Marathon 2.0

Loose weight before you train for running

[–]Rich-Contribution-84 195 points 4 days ago 

I’ve run several marathons. I ran one on a whim one time - with several under my belt - with zero training. It had been 12 months since my last marathon and I had a year filled with injuries and sickness and sedentary lifestyle and overeating and over drinking etc. I’d put on nearly 30 lbs.

My previous marathon was 3:50 ~ and my PR was sub 3:40.

I finished in just under 6:30 and it was the hardest thing I’d ever done. I jogged the first 15 miles very slowly and was in so much pain by miles 16 ~ that I had to walk. My slowest mile (maybe mile 21) was 33 minutes.

Granted this is a weird fucking example but I had the mental history and experience and was only a year removed from being in pretty good marathon shape. And it was insanely difficult. It was unequivocally the most difficult physical thing that I have ever done. And it was ugly.

Soooo - how does the average person compare to an out of shape marathoner coming off of a rough year of poor diet and exercise? I’d guess I was above the average person in terms of marathon fitness. Maybe not.

Great question though, OP.

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[–]ElectroHiker 37 points 4 days ago 

I agree. I trained for almost a year and I finished around 6hrs on my first marathon. I still run regularly but there is no way I can comfortably guarantee 7hrs without training. A massive part of the population cannot do it, many would struggle with even a 3.5hr half marathon.

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[–]Intelligent-Guard267 7 points 4 days ago 

I think the numbers for 7 hours would be very low, less than 0.5% of population. One must consider how god awful the average turkey trot is (and that’s active willing people) and the prevalence of obesity and sedentary lifestyles. People like myself with a half under their belt and 25 mpw base would have a chance of making it.

https://old.reddit.com/r/Marathon_Training/comments/1h2uy8a/has_anyone_successfully_gone_from_6_hours_to_5_or/?share_id=PS_FwZTtEuAi_yW2BVEbV

[–]Used_Win_8612 4 points 25 days ago 

Lose weight. Then run. Running and losing weight at the same time is a fool’s errand.

[–]Any-East7977 72 points 26 days ago* 

Boils down to two things no matter what. More mileage and strength training.

If you’re very overweight losing weight will also help a lot. Good sleep is also important.

I’m 5’5” and started running when I was 190lbs of high cholesterol and blood pressure 2 years ago. - My first half marathon was 2 hrs 30 minutes after getting down to 170lbs. - 2nd half was 2 hours at 160. - Just ran my third at 140lbs in 1 hr 40 minutes.

My mileage has been at 20-30 mpw. Looking to get it up to 40-50 in the next year before starting my first marathon training block.

I hope to BQ in 3-4 years.

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[–]MP-RI 17 points 26 days ago 

I second the weight loss. My paces have significantly improved after losing 30 pounds and continuing to train the same way - took 30 minutes off my half marathon time, and anticipate going from a 7hr marathon to a 5.5hr marathon this spring

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[–]iDoUFC 9 points 26 days ago 

I know weight has been my issue, how did you deal with hunger during training. I’m fucking starving all the time and crush proteins

6ft, 39m weight 220lb all of my half’s have been right around 2 hours l.

I should be 180lb

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[–]Any-East7977 7 points 26 days ago 

Dropped alcohol and junk food (pastries and fried food were especially my weaknesses). I no longer have junk food at home. I’ll indulge in ONE pastry after a long run once in while.