I received a mailer for the Nike Marathon to support the Leukemia and Lymphoma society and i'm actually interested in doing this. My friend did the Breast Cancer walk last year and I couldn't attend it because of the dates.

Have any of you ever done these? What is your experience? How good are the coaches at helping to train, especially the out of shape runners?

By Heaventree on Monday, April 11, 2005 - 07:33 pm:

Melissa, I have never ran a marathon. That being said, if you want to start to train on your own there is an easy method.

On your first day out warm-up by walking quickly for 1 min. then run for 1 minute, then walk for a minute. Do this 10 times.

Leave a day between runs, next time out walk 1 min. then run 2 mins., walk one minute and run 2 mins.

Each time out, increase your run portion by 1 minute still leaving the 1 minute walk in between. You will slowly increase your time and endurance. I bring an electronic kitchen timer with me that beeps, I find it easier to use than the running watches.

I love to run, on days that my DH was out of town traveling I just put DS in the stroller and off we go. Good luck and don't forget to stretch well after your run. If you try the method above and do your stretches you shouldn't be sore at all. Oh yeah, get a good pair of shoes, go to a running store, it's better to pay a bit more they last longer and there is less chance of injury. If you suffer from shin splints try stretching before you run. O.K. I'll shut-up now .

By Emily7 on Monday, April 11, 2005 - 09:09 pm:

I know that Christylee did a Walk for Aids in Houston & did a great job raising money.
I have never had the opportunity to do anything like this, but would jump at the chance.

By Kaye on Monday, April 11, 2005 - 09:14 pm:

LOL you know someone died running a marathon right? In all actuality I have heard of people doing the method mentioned above. I have never run that far, and really don't intend too, but sounds like a great cause. I would think it would take several months to train for a run that long!

By Marcia on Monday, April 11, 2005 - 09:40 pm:

We do all of the local walks for cancer. Last year I was a crew member for The Weekend to End Breast Cancer. It was one of those best things I've ever done!! My sister walked in it the past 2 years, along with many people I know. I didn't know how I could ever raise the mandatory $2000, so I chose to crew. My mom was with me. We'll be doing it again this Sept, and I can't wait!!
I know I was no help to the actual running question, but I'm sure the event will be amazing!
Here's my page...

Marcia WEBC

By Pamt on Monday, April 11, 2005 - 09:44 pm:

My SIL just ran her first (and she says ONLY) marathon. She trained for several months. She's pretty athletic anyway, but not really a runner. She and my brother started training together--his idea--and he blew his knee out, so she finished training and did it all by herself. Amazing! I'm just trying to run a 5k. That's as ambitious as I get. You can find all sorts of training protocols on the web.

By Kym on Monday, April 11, 2005 - 10:54 pm:

My dh is training for his second marathon, make no mistake running a marathon is a whole different thing than doing a walkLOL
Go to your library or half.com and get the book
"The Lore of Running" it has a great schedule as well as tons of info from mindset to recovering from injury and everything in between, it has helped dh several times figure out why he is not being effective, hurting too much, getting too fatigued etc. I may train for a 1/2 next year, but there is not time for both of us to train at the same time, plus I'm still not even to a jog yet
I hope you do well, keep us posted!

By Annie2 on Monday, April 11, 2005 - 11:14 pm:

I just read your other post about Coldstone ice cream. Maybe you could hang a quart of it in front of you like they have the fake rabbit at the track to entice the greyhounds! I know that would work for me with a bagel/cream cheese from Panerra Bread! LOL

I have done several 5K walks for charity and fun. Never even considred a marathon. I walk about three times a week but have been trying to beef it up with intermittent running. I am going to try your plan HeavenTree. Thanks

By Debbie on Tuesday, April 12, 2005 - 09:51 am:

My dh ran a marathon after we got married. There was a running shop in our town that had a training program. Dh is very athletic and was already doing some running. I want to say that he trained for 4-6 months before he did the run. He had a great time, but said it was definitely a once in a lifetime thing for him. It was very difficult!!!

If you decide to do it there is a great website www.coolrunning.com. It has several programs that you can follow to train for a marathon and other races. Dh really enjoyed doing the training with the running shop. He met some great people when he trained.

By Tayjar on Tuesday, April 12, 2005 - 10:16 am:

One of my co-workers is extremely active in the LLS Team and Training. He is a mentor and a coach and his wife works for them as well. I know locally the coaches and the training you get are outstanding. They teach you not only about running but the nutrition that goes into being a good athlete. They help you make sure you have the right running gear and how much to run and when. You start off slowly. I know some of the people started off walking and then slowly started adding running into their schedule. I know many people that do this run as well as the St. Jude Memphis to Peoria run. It is a life changing experience. I say go for it.

By Boxzgrl on Tuesday, April 12, 2005 - 11:28 am:

Thanks everyone. I need to contact them to first see what the schedule is to 1) see if I can do it and 2) see if DH can do it with me. If I do it, it will be the half marathon (which is still 13 miles!) I ran 3 miles the other day with my friend up a hill and 3 days later, i'm still sore. I *know* I can do this since I was great at track and cross country in high school, I just need to get in shape again. I can't remember half of what cross country taught me so thats why I was asking here. I'll check out those websites. And if I cant run this one, I *will* do one in the future. The thing that I like about this one is that I get to actually meet the patient i'll be sponsoring so it will give me that extra motivation.