Howdy, Stranger!
Categories
Progressing from a half marathon to a full within 7 months
![[Deleted User]](https://w6.vanillicon.com/6da680f56020e2b988446e3e8f1bef24_100.png)
Hi, just need a bit of advice really with regards to whether my plan is feesable. I recently completed my 3rd HM in 2:01 I could have got under the 2 hours but got held up a bit. My last 2 hm's were in the 2:04's so was pretty happy to get close to 2 hours.
Anywhoo I would like to complete a full marathon next and there is one in May next year near to where I live which would be ideal. But Ive been reading stories of how much harder it is to do compared to the HM. Ive been running for a few years now and find it difficult to get my pace in the 8 min per mile range so im apprehensive as I dont want to end up at the back of the field or crashing out completely. Id like to finish in 4:30-5hrs. Everytime I cross the finish line of an hm though im always blown away at how people can possibly run that distance again!
Just need to know from those that have, how much more difficult is it to complete?
Thanks!
The materials in this website are in no way intended to replace the professional medical care, advice, diagnosis or treatment of a doctor, qualified personal trainer, therapist, dietitian or nutritionist Runners's World, Part of the Hearst UK well-being network © Copyright 2017
Comments
You'll be fine. Most training plans are based around a 16-20 week schedule so you are well prepared to start one come late January/February. You'll find that with a gradual build up you will be coping with the long runs perfectly well. probably worth entering another half or two to give you an intermediate goal between now and then. Enjoy.
Dan a lot of the toughness of a marathon isn't physical but more mental because most of us will at one point think why the funk I'm I doing this and you have to dig deep sometimes to get to the end. As long as you pick a training plan and try to stick to it you should be ok.
You need to get in some long runs in before the marathon and wheez is spot on above. I would have a play around with training plans and see what fits you.
You've probably going to find that your times will increase with miles without you noticeing as well.
Which marathon are you fanicing?
I did my first half in September 2011 (I think it was 2:07 ish) and then my first marathon May 2012 and completed it in 4:44:46 so I think your goal is definitely achievable.
Go for it!
Thats great thanks for all your advice, answered my question perfectly! Im looking at the rock n roll marathon in Liverpool in May. I will do the Liverpool HM as normal in March and treat that as a training run. Great to see a time like 4:44 is acheivable, id be very happy with that!
Dan is the Liverpool half still happening? Got a bit confused by the rock and roller’s taking the marathon. Might see you at the start for it if the half is going ahead.
Yes the Liverpool half is on, they are taking entries now. Its Sun 23rd March so plenty of recovery time before the May marathon. Suprised that BTR are not doing the Liverpool Marathon again, it got cancelled last year due to the council not allowing certain road closures, seems that this is not a problem for the Rock n Roll one though.
Dan, I did my first Half Marathon in Sept 2011 (1:57) and that was my first ever race and then did Manchester 2012 (4:06) as my first marathon. You will be fine. You will also find that you get your Half PB down a fair bit from marathon training too. I knocked 13 mins off mine in 6 months just from the extra endurance. Maybe look into a training plan?
Hi Dan,
Just be sensible with your training and you will be fine, As Cake says the marathon is mainly mental (!)
I started running in august 07, did my first half in Nov07 (1:56) and my first marathon in april08 (4:26)
I blew up at 16 miles and toughed it out to finish.
I tried the same race again in 2010, I was training for a middle distance tri so didn't give the marathon the respect it deserved (coz I could run ....) , aimed for sub4- blew up big time at 15 miles and finished in 4:50ish.
I havent trained properly since Sept10 and am staring again.
Current running 2 miles and it hurts like hell !! (I am not a natural athlete- just pig-headed...)
You will be fine
Yeah Im hoping to get my HM time down to 1:45, at present that seems impossible haha but with training im sure I'll get there!
Adbru if you can recall what did your pace for the 16 miles and what did it drop to for the remaining 10? Just interested in how people pace the distance. Some go fast then slow, others slow then fast or just steady all the way. Trying to figure whats the best strategy.
Thanks again guys!
I was pacing at 9min/miles and was halfway at just over 2hrs the first time.
Second time i was halfway at1:57.... so nearly 3 hours for the second 13 !!
Advice I was given was double your half time and add 30 mins, wasnt far out for me first time.
Next time I will aim to be able to do a 1:45 half and slog it out to try and get under the 4hours
Dan after about 16 to 20 miles a lot of folks struggle I do as well mainly due to not training as much as i did as a wee bun. If you look at trainig guides a lot of them will say about long run's of 16 to 20+ miles in the last few weeks before the marathon this is to conbat this. In a perfect world you want to be doing a negitive split on your times for the marathon so going slightly slower for the first half of it and going faster for the second but we don't live in a perfect world and so I would see how you go. That's according to the coach's and everyone is different so you might find going constant all the way around better or worst?
Oh for the liverpool marathon thing the organiser is a poster on here so a few of us know him socially. He's not said as much but I've got the feeling that Liverpool councle have mucked them about and then given the event to rock & roll after a promise of money to the authority.
