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Posted: 12/7/2010 10:33:18 PM EDT
[#1]
Sure.
Would I? Nope. Start with a half marathon. Every major marathon I can think of has a half category as well. c-5k will work for training. Once you can do a 5k you can push past anything. It becomes a matter of will, nutrition, willingness to lose toenails. EDIT: I am talking about running the whole thing. In each and every marathon you will find the lowest category doing a mix of walking and running. Hell, the pace for cutoff is about a fast walk for most people. |
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Posted: 12/7/2010 11:20:44 PM EDT
[#2]
Can you? Maybe.
Should you? No. The people that die during marathons have usually never run even close that length before. And don't kid yourself, it happens. If you walked some of it, sure. If you're gonna run 26 miles without running for more than 5, you're not going to make it. You're going to have to walk or keel over. You could easily do a 5k before March. You need to get on the pavement and start really running if you do. The treadmill is a lie! I agree with love, do a couple 5ks, 10ks, halves, and then a real deal marathon. You need to slowly build to that kind of stamina. It shouldn't take a year to get there. |
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Posted: 12/8/2010 5:19:27 AM EDT
[#3]
Yea, you definitely can, but it's also pretty much stupid. Was saying the same thing to my gf last night when she flipped on biggest loser. It took them over 3 hours to get to the half way point. Doing shit like that is almost a guarantee injury, and it's not going to do you any good. Just do 1 step at a time, if you REALLY want to hit the long distances, maybe a half marathon would be more feasible.
If you're like me, once you have your mind set on something you'll most likely do it if it's a good idea or not, try to be smart about it though. |
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Posted: 12/8/2010 5:26:47 AM EDT
[#4]
You would be setting yourself up for a injury that you may not be able to recover from quickly. You generally want to add 10% to your distance every few weeks. So if you start with 3 mile runs it will take you awhile to get to 26.2 miles. A 10k would be a good goal for 3 months assuming you can already do 5k without walking. I was doing 5k's in under 24 minutes but my long runs were only 5 miles while I was training. I was going to enter a local distance run that was 15 miles and I had 8 weeks to prepare. I jumped from 5 mile long run to a little over 6 in a weeks time and my back completely locked up. No distance run for me. I couldn't run for 4 weeks after that. Take your time, there are plenty of races thru out the year. Most importantly don't hurt yourself. Good luck.
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Posted: 12/8/2010 5:53:07 AM EDT
[#5]
Everyone's ability is different, but if I assume that by couch you can't run one mile in 8 minutes, then you are not going to go from 0 miles/week to 30+ miles/week in 3 months. I would focus on a 10k (6.2 miles) if you are looking for beginner endurance running. Just get in the habit of running 3x per week will be a challenge at first. If you get injured in the beginning you will only lose ground.
I don't consider 5k a real challenge, its more a test of speed. Most anyone can wake up and run 3.1 miles if they had to. After tearing my MCL and not doing any cardio at all(only rehab) for about 9 months I ran my first 5k and did pretty well (23:36). This beautiful woman in spandex started right in front of me and she kept me pushing to stay with her 
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Posted: 12/8/2010 7:52:36 AM EDT
[#6]
Thanks for the advice guys. I'll plan on doing the 5k in March and maybe I can throw in an acceptable time by them. I feel pretty good with a 10 minute mile right now, and obviously I can do better.
I want that huge medal from the Little Rock Marathon!! I'm going to run it in 2012. |
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Posted: 12/8/2010 12:31:15 PM EDT
[#7]
This thread seems resolved, but just tossing in my 2 cents...
