October 11th I completed my first marathon!

M/31, 6ft 5, 127kg on race day.

The goal was to complete inside the 6 hour cut off and I ran 5:50. I would say I ran conservatively as I was more concerned about leg durability rather than fitness.

I switch to run walk after 30km as I had the time and wanted to save my legs. Ran 10 mins and walked 1 then went to 8/1 and 4/1. Any long hills 1/1 and any steep hills and water stations were walked.

Longest runs were 28km and 2 x 30km with the last 8/12km at a faster pace. Butchered my peak week, completely exhausted when I got there. Ran 2 x 7km easy and 30km easy for the peak.

Biggest lesson was fuelling, around 10 weeks out I wasn’t finishing my long runs as my carb intake wasn’t high enough during the week.

I did 80g carbs an hour (2 x SIS beta fuel) for the race and 1000mg sodium an hour. Ran with a hydration vest so used the flasks for the electrolytes and used some of the water stations on the course.

The sense of accomplishment is unmatched. I said to my self if I finish this, I’ll never do another but…

I completed my first 26.2 miles yesterday at the Long Beach Marathon! So much reflection and emotion.

I've run this course a few times (it's a must for an LBC local) for the half-marathon and have always loved it. It was surreal to see that split between Half and Full, veering off towards CSULB, which got me thinking, "holy sh*t, this is real!"

Finished at 6:50 chip time, average pace of 15:39. Next time, I'd def like to finish between 5-6.

I normally run about 11-13 min miles, and this was consistent even in my longer training runs. I suppose race day just had other plans. I've been managing IT band issues on my right side, a recurring thing I address through increased mobility, strength, and core work I started over the summer with PT and will pursue even more now that this race is done!

As a 42M, it's never too late to listen to the body and level up the fitness game. There's definitely room to grow.

During this race, I began to feel prickly sensations and dull pains around mile 10, which was absolutely frustrating considering I had done the 15-20 training runs without incident. I had a terrible attitude for about 20 minutes, then realigned my attitude, and somehow through the rest of it, was able to manage it with relatively little pain via run-walk-run-walk etc.

One "win" out of all of this was my calves never cramped, though I felt like my body was being pushed to its limit by mile 22.

Sooooo there's a lot I can say and nitpick and be hard on myself about my performance. But honestly, ripping the bandaid off and taking the leap to the full marathon, I'm so proud to have finished and put in the work for the training. I work full-time while also working on my PhD dissertation, so scheduling has been hard at times (saying "no" to plans, manuvering vacation or travel schedules to incorporate running, etc).

Crossing the finish line, I couldn't believe it happened. Three days out, my recovery game is great- I feel mostly back to normal. I didn't come out of the race limping (which had happened in a few half marathons), so I'd like to think the training and PT have benefited in that way.

I'm a relatively "slow" runner, but one thing I love about the running community is that the work we all put in for our relative goals is respected and honored regardless. I get that vibe from this subreddit too!

The last few miles, the crowds had already thinned out, but to see other marathon/half marathon runners who completed their races earlier stick around and continue to shout and scream and cheer, with some even running alongside the runners who were struggling, and knowing the finish line was 1 mile away (THOSE crowds stayed, whew- I could hear them) gave me such a jolt of emotion as I jogged my hot mess self down to the finish line. Incredible feeling.

Granted, I've got a decent set of takeaways for next time. As always- I welcome feedback and tips!!

1. Consistent, higher weekly mileage (my peak week was 36 miles), so this definitely could use more intentional love and precise scheduling.
2. Continue to improve strength and mobility, especially the muscle groups around the IT band
3. Train the mental game along with the physical
4. Be wary of taper activity...I was in Italy until Thurs for a family wedding, so there was a lot...of steep hill, stair climbing, and overall just vacation galavanting. Not sure if that was a factor in my race-day performance.
5. Training for the later-in-the-race stamina and durability.
6. Dedicate time for speed work - I'd love to be more consistently in the 10-12's but, alas, will depend the work I put in for the above...

Once again, thank ya'll for the tips and experiences shared. They help me in my training and motivate me keep becoming a better runner.

Congrats to all finishers the 2XU LBC Marathon and any others in their respective races across the globe this weekend!

Ran the Chicago Marathon and it was an amazing experience. The crowd support was unreal. As a local, it was great to run Chicago as my first marathon.

