Wanted: First Marathon Tips!

[Livelovedance]

You have received tons of great advice. I'll add two things that have not been mentioned:

First: This may not be an issue with you, but be careful not to over train. For my first marathon - Goofy in 2019, I did two things I do not recommend. First, I did a dry run of the entire training plan over the summer because I wanted to prove to myself I could do all the training. And second, I substituted many of the shorter runs for longer runs because I had in my head that if I am going to go through the effort to change, get out, run, sweat, return, shower, change again, etc., I wanted to make it was worth my while. So I would turn a planned 3 mile run into 6 or 7 miles. By the time I got to race day, I was a bit burned out. So advice: Follow the plan as it is written.

Second: I kinda think about running a marathon, especially a Disney marathon as taking a long car trip. It reminds me of the long drive from CT to FL - not the return trip back to CT, only the trip down where there is excitement about arriving at your destination. Think about how similar it is with the scenery along the way, the landmarks you pass through, attractions, pit stops, food breaks. It is a long trip but as long as you keep moving, you will get there!!

I love the road trip analogy!

 

[Oswald0827]

Getting the science correct with gels and drinks is obviously important, but eating something you like and your stomach tolerates can also be important. I plan my gel/drink schedule pretty carefully, but I also keep a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in my pocket for about mile 18 or 20. I'm sure it is not ideal from a nutritional standpoint, but it tastes great, sits well in my stomach, and gives me at least a mental boost when I need it. I also stopped at one of the food stands at HS (only about 10 yards off course) and bought a big sugary, caffeinated coke during the last Disney marathon. Of course, I also bought a beer from Germany.

I would never consume anything but gels and water during a HM, but I find I can almost eat anything during a marathon and need a bit of real food. I'm a slow runner and a pretty big guy, so I rationalize that I simply need the calories to keep going.

But try it on a long run first and keep repeating the mantra "Nothing new on race day..."

Love it - I do the same- beer and pretzel in Germany in the 26th mile. Best way to finish the marathon IMHO

 

[Oswald0827]

Not sure if this was mentioned yet, if you aren't local always good to start acclimating to the heat at home. Layer up clothes during training runs. Since the marathon takes longer it extends into the heat and humidity of the day. Also, start training you body to handle more water. Begin increasing your water intake the week leading up to the marathon.

 

[The Expert]

I'm in the process of searching for good leggings for running (especially since fall and winter are on their way), so I'll check out the links you shared and start putting a little more focus on pockets! I know myself, having additional items on me will bother me, so having more pockets could help with the nutrition aspect. I'll still have to assess the hydration stops.

I run almost exclusively in running skirts from Bolder (link). They have several different cut options and lots of fun styles. If you get the proper size, the do not budge! And I've never had to go through a bag security check at a race because of the HUGE thigh pockets and the zippered waist pocket (which can be worn front or back). I swear by them, and even wear them in the parks sometimes.

Not sure if this was mentioned yet, if you aren't local always good to start acclimating to the heat at home. Layer up clothes during training runs. Since the marathon takes longer it extends into the heat and humidity of the day. Also, start training you body to handle more water. Begin increasing your water intake the week leading up to the marathon.

DITTO this! The 2020 marathon was red flagged and the course cut due to record heat. It was BRUTAL! I hadn't really done any acclimation and came from Utah, where it's definitely not hot during most of training season. Be prepared for any conditions!

 

[Sleepless Knight]

- Fuel/Nutrition: I have absolutely no experience, except I have tried Sport Beans from runDisney. I'll admit my first half marathon was the first time I tried any type of fuel. I know, nothing new on race day!I ate 1 bean from the pack and waited to see how I felt. I was good so I just held on to it and ate 1 as needed. I just recently bought a couple packs for future long training runs. I have some food texture issues (ex: I can't eat bananas), so I figured this was safer than a goo or gel...

I discovered while training for my first marathon that I had been dramatically under fueling in every half marathon I had ever run. Once @DopeyBadger helped me identify the problem, I set about correcting it. And one lesson I learned is that my stomach did not want to take the proper amount of fuel in the fuel I had been using. I shared my concerns here on The Running Thread and many people gave me great advice that helped me discover fuel that I could accept in the correct quantity. I use Huma gels for those long runs. They don't mess with my stomach. As others have said, test and try as best you can to see what works for you.