I am running my first marathon in April. I started training for it nov 1, giving me just over 5 months to get my miles in. For a first timer, and admittedly bad runner, my 5 month schedule seems like a bare minimum of time. I know i could not be ready for a marathon in 3 months. Having plotted out a mileage accumulation schedule, even at 5 months it feels like there is not much room for error. As i sit here, 1 month down and 4 to go, the idea of how long the last month of running has been, and knowing how many miles i still have to go, makes my head hurt a little bit. |
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Posted: 12/8/2010 3:55:28 PM EDT
[#8]
Maybe if you had a solid fitness base before hand (eg Crossfit, P90x, ect). You would have to add in some endurance training, however, and maintain the base program to an extent.
Unfit couch potato to marathon in 3 months––-forget it. |
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Posted: 12/8/2010 4:06:17 PM EDT
[#9]
Quoted:
Thanks for the advice guys. I'll plan on doing the 5k in March and maybe I can throw in an acceptable time by them. I feel pretty good with a 10 minute mile right now, and obviously I can do better. I want that huge medal from the Little Rock Marathon!! I'm going to run it in 2012. This is a wise choice - congratulations. To YaNi05 - why don't you consider a 5K a challenge? It's a race. Even an Ironman is easy if you go slowly enough. Any distance should be challenging if you push yourself and actually race it. |
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Posted: 12/8/2010 4:06:47 PM EDT
[#10]
I started training for an 8K last year. I was pretty fat and out of shape. About a month and a half before the race I sprained my ankle and got bronchitis. I finished the race just over an hour without having run in about 7 weeks.
I think you could do a marathon in a month. Good luck! |
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Posted: 12/10/2010 6:01:48 AM EDT
[#11]
Quoted:
To YaNi05 - why don't you consider a 5K a challenge? It's a race. Even an Ironman is easy if you go slowly enough. Any distance should be challenging if you push yourself and actually race it. LOL An Ironman is not easy if you go slow. A half Ironman is not easy if you go slow... The cutoff times are fast enough to keep you from pussyfooting around. Even guys who have trained for months/years and are going flat out don't always make the cutoffs. To me a 5k doesn't seem like an accomplishment. It's something you run for fun. You can easily be completely out of shape and will yourself on for 3.1 miles between the boost from having competition and actually running with other people. Basically I enjoy running 5k's now, whereas 10k and above are more or less 'embrace the suck' and the joy is in reaching the finish. |
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Posted: 12/10/2010 7:00:56 AM EDT
[#12]
Quoted:
Quoted:
To YaNi05 - why don't you consider a 5K a challenge? It's a race. Even an Ironman is easy if you go slowly enough. Any distance should be challenging if you push yourself and actually race it. LOL An Ironman is not easy if you go slow. A half Ironman is not easy if you go slow... The cutoff times are fast enough to keep you from pussyfooting around. Even guys who have trained for months/years and are going flat out don't always make the cutoffs. To me a 5k doesn't seem like an accomplishment. It's something you run for fun. You can easily be completely out of shape and will yourself on for 3.1 miles between the boost from having competition and actually running with other people. Basically I enjoy running 5k's now, whereas 10k and above are more or less 'embrace the suck' and the joy is in reaching the finish. 17 hours is a long time to complete an Ironman - it's not that hard to just finish. Men and women in their 70s finish Iron-distance races every year. Fat people finish Iron-distance races every year. It isn't the finishing that makes something challenging. It's RACING it - going as hard as you can for the distance. If a 5K doesn't challenge you, then you aren't pushing yourself hard enough. |
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Posted: 12/14/2010 5:51:52 AM EDT
[#13]
Clivus, you could easily train up for a half marathon in three months. Most marathon events have a Half included. My wife and I ran our first last week. This was the first actual running event either of us had participated in. Prior, the longest run I had ever done was 3 mi/5 k. I am a big guy too (I fluctuate a lot
 ). Look up Hal Higdon for training plans and ideas. Make sure you get good running shoes. You can IM me if you want any more details. |
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Posted: 12/18/2010 7:59:38 AM EDT
[#14]
The Half Marathon and the Marathon are two totally different ball games, I feel the half is the perfect distance, long enough to keep you in shape yet short enought not to take you out of action for several weeks.
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