Hello,

I want to run a marathon next year. This seems a daunting task being that I am still approximately 80 pounds over weight. I had surgery on January 30th, 2013 and currently have lost 91 pounds. I am 5'6" and currently weigh 220 pounds.

I have entered myself in the color run here in Hawaii which is in November and have slowly started running. I basically run for a minute, walk for a minute etc. until I can't stand it.

To all of those out there who have already accomplished this goal or those striving for this goal...how in the world do I start training for this? Should I focus on my weight loss or running?

The honolulu marathon I am aiming for is in December of 2014 so I have almost a year and a half to train.

Try the couch to 5 k

Sent from my iPhone using VST

You might consider the following plan ( no flames please if someone disagrees; this is just a suggestion):

1. Complete c25k and run a full 5 k ( do not worry about pace, but do run the whole time).

2. Target a 35 min 5k

3. Target a 30 min 5k

4. Target a 25 min 5k, repeat until a 25 min 5k is no challenge

5. Run 2-3 5k races with good pace of 25-30 min time

5. Complete a 10k training program. There are a few free online resources.

6. Target a 70 min 10k

7. Target a 60 min 10k

8. Target a 55 min 10k

9. Run 1-2 10 k races and try to get 60-70 min 10k time.

10. Start increasing to 8 miles

11. Increase to 10 miles-12 miles over a couple months.

This is as far as I have gone with running, so you might reach out to anyone on the long distance running thread for more steps.

Here is what I might do:

12. Complete a 1/2 program

13. Train 1/2 miles for approx 3 months working on better times

14 race 1/2 marathon

15. Find a marathon plan and complete it

16. Work on improving performance of 18-26 mile runs (you do not need to constantly be running 26 miles in your marathon training).

17. Practice a dry run of the marathon a month before race.

18 continue to work on endurance and stamina

19. Take some rest

20. Race day

You want to work in some down times in this plan in order to not get injured and not burn out.

Always warmup and stretch before a run. Cool down, roll out and stretch muscles after the run. Eat carbs before running to fuel your legs and Protein afterwards to recover. Since you have a lot of training to get through, you will want to be eating the best you can, as often as you can and drink a lot of Water. You will be not only burning mad calories with this much running, but also will lose muscle with all this running. I have not figured out how to run this amount and preserve muscle so no longer do this level of running. Just wanted to warn you on that.

Good luck in your long term planning. It may be aggressive to run a marathon in december 2014, but you will find a way if you set your mind to it.

Hope this helps from a fellow VST runner.

You might consider the following plan ( no flames please if someone disagrees; this is just a suggestion):

1. Complete c25k and run a full 5 k ( do not worry about pace' date=' but do run the whole time).

2. Target a 35 min 5k

3. Target a 30 min 5k

4. Target a 25 min 5k, repeat until a 25 min 5k is no challenge

5. Run 2-3 5k races with good pace of 25-30 min time

5. Complete a 10k training program. There are a few free online resources.

6. Target a 70 min 10k

7. Target a 60 min 10k

8. Target a 55 min 10k

9. Run 1-2 10 k races and try to get 60-70 min 10k time.

10. Start increasing to 8 miles

11. Increase to 10 miles-12 miles over a couple months.

This is as far as I have gone with running, so you might reach out to anyone on the long distance running thread for more steps.

Here is what I might do:

12. Complete a 1/2 program

13. Train 1/2 miles for approx 3 months working on better times

14 race 1/2 marathon

15. Find a marathon plan and complete it

16. Work on improving performance of 18-26 mile runs (you do not need to constantly be running 26 miles in your marathon training).

17. Practice a dry run of the marathon a month before race.

18 continue to work on endurance and stamina

19. Take some rest

20. Race day

You want to work in some down times in this plan in order go not get injured and not burn out.

Always warmup and stretch before a run. Cool down, roll out and stretch muscles after the run. Eat carbs before running to fuel your legs and Protein afterwards to recover. Since you have a lot of training to get through, you will want to be eating the best you can, as often as you can and drink a lot of Water. You will be not only burning mad calories with this much running, but also will lose muscle with all this running. I have not figured out how to run this amount and preserve muscle so no longer do this level of running. Just wanted to warn you on that.

Good luck in your long term planning. It may be aggressive to run a marathon in summer 2014, but you will find a way if you set your mind to it.

Hope this helps from a fellow VST runner.[/quote']

I agree with everything except targeting faster times. There's really no reason for that. Trying to run faster can cause injury. Your main goal should be to avoid injuries. I have read many articles that say to not increase your pace significantly until you've been running a year. Trying to go 5% faster leads to a 25% increase in injuries.

Pacing requirements are usually a 16min mile. Anything under 45 min will get you that. Many people also use the Galloway method to run/walk races.

I'm planning on running a 10K in the spring, see how that goes and then sign up for a half marathon. My goal is to improve my running stride/form and prevent injuries. I could care less how fast I go.

Hi - You make a good point about injury. I guess I was fortunate to avoid injury when trying to improve running times. Back when i first started running at post op 5 months (end of November 2012), I sort of fell into running and loved it.

I followed chi method of running fairly closely because it made so much sense to me. I have posted a lot on this method and am happy to repost some information if anyone is interested. It is designed to prevent injury while still running with faster performance. It requires a runner to be acutely aware of rhythm, breathing, posture, stride, landing gracefully in middle of foot, completely relaxing and a few other things. Running is actually a meditative exercise with way less perceived effort when using this method. BTB and I had fun preaching all things good when using this method. A few others decided to tr it, but I do not know how many use it today as have not read any posts about it recently.