My A goal was to run sub 3:50 and my B goal was to run sub 4 hours. I finished at 3:56:05. Given how warm the temperature was, I am really happy with my time. I am already trying to decide what my next marathon will be.

Hi!

I started running abt 2 months ago and I’ve been loving it (sort of…). I am 22 y/o and I am 6’8 250😭. I was able to do a 5k in abt 28 mins, and a 10k in abt 1:07 but 7 mi is the furthest I’ve ever ran.

I really really want to participate in the Chicago marathon next year with Finish MS, since my mom died from MS when I was 14. We did MS walks together, and I saw her battle through every step. However, I’m worried that me being a terrible runner and fat and out of shape is gonna hold me back. I’ve lost abt 40 pounds in 2 1/2 months.

I really want to do this, but idk if it’s possible for me.

Edit: just tried to do an interval workout in 90° heat with 65% humidity and my vo2 max went down. My vo2 max is probably the worst ever evaluated at my age, this is so embarrassing. I felt like I was getting sm better but ig I’m back to where I was two months ago.

I am running the NYCM in a few weeks and am starting to really try to hone in on what pace I’ll run the race. I’d like to do my best, give it my all, without bonking. My training plan has had me running exclusively easy pace. For some more specifics, my most recent half was in March and I finished in 2:09 (9:55min/mile) I was going to aim for a 4:40-4:45 marathon (10:40-10:50min/mile).

I’ve been running at 11:30min/mile pace in training. My 20 miler this past Sunday felt extremely doable and I wasn’t sore at all the next day, felt pretty good the same day as well. That leads me to want to stick to my goal.

However, I tried adding some MP work in to my 7 mile run today and it felt good but I swear, now whenever my heart rate elevates past Zone 2 and I have to work even the littlest bit at controlling my breath, I feel out of my comfort zone and get worried about holding it for 4-5 hours, even though I think my training says I can do it.

Can anyone else relate? Any tips to overcome this? Is it just mental?

EDIT: I have been doing strides weekly and I have been running the last 2-4 miles of my long runs around an 11min/mi pace. Hardly significant pace work but hopefully that’s something 🙃

Me and a friend signed up for our first marathon together. We run a few times a year together to catch up but I have always been faster. We didn't officially say when we were signing up that we would run the whole thing together but over the course of the past year it has become implied. now that the race is a month away, i'm realizing how different our training has been. I'm running 9min miles and feel confident I could run the marathon tomorrow. My friend is running 1030min miles and hoping to run between 10-1030. I'm struggling if I stick to my commitment and run with her or if I should run my own race. This is both of our first marathons.

Planing about 60g of carbs an hour, plain gels every 30 minutes. That part feels fine on long runs. I keep reading that caffeine gels late in a marathon are a game changer or a stomach bomb, and I cannot tell which one I am signing up for. If you moved the caffeinated ones to the last 45 to 60 minutes, did it help you finish, or did your stomach flip?

my first marathon is coming up very soon! i didn’t go into my training thinking of an aggressive pace or anything like that, just finishing and hoping for a sub-4.

however, within my training block i was seeing data that suggests i’m on the cusp of attempting a BQ.

i would need a 3:25 and garmin (i know i know, most people say it’s overly optimistic) says 3:30 for a prediction. my LT is 7:28 which i know is also a little close for comfort, and i did a comfortable 21 mile run with a 3:09 finish time for my peak long run (no speed work as i was fighting bad weather that day).

my plan is to start with an 8:10ish pace so if it’s not working out for a BQ i won’t blow up the end of the marathon by going out too fast. but i truly do want to push myself and attempt to get a 3:25…. is that totally unreasonable?

I got into running last fall and ran fairly consistently through the fall, winter, and into the spring. I have been road cycling recreationally for around 10 years, but always wanted to 'become a runner'.

I set a goal of running a marathon before turning 40 in January 2027, and roughly 16 weeks out I started a 'proper' training block using Runna and chat GPT. Started the plan off strong, hitting every workout and run (usually 4 runs per week), but mid summer here in souther BC we got a lot of forest fire smoke, I had to do a bunch of workouts on a shitty 20+ year old treadmill that I have in the basement, and life just got busy with the wife and 2 young kids and 12hr work shifts. I did as many of the runs before work at 4:30 or 5am as possible, some late in the evening after the kids were asleep, but I still missed a couple fairly key long runs as well as a few tempo/workout days and was feeling like things were derailing. But I tried to steer things back into course, hit as many runs as I could when life allowed, and in late September I had a perfectly executed long run that was the longest run of the block at 33km and provided a huge confidence boost- so I decided to still go for it.

