks off to recover. Keep the running easier and on soft surfaces for 3-4 weeks after a marathon.

wak9 wrote:

Howd you do?

Yeah, I was predicting that someone would beat 2:09:30 this year until the sun and wind came out around KM 25.

.

Well, unlike you (hehe) I trained my heart out for this and was disappointed with my result; off by about 5-10 minutes of what I thought was possible.

I'm also thinking about doing another one in a few weeks, so as to not waste the training, but not sure how good an idea this is.

lucky13 wrote:

Well, unlike you (hehe) I trained my heart out for this and was disappointed with my result; off by about 5-10 minutes of what I thought was possible.

I'm also thinking about doing another one in a few weeks, so as to not waste the training, but not sure how good an idea this is.

So, you weren't as good as you hoped and now you think you will be better than this in three weeks now that you have 26 miles of beating on your legs huh?

I feel for you in terms of being disappointed, I do, but that is just plain dumb thinking.

Should I be able to do the Niagara Falls Marathon on October 26? How can I train for it?

How do I recover from yesterday's marathon AND taper for Oct 26? Could I do a half marathon the week before (Toronto Marathon Oct 19)?