If I recall correctly, my first 5 k time was 28 minutes and the best time I got was 18 minutes with a lot of daily practice over a couple months. First 10 k ended up being about 70 minutes with best time at 38 minutes ( prime of my running training) after a couple more months. Since march or so, I have reduced my running to about 1 mile daily for warmup before working out with strength training. I try and run 5k every couple weeks at a moderate pace of 28 minutes, but no more than that or faster than that in order to maximize preservation of hard earned muscle from strength training. My body actually likes to hold onto a certain degree of fat when i was running too much before march 2013 (became a skinny fat person).

As for the Galloway method, BTB uses this. I never tried it, but it sounds promising in order to finish raises with still energy remaining in the tank. I encourage the use of Galloway and Chi methods as techniques to help run with more pleasure and minimal injury.

Good luck in preparing for the marathon OP. Running is a pleasure if you can avoid injury. Again, consider both Chi and Galloway methods. 220 is a good weight to start running at (I started at 225), but running at a heavier weight might lead to injury. May not be true for everyone, but it was true for me when I tried running at 250.

Hopefully, the real marathoners will chime in with some good advice: PdxMan, mass index to name a couple.

Hello. I agree that you should start small and then graduate to a full marathon. I completed a few 5ks and a couple of 10ks last year and the beginning of this year and I will complete my first HALF MARATHON on December 7 2013. Reward yourself with small victories first. A marathon 26.2 miles is horrendous. I'm not saying you can't do it but its very difficult. Also keep in mind that you half to maintain a certain pace the entire time or the police will stop your run. I know first hand. The city can only block off the streets for a certain amount of time. I completed a marathon relay in march and was the last one to finish. The police trailed me the whole way. I was 4th leg and 8 miles. Most marathons you only get 6-7 hours to complete it. I say make that a long term goal and start small. You'll eventually get there. Good luck!!

Oh. Please use an app perhaps Jeff Galloway app. This will help you complete it with a run/walk program

You might consider the following plan ( no flames please if someone disagrees; this is just a suggestion):

1. Complete c25k and run a full 5 k ( do not worry about pace, but do run the whole time).

2. Target a 35 min 5k

3. Target a 30 min 5k

4. Target a 25 min 5k, repeat until a 25 min 5k is no challenge

5. Run 2-3 5k races with good pace of 25-30 min time

5. Complete a 10k training program. There are a few free online resources.

6. Target a 70 min 10k

7. Target a 60 min 10k

8. Target a 55 min 10k

9. Run 1-2 10 k races and try to get 60-70 min 10k time.

10. Start increasing to 8 miles

11. Increase to 10 miles-12 miles over a couple months.

This is as far as I have gone with running, so you might reach out to anyone on the long distance running thread for more steps.

Here is what I might do:

12. Complete a 1/2 program

13. Train 1/2 miles for approx 3 months working on better times

14 race 1/2 marathon

15. Find a marathon plan and complete it

16. Work on improving performance of 18-26 mile runs (you do not need to constantly be running 26 miles in your marathon training).

17. Practice a dry run of the marathon a month before race.

18 continue to work on endurance and stamina

19. Take some rest

20. Race day

You want to work in some down times in this plan in order to not get injured and not burn out.

Always warmup and stretch before a run. Cool down, roll out and stretch muscles after the run. Eat carbs before running to fuel your legs and Protein afterwards to recover. Since you have a lot of training to get through, you will want to be eating the best you can, as often as you can and drink a lot of Water. You will be not only burning mad calories with this much running, but also will lose muscle with all this running. I have not figured out how to run this amount and preserve muscle so no longer do this level of running. Just wanted to warn you on that.

Good luck in your long term planning. It may be aggressive to run a marathon in december 2014, but you will find a way if you set your mind to it.

Hope this helps from a fellow VST runner.

Thank you for the input. I will take all into consideration. Is it really aggressive to run a marathon in a year and a half? I honestly have no idea, but I do know I like running and the way it makes me feel.

Hello. I agree that you should start small and then graduate to a full marathon. I completed a few 5ks and a couple of 10ks last year and the beginning of this year and I will complete my first HALF MARATHON on December 7 2013. Reward yourself with small victories first. A marathon 26.2 miles is horrendous. I'm not saying you can't do it but its very difficult. Also keep in mind that you half to maintain a certain pace the entire time or the police will stop your run. I know first hand. The city can only block off the streets for a certain amount of time. I completed a marathon relay in march and was the last one to finish. The police trailed me the whole way. I was 4th leg and 8 miles. Most marathons you only get 6-7 hours to complete it. I say make that a long term goal and start small. You'll eventually get there. Good luck!!

Wow. good to know. I had no idea. I'm going to really have to work at it then. They must have made a special event for that chic on extreme weight loss who ran a marathon. Good job on accomplishing all of those runs!!!

I have recently started running and its not something I ever thought I would be able to do. I was a smoker for 13 years before my surgeon told me to quit and I was at your weight when I started running. I looked up a bunch of running tips before I started getting into it and my favorite one was to at first run slow enough to carry on a conversation. I felt sort of lame going so slow at first, but now a month later I am able to run 3.5-4 miles without stopping at all and my peace is much faster too. I know it's still way far from what you have to do to run a marathon, but I am pretty proud of myself