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The Runners World marathon time calculator puts my time (based off a 5k) at 3:16
It'd be better to put a HM time into the calculator.
When is the marathon? If you feel you have the aerobic fitness there, then concentrate on time on feet, 3hr + runs or something, as slow as you like. Your body needs to adapt and condition to the stresses - At the 3hr mark, I was barely in a sweat, but my body hurt...
pifko-
If you feel you have the aerobic fitness there, then concentrate on time on feet>
This should be a mantra on the fridge door of anyone training for a marathon. I'm a relative newbie compared to the 100 club members (I'm still in single figures) but even when I'm pacing, rather than racing, a marathon it still hits me somewhere around 18- 20 miles just how bloody far it is.
That's not to scare anyone, because it really is within the realms of the vast majority of people to get the job done, but for me it really emphasises how the race-time-predictor relationship has the potential to break down when you get beyond the 5k-10k-HM range. For the elites there is a very close relationship between VO2 max, lactate threshold and marathon pace, but that relationship breaks down somewhat for mortals, especially if you've not got the miles in your legs. The long slow runs (and even run/jog/walks) harden the legs against fatigue, which is inevitable towards the end of the race, and somewhat independent of your lung capacity.
Some supplementary advice I usually offer is to support your long runs with regular mid-long runs in the week. 18 miles on a Sunday is a lot easier if you're used to knocking out 10-12 miles on a Wednesday/Thursday evening without much bother.
PhilPub
I'm in the same boat as Hats, first marathon coming up and the furthest I've ever run is just over a half marathon (running for two hours then stopping).
I was planning on going out and simply aiming to run for three hours, see where that got me to - I would expect around 30km, maybe slightly more.
Does this hold water as a plan to de-fear the marathon? The Runners World marathon time calculator puts my time (based off a 5k) at 3:16 for Stockholm, so my plan was to tuck in behind the 3:30 pacer and run within my abilities, as it were.