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Renae H.
Renae H. Sendmail

Picking a goal time for a marathon?

asked 3 months ago | Report

Ten weeks ago I started training for my first half. Two weeks into the training I picked an estimated finish time based off my mile time at that point in training. I picked 3:30 and finished at 2:54 because I ran with the 3hr pace group. I felt great afterwards (minus freezing because it was well freezing out). I can walk without issue today and it's only 2 days out so I know I did well with training and pacing.

This next year I want to run the full. I have a full year to train and that will include at least 3 more halfs so I know my overall time will increase. I LOVE running with pace groups and I'm scared to pick a time that would put me in a different corral than the pace group I need once I'm actually ready to run it.

What's a good way to chose a goal? The whole "just finish" isn't enough for me...if I was happy with "just finish" I would have walked the last 3 miles of the half because of a stupid hill.

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8 answers

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  • Morey B.
    Morey B. Sendmail

    Firstly- I like that 'just finishing' isn't good enough. That's for people who don't have the tenacity to actually put in the miles for a couple years and get out there and run the thing. But here's how you do it. You use your shorter race times to predict your longer ones. It's scary accurate (if you do the miles).

    the HMs are what we call 'tune up' races. They let you know what you're capable of. You never should take your body to the limit in training like you do in a race.

    Here's the calculator:
    http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/index.php/site/calculator

    It not only let's you know what you can do for the marathon distance, but gives you paces for training. (more important than you may realize)

    If you are consistent with your training, you will be getting quite a bit faster over the next year, and you can use results from shorter races, like 5ks or 10Ks as well. Have fun.

    answered 3 months ago |Report

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  • Ryan
    Ryan Sendmail

    There's a reason virtually every well respected coach/athlete/experienced runner advises choosing to just finish for your first marathon - because it is far more grueling than a half marathon, and you are very prone to injury if you try to shoot for a pace that is out of reach, and until you do a full, you don't know what is out of reach. I see on your page that your foot and knee hurt after the half - that was after three hours. Imagine what that'd be like if out there for an extra 13.1 miles of accumulated pavement pounding, dehydration, fatigue, glycogen store depletion, etc. A full is a completely different animal from a half - nothing like going from 5 miles to 10, for example.

    Everyone is different - and until you know how your body responds to training load, you have no idea what is pushing your body just enough, or too much. The calculators are great for many people, but they leave a lot of individualized factors out. If you choose to train for a marathon with a time goal with only a year of running, you do so at great risk of injury simply because you'll constantly be wanting to push just a little more, get an extra run in, sacrifice the day of rest, etc. I've been there, I've seen others go there - and we've all been injured because of it.

    The calculators are most useful not for projected finishing times, but for proper training paces. It's too bad DM doesn't allow italics, bold and all kinds of other attention grabbing stuff, because when Morey said 'more important than you may realize', he's not kidding. If you take nothing else from this thread, take away that the calculators show you proper pacing for stuff like intervals, threshold & tempo runs, etc. It's very, very easy to work harder than you need to to elicit the responses from your body that you are looking for.

    answered 3 months ago |Report

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  • Eric S.
    Eric S. Sendmail

    I agree with Ryan M.'s response. I think you're on the right track with your plan. If you put the full year of training in ahead of time, you'll have a good base for the marathon.

    The calculators are good for getting a general idea, but try not to get to tied to the idea of finishing within a certain time. It's very hard to find a proper pace that will pan out for 26.2 miles. Just running an entire marathon is a big accomplishment, and you should be proud of any finishing time.

    My advice would be to start focusing on what may seem like the little details. Pay attention to things like drinking and eating on your long runs. Make sure that your shoes don't start to bother you as your long runs increase in distance. Don't ignore any pain that you might experience that is outside of the normal soreness from training.

    You'll be running a lot of miles, so don't forget to enjoy your training too. Best of luck!

    answered 3 months ago |Report

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  • Susan J.
    Susan J. Sendmail

    I fully agree with Eric and Ryan. What's the big rush anyway? It seems to me that a lot of runners who go for a time goal in their first marathon get inured, discouraged, and don't want to run one again for some time. Mostly they don't get as much enjoyment out of it as they could if they ran just to finish it.
    Also, which training method are you using? I personally like Jeff Galloway's marathon training plan.
    In any case I wish you all the best with your training and for the full, and mostly no injuries

    @Morey: I believe the problem may be that Renae has just gotten into running a short while ago and that she HASN't put in all those miles just yet.

    answered 3 months ago |Report

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  • Laurie S.
    Laurie S. Sendmail

    I agree with Ryan's response...very well put. I run with a running coach and just ran my first marathon in October. When I told her what my goal time was for the marathon, her response was that unless I was willing to drop any sort of time goal whatsoever, she was going to drop me as one of her runners. A marathon is a completely different beast and until you've tackled one you have no idea what it takes. I've done countless 5ks, 10ks and several half marathons, but there is nothing like a full marathon. Rather than having a time goal, I would just make it your goal to run the whole thing. I'm sure that's not what you want to hear, because it's not what I wanted to hear, but several months after my marathon I'm glad I took that advice. Now, training for my second marathon I'm shooting for my time goal! That being said, you obviously have to come up with some sort of pace to run and try to maintain. Whatever you choose, be VERY conservative.

    answered 3 months ago |Report

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  • Branson S.
    Branson S. Sendmail

    why not do a full this year. You could train for one in 20 weeks. find a fall full marathon and sign up

    answered 3 months ago |Report

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  • Ryan
    Ryan Sendmail

    @Branson - the question isn't whether to do a full this year, the question is whether it is advisable to have a specific time goal with only a year (at the time of the marathon) of running under your belt, and especially choosing that time goal now.

    Realistically, as you go through training for the marathon, a time goal will enter into the equation - especially once you start hitting the 20 mile runs. Once it is seen what the pace is on those runs, it's a quick projection to see how much more time six more miles will add. That sort of derived time goal for the first time around is fine, because it is basing the goal on actual performance of a run that is within striking distance of the full marathon distance.

    answered 3 months ago |edited 3 months ago |Report

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  • Laura H.
    Laura H. Sendmail

    Hi Renae,

    I am currently training for my first full marathon. I have completed halfs in similar times to your half marathon time. I am a little less than 5 weeks from race day and marathon training has been a whole different experience. I knew it would be more time but I didn't realize how long it takes to recover from long training runs. I have run 20 and 23 and have a 26 miler next week. (Galloway program)

    I am fighting with having a time goal in my head. But, I know that for my next marathon, I will want to beat the time from my first so I should enjoy the one and only marathon when I am just running it to finish without a time goal. Finishing well will be success for me. Seeing how fast I can do it is for another race, at least for me.

    I don't think that running "to finish" means taking your sweet time and not trying to do well, to me it is the freedom to run by feel and tackle this new distance without a goal that could detract from the experience.

    Good Luck with your training and racing!

    answered 3 months ago |Report

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