- Pacing: I'm using my easy/LR pace for training. I wonder if it would be helpful to work to increase my speed a little during one of the shorter weekday runs each week.

It sounds crazy, but train slower to race faster works.

- Making it through long training runs: My current easy/LR pace has me looking at pretty long training runs for the rest of the plan. I'm determined to do it, so I will, but I'm trying to imagine myself running all these miles (especially the last long run - 26 miles!). I know once I get through it I'll be confident to be able to do it for the race, but running 26 miles by yourself is COMPLETELY different from doing it in a race with cheering spectators and all of your "running friends..." Any advice? I'll be running a workday to get those miles done!

One thing that long runs taught me is that early on those runs seem impossibly too long, but stick with it and after a mile or two, you adjust and then you just plug along and keep at it.

EDIT TO ADD: My mind is spinning as I think about my current situation! Is it too late to consider changing my training plan? I’ve been following the beginner Galloway plan. If I were able to add a 4th day of running each week with a new plan, how would that impact the length of my long runs? I didn’t think I could originally, but after all the reading I did last night I feel like I’m selling myself short!

I'm super excited to get back to live runDisney races. I love all of it, even the ridiculously long expo lines! I've never been there for marathon weekend, so I'm looking forward to the new experience!

The marathon is in January. It's far from too late.

How many times per week are you running with your plan? I like the idea that the longest run is a lot shorter, I'm just afraid to commit to a plan and not be able to complete it.

I know you didn't ask me, but I shared similar concerns as you do before my first marathon. I had a difficult time wrapping my head around a "short" long run of 11 miles for the marathon. But @DopeyBadger patiently answered all of my questions, including when I found new ways to ask the same question because I was still wrapping my head around it all.

Here's the reality of the plan he devised for me. My running volume was actually higher than the Galloway plan, but instead of concentrating all of those miles into one long run a week, I spread them out over 5 days. I found that running more days a week helped me recover significantly faster than using the Galloway plan. On the Galloway plan for half marathons, I was taking at least two days to recover from long runs. Now, it takes me one day. While I was pretty sore for two days after my first marathon (Dopey as well), I felt normal by Wednesday.

the next key thing to be mindful of is nothing new on race day. Have your fueling and hydration strategy tested well in advance.

I almost hate to share this as it goes against this rule, but I think it's good to keep this in mind. Know your body. Know how you respond to things. Sometimes my body wants nothing to do with food whatsoever until around 10:00am or so. Not a good thing for a race. I don't love applesauce, but it works as a pre race breakfast for me so I can handle it. Well on the morning of marathon number one after 3 days of applesauce, my stomach was informing me in very clear terms that it was not going to agree with applesauce. My choices were between bad (no fuel) and worse (fuel that my stomach was already churning at the thought of). As I thought about my dilemma, I remembered many, many runners extolling the virtues of peanut butter on a plain bagel. I realized that since I like peanut butter and bagels, it was worth a shot. It worked wonderfully and now I have a better option than applesauce. It would have been better to learn this long beforehand, but if you have a no win scenario, keep this sort of thing in mind. It saved me.

Oh I have so much to learn! Thank you so much to everyone for your tips so far! I’m so glad I asked, but I feel even less prepared than before…

I’m not a fan of carrying things when I run. I don’t wear a belt, arm sleeve or hydration pack. If I have my phone I try to make sure I have a pocket to keep it in. It seems as though I might need to rethink this if I’m going for longer distances… I think I need a course in long distance running techniques lol.

There's always more to learn. I had a far more enjoyable first marathon than first half marathon because I learned so much from other runners about what worked for them and didn't work. To your point about running minimally, I do not recommend that. While water and fuel options are easily available along the course at Disney, there is no guarantee they will be there for you when you need them. Sometimes my throat gets extremely dry during morning runs and I can get a difficult dry cough. That's miserable. Because I always carry my own hydration, I have it available on demand if and when I need it. I take a quick swig, wet my throat, and I'm good to go. Likewise, on one occasion at a Disney race, they were out of hydration at hydration stop number one. Once again, I was okay because I carried my own.

I think I've had a handful in the 10-13 mile max range as well.

