NEWBY MARATHONER

[Adam]

HI, I am new to the marathon. I just ran my first last week in St George (2:55). My goal was 2:45 (that might have been a lofty goal, but anyway..)   I made some very critical mistakes and would like some feedback on what to do better next year and what I can to better to train.  Well, the first mistake I made was I did not train enough.  I thought that because I was a cross country runner in college I could get by (big mistake).  During the marathon I was comfortable for about the first 14 miles (on pace for a 2:45) and then it was pure torture. In the last 5 miles I think 30 people past me and my last mile was about 9 min. I felt fine mentally and my breathing was fine, but my legs would not move.  In my training  my longest run was 12 miles and I averaged about 30 miles a week.  I was riding my bike back and forth to work, 6 miles one way (12 miles a day) the last month before the marathon.  The next mistake was I wore flats that I had only put about 20 miles on.  I am debating weather to wear flats again or not. I was so sore this last week.  My right foot felt like it was having a consent charly horse and my calfs were a giant ball of pain.   

 So I guess my questions are should I wear flats during the marathon?
How many miles should I be doing between now and the st george marathon (356 days 14 hr and 24 min away)?

Any thing would be helpful.
Thanks
AB

[Jon Allen]

Adam, I have to say you did amazing- 2:55 on only 30 mpw with 12 miles long run?  That would have killed most people.  So you obviously have a lot of talent.  But you also learned the lesson of the marathon- if you have enough talent, you can fake a 10k on talent alone.  But NO ONE can fake a marathon- it is too long. 

I think you know exactly what you need to do.  The more you increase your mileage, the faster you will finish your marathon.  Period.  If you want to be really successful, I would recommend building up to at least 70 miles per week by mid-summer (or 2-3 months pre-marathon).  And get at least 2-3 runs of 20+ miles.  If you want to be very successful, do more miles than that.  Maybe A LOT more.

As for the flats, they aren't bad if you are used to them.  But the lower heel support will kill you calfs/achilles if you aren't ready for it.  So either do some long runs with them or don't wear them in the marathon.

There is no right answer of how many miles you want to do.  Apparently 30 mpw is enough for you to finish.  But if you want to do better, run more.  The better you want to do and the more committed you are, the more you will run in training and the faster you will finish your marathon.

[milesdavis]

 8)You didn't mention if you did any of your training runs on hills. This would be my advice. Train once a week every other week running up and down hills that are similar to the inclines at St. George. The SGM can really hammer the quads if you are not prepared for it. Congratualitons on your time.
SGM '99,'00,'01,'02, & '08

[Greg Harris]

Hey Adam.  This is Greg Harris.  Great to see you on the blog.  I am relatively new to the blog too.  Just to let everyone know, I ran at SUU with Adam.  He is a stud.  From what I remember, he was a 1:50 800m runner in track, and also had good range running in the 25's for the 8K.  So I can vouch for his talent. 

This SGM was my 5th marathon, so I am still learning as well.  As for the flats question, I wore my Saucony Fastwitch 3's, which are very light but also somewhat supportive.  I had concerns about wearing them, but it ended up going very well.  I will wear them again for sure in the future.  But like Jon said, definitely make sure that you are used to them and put some miles on them before the race.

As for mileage, I really believe now that higher mileage with some quality workouts thrown in is what makes the difference with longer races.  Until this year, I had only trained between 35-55 miles per week.  This year, I really tried hard to work up to higher mileage.  My last 8 weeks before the marathon were 70-90 mpw.  I am planning on building off that mileage in 2009 and running some big PRs.  I would like to go 2:29 at SGM next year.  So you should add some mileage and we can run together next year.  If I can run anywhere near 2:29, I KNOW you can.

[Sasha Pachev]

Adam should be able to run at least 2:20 in St. George on a normal day off proper training. Possibly much faster. He has more top end speed than Ryan Hall. And if 30 miles a week is something he would call training, then it is very possible that his true potential in anything longer than a mile has never been approached within any degree of a visible distance. Adam could very well be a sub-2:10 material.

[Michelle Lowry]

I think flats can be good for a flat marathon, but the downhill at St. G makes it less helpful,  I think the weight saved is outweighed by the leg hammering. 

Jon's dead on, the more you train, the better you will do.  You do have to be very careful listening to your body, though as you increase mileage, and I think mileage increases are most safely done in a matter of years.  I think if you want to train well, then plan for 70 mpw peak this year, then perhaps 90 next year, both years listening to your body as you increase to make sure you do more good than harm.

Congratulations on your first marathon!

[Dave Holt]

Is this Adam Brown?  I wouldn't have made that connection without Greg's comments.  If so... this is Dave Holt; we ran together at SUU for a short time.  Your first marathon sounds exactly like mine.  I hit a 2:56 but was on pace for a solid 2:40 up until the last 8 miles or so.  With the last 10K being a beast.  I knew that when old ladies with walkers were coming by me in the last mile I was in trouble.  But it gets better - easier? No.  Just bring the mileage up... up... up...
I'll be looking for your blog more now.

[Sean Sundwall]

Wear racing flats. It's not just about weight but about running economy as well.

[Rhett]

Adam, you are amazing to run that fast in your first marathon with that little training.  You have some serious potential.  I've been working hard on it for a few years and finally broke 3 hours for the first time at SGM.  I wear flats at all marathons (Asic Hyperspeed).  I did learn the hard way, like you, that I have to train in them or my calfs get hammered.  I usually do my tempo runs (up to 14 miles) and my speed work in my flats and that is plenty to get the calfs prepared. 

[Adam]

Thanks for the solid advice with some confidence boosters thrown in there.  I for sure have direction know.  I just need to put my feet to the pavement/dirt/hills ,like a writer puts his pen to the paper, and do the running dance.