I have noticed something on Tv lately and need some help resolving it. I was watching some show about these people getting in shape and they had the typical cross section of people. Regular people in their 30's or so.

They were on an 8 week inprovement thing. It looked very basic and beginner level, fair diet and workout stuff, i am sure we have all seen this a bunch of times.

At the end, they show this lady, again the mid 30's chubby housewife who has been doing this program for 8 weeks, completing a marathon. She finished it in like 5 hours.

Maybe my understanding of a marathon is different than than they showed but I always thought it was really hard to do and not something most people could do without lots of practice, certainly more than 8 weeks. Even walking the distance seems tough.

A week later, I saw another, almost identical lady, claiming the same thing. Am I missing something here? Are chubby 30 something out of shape ladies more capable of running a marathon than I am or are we being misled? Have I not been training hard enough?

:eek: me = chubby 30 something out of shape ladie!!!! Someone failed to informe me on something here!!!! I am actually capable of running a marathon and DON'T KNOW IT?!?!?!

:p I wish thing swould be that easy! LOL!

My "innocent" goal is training for a half marathon next May and I'm working really hard on that with time, information and brain most of all.

I didn't watch the shows you mentioned but did those ladies actually run the whole path? They probably didn't. If they practised walking for 8 weeks, they probably managed to run a little, walk a little, run a little... But a marathon is a respectfull challenge no doubt about that!! No easy piece of cake! Not for me anyway...

Are you training for a marathon?

a 5 hour marathon is 11.5 minute miles. That's not an entire walk, but it's a pretty slow jog. Not to disrespect anyone, because even training to walk a marathon takes effort, but I would say < 4 hours is the bigginer's limit to say you truly "ran" a marathon. < 3 hours is very advanced.

I know some people who aren't elite runners who run marathons. They say the biggest obsticle is just enduring the pain. Think about those 20 mile walks for hunger that people do all the time. Just increase the speed a little.

I'm not saying it's easy or that I could do it, but I know people who have done slow marathons who just do a jog for 5-6 hours and they say it's all about focus and pain management.

Dh and I ran our first marathon together last year. Our finish time was 4:40:36. Now we trained 16 weeks specifically for the marathon. We also had at least 6 months worth of running base on top of that. Believe me a Marathon ISN"T that easy! Someone who hasn't run all that much could probably do it , but it would be more like 5 1/2 -6 hours ( unless they were a really gifted runner).

Just my 2 cents worth.

You have to be careful though. I live next to Boston and ssome girl died a couple of years ago running the Boston Marathon. She actually drank too much water and her cells got depleted of sodium or something like that. Commentators at the time were saying that drinking too much water was the sign of an inexperienced runner.

You folks are awsesome. I thought it was way over most peoples heads. I just started running a couple of months ago and was happy to get to the 5k point. I am going to start working up to the 10K but slowly. I was watching this show while I was running on the treadmill and it pissed me off. I have the greatest repect for you folks who have done this and look forward to joining you some day. Probably be a couple of years though. I liken it to a millionaire climbing Mt Everest because he has a lot of money, not climbing experience.

Dh and I ran our first marathon together last year. Our finish time was 4:40:36. Now we trained 16 weeks specifically for the marathon. We also had at least 6 months worth of running base on top of that. Believe me a Marathon ISN"T that easy! Someone who hasn't run all that much could probably do it , but it would be more like 5 1/2 -6 hours ( unless they were a really gifted runner).

Just my 2 cents worth.

Amen!

Anyone who thinks that running a marathon is 'easy' hasn't ever run one. Regardless if one runs, walks, skips, crawls, finishing 26.2 miles is a fantastic achievement.

With a good training program and DEDICATION the average, non-smoker could do a marathon in under six hours. That however, is just the physical part -- the hardest part (as has been mentioned previously) is the mental aspect. Having to convince your body to endure that much pain is the issue at hand here.

As with all things (especially here at JSF) consistency is the name of the game.

i cant remember the last time i ran... period.!!
that's very sad. I would love to run. I think im scared im going to look very funny. I have a slight scoleosis, it isnt noticeable otherwise or when i walk... but i'm afraid ppl will notice it when i run..anybody have any experience with this?? in the meantime im missing out

I have Scoleosis and I think it's more than just slight. Doubt anyone even realizes it though! I refuse to worry about what people might think!
i cant remember the last time i ran... period.!!
that's very sad. I would love to run. I think im scared im going to look very funny. I have a slight scoleosis, it isnt noticeable otherwise or when i walk... but i'm afraid ppl will notice it when i run..anybody have any experience with this?? in the meantime im missing out

I liken it to a millionaire climbing Mt Everest because he has a lot of money, not climbing experience.

:eek: Wow, great analogy! :nod:

I'm terrified of what running that long would do to my joints. Longest I've ever run without severe joint pain was about 7 miles. Beyond that I'm crippled for a day or two afterwards. Anybody who completes a marathon has my admiration. It's not something I think I'll ever try.