I think my longest runs were 11 miles in your plans for me. And they worked perfectly. I had plenty of endurance to finish including the infamous heat of the 2020 marathon.

Second: I kinda think about running a marathon, especially a Disney marathon as taking a long car trip. It reminds me of the long drive from CT to FL - not the return trip back to CT, only the trip down where there is excitement about arriving at your destination. Think about how similar it is with the scenery along the way, the landmarks you pass through, attractions, pit stops, food breaks. It is a long trip but as long as you keep moving, you will get there!!

This is a great analogy. I always have to remind myself when starting a plan that I do not need to run x number of miles today. Rather that I'm preparing today to run x number of miles on race day. When I didn't want to go for a shorter 4 mile run during marathon training, I told myself that I was really at mile 22 of the marathon. Now when the real mile 22 came, I was exhausted and sore. But I told myself that I was ready for this because I had already run the next 4 miles many times in training. It worked.

 

[Livelovedance]

It sounds crazy, but train slower to race faster works.

I finally learned my easy/LR pace last summer and it truly makes running more enjoyable!

I know you didn't ask me, but I shared similar concerns as you do before my first marathon. I had a difficult time wrapping my head around a "short" long run of 11 miles for the marathon. But @DopeyBadger patiently answered all of my questions, including when I found new ways to ask the same question because I was still wrapping my head around it all.

Here's the reality of the plan he devised for me. My running volume was actually higher than the Galloway plan, but instead of concentrating all of those miles into one long run a week, I spread them out over 5 days. I found that running more days a week helped me recover significantly faster than using the Galloway plan. On the Galloway plan for half marathons, I was taking at least two days to recover from long runs. Now, it takes me one day. While I was pretty sore for two days after my first marathon (Dopey as well), I felt normal by Wednesday.

I think I learned this the hard way in the last week in thinking about the amount of time those long runs would take me (20 miles, 23 miles, 26 miles...). I told myself I could only do three days a week, but when I sat down to really look at my schedule, I realized I can (and should) put more time in for me than I thought...

I almost hate to share this as it goes against this rule, but I think it's good to keep this in mind. Know your body. Know how you respond to things. Sometimes my body wants nothing to do with food whatsoever until around 10:00am or so. Not a good thing for a race. I don't love applesauce, but it works as a pre race breakfast for me so I can handle it. Well on the morning of marathon number one after 3 days of applesauce, my stomach was informing me in very clear terms that it was not going to agree with applesauce. My choices were between bad (no fuel) and worse (fuel that my stomach was already churning at the thought of). As I thought about my dilemma, I remembered many, many runners extolling the virtues of peanut butter on a plain bagel. I realized that since I like peanut butter and bagels, it was worth a shot. It worked wonderfully and now I have a better option than applesauce. It would have been better to learn this long beforehand, but if you have a no win scenario, keep this sort of thing in mind. It saved me.

This is me. I'm a wake up, get dressed and go run person, especially for a race (ESPECIALLY a runDisney race). My first runDisney race weekend I packed cereal to eat on the bus, but I ended up throwing it away. I can't eat that early, but I know with training for longer distances that I need to. I actually read about peanut butter and bagels somewhere (probably here on the boards!) and I packed half a bagel when I did my virtual SW half this year. I stopped at the car to grab it, and it was wonderful lol.

There's always more to learn. I had a far more enjoyable first marathon than first half marathon because I learned so much from other runners about what worked for them and didn't work. To your point about running minimally, I do not recommend that. While water and fuel options are easily available along the course at Disney, there is no guarantee they will be there for you when you need them. Sometimes my throat gets extremely dry during morning runs and I can get a difficult dry cough. That's miserable. Because I always carry my own hydration, I have it available on demand if and when I need it. I take a quick swig, wet my throat, and I'm good to go. Likewise, on one occasion at a Disney race, they were out of hydration at hydration stop number one. Once again, I was okay because I carried my own.

All very good points. I'll try work up to it. Right now I've got a cart on lululemon with a pair of pricey leggings and shorts with multiple pockets, and I'm waiting for who knows what to click Checkout. I'll start with things I can fit in pockets, and move forward from there lol.

