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ktjo
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Posts: 29
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« on: April 28, 2009, 12:09:34 pm » |
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I have been running off and on for about 3 years now, but have not truely pushed myself. I have been working out at least 5 days a week since January! I try to run a couple of times a week, but my biggest thing has been teaching a free fitness group three times a week. I would really like to push myself to a new level not only for myself but to insipre those women I am currently working with. They all need to lose huge amounts of weight and I would like to make a goal that seems impossiable as well for myself.
So I am wondering if I got a spot in the St George marathon would it be possiable to finish it in 6 hours or less with only 5 months of training? What do I need to do?
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Sasha Pachev
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« Reply #1 on: April 28, 2009, 01:07:50 pm » |
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Katie:
You have enough natural speed to break 5 hours with very limited training. However, I would not recommend it given your injury history. Rather, focus on running a half marathon under 2:10. Once you've reached that goal, start thinking about the marathon. With proper training for a year you can run around 4:00.
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Dallen
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« Reply #2 on: April 28, 2009, 03:33:48 pm » |
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Saha make a good point. There are a lot of 18 and 24 week programs out there, but they fail to mention that a large percentage of people never make it to the race due to injury. You say that you have been "on and off" for 3 years. If there was a lot of "on" then you are more likey to succeed. Either way, just about anyone who adequately tries to break 5 hours can.
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ktjo
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Posts: 29
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« Reply #3 on: April 28, 2009, 10:47:33 pm » |
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Thanks for your tips. I have got in pretty good shape. I have done alot of strength training for my knee's and have not had pain in a couple of months. I do tend to push myself harder than I should. I am going to start running mountain trails as soon as it is not muddy.
Sasha why do you think I am a natural fast runner? Isn't a 9-10 minute mile slow?
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Sasha Pachev
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« Reply #4 on: April 29, 2009, 11:24:59 am » |
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5 hour marathon is only around 11:30 pace. If you can run 9:00 in a 5 K off spotty training this gives you a nice speed cushion for the marathon that makes 5 hours very achievable off only 5 months of reasonable training. The biggest obstacle to running a marathon at a certain pace is not being able to run a 5 K at that pace. Once you are past that, especially if that happens without a whole lot of training, then with training more often than not you will be able to extend that pace to the marathon. So what I am saying is that your natural speed combined with proper preparation puts you around 4:00 in the marathon at the very least . Out of shape you should be able to run 5:00.
If I dropped to 20 miles a week I would not be able to run my current marathon race pace in a 5 K after a year. Now, continuing the mental experiment, we take me in the out of shape condition after a year of 20 miles a week and put me back on the high mileage. A year later I will be racing marathons faster than the out-of-shape 5 Ks.
That said, trying to run a marathon while out of shape is very much injury inviting and you may risk not being able to run at all for a long time. For most people is should not be worth the risk. If somebody paid you $1,000,000 to run sub-5:00 in St. George this year it might be worth it. If no one is footing the bill, take a gradual approach.
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Gary Culver
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Posts: 41
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« Reply #5 on: April 29, 2009, 03:22:54 pm » |
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Have you tried a "run/walk" strategy for your long runs?
Several friends used a "4/1" (Run 4 minutes / Walk 1 minute) to build up from less than 10 miles to a marathon in 4ish months (injury free and under 5 hours)
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ktjo
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Posts: 29
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« Reply #6 on: May 04, 2009, 06:54:15 pm » |
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Thanks for all your imput guys.
Also how much dose 6 days a week of other cardio and aerobic activity help in the running goals? I feel like I can't give up on teaching the ladies I teach. I run less because of it. Also if I am the one teaching the class I choose the excercises we are going to do for that hour, anything idea's that I could incorporate to help me be a better runner and help some out of shape ladies at the same time?
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Fredrick Teichert
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« Reply #7 on: May 05, 2009, 03:51:01 am » |
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When I started running several years ago, I was invited by some runners to join them on their long run (10 miles). I thought they were crazy because I had never run that far before, but I was strength training 3 days a week and doing 20 minutes of cardio. I was also playing full court basketball for 1-2 hours three times a week. I didn't have a problem with the long run. Strength training and cardio activity prepared me to run. So I'd suggest anything cardio, building up to as long as you want to run and strength training to build muscular support until weight and conditioning allow running to be your main source of exercise. Get your ladies to run/walk everyday. Progress will be slow to start and you might have to cross train to get adequate cardio time (shoot for 20 minutes a day). Your ladies may only be able to run 100 yards right now, but by increasing your mileage just 10% each week, you could be running 100 miles a week in less than a year! The hardest part is being patient. At first you see little progress, but you're building strength in your bones, ligaments, tendons, muscles and other supportive tissues. You're building a foundation for future progress and personal well being. It's exponential: results will increase dramatically in a short amount of time.
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