How do i begin training for a Marathon?

Question

I am planning on running the ING NYC Marathon on Nov. 2nd and am wondering what the best way to go about training for it is. I am a young and healthy guy in good shape (not 26 mile good) and can run a mile without much of a hassle. Best way to train in 3 months?

Answer 1

If you're not really used to doing a lot of running, you might want to reconsider.  It is generally encouraged that you have a year of solid running practice before you start up for a marathon.

Anyway, training begins with education.  Go to a library or a book store and get a book or two on running marathons.  There are reams of information available about training, programs, diet, schedules, strategies, stories, etc.  They'll tell you everything you need to know about what do expect and how to go about the training evolutions.

Once you decide on a program, mark it on your calendar and stick to it.  The worst thing you can do is skip your long runs.  Keep running and keep training.  Marathons will take a tremendous amount of time.  They demand a lot of your free time and they have to come first.  It's a dedicated sport.

Good luck!

Answer 2

I must agree with the first poster.  You should take at least a year to get ready for a marathon.  I just don't think you can get to the miles necessary to complete a marathon even using the walk/run method.  You should participate in some longer races to get a feel for distance running: 5K, 10K, 10 miles, Half-Marathon (13.1).  

Training plans require you to gradually increase you distances until about 3 weeks out from the marathon you do a long run, usually about 20 miles. After that you taper down and allow you body to recover.

Lance Armstrong a well conditioned athlete use to endurance events found his first marathon very difficult.  He attributed his difficulty to a lack of long runs.  

Answer 3

If you have not been on a regular running program already, it's probably not going to be advised to do a marathon in 3 months. In most cases, it's advised someone do running training for a year before they think of marathon training. Your body needs time to adapt to the pounding, etc., at the minimum. "Respect the distance" is something you're very likely to hear.

For those already in decent shape but who just haven't run regularly, the shortest program I'm aware of is 16 weeks (in the book "The Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer"). The primary goal there is to finish.

I would suggest you look into the above book and ask questions on the boards at runnersworld.com, as you're going to need more comment than can be provided here.

When you say you "can run a mile without much of a hassle" though, I tend to think your eyes are a lot bigger than your stomach to think you'll get through a marathon safely in 3 months. There are even high odds you wouldn't make it to the start line due to injury during training.

You might think of trying to walk it, start to finish, but even then I think you might get caught off-guard, and you should still do your best to appropriately train for even that.

I personally would not advise going from virtually zero to marathon in 3 months, and think you're going to have a hard time finding experienced runners who would. You should probably take 3 months just to do a walk or run-walk program before you *start* training for a 5k or 10k, let alone a marathon. You can't "cram" for it.