Don't you have to qualify for most marathons? Like, supply an official time for another marathon?

Abigail - RunnersWorld UK post (http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/news/article.asp?UAN=650)on running with scoliosis.

Don't you have to qualify for most marathons? Like, supply an official time for another marathon?

No, just a few require pre-qualification. Chicago which is huge does not require a previous marathon time. You can get a prefered start if you do have one though.

No, just a few require pre-qualification. Chicago which is huge does not require a previous marathon time. You can get a prefered start if you do have one though.

Thanks, I was wondering about that. I mean...how could you run a marathon if you had to first provide proof that you'd run another marathon?

I can see the logic in requiring an official time for the larger city marathons. Figure they'd want to be able to return the course to its regular public state after 5 hours or so.

Abigail, I am sure you would look great no matter what you do. You want to see something funny looking, I wanted a bicyle so i found an old one and pieced it together and ride it to the beach a couple times a week. Of course it's a ladies bike with basket and everything and all rusty but I still think I look like Lance Armstrong riding on it. Even though I only go like 3 MPH on it. I hate to use the brakes in front of anyone because they make all kinds of noise. I guess it's not exactly the way to impress the ladies at the beach but what the heck. I rode past the high school which was just getting out and I was clicking and grinding all the way down the street. I felt really stupid but I did ride faster because of it.

It's become quite popular to run a marathon just to say one has done one. There are many cases of people going from the couch to running one in 4-6 months, but no cases I've heard of of people going from the couch to running one quickly in that period of time (unless they were previously fit or thin or whatever).

"running a marathon", meaning actually _running_ it without walk breaks requires substantially more effort than those who "complete a marathon" in 5 hours or so. To simply complete one, many people can do that without much training, but to continue to run for the entire distance is harder.

Having run one, I can say that it was not super hard. The training built up in distance as my fitness did, so most of the long runs (weekly long run) were fairly difficult, but only during one or two of them was I incredibly happy for the thing to be done, finishing it requiring a real exercise in mental strength. By the time I got to the marathon, I was well trained and rested, so the first 20 miles went by quite easily and only around mile 22 did I really start to feel the distance. My feet were hurting (didn't have that during training, but no training run exceeded 20 miles), my knees hurt, I felt heavy and tired, and running by tons of people who'd had to start walking was incredibly demoralizing. I ran the whole thing because I had told myself for months that I'd make my goal time unless I physically was unable to continue. I would not quit due to feeling worn out (which I did). Come the end, the plan was well executed. I was beyond hungry...voraciously hungry. About a minute after I stopped running, overall pain flooded into my joints (hips, lower back, knees, etc.).

The experience was positive. If I can kick the current knee issue I've been having for years and years (and hopeful I can), I'll run another marathon, most likely Feb of 07, and shave time off what I did the first time. Right after the first one I started training for a second, but got realistic about my knee pain and decided to wait on it.

A few people at work are now training for their first marathons. When I started training, I'd never run more than 5 miles at a time, but the miles just build. There are plenty of people who make it through who've not run more than 2-3 miles in their life, prior to starting the training.

Most people hate running and many who do marathons only do it to say they've done it, but I loved the training. I loved the feeling of knowing I'd just run 16 miles or however the long run was that day. I love moving through the neighborhood listening to music, by myself. I love knowing it's more productive than watching tv. I love knowing I can outrun most people my age. It's a great activity :) My only real regret is not having built up a base of mileage sufficiently before beginning the 18 weeks and not having gotten into endurance events until the age of 27.You have to be careful though. I live next to Boston and ssome girl died a couple of years ago running the Boston Marathon. She actually drank too much water and her cells got depleted of sodium or something like that. Commentators at the time were saying that drinking too much water was the sign of an inexperienced runner.Yeah, that can happen, but it's rare. Far more likely to drink too little, but some people don't really know what they're doing and end up killing themselves!
I'm terrified of what running that long would do to my joints. Longest I've ever run without severe joint pain was about 7 miles. Beyond that I'm crippled for a day or two afterwards. Anybody who completes a marathon has my admiration. It's not something I think I'll ever try.After years of studies and researching long distance running and joint damage, the consensus among pundits is now that it does little, if any appreciable damage to joints over the long haul. Although most of us have had running pains, most of us will either quit from the pains, or figure a way around them. The best measure of possible problems is just pain. If you're able to run without pain, there is no reason in the world to think it's causing any damage to the joints. It's a very natural activity. It's not natural for a couch potatoe to run 5 miles or somebody who weighs 250 lbs to go do speed work and things like that will put extra stress on the body. Another reason long-time long distance runners do well is that through either luck or deliberate effort, they've tended toward a running style that minimizes wear on the body. Look at an elite runner, or the front pack at a local 5k. They are not just faster than those at the back, but they run in a different manner, seeming to glide over the ground instead of crash into it.