Didn't know they still have the half through so hopefully see you at the start line for that one. I will be the fat bloke at the back done it last 4 years and loved it.
Did my first half in September 11 and first marathon in April 12. Certainly do able.
One thing most of the marathon race time predictors on line based on half times are ridiculously optimistic.
Yes my freinds seem to think its a simple case of doubling your half marathon time haha. I think not. In my case as it stands right now, the way I was feeling at the end of the HM, it would have been another 4 hours to go round again!
Yes it would appear the decision to hand it to the rock n roll is down to money, shame as btr always put on a well organised race and route, hope the rock n roll one does as well. Ill be doing the half with btr, itll be my 4th and 2 months before the main one, good for training and hopefully morale!
9 mins is the avg pace Im running now, that would be my aim for the full distance, going to take some serious training, looking forward to it!
Certainly doable. My first HM was South Coast Run in July 2013, time 2.10 on a very hot day.
First marathon Bournemouth Oct 2013 in 4.17 Halfway I did in 1.52, 20 miles was at 3hrs then where I really lost the pace was the last 4 miles after pulling a hamstring
2:01 is a very respectable half marathon, and if you put a standard amount of hours in.. be disciplined enough to do many of your long runs no faster than 11:15 minutes per mile and don't miss too many runs in a recogined programme, then I think you'll have a decent shot at 4:30. Most 16-18 week programmes will suggest running a half marathon a few weeks before the marathon... and that can really help identify your target pace for the main race. It would not surprise me, with that focussed training, if you broke 2hrs in that warm up race.
Definitely doable. Enjoy the ride.
Thanks again liking all the motivation, I need it! Just the thought of doubling the HM distance is bad at the moment. I used the 11 min per mile training for the HM and the previous 1 I did and that certainly helps with the endurance side of things, I mix it up with cross training Mon and Wed's and short fast runs to help at the end, I always seem to have enough for a sprint across the finish line before collapsing haha.
Anyway still really up for this May marathon, doing as much training as I did for the HM at present so the 1st proper long run will be in a week or so. Cheers!
I did the Liverpool half (my first) in 2012 in 1:56 and was made up with that. At the time, I too had thoughts of, "How the hell do people run double that?". But i wanted to test myself, so i decided to enter the full Marathon that October. As it turned out, I didnt quite treat it with the respect it deserved. This was partly due to missing a lot of training with injury, but still wanting to go ahead with it at least for the experience. I ran well for 16 miles, but then suffered really badly towards the end and finished in a time of 4:50, but this included a lot of walking in the last 6 miles. This experience was a real eye opener, and made me more determined than ever to tackle a marathon with the proper preparations in future.
So i set my goal for the Manchester Marathon the following April (2013), and made sure i stuck to a training plan. As part of this, I ran the Liverpool half again in a PB of 1:47.
A month after that, it was time for the marathon, and despite only clocking 19 miles as my longest run in training, i ran the marathon in 3:56 (beating my goal of under 4 hours).
We are all capable of much more than we think we are, which is something I've come to understand from running.
Good luck. Stick to a training plan and you'll have the tools to do it; you'll see!
I did my first 10K in September 2011 just as a way of getting fit after major hip surgery and loved the atmosphere that much i decided to do a marathon so went home that night and entered Edinburgh for May 2012. while traing for this i managed to do the liverpool half in 1.49, so set myself a target of 4 hours for the marathon, i managed to keep to my plan right up to the 21 mile and due to the heat that day really slowed but still very happy with my time of 4.12. Again i loved it and was determained to beat 4 hours so did it again this year in 3.52. which was far easier than my first one have since done the Berlin marathon and managed 3.55 and this was after not being able to run for 3 weeks before the race due to injury.
So to answer your question yes you should be able to step up no problem and if you put the training in it will be an enjoyable experience, i would highly recommend Edinburgh
I'd hope it's achievable! I ran the Great South at the weekend, doing my first HM on Nov 17th, Reading half on March 2nd, then the London Marathon in April.
I got round the Great South in 1:19:54 so my pace is decent, that was my first ever race so the whole thing is a massive leanrning curve. Planning a 11-12 mile long run on Sunday to get some more miles in my legs, then work out how I'm going to run that half in a couple of weeks. I guess start slowly and see how I get on, I've never run further than 10 miles.
I did my first half in Cambridge in March in 2:01, entered Amsterdam Marathon and did Ipswich half as part of training, got down to 1:53.
I just used a 16-week Runner's World programme, Amsterdam time was 4:42 so I would say doubling your half time and adding 30 mins is roughly an accurate guide to your marathon time. Good luck!
Very achievable goals.
I'm a big fan of the Hal Higdon marathon training plans.
For pacing, I like http://feelrace.com/fr.pl?th=_Marco&cd=0 which gives you slight negative splits. BUT I wouldn't use it for race prediction for a first marathon. I would double my HM time and add half an hour, and then put made-up half marathon times into the calculator until it gives you the (2xhm + 30) time you're aiming for!
Obviously with a first marathon things may go slightly awry, but pick a conservative target and easy early pace and it should be a lot less unpleasant at miles 17-24!