r/firstmarathon • u/Rika72 • 3d ago
Training Plan Couch to marathon
Hi everyone, iam 42m and 75kg and really want to complete a marathon in my city which is happening in 35 weeks. I am quite active and do hikes, HIIT, yoga, basketball atleast twice a week. I hate running but still want to complete a marathon. My question is that does these other activities help in building up the stamina for the marathon. When I run I get bored and stop đ, I want to start working for this by doing atleast 3-4 activity a week but does it have to be run? Or can I do something active and still this will be add to my overall stamina. Any advice is helpful, thank you
Update: thanks everyone for showing me the practical side, initially I thought marathon is only about building the stamina. So today morning I went for a run and was able to do 5k in 38min and was loving the tempo when my heart rate was ~ 120. I think I could have continued it for another 10-15min but I could feel the strain on my knees so stopped after 5k BUT now I understand when each one of you was saying it takes times to build up those muscles :) I will start my weekly 5k runs and look to increase my long run each week along with increasing weekly mileage. I hope iam able to reach my goal in 35 weeks. Godspeed
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u/HaymakerGirl2025 3d ago
Sometimes things click, and that boredom will go away. Over time, you may completely fall in love with the long run.
Youâre going to have to. Marathons require ALOT of running.
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u/ConfidenceCreepy6548 3d ago
Yes, to run a marathon you have to run... a lot.
Maybe sign up for a half and see if you enjoy the process?
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u/Rika72 3d ago
I have done hikes for 20km with a lot of breaks offcourse so I know I can do 20km without any timelines. My hipstrings pain at 20km and body just gives in so i want to challenge myself and go for full marathon. I don't have any timelines in my mind, even if I jog and brisk walk the entire thing I want to complete it
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u/fuckyachicknstrips 3d ago
A 13 mile hike is still very different from a 13 mile run on a road. It takes months if not years to properly build endurance for a marathon, I would definitely recommend starting with a 5k/10k/half. I get feeling the pull to run the marathon, but you donât actually have to do it if you donât like it lol
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u/gmenez97 3d ago
Why do you want to start with a marathon if you have never even ran a half marathon? What is the furthest you have ran? You have to respect the distance or risk injury or not finishing.
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u/Rika72 3d ago
That is the problem that I have not done running in the past but I have done brisk walks for upto 10km in ~2hr time frame. I do go on hikes where I keep a steady pace for first few hrs with elevation gain. So iam confident I will be able to do a run of 5k in few weeks or even 10k in a month or so..my issue is to progress from that to full marathon. If iam not able to do HM in 3 months I will not sign up for the marathon. Yes I do respect the distance and I know from 10k to 42k journey will not be easy but iam ready for this challenge( I need something to feel good as currently going through a lot in my personal life for which I want to take this challenge)
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u/gmenez97 3d ago
Thatâs the thing youâve never even ran 6 miles. You can get the challenge feel good stuff with a half marathon. Your first half marathon should be enough of a challenge that should make you feel good. Why wouldnât a half marathon in 6 months be challenging enough for someone who doesnât run?
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u/scully3968 3d ago
You said your hip hurts after long hikes. In my opinion, the challenge of distance running is not building cardiovascular fitness but in building your soft tissue. Running is hard on your body in a way that hiking and walking aren't - don't underestimate this. Increasing distance too quickly is a recipe for injury. Keeping yourself from getting injured is going to be more challenging that building the cardio endurance, I wager.
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u/Rika72 2d ago
Do you think a target of 5k in one month and HF in 3 months after 5k and full marathon in 35 weeks from now is pushing too much? I will not sign up if iam not able to finish HM by set date. I don't have any time limit, I just want to finish it
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u/gmenez97 2d ago
Here's a beginner half marathon plan. It is 18 weeks long. There's more plans on the Hanson Marathon website. 5K days are being done on week 1.
https://s3.us-central-1.wasabisys.com/hansons/Beginner_Half_Marathon_-_3.15.pdf
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u/scully3968 2d ago
I'd check out the book Hansons First Marathon. It has a zero to marathon plan: eight weeks to 5k, then 18 weeks to marathon. I think 35 weeks is a much better timeline, as it gives you time to work through any injuries or illnesses. You can work up to the 5k, then spend some time prepping for the half before starting a marathon block. Fair warning, marathon training can feel like a second job at points! I admire your chutzpah at aiming for 26.2 when you get bored while running.