This is a great analogy. I always have to remind myself when starting a plan that I do not need to run x number of miles today. Rather that I'm preparing today to run x number of miles on race day. When I didn't want to go for a shorter 4 mile run during marathon training, I told myself that I was really at mile 22 of the marathon. Now when the real mile 22 came, I was exhausted and sore. But I told myself that I was ready for this because I had already run the next 4 miles many times in training. It worked.

That's a great strategy. I'll have to keep that in mind on the difficult days!

 

[Sleepless Knight]

I think I learned this the hard way in the last week in thinking about the amount of time those long runs would take me (20 miles, 23 miles, 26 miles...). I told myself I could only do three days a week, but when I sat down to really look at my schedule, I realized I can (and should) put more time in for me than I thought...

Those long runs were very intimidating as part of my internal argument over the marathon. I knew they would take me 5+ hours every other Saturday on the Galloway plan. I realized that I had to trust the training of others that had done it before and trust in my own ability to train because I wanted it for me. I knew I would still be nervous heading into the marathon and then to top it off, I got a no fun chest cold less than one week before leaving for marathon weekend.

I opted to take Dopey very slowly. I even gave myself permission to allow myself to be swept from the 5K or 10K if I didn't have it. Well I did. Around mile 11 of the half, I knew that I was in tremendous shape for the marathon because I had never felt that strong that late into a half marathon before. I normally see the mile marker increase during a half and tell myself that I can rest soon.

So long as you choose a proven method of marathon training and stick to it with reasonable success, you will be fine. I have yet to run a perfect training plan. Even my very best training cycles had me miss a run or two, even long runs sometimes, skipping a run or two because I needed to get out of my own head, or whatever. But consistency leading up to the bad days and getting right back at it again make it possible to absorb them. I once used Galloway plans. I learned a lot from them. I still use much of what I learned from his plans.

 

[anneeb]

I like having minimal items with me on race day. I usually wear an iglowrunning (etsy) skirt with built in compression shorts that have 2 deep pockets. One for my phone and the other for fuel (honey stinger chews). Everyone is different, but for me Disney races have more than adequate water stops and I've never been thirsty. I also never race at Disney so I don't find myself physiologically challenged and therefore my tummy isn't as sensitive about fuel. If I run out of my chews I can manage with whatever is on the course. For me a Disney run is all about taking it in and enjoying the journey!

 

[shellott-hill]

There is definitely a lot of good information to digest above. I have only done 1 Marathon so far, but what I learned along the way was very valuable to me.

• I am not into training for 3-4 hours on a long run. I employed a method Billy told me to do. Stack two days of running back to back. That way on the second run you are simulating the back half of your Marathon and getting used to running on tired legs.
• I never went above 2.5 hours on a long run.
• Stacked an EB run the day before a long run and that worked its way up to 90 minutes.
• The Heat training is extremely important to those of us that are heat-challenged in Winter. I am wearing twice the layers of everyone else in my area to try and get my body used to running hotter.
• Nutrition is critical. This will be different for everyone. Experiment in training while you can. Find what works for you and don't change that during race day. Don't depend on Disney to have what nutrition you need. Pack it with you if you can. (Unless you figured out Powerade and water were good enough for you on your training runs).

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

I've searched the boards for a thread on this, but I didn't find quite what I'm looking for. I'm registered for my first marathon at the 2022 WDW Marathon Weekend, and I'm really looking forward to it! As I'm moving through training and the long runs are starting to get longer, questions are starting to pop into my mind. I know there are plenty of runners here on the boards, so I'm hoping to compile a good list of tips/strategies/suggestions/experiences/etc. (Disclaimer: I know everyone is different and what works for some may not work for all! I'd love to hear anything that anyone has to share, and then take what I've learned and do what works for me. )

A little background info for reference:
- I've run multiple 5Ks and 10Ks, locally and in WDW. I've run 4 half marathons (2 in WDW, 2 virtual).
- I can relate to Baymax:
View attachment 593793
- I've run 10Ks to meet the previous POT requirements for half marathons, but the new requirements are quite a reach!
- I've been actively following the Marathon Weekend thread here on the boards.
- I'm currently following the Galloway Beginner Marathon Training Plan.
- I'm a solo runner.
- I run with earbuds for every run, except runDisney races.
- I have been fitted in a local running store for good shoes, so I feel good in that area.
- Outside of running, I'm a fan of cardio. I have a Peloton bike and enjoy the cycling and strength classes.

