Comments on Running Injury Free: Low Stress Training Plan for First Marathon

Hi Kelsey, Congratulations on your achievements i...

2011-10-19T22:37:53.460-06:00

Hi Kelsey,

Congratulations on your achievements in running! You've done well! You've been running for 6 years, and I think a marathon is a good goal for you. Here are my suggestions.

1. Always keep in mind that you aren't competing against others in running a marathon. You are only competing with yourself.

2. Be aware that the marathon distance of 26.2 is a new experience for you. The last 6 miles of the race is more difficult than the first 20 miles. See my article on the Stress of a Marathon and The Effect of Marathons On Our Bodies.

3. For your first marathon, plan to finish the distance with no thought about how fast you'll run it. If need be, take walking breaks during your marathon.

4. You have a long way to go in getting ready for a marathon. My suggestion is to run a half-marathon in April 2012 (your Junior year of school) and a marathon in April 2013 (your Senior year of school). Being a marathoner when you graduate will be a great achievement! This will give you plenty of time to train for the marathon distance, and, trust me, you'll need that time. Plan on running the half and full marathons with no pain and no injury. Make both races a fun and exciting experience. Sure, you could finish a marathon in April 2012, but you'd have a greater risk of injury and the experience probably would be painful to you.

5. Remember that written training plans aren't sunk in concrete. They should be modified on a weekly basis, depending on how your body is responding to your running.

6. Always remember that if you experience pain that is more than the minor pain most runners suffer for a day or two, getting rid of that pain becomes your first priority. Modify your plan to give you time to get rid of the pain (extra rest, extra stretching, etc.).

If you continue with your cross country running, put that first and your half and full marathon training second. To compete in cross country, you have to train to be fast. To finish half and full marathons, speed is not important - you train to finish the distance. Thus, the goals of cross country and recreational distance running are opposite, and you'll have to find ways to merge them together.

What ever you do, good luck! Check back with me (my personal blog is oldmanrunning.org) from time to time and update me on your progress.

Hello! I've recently become very interested in...

2011-10-19T19:03:45.941-06:00

Hello! I've recently become very interested in possibly running a marathon. Where I live they have an annual marathon, half-marathon, 5k, etc. that is a little bit after April 21 (not sure when the actualy race date is, April 21 is when you can pick up the information packets). I'm currently a junior in highschool, female, 16 1/2 years old, and I have been running cross country since the 6th grade (this is my 6th year running) and I am also a gymnast and compete on a competitive team (since around kindergarten). I have done pretty much every common sport you can think of throughout my life, so I am really active as you can see! haha. My friends and I always talk about whether we will run a marathon one day and we're all usually kinda iffy on whether we want to or not. In high school we run a 5k, and I usually finish between 21:30 and 23:00 min, depending on the course.(this year hasn't been my best year, we got a new coach and lets just say, some people just aren't meant to coach!)We had our league meet last saturday and I finished at 22:11, which I felt was pretty good personally considering there were some very strong winds during the entire race that made you feel like you were barely moving! The most recorded distance that I have ran is 10-13 miles when we would run for 2 hours straight at the end of our junior high season to raise money for charity.(in junior high we ran 2 miles, and I usually finished between 13:00-14:00 min) I will be 17 years old when this marathon will take place, and I wanted to know if I am too inexperienced and/or too young to train and do a marathon. Your advice and thoughts/opinion would be greatly appreciated! Thank you very much!

Hi Anon, congrats on your first half! That is a bi...

2010-11-01T09:12:17.674-06:00

Hi Anon, congrats on your first half! That is a big accomplishment. My marathon plan starts at 13 miles and takes you up to 20 miles. In addition, the plan has a medium run which starts at 9 miles, and the rest of the runs are rest runs at 5-6 miles. Having completed the half, you're long run is at 13, but your other runs might not be quite as high as they should be. So, if necessary, work on the other runs to bring them up to the starting distances, but keep running 12-13 miles for your long run. Then, begin the marathon plan.

Two of the keys to running without injury are to follow the 10% and heavy/light rules. My plans are based on that. Or, as my friend Bruce says, baby steps, baby steps. Read my pages on Marathons and the stress of marathons to get ideas.

You don't have to follow my plan exactly. Consider it as a basic plan, and then modify it according to your body. You might be able to progress faster towards 20, or you may want to progress slower. In addition to reaching 20 miles, you want to reach a weekly distance of 45 miles. This is more important than most people realize. The last 6 miles of the marathon is much more difficult and stressful for your body than the first 20 miles, and running at least 45 miles per week helps your body to adjust to the stress of the marathon.

Good luck in your training. Enjoy it, and don't be in a hurry to run a marathon. I ran for 6 or 7 years before my first marathon. By the time I ran it, and another one three months later, I was used to the distance, although I still hit the wall at about 20 miles, and I had a great time in the race. Two days later I was back on the roads, running half a mile the first day.

Check back in, once in a while, and let us know how it is going for you.

Nice. Thanks. I ran my first 1/2 this weekend i...

2010-11-01T08:43:05.420-06:00

Nice. Thanks.

I ran my first 1/2 this weekend in Daytona. Very cool and exiting run. Just not too sure how to get to a longer dx but i'll try your schedule and see.

I adore your recommendations! As a 46 y.o. 3:15:00...

2010-09-28T19:15:39.449-06:00

I adore your recommendations! As a 46 y.o. 3:15:00 marathoner, your advice is sound. Amen. Too many young guns and critics of conservative training methods end up truly injuring themselves, for months! I have found solid distance running with gradual increase and taper, a LITTLE speed work and rest/cross training are the best combo for a fun, safe and PR marathon. Do not forget...Enjoy the training, almost more the fun than the actual race:-)

Hi Anon, My page on Weekly Distance gives suggest...

2010-08-24T23:40:40.849-06:00

Hi Anon,

My page on Weekly Distance gives suggested distances for common races. However, to make the suggestions more noticeable, I've created a new page called Long and Medium Runs. This page discusses the stress of distance running and recommends two or three heavy runs per week plus rest runs or light cross training. This page also repeats the suggestions for the length of long runs.

Poor planning, basics suggest buliding up weekly l...

2010-08-22T00:30:44.872-06:00

Poor planning, basics suggest buliding up weekly long run to around race distance and similarly with weekly mileage, I don't see anything like this on your site.

But whatever, each to their own and ones mind-set is even more important than ones physical training

I love your website. It has helped me out a lot. ...

2010-08-02T04:22:14.527-06:00

I love your website. It has helped me out a lot. Very nice training plan. Have you seen the Furman Institute of Running and Scientific Training (FIRST) program? It builds up the miles a little quick, but I like the cross-training instead of rest runs for a low stress training plan.