I have just decided that the time has come for me to attempt my first marathon (next year sometime)
Now the real issue is that I would like to achieve a g.f.a time for f.l.m 2006. I am currently running 40-50 m.p.w. My p.b at half marathon is 1:23ish. I'm male and will be 40 in January.
Now my dilema is, do I put all my eggs in one basket and train for just one marathon or should I try and tackle one earlier in the year and if that goes belly up I will still be able to try another say Aug/sept(assuming I'm up to it)
I realise that I will have to up my weekly long runs (currently 2hr approx 15m)I have attempted a couple of 3hr runs without any undue stress. My training also covers speedwork, intervals and hills, so I think I have the background, but it's just the fact of entering the unknown!
The target is to go sub 3hr for my first marathon(or am I dreaming)
Any views or opinions from some of you old seasoned pro's would be much appreciated.
Cheers G.R
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Comments
2. Yes, running sub 3hrs takes some focus.
3. If you do have an autumn marathon as a back up I would not go for Aug / Sept as you could hit a hot day which will slow you down. Good flat October marathons include Cardiff and Abingdon.
I was previously convinced that I wouldn't attempt a marathon unless I was confident of doing it under 3 hours. I've now abandoned that and decided that a marathon is an essential part of marathon training.
Whatever you decide, good luck!
My plan for this year was to try a sub-3 in April and again in the autumn, on the back of a 1:24 half in February. The way it panned out, I did a slightly injured and quite cautious 3:03 in April, then took it easy for a month, then picked up again through the summer building up to a tough August and September, and beat 3 quite comfortably in October.
The only trouble is if you're aiming for a GFA place, you need to find a nice fast one before second week in October which probably rules out Abingdon. Berlin might be a good idea.
Male 18-40 3:00
Male 41-59 3:15
This means he will need to run 3:15 as a 41 year old, which won't be until Jan 06.
Gold Rush - I did a 3:01 first marathon off a 1:23 half this year - and I'm 38 so similar to you. I was only doing 40-45 mpw at the time, so there is no reason why you shouldn't go for 3hrs in a spring marathon.
If you've not run a marathon before and you are keen to get a GFA, then I'd definitely recommend doing both a spring and autumn marathon. If you don't get the GFA time in the spring one, you should definitely get it in the autumn one.
As toomuchapplepie says, Abingdon is a week to late to count as a GFA (shame as it's a very nice course), but there are plenty of other autumn marathons you can consider.
If I leave Cardiff as my second(and last)chance, what are the best options for a fast course in the spring preferably in this country.
toomuchapplepie- I'm interested what time did you achieve.
Cheers G.R
That was off a good but not stellar 12-week average of just under 50 mpw, with a weekly peak of 64 miles and little structured speed training, so can do better. Still felt great though!