Should I use a 3-day a week training schedule for my first marathon? I currently run 15-20 miles a week.?

Question

The other training schedules I am looking at require 5-6 days a week running. The 3-day running with 2 days cross training seems better for a beginner like me. I'm thinking less burnout and less injuries.

Answer 1

I would recommend that you only do a half marathon to begin with. If you run a lot of mile and stuff (short distance) you should be doing good. BUT YOU DO NOT WANT TO STOP YOUR DISTANCE RUNS!

You need to step up your mileage, probably at 5 times a week too.

Write down your goals, and put them around your house.

Answer 2

you really should up the mileage because this marathon is 26 miles

you are going to have to get in shape and go from there

ice your legs or put them in a pool after your run

if you are expecting to do somewhat good in the race, train harder for it

just start with less distance and build up every 2 weeks

Answer 3

With the amount your running and number of times a week, the marathon isn't a good option I think.  Take the challenge of running a 10K or half marathon that is big, b/c you'll enjoy it much more and won't get injured.  Think about it you want to run 26.2 mile race with 15-20 mile week training schedule, not saying it can't be done.......but I personally like to run fast pace and you can't do that with this training.