BTW, anybody worried about how they look, stop worrying. Who's opinion are you worried about? The person who's not done any physical activity since 1987? His opinion means nothing. The opinion of the guy who runs 50 miles/week? He will look upon your effort favorably, regardless of how bad you think you look. It's the same way out of shape, weak people can go to a gym and not get scorned; everyone in the gym is there for the same reason and in that communal setting, there is no harsh judging, overt or covert. Maybe you've (not you, but anyone!) been with your friends and thought the guy on the road bike in tight shorts looked stupid, but privately you were wishing you could pull it off. Well, you can. You just need to start.

Me.Run5K = sure
Me.Run10K = maybe
Me.RunMarathon = screwThatNoise

Props to those of you who have or are training for one - I have no desire to do it. As someone posted above, travelling 26.2 miles via foot regardless of method or speed is one heck of a feat.

As Arnold said:

(Re: Bodybuilding) "l mean, obviously a lot of people look at you and they think it's kind of strange, what you're doing, but those are the people who don't know much about it. As soon as you find out what the whole thing is about, then it's just like another thing. lt's not any stranger as going into a car and trying to go in a quarter mile, five seconds. l mean, that's, for me, strange."

For me, running a marathon is strange.

After years of studies and researching long distance running and joint damage, the consensus among pundits is now that it does little, if any appreciable damage to joints over the long haul.

Just keep in mind that the research also says that if you run more than about 40 miles a week you rapidly increase the risk of joint damage.

So yeah, running a marathon is not a problem. Just don't train more than 40 miles a week running.

Just keep in mind that the research also says that if you run more than about 40 miles a week you rapidly increase the risk of joint damage.

So yeah, running a marathon is not a problem. Just don't train more than 40 miles a week running.Do you have a link for that? It's possible to get pretty fast a marathons without exceeding 40 mpw, especially using a liberal amount of cross training. I have heard of one guy who has broken 3 hours by a decent margin and runs only 3 times/week, doing a long run and some shorter runs, but a good bit of cross training. If I run another one, I plan on averaging no higher than 30 but relying on cycling to assist.

40 mpw would depend on the person, soo. No doubt a 200 lber will handle 35 miles far worse than a 140 lber will handle 45, on average.

Skoorb-

AWESOME POST!!! :tu:

-bmac

a 5 hour marathon is 11.5 minute miles. That's not an entire walk, but it's a pretty slow jog. Not to disrespect anyone, because even training to walk a marathon takes effort, but I would say < 4 hours is the bigginer's limit to say you truly "ran" a marathon. < 3 hours is very advanced.

Yeah. 5 hours is quite a slow marathon. Not difficult at all from one perspective. My half-marathon pace [training for one] will be significantly faster. However, just being on my feet for 5 hours would be extremely stressful. So, in that respect, training for a marathon and not being in great shape provides its own challenges.

Just keep in mind that the research also says that if you run more than about 40 miles a week you rapidly increase the risk of joint damage.

So yeah, running a marathon is not a problem. Just don't train more than 40 miles a week running.

Well, that is not universally applicable. Though a good general guideline, and one new runners should stick to. Mileage increases should be increased cautiously and judiciously. It would be difficult to run a really fast marathon on that mileage even with liberal use of cross-training in my opinion.

Interesting to note that the people who have said that a five hour marathon is "slow" are the ones who have not run a marathon, and those who have run a marathon understand that it's not necessarily about the time, but the accomplishment and the experience of having done it.

To be safe, I'd allow sixteen weeks to train for a marathon provided you are already at the point where you can comfortably run three miles.

pd.
1.59 1/2 marathon
4.54 marathon

Rockenmamma i think it's great you don't care what ppl thing... every time i go walk, my fear keeps my feet from breaking into a run :p ... i know it's silly

that's a very helpful website - thanks M@, it's about tme i started to educate myself on what i can and cannot do.

Well, that is not universally applicable.

Actually, the research is that it is more or less universally applicable - the only exception in the medical literature I found was male adolescent elite runners with low body fat %.

Here's one. (http://familydoctor.org/147.xml)

And another. (http://www.brianmac.demon.co.uk/injury.htm)

The actual literature was a little harder to scare up, but some of the bigger studies are "Koplan, J.; Rothenberg, R.; and Jones, E. 1995. The natural history of exercise: a 10-year follow-up of a cohort of runners. Med. Sci. Sprts. Exerc. 27(8):1180-1184." "Brill PA & Macera CA. (1995). Influence of running patterns on running injuries. Sports Medicine. 20, 365-8." "Van Melchen. (1995). Can running injuries be effectively prevented? Sports Medicine. 19, 161-5.", "Van Melchen. (1992). Running injuries; a review of epidemiological literature. Sports Medicine. 14, 320-35."

The Van Melchen papers conclude that 75% of running injuries are from overuse.

Now as someone else pointed out, you can get into marathon shape with less than 45 miles a week, unless perhaps you are an elite marathoner, in which case some of those guys get into the 100 mile a week range. They know they are taking a risk. The largest cause of withdrawl from competition in long distance running events is injury in training.