The Keys to Running a Fast First Marathon
By Daniel O'Donoghue
Introduction
On a recent Wednesday club run I started chatting to another runner about his training objectives. He said that he was a fairly new runner, and was hoping to run in next year’s London marathon, with a target time of sub 3 hours.
To many, that might seem an ambitious objective, but I could identify with it. Just over four years ago I was also a new runner – or a re-starting runner, after a 20 year absence from the sport, during which I had spent a good part of my time smoking, eating and drinking. I was 38 years old and had entered the lottery for a London marathon place. My sights were set on a sub 3 hour finish. A few months later, on 22 April 2001 I was the fourth Serpie to cross the London marathon finish line, in a time of 2:55:10.
So, I know it is possible for mortals to do their first marathon in a reasonably fast time. But I also know of good runners who have missed their target. One Serpie who was aiming for 3 hours in the Berlin marathon last year appeared to be on target when he went through the half in 1:30. However, he then slowed dramatically, finishing in a little under 4 hours.
To identify the keys to running a fast first marathon I reviewed my training diary leading up to my marathon debut. So this is very much a personal approach – what worked for me – but I think that others with similar marathon objectives (say sub 3 hours for men, or sub 3:15 for women) might benefit from following a similar approach.
Make the commitment
There’s no getting away from it: to run a fast first marathon requires a serious commitment. Running has to become a pretty important part of your life – and other things might have to give way. In terms of time, you should expect to run 5 or 6 days a week, with a typical weekday run lasting 60 minutes. Plan on a weekend long run of 2 hours or more – and don’t expect to do much else that day.
But making the commitment means more than setting aside time: you also have to adopt the right mindset. Only by doing this will you get out of bed on a cold, wet, windy Sunday morning to tackle a 20 mile training run! And you have to be committed to make other needed adjustments in your lifestyle – for example, to your diet.
Lose weight
Most people are too heavy to run quickly, and one of the best ways of running faster is simply to lose weight. When I started training for my first marathon I weighed about 13.5 stone. At the start line I weighed 10.5 stone. Given my height of 5’10”, my BMI had decreased from 27.1 to 21.1.
Although people vary a little depending on their body type, the optimum running weight for most individuals is at the bottom of, or just below, the recommended ‘healthy’ BMI range of 20 – 25. You can calculate your own BMI by dividing your weight in kilos by your height in metres squared. If your BMI is higher than 22 or so, your running will probably benefit if you lose a few pounds. For my part, I know I am close to my competitive weight when my mother says I am too thin!
Put in the training miles
The best way of training to run a long way is by running a long way in training! I have often heard of people with low mileage marathon training regimes, and if you are happy to finish in 3:30 or slower then you might be able to get away with this. But I think very few people can run sub 3 hour (men) or 3:15 (women) marathons, without doing solid training mileage in the build-up. This doesn’t mean ridiculous mileage: in my case I averaged about 55 miles a week. But if your training volume is too low, you are increasing the risk of under-performing in the marathon relative to your times in shorter distances.
How should those training miles be achieved? Well a weekly long run is a good start. That might account for between 16 and 24 miles, depending on where you are in your build-up. On top of that a semi-long run (ideally at target marathon pace) of 10 to 14 miles is useful. The rest could be a mixture of easy runs and speedwork. I’ll talk a bit more about speedwork later in this article.
Don’t stint on the long runs
Probably the most common training mistake first-time marathoners make is not doing enough long runs. My longest training run prior to my first marathon was 24.5 miles, and I did six runs of more than 18 miles. I would view that as a minimum – I would have done more, if I hadn’t missed some because of injury.
I think it best to aim to do a long run every week, but recognise that you might miss some if you are racing, or due to illness or injury. Try to do at least one really long training run of 22 – 24 miles. It will be a big confidence-booster.
Monitor progress
It is essential to monitor progress during your build-up. Early on, a 10k race will provide a good gauge of your fitness. Then a month or so before your marathon, do a half-marathon. I find the following rules of thumb useful:
Predicted marathon time = 5 times your 10k time minus 10 minutes
Predicted marathon time = 2 times your half-marathon time plus 10 minutes.
The half-marathon race a month before the big day is especially important: it will tell you whether you are on-track to achieve your target. If your finish time is much slower than you hoped, it would be best to modify your marathon time goal, as you cannot expect a big improvement in your last month of training. On the other hand, if you finish the half in a better than expected time, consider reducing your target time, and re-calculate your marathon race pace accordingly.
Don’t get hung up on speedwork
In the last few years, as I’ve tried to improve my race times, I’ve increased the amount of speedwork in my training diet. But looking back at my training diary before my first marathon, I was surprised at how little I did back then: not a single track, interval or hill session.
Instead my faster training consisted of two things. The first is a session which Karen Hancock and I call “sandwich” sessions – timed fast efforts in a mid-length run, interspersed with easy recovery periods. A typical example would be 10 minutes warm-up, followed by 4 x 7 minutes hard with 3 minutes easy recovery, and then a few more minutes to cool-down. The second type of speedwork I did was standard tempo runs – ie, fast paced runs of about 4 – 5 miles a little slower than 10k race pace.
This is not to say that you shouldn’t do more structured speedwork as part of your marathon training. By all means go along to the club’s track or hill sessions – you will benefit from the training advice and the competitive camaraderie, as well as from the sessions themselves. But un-structured DIY speed training can work just as well, as long you push yourself hard enough!
Expect to become injured, but don’t panic!
It is sad but probably true that most people training for a marathon are affected by injury at some point. This is especially likely for first-timers who have set ambitious targets for themselves. I was no exception. In the spring of 2001 I intermittently suffered from a hamstring injury, which severely limited three weeks of my training. Another two weeks were affected by a knee injury (from white water rafting, not running!) and food poisoning.
Back then I was sensible enough to know that you must rest if you are injured. Most running injuries get better quickly with rest, provided that you do so as soon as the injury comes on. Don’t make the mistake that I have made with subsequent injuries, of trying to keep on training, thereby making the problem worse. Get advice from a physio, your GP or specialist doctor if you think the condition warrants it.
Having said this, don’t be a wimp! Minor niggles, stiffness and sniffles are part-and-parcel of marathon training. If you bail out of training runs for no good reason, you will undermine your training consistency.
On the day: be bold…but realistic
The last key to a fast first marathon is to be bold on the day. But temper it with realism. There are two ways you don’t want to finish the marathon. The first: crawling slowly, struggling to maintain even a jog, with minutes having slipped away in the last few miles.
The second is not quite so bad, but it will still trouble you afterwards: the feeling that you could have run several minutes faster if only you’d pushed a bit harder.
To avoid both of those outcomes, have confidence in your predicted finish time (backed up with evidence from recent races) and stick to the required pace. Consciously slow yourself down if necessary during the early stages and don’t be fooled by adrenalin: you can’t defy the marathon-runner’s equivalent of gravity!
Above all, concentrate! To do your best, you need to focus on what you are doing. It will be tough, but remember: marathons are best enjoyed afterwards!
Daniel O’Donoghue