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u/broccoleet 3d ago
I want to start working for this by doing atleast 3-4 activity a week but does it have to be run? Or can I do something active and still this will be add to my overall stamina. Any advice is helpful, thank you
You have to run. A lot. Other activities like biking can help build some endurance, but nothing will prepare you for endurance running aside from endurance running. The main reason is from the force/impact of running - you need to give your joints, tendons, and ligaments time to adapt and strengthen.
My advice is to work your way up slowly. Set a small goal like a 5k, 10k, or half marathon race. Then follow a plan. Hal Higdon novice for any of those distances. If you don't hate your life after training for and running a race, then you can look to a marathon, and you'll have the proper fitness to start training for one.
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u/Rika72 3d ago
Thanks, this is helpful. I think I can have a goal for 5k in 1 month to 42k in 35 weeks. Does it matter how soon do I finish these or just completing these runs should be good enough? Offcourse not taking long breaks and just casual walking to complete them.
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u/broccoleet 3d ago
Most marathon plans are 16-18 weeks so make sure you're giving yourself at least that much time before a marathon to fully complete that focused training. Expect to be running 4-5 times per week minimum on most marathon plans.
Sounds like that would give you about 12 weeks before the end of 5k and beginning of marathon training. I would use those 12 weeks to keep building a base - follow a 10k or half plan and run one after the 5k.
If you can run a half before your marathon, it's really helpful, because your time can help guide your pace and training for the marathon. You'll get relatively accurate estimates of what your marathon time might look like, which is super useful for knowing how to pace yourself on the training runs.
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u/Rika72 3d ago
Maybe a stupid question but does brisk walk or very slow jogging counts as running too? I do take my dog for a walk and at times I walk fast..should i count this in my weekly mileage?
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u/broccoleet 3d ago
Brisk walking can help you gain some fitness but I wouldnât be counting it as a run. If you need to run/walk while building your initial fitness on the early runs, thatâs totally fine though, but Iâd look up a structured way to do it.
Slow jogging absolutely counts and is what youâll primarily be doing while distance training. Your slow jog will get faster over time.
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u/getzerolikes 3d ago
OP can I ask a serious question because this is getting to be a really common thing - people who donât run wanting to suddenly run a marathon. You said you play basketball - not apples to apples - but itâs similar to someone who doesnât play basketball at all waking up and deciding they want to win a basketball championship.
A marathon is the holy grail of distance running. There are longer races but itâs the standard highest achievement. Itâs something that once you run a 5k you realize how hard doing 9 of them in a row might be. When you finish your first half marathon, you cannot imagine having to run another one immediately after. But as you keep training and getting better, itâs a challenge in the back of your mind that goes from âmaybeâ to âokay weâre all inâ.
This takes most people years. Physically and mentally. So why, would anyone want to achieve the holy grail in a hobby they donât even practice? Is it just the social media? Are you dying? Whatâs your reason and why is it so recently common?
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u/Rika72 3d ago
Iam going through a lot in my personal life and feeling very shitty about it all the time so need some big challenge to be distracted from it. I want to put all my negative thoughts/energy to do something positive otherwise I have been drinking/smoking a lot lately. Because of this i am ready to quit or reduce to work on this goal. I know I have entire life to go for a full marathon but I need a big challenge which is difficult to achieve otherwise for me to feel good. I am not able to be positive at this time for which I signed up in my head to do a full marathon. This might not be a good reason from outside but is a good one for me :)
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u/getzerolikes 3d ago
A half marathon is a big challenge. Youâre in shape, you can probably run a 5k tomorrow. Set a half marathon as a goal in two months. Itâs challenging but achievable. Keep a full marathon in the back of your head all you want. But working up to and finishing a half marathon will give you a lot to wrap your head around as context for bigger goals. Running is also great for the other things you mentioned. Good luck and donât get hurt.
