I agree - the weekly base mileage makes a big difference here. I know folks who run a pretty fast half and/or full while only running 30-40 miles/week in training. Not sure that they could maintain their marathon pace after a half the day before with that type of base. But if you have a base above 50 miles/week, you have a much better chance.
What he said. My long runs (20 miles) ended up being about 3 and 1/2 hours... which is not far off the time I spent in the actual race. The idea is to accustom your body to exchanging energy and working for that length of time. My long runs were never better than a 9:30 pace, I ran my pace runs sub 9 and occasionally near 8 minutes, and I averaged 8:28 in the race. And like Trike says, if you ran at race pace on long runs you'd just grind your body into powder.
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My dip in pace at mile 7 was an unfortunate
GI situation(lol)- I don't think my body handles Gatorade well, combined with the shot blocks it was too much.. Live and learn
( and yes I know don't try anything new! Learned that here ..Nothing was new, might have been a new combination though! So- new combinations are still NEW!
Well done! You certainly are improving!
Another possible way to help with this is to take salt tabs and less sports drink. They are usually easier to digest. I prefer the ones from Salt Stick, but there are other options out there too.
If you stick to the plan, yes.
Me personally...no (I'd done a marathon first). But I know others have.
Focus on the training and getting excited for the event...the race weekend will be your reward for the hard work you have been/will be putting in all year at home to get ready.
Stuck to my training plan (see a pattern here?). Also, some sort of cross training - strength training, yoga, etc. - was helpful for me.
Follow it to the letter. When you get to the starting line(s) you will know you have done your best.
Don't get scared by what I'm writing. I'm the idiot trying to PR the marathon after running the half the day before.
Yes and yes. For what it's worth, I signed up for the Goofy before running my first marathon. (I ended up running a marathon after registering but before the Goofy). I relied ALOT on the Galloway training plan.
For me, 1) think of the medal! 2) you committed to it, so follow-through with it 3) what else are you gonna do with that time? Sit on the couch and watch TV?
Train, train, train. Also, as I got closer, I would imagine myself on the Disney course. At the 5.5 mile mark I'd think "this is where I'll be running through the castle", etc.
last year at this time I was running my first half marathon, and I thought that there was no way that I would want to or be able to run a marathon; however, our local race offers a special discount/medal if you sign up for a back 2 back series - half in spring and full in fall. And for some reason I decided to sign up for that, and then decided to sign up for Dopey! What was I thinking???
If you stick to your plan you can definitely do this. I know there can be an urge to push yourself harder than your plan says to, but your body needs the rest days and the easy days to recover. Make sure it's getting time to do this.
That's what it's all about... trusting the training. The plans are developed from a lot of knowledge and experience, and you should feel good you have all that knowledge and experience behind you. A lot of people have done what you are doing and succeeded. At my first marathon, I didn't feel any doubt until I crossed the 20 mile mark into the unknown, then I began to wonder. And I remembered what experienced runners, on this blog and elsewhere, had hammered home: Trust the training. I reminded myself I had put in the work and should feel confident. The last 10k was difficult but I crossed the finish line on my feet. You can do it too!