Things I'm wondering/I'd like to know more about:
- Fuel/Nutrition: I have absolutely no experience, except I have tried Sport Beans from runDisney. I'll admit my first half marathon was the first time I tried any type of fuel. I know, nothing new on race day!I ate 1 bean from the pack and waited to see how I felt. I was good so I just held on to it and ate 1 as needed. I just recently bought a couple packs for future long training runs. I have some food texture issues (ex: I can't eat bananas), so I figured this was safer than a goo or gel...
- Pacing: I'm using my easy/LR pace for training. I wonder if it would be helpful to work to increase my speed a little during one of the shorter weekday runs each week.
- Making it through long training runs: My current easy/LR pace has me looking at pretty long training runs for the rest of the plan. I'm determined to do it, so I will, but I'm trying to imagine myself running all these miles (especially the last long run - 26 miles!). I know once I get through it I'll be confident to be able to do it for the race, but running 26 miles by yourself is COMPLETELY different from doing it in a race with cheering spectators and all of your "running friends..." Any advice? I'll be running a workday to get those miles done!


Any and all advice/tips/suggestions are welcome! Any training advice, race advice (WDW or otherwise), recovery advice, etc. Any good books? I'll take anything you have to offer!

Thanks in advance!

If you look under my name on the "Marathon weekend 2022" thread, you'll find my "Marginally useful advice" which (I hope) will have some good advice for a first time (or even multi-time) runner for WDW marathon weekend. I posted two different posts with things that I've learned. I'll defer to dopeybadger and some of the others on this thread for much more detailed info about nutrition than I had to offer. But FWIW, I also picked up a few free goo's at the expo, and took one or two during the marathon, and that plus the water stops was plenty.

Hope you have a great race!

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

Thank you for all of this! I'm looking forward to reading through your posts, and checking out some of the resources you've shared. I clearly have a lot to learn, but after the year + we've all had, I really want this and I'm interested in learning as much as I can to do the best that I can.

I appreciate your sincere honesty. When we first discussed training, I was hesitant to commit to over 3 days because of what I let happen last summer. It's been a lesson to me that we're all human, life happens, but we have to pick ourselves up and move on! After reading @Herding_Cats 's training journal last night, I started to think about what I could realistically commit to. I'm most motivated and have the most time in the summer. I'm running 3 days now with Galloway and honestly wanting to do more because I have the time. I've been going on walks and/or doing strength or cycling classes on the off days. The fall is a different story, but I cut back A LOT with certain commitments already, knowing that I wanted to train for the marathon in January. I just got my first schedule and it's very reasonable. So why couldn't I replace that time with running? Looking ahead to the fall (when I'm usually the busiest), I was originally looking at sticking with Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays (Thursdays being a little difficult but I can make it work) for Galloway. However, I now have Mondays, Tuesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays with no current weekly commitments. Wednesdays or Thursdays could work (Wednesdays would be ideal over Thursdays), and Fridays might work but I might have commitments every other Friday (schedule TBD). So honestly, I could (and should) really do 4 or 5 days a week. And looking forward, I think I'd rather put more time in regularly during the week as opposed to doing such long runs regularly in the winter...

The Galloway plan is pretty simple to follow, but I like more specifics, and I'm starting to feel it grow a little stagnant in the short time I'm using it. I know it's still early but I feel like the goal is to reach the marathon distance, and I'd like to see more than that as a result of my training. My goal is to run a marathon, but along the way I'd like to make improvements in other areas while increasing my distance.

I'm in the process of searching for good leggings for running (especially since fall and winter are on their way), so I'll check out the links you shared and start putting a little more focus on pockets! I know myself, having additional items on me will bother me, so having more pockets could help with the nutrition aspect. I'll still have to assess the hydration stops.

So much to learn, and so many notes to take! Thanks again to each of you for all of your tips and support. I'm taking it all in!

