Miles 20 - 26

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, runlb, but you think exactly like the bear. Or at least these particular thoughts could have come straight from me.

Most importantly with proper training and proper nutrition, there is no wall, just an increase in mental effort to keep chugging along at your established pace. It's commonly said that the marathon is just a 10K with a 20-mile warm-up, that's how I approach the race (and training, for that matter).

BTW, loved Austin, that's where I PRed earlier this year.

If the 20-mile point is the killer, how will I manage miles 21-26?\

1) Proper training and a proper taper will get you to the starting line completely injury free, fully rested, and fully fueled to manage those extra miles.

2) You will be boosted by the additional adrenaline produced on race day, the support of the crowd and your fellow racers, and the thought of completing such an awesome task.

Not disagreeing that the last 6.2 are difficult, but for me the toughest miles were 16-20.  At mile 20, mentally I was able to say "ok - just a 10-k to go" then "5miles" then "5 k" etc.  Kind of easier to countdown the last few than the counting up the first 20.

As far as a marathon at the end of an Ironman? I agree with you guys - can't quite fathom right now how thats gonna happen.  Hopefully, after another 9 months of torture training, I'll have the answer.

BTW Karl, if you've forgotten already, you WILL be running a marathon in just under a year from now!!!

I've run my marathons using the 5 mile chunk method.  I take the race apart and run it at 5 mile intervals.  This way I don't look at the whole 26.2 miles at once.  I do remember, however the last .25 mile saying to myself; "It's just one time around the track!"

Aside from that, proper training and nutrition are a must.  I used GU and Endurox during my training and race--great products.

Good luck on your marathon/ironman.

Evelyn

Keep in mind that if your zone 1 pace doesn't get you to mile 20 within 3 hours . . . don't run over 3 hours.

This seems to be a little too generalized and arbitrary to be applied to everyone. If your Zone 1 pace is 12MPM (as it is for many beginners), then you would only run fifteen miles in three hours. I wouldn't advise anyone to attempt a marathon if their long run was only fifteen miles.

Yes, thanks for all the great advice!  You all have helped ease my fear a little (although 26 miles still seems daunting!)

This coupled with the fact that anthing over 3 hours is not providing any benefit to your body

Not so sure this is a "fact"

Not that it makes me any more of an expert, but I've run ten, and tried a variety of approaches, and can vouch for what works for me. My best marathons have been the ones where I've done three or four runs over 20 miles in training. Most of these runs have been around a 10-minute pace (slower when it's hotter), meaning that in those training cycles I have had several runs over 3 1/2 hours. My last long run comes three weeks before race day, and I've had no problem recovering from that run during my taper.

So, if someone has a marathon goal pace of 12 minutes, and a corresponding LSD pace 1 to 1 1/2 minutes slower than goal, would you recommend they attempt a marathon after a longest training run of only 13.5 miles (3:02)?