Marathon by end of May

[eli]

Hi all,

I rarely post but am enormously inspired by you all. I guess I'm looking for either support or a reality check lol. The longest distance I've run is a half marathon which is a few years ago. I have a goal to run a marathon by the end of May. I started a 9 month training program about a month ago that I found online. It starts super slow at 2 mile runs and builds with a goal of finishing but I'm super slow and might embarrass myself.

I know I could push it off another year or two but this is my last year of being a stay at home mom before returning to work and I have 2 days a week where both of my kiddos are in school which gives me time for long runs. Once I go back to work I'm not sure that I would actually devote the time to training. Another reason is that I had a craniotomy last June to have an aneurysm clipped and the marathon would be close to the anniversary of my surgery which would feel really meaningful and rewarding to me.

So...do you guys think this is doable? Or am I nuts? There is a 6 hour time cut off so honestly I would at least want to be able to do that! I've felt good running but do have to get past some fears of pushing too hard and something happening in my brain even though I know everything is fixed and ok.

Thanks!

[mrshandy]

I don't think it's crazy at all. 

About 8 years ago, I decided I was going to run a marathon the following year. And the rest is history. At that point I had never run more than 3-4 miles at a time.

If you've successfully trained for a half, then a marathon is doable. Once you start doing longer runs, you'll have a better idea of what your potential finish time will me and whether you can beat the cutoff time. 

Do you have any local groups that you could join? I didn't have one for my first, just this board to bounce ideas off of. But having IRL support can be really awesome. Moms Run This Town is a national group with chapters all over the country.

[labbie]

You can totally do this! My first marathon I went from 5K to marathon in 9 months and I finished. I used a beginner training plan through my local running store. I did do a group run for the long runs which I found helpful as a first timer. Totally agree if there's anything like that in your area that fits your schedule it's a great option. 

Go for it! There's nothing like crossing that finish line :-)

[Mrs.flang]

Definitely not crazy - you have plenty of time! I started from basically zero fitness (after 3 years off due to having kids) back at the end of March and am training for a full marathon in October. Having a structured plan with extra weeks built in for set backs has been so helpful.

[lilypad1126]

You can absolutely do it! My first marathon I ran on a whim - I was at the race expo for a half I was running and picked up all the cards/swag/info from the tables advertising races, and one of them happened to be a marathon. I decided after I crossed the half marathon finish line that the marathon 4 months later was the one I'd do. I was already "half trained" for it, so in total I spent like 7 months training for my marathon. I won't say it was easy (marathon training is never easy) but I did it and it was totally worth it!

[eli]

Oh man, you guys are the best! I was seriously so nervous to post because I was afraid you'd tell me I was nuts! Thanks so much for your encouragement and tips! I looked up running groups in my area and unfortunately the closest one is about an hour away. I live in the middle of nowhere! But, the good thing is there are lots of runners in my area so I can probably hook up with some people. Seriously, thank you so much and I'll start chiming in more to let you guys know how it's going!

[bullygirl979]

eli, I would also check out Facebook and Meetup. I run with my LRS but I belong to a couple of FB groups. People are ALWAYS posting on there about looking for running partners. Good luck!!