I read through the Galloway plan and for the most part I'm good with it, but I can't do all the walking with just the longer and longer runs on the weekend. So my standard afternoon run is 3 to 3.5 miles, which I try to do every other day, and I just walk to get my steps in on the other days, or maybe not even that on date night. But I've been trying to lengthen at least one run per week when I can get to the greenway (due to the long boardwalk sections that give and are easier on ones joints). I'm also a fan of "undertraining" and not doing more than 15 or 16 miles for my longest run. (turns out that I've accidentally been following some of disneybadgers's recommendations without knowing it) Confession time, I don't think I've ever done more than 10 miles for a long training run. A big part of that is not having all the time needed for extended runs. So I'll keep doing my shorter daily runs to try to drop more weight and slowly increase one run a week to longer distances. I bumped it up to 4.6 miles this afternoon and was pleasantly surprised at my avg time per mile.
As for storage, I find the armbands get annoying for longer distances, so I'll get a belt for the race and tuck some beans or gu in also.

 

[Gary Snyder]

great info from everyone..thanks!! This is my first marathon and I have not seen any comments regarding what drinks, snacks, fruit, gels, etc. are given out
along the course by Disney (n/c) and how often these are distributed in the race (ie, 1 mile, 2 miles, etc) ...just trying to figure out what I have to bring....TIA

 

[camaker]

great info from everyone..thanks!! This is my first marathon and I have not seen any comments regarding what drinks, snacks, fruit, gels, etc. are given out
along the course by Disney (n/c) and how often these are distributed in the race (ie, 1 mile, 2 miles, etc) ...just trying to figure out what I have to bring....TIA

The course has aid stations handing out water and Powerade every 1 1/2 - 2 miles throughout the course. In addition to that, there are generally two stops after halfway with bananas and one spot late in the race where they hand out candy. Lately, the official fuel for the race has been Sport Beans with one or two stops later in the race handing them out.

What you have to bring will largely be a matter of personal preference. I don’t carry any fluids during RunDisney races, as the aid stations are more then sufficient for my hydration needs. I wouldn’t trust my fueling needs to the course, though. I bring my preferred fuel (Huma Gels) with me and supplement with the bananas as needed.

 

[jmasgat]

great info from everyone..thanks!! This is my first marathon and I have not seen any comments regarding what drinks, snacks, fruit, gels, etc. are given out
along the course by Disney (n/c) and how often these are distributed in the race (ie, 1 mile, 2 miles, etc) ...just trying to figure out what I have to bring....TIA

Following up on what @camaker replied, here is a link to the course map from 2020 that shows the locations of all the water stops, medical stops, food etc.

https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewe...ll=28.361462724220466,-81.57304933347761&z=15

 

[GreatLakes]

Some things I learned from my first marathon and some others I've learned since (many have been mentioned already but I wanted to share my experiences):

First and foremost accept that you will make mistakes both training for and running your first marathon. Unless you are a pro moving up in distance it is improbably you won't make mistakes. You just want to limit the mistakes to things that won't cause injury or DNF.

The biggest mistake I made was concentrating on the long run at the expense of the cumulative miles. I mistakenly thought if I get my longest run in each week the other runs could be skipped. Nope.

As already mentioned but I can not stress this enough, put in plenty of slow miles. I trained way too fast not only for my first marathon but in general my first decade of running. I started doing slow miles in 2018 and while it took a little while to notice the impact I can tell you without reservation that it has improved my speed, endurance, and reduced my injuries.

Use training to try out fueling strategy, what you feel comfortable in, any areas that become problematic (chaffing, blisters, hot spots) so you can work on a prevention strategy.

Those were really the big lessons learned from my first marathon. Things I've since learned as I tried to decrease my marathon times:

Miles are king. Since reading the Hansons Marathon Method I'm a believer in cumulative miles and training for the fatigue you feel later in the marathon. My current plan starts week 1 with 30 miles and until December it prescribes 6 days a week ever week.

Schedule your runs like you schedule anything else in your life. If you have a family calendar put it on the family calendar so you have the time dedicated to it. If you are doing it over lunch at work mark yourself away. Don't let chance play a part on whether or not you get in your run. That being said...