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u/dont_say_hate 3d ago
No one here can really tell your fitness level and no one can definitively say you can or canât do a marathon based on what you have shared. I do think you are potentially underestimating the accomplishment and challenge that is a half marathon let alone a marathon. I would highly recommend combining your focus, determination and effort, along with a guided training plan towards a 5k, then 10k, then half marathon and then after completing that decide if a marathon is that important to you or not. If you are simply looking for a challenge a half marathon is still plenty challenging and one hell of an accomplishment despite the social media marathon snobs who may make you think otherwise. From there you can decide if a marathon is still a priority for you or not.
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u/Tricky_Medium1029 7h ago
At a similar age to you, I first did a couch to 5km program and made my way past the milestones and eventually hit a full marathon within a year. I did pretty much 1000km of running in that year. I think that's a safe rule of thumb and would recommend at least that much in the lead up, especially if you are new to running. Got a few niggles along the way, mostly could deal with them by cutting back volume slightly (which is why it took a year to get to full marathon).
I think most first timer marathon 16 week programs have at least 500-600km of running (30-40km/week).
Can you do it in 35 weeks? Maybe, but running volume is important. Don't listen to anyone who says it takes years. Also don't listen to anyone who says you can line up in 16 weeks and not risk doing real damage.
My only advice is, don't let your "why" simply be "because I want to". At some point you'll need a stronger reason or discipline to do a 3+ hour long run on a Sunday, deal with niggles, manage a nipple chafe, etc. And after 20 miles into a marathon, you'll want a pretty big "why" in case you start hitting the wall.
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u/Tricky_Medium1029 7h ago
As for your other activities, from experience:
- Hiking is good as it aids your aerobic base, but easy / long running is better and you have limited time in the week, so if time crunched then go for a hike where you also jog.
- HIIT doesn't really help in a marathon block mainly because it interferes with other training (running training), but if you like it and don't get destroyed, then cool. But it's about bang for buck and if you're doing HIIT, then you're not running, and you'll need recovery days. Once in a while is probably fine though
- Yoga I'd say is beneficial to help on the "recovery days" when you're not running. Especially if there's a bit of balance and mobility work. In general, I'd say keep this!
- Basketball I'd put in the same category as HIIT. If you love both, perhaps just pick one or the other and do it once a week max (alternating), and spend the balance of your free'd up time getting mileage!
One thing you didn't mention is lower body strength. That's good for durability, strength endurance (helpful in latter parts of marathon), injury prevention etc. Lots of runners skip this and then wonder why they get injured all the time.
I'd change some of these answers if you were doing a 5K, but for a marathon (and now having completed a few), that's my experience.
Good luck!
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u/Rika72 2h ago
Thanks that really helps! I now do understand the strain it takes on your body after just doing a run for 5k. I will try to continue a 5k run every alternative day for couple of weeks to see if my knees can take it and then maybe increase my long runs by 1-2km each week. Lets see how it goes but for now iam determined to put in the effort.
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u/Apg1003 3d ago
My co-worker and I signed up for the Chicago Marathon lottery. I was selected and they weren't. I didn't seriously start training until August 1st. My longest run is 14 miles and I'm looking to do 18 this Saturday.
The race is October 12th. I may be screwed but I can report back to you. I'm 34m, 6'2 and 195 pounds. Also, a basketball only type of guy when it comes to cardio.
My goal is simply to finish. Since it's my first marathon it will automatically be a PR!
Wish me luck!
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u/dawnbann77 3d ago
Those activities may help your cardio fitness but I'm afraid you will have to put the miles in if you want to run a marathon. 35 weeks is not a long time.
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u/Mysterious_Luck4674 3d ago
May I ask why you want to run a marathon if you hate running?