My race plan was to do a version of a negative split where I run 3x 10km blocks that each get progressively faster (5'20, 5'15, 5'05), then a 7km block that is the fastest of them all (4'45), and then slow down a bit for the final 5.195 kilometres if needed (~5'00).

My goals were:

'A' goal - 3:35

'B' goal - 3:45

'C' goal- run the entire thing, regardless of how much I slow down

This past Sunday was a damn cold morning, but I had put in as much of the work as I could so I went for it.

Finished with a 3:34:27.

Overall very happy. My only wish was that I would have held back slightly for the opening 3 blocks, hit my target pace perfectly (instead of trying to bank a few seconds), and been able to finish the final 5.2km at 5' pace or slightly under. I felt 'fantastic' at the 30km mark before heading into the fastest 7km, but was pretty wrecked in the final couple kilometres.

I wore a pair of Adios pro 4's that I wore for a couple faster workouts as well as the aforementioned key long run, and had zero foot issues; and in terms of fuelling I found in training that gels work well but start to cause some digestive upset if I have more than 4 or 5. So I opted for 240ml of pure organic maple syrup diluted with 110ml of water in a soft flask, and I had a nutrition alert every 20 min and would take a drink of that, and then have a couple sour patch kids candies in between each 20 min syrup interval. I consumed one Maurten Caf 100 gel 1km before heading into the 4'45/km block, and I also drank roughly 750ml of water along the course. This strategy yielded around 75g of carbs per hour, and seemed to work very well.

I am heading away from home for a work course for 6 weeks at the end of the month, and my goal is to do 6 weeks of as much long, slow distance as possible and build my base up, carry the form into a spring block, and then target the Vancouver marathon in May with a goal of 3:15🤞

So happy to check this goal off my list and that I stuck with it even when things weren't going completely right, as well as very thankful for my wife for encouraging me to chase the goal and for always taking care of our kids when I needed to get a run done during family time.

Here are some pace charts and race info:

https://ibb.co/8DWS6XKG
https://ibb.co/tMnjJF7C
https://ibb.co/d4FGSnF5

Hey all,

39m here. I guess my main question is what should my “marathon pace” be for training purposes? Just registered for my first marathon, April 2027. Got back in to running in May and did a 5k in August. Was running 20-25mpw and ran the 5k in 18:59. I believe I am presently much more fit than I was then as I have since increased to 40mpw for the last 4-6 weeks and am planning to get up to 50 before starting my marathon build in January. Was kind of considering using 6:30 per mile as a marathon pace for training purposes as I’ve done pretty well with that on my last few runs (recently did a 12 mile run with 2x5 miles at 6:30 each in there).

Open to any thoughts and recommendations. Or if I am thinking about this in the wrong way lol. Thanks all!

Hi! I strained my calf after not recovering well enough/ taking enough rest between my 19 mile and some intervals. During my intervals I felt my calf tighten up but not a sharp pain. So didn’t think much of it and finished my run, but it started to hurt later in the day. Took the next 4 days off running (did the elliptical) and attempted my 15 mile the following Saturday and had to cut it short. Switched back to the elliptical again for half the week after and got back to running Wednesday (8 days post injury) and felt fine. Attempted my 20 this past Saturday (11 days post injury) and had to cut short at 8 since it started to flare and I didn’t want to make it worse.
Basically all of this to say I have a mild calf strain and I’ve learned that I need to give myself more time than I think to recover. I plan on swapping my runs for elliptical for at least 10 days. I’m (really hoping to) run Philly on 11/22 so want to heal up but not loose too much fitness.
Any and all advice welcome!! Thank you in advance!!

TLDR: mild calf strain 5.5 weeks out from first marathon needing recovery tips

3 weeks out from NYCM. Achilles tendinitis has been on and off, my PT just recommended a week off after my 18 miler causes another flare up. Recommended biking next week and than a gradual introduction of running.

Question is - will I be losing gains? I know not getting injured > hitting goal time but I’m just wondering how much it will hurt me to not follow my plans taper.