You can be flexible, we all have other obligations, but be smart about it. Don't treat any single day as an island, especially if you are using a training plan that includes runs tailored to different needs (speed, tempo, repeats, easy). As an example, lets say you have a plan that has Wednesdays off, hard track days on Thursdays, recovery runs on Fridays, tempo runs on Saturdays, and then long runs on Sunday keep those in mind as a series. If you push the hard track day from Thursday to Friday keep it followed by a recovery run, don't skip right to the tempo run.

Do bodywork and work on mobility. I like to foam roll, do a little Graston using this tool, and use a lot of the mobility exercises in Kelly Starrett's book and Mark Cucuzzella's book.

Lastly, if you have a goal time in mind the best advice I've heard is to use a good race equivalency calculator and make sure you can hit the shorter time goals that correlation to your marathon goals. I like this one. If you want to run a 3:45 marathon make sure you can run a 23:37 5K, a 49:01 10K, and a 1:48:40 half. If you can't work on that first and then work on the marathon training.

 

[Oswald0827]

Some things I learned from my first marathon and some others I've learned since (many have been mentioned already but I wanted to share my experiences):

First and foremost accept that you will make mistakes both training for and running your first marathon. Unless you are a pro moving up in distance it is improbably you won't make mistakes. You just want to limit the mistakes to things that won't cause injury or DNF.

The biggest mistake I made was concentrating on the long run at the expense of the cumulative miles. I mistakenly thought if I get my longest run in each week the other runs could be skipped. Nope.

As already mentioned but I can not stress this enough, put in plenty of slow miles. I trained way too fast not only for my first marathon but in general my first decade of running. I started doing slow miles in 2018 and while it took a little while to notice the impact I can tell you without reservation that it has improved my speed, endurance, and reduced my injuries.

Use training to try out fueling strategy, what you feel comfortable in, any areas that become problematic (chaffing, blisters, hot spots) so you can work on a prevention strategy.

Those were really the big lessons learned from my first marathon. Things I've since learned as I tried to decrease my marathon times:

Miles are king. Since reading the Hansons Marathon Method I'm a believer in cumulative miles and training for the fatigue you feel later in the marathon. My current plan starts week 1 with 30 miles and until December it prescribes 6 days a week ever week.

Schedule your runs like you schedule anything else in your life. If you have a family calendar put it on the family calendar so you have the time dedicated to it. If you are doing it over lunch at work mark yourself away. Don't let chance play a part on whether or not you get in your run. That being said...

You can be flexible, we all have other obligations, but be smart about it. Don't treat any single day as an island, especially if you are using a training plan that includes runs tailored to different needs (speed, tempo, repeats, easy). As an example, lets say you have a plan that has Wednesdays off, hard track days on Thursdays, recovery runs on Fridays, tempo runs on Saturdays, and then long runs on Sunday keep those in mind as a series. If you push the hard track day from Thursday to Friday keep it followed by a recovery run, don't skip right to the tempo run.

Do bodywork and work on mobility. I like to foam roll, do a little Graston using this tool, and use a lot of the mobility exercises in Kelly Starrett's book and Mark Cucuzzella's book.

Lastly, if you have a goal time in mind the best advice I've heard is to use a good race equivalency calculator and make sure you can hit the shorter time goals that correlation to your marathon goals. I like this one. If you want to run a 3:45 marathon make sure you can run a 23:37 5K, a 49:01 10K, and a 1:48:40 half. If you can't work on that first and then work on the marathon training.

Great advice - thank you for sharing!

 

[CP3uhoh]

the best tip I could give someone training for a marathon the first time is to remember the training runs ARE NOT A RACE. This is especially important to remember when you start getting into the double digit miles because you can get away over training if you will at lower miles but when you get into the 10, 13 miles you must be careful to maintain a good training pace (which is hard) or you can injure yourself. Good Luck.

 

[Livelovedance]

The course has aid stations handing out water and Powerade every 1 1/2 - 2 miles throughout the course. In addition to that, there are generally two stops after halfway with bananas and one spot late in the race where they hand out candy. Lately, the official fuel for the race has been Sport Beans with one or two stops later in the race handing them out.

What you have to bring will largely be a matter of personal preference. I don’t carry any fluids during RunDisney races, as the aid stations are more then sufficient for my hydration needs. I wouldn’t trust my fueling needs to the course, though. I bring my preferred fuel (Huma Gels) with me and supplement with the bananas as needed.

Thanks for the heads up on the bananas! That definitely won't work for me, so I'm glad I've started buying some different fuel options to try!

Some things I learned from my first marathon and some others I've learned since (many have been mentioned already but I wanted to share my experiences):

First and foremost accept that you will make mistakes both training for and running your first marathon. Unless you are a pro moving up in distance it is improbably you won't make mistakes. You just want to limit the mistakes to things that won't cause injury or DNF.

The biggest mistake I made was concentrating on the long run at the expense of the cumulative miles. I mistakenly thought if I get my longest run in each week the other runs could be skipped. Nope.

As already mentioned but I can not stress this enough, put in plenty of slow miles. I trained way too fast not only for my first marathon but in general my first decade of running. I started doing slow miles in 2018 and while it took a little while to notice the impact I can tell you without reservation that it has improved my speed, endurance, and reduced my injuries.

Use training to try out fueling strategy, what you feel comfortable in, any areas that become problematic (chaffing, blisters, hot spots) so you can work on a prevention strategy.

Those were really the big lessons learned from my first marathon. Things I've since learned as I tried to decrease my marathon times:

Miles are king. Since reading the Hansons Marathon Method I'm a believer in cumulative miles and training for the fatigue you feel later in the marathon. My current plan starts week 1 with 30 miles and until December it prescribes 6 days a week ever week.

Schedule your runs like you schedule anything else in your life. If you have a family calendar put it on the family calendar so you have the time dedicated to it. If you are doing it over lunch at work mark yourself away. Don't let chance play a part on whether or not you get in your run. That being said...

You can be flexible, we all have other obligations, but be smart about it. Don't treat any single day as an island, especially if you are using a training plan that includes runs tailored to different needs (speed, tempo, repeats, easy). As an example, lets say you have a plan that has Wednesdays off, hard track days on Thursdays, recovery runs on Fridays, tempo runs on Saturdays, and then long runs on Sunday keep those in mind as a series. If you push the hard track day from Thursday to Friday keep it followed by a recovery run, don't skip right to the tempo run.

Do bodywork and work on mobility. I like to foam roll, do a little Graston using this tool, and use a lot of the mobility exercises in Kelly Starrett's book and Mark Cucuzzella's book.

Lastly, if you have a goal time in mind the best advice I've heard is to use a good race equivalency calculator and make sure you can hit the shorter time goals that correlation to your marathon goals. I like this one. If you want to run a 3:45 marathon make sure you can run a 23:37 5K, a 49:01 10K, and a 1:48:40 half. If you can't work on that first and then work on the marathon training.

These are great tips, thank you!

the best tip I could give someone training for a marathon the first time is to remember the training runs ARE NOT A RACE. This is especially important to remember when you start getting into the double digit miles because you can get away over training if you will at lower miles but when you get into the 10, 13 miles you must be careful to maintain a good training pace (which is hard) or you can injure yourself. Good Luck.

So true, the biggest lesson I learned last year was about easy/LR pace, and it really helps me enjoy running more! Thank you!

 

[Livelovedance]

Reviving this thread! Since August I’ve stuck to the plan and found a routine that has worked for me. I’ve got good leggings with pockets and use a handheld water bottle for hydration, with a little pouch for nutrition. The most challenging thing now is the evening runs in the dark and the cold weather. It definitely makes it harder to get out there and run, but I’ve come so far and I’m not willing to give all of that up.

My most recent concerns are cold weather running gear, and recovery. My favorite leggings aren’t really warm enough for the cold weather right now, and winter hasn’t even started yet. Now that the Springtime Surprise details have been announced, I’m going to have to fly home the evening of the Jan marathon in order to have the time to run these new races, which leads me to looking into compression socks or sleeves for the flight home.

I saw someone posted a link for Bombas on FB (20% off right now). Anyone have any experience with their compression socks?

 

[Herding_Cats]

I got a mystery pack of ProCompression socks last summer (they always have some sort of sale going and have 64% off right now i think?). I have worn them after all of my "half or longer" runs,race or training, which admittedly hasn't been a lot, but it definitely helped keep my feet and ankles from swelling up, and the "support" felt nice. They are SUPER annoying to put on because they are so tight around the foot and ankle area.