Andy Richardson (pictured left) is a blogger at Start Running for Beginners. He trained for his first marathon using Angie’s Official Guide Ebook.

November 5th, I embarked into the unknown territory of running a marathon for the first time. During that time I found why they call this ‘endurance’ running. It wasn’t the prettiest race, and with a time of 4:54, I did not break any records. But I did somehow pull myself through those last few miles, and now I can join the ranks of that small segment of the population that calls themselves a marathon runner.

Ready, Race!
I found my way to the starting line of The Savannah Rock n Roll Marathon along with 15,000 half-marathoners and about 5,000 full-marathoners. You could taste the excitement and anxiousness in the cool morning air. Read the rest of this entry »

Andy Richardson is a blogger at Start Running for Beginners. He is training for his first marathon using Angie’s Official Guide Ebook.

With just a few days to go until my first marathon, I have a few thoughts I wanted to share with the MTA community. I think this title “6 More Miles” summarizes where I am right now in more than one way.

Six More Miles is Not So Hard . . . (I Think)
Just a few weeks ago, for the first time I was able to reach the 20 mile mark in my long run. It was actually the first time of running one of these really long runs that I thought I might actually be able to finish a 26.2 mile marathon. Usually when I would get back from the long run, I was absolutely spent, but the last two long runs were a little different. I know that I will have to run 6 more miles than I ever did during my training, but I really feel like I can run those 6 miles, and finish my first marathon. Read the rest of this entry »

Andy Richardson is a blogger at Start Running for Beginners. He is training for his first marathon using Angie’s Official Guide Ebook.

I had been running for 14 miles when it happened . . .

My run started at 6:15 a.m. when it was dark and much cooler. But after running for over two hours things had changed. I was now out of fuel, not to mention energy.

My cardio endurance was doing okay, but my legs were burning, and seemed to have turned to jello. I still had three miles to get back home, but it might as well have been another 14 miles. I was unsure if I would even make it back to the house. Sound familiar?

Motivation to Keep Going

At that point I had a thought that gave me some motivation to keep going. I realized that my race day was approaching quicker than my mile pace, and if I wanted to finish the marathon I needed to get some good long runs in over the next few weeks. After all, my marathon date of November 5 is just a few weeks away. I knew that now is the time to work in order to be ready; and I knew it started with this training run.

You see – before that day, my best run was about 14 miles. For a long time my training had hit a plateau, and for some reason I just could not get past running that distance. But this new revelation hit me like a ton of bricks, and I knew it was time to really have a final surge in my training in order to finish the race, much less have a good race time.

So back to my training run: you know…. legs burning, body aching? Right. So I just kept asking myself how I would feel about myself later if I gave up. I thought about how I would feel if I came up short during the race. These thoughts pushed me forward. I just told myself to keep going; keep going; keep going.

I did keep going, and somehow I was able to eek out that 17 mile run. I may have had to walk part of that last 3 miles, and I definitely did not break any records, but I did it. But when I was done with that run, make no mistake about it, I physically felt terrible. I didn’t even have enough energy to do a proper cool down. (Shh, don’t tell Angie). And part of me wondered how I would ever be able to run another 9.2 miles.

With time though, I began to rest and recuperate from the run. By the way, isn’t it funny how runs are not nearly as difficult when you are back at the house in the air-conditioning as they are when you are chugging along. Anyway, with time I started to feel better about myself, and my ability to run the race.

The Surge in My Training

I realize that my body is building strength and endurance each day, and that I will probably be fine as long as I can train right these last few weeks. I have built a good base over the last several months, and now is the time to surge to the finish.

I really want to hit the 20 mile mark in my training runs before I actually run the race, and I will make one final surge to finish strong with my training and ultimately the race. I have spent months just building up to this point, and now is the moment of truth. I am confident in saying that I am ready for it!

What do you think?
Are you ready to make a final surge in your training so that you can be ready for race day?

Andy Richardson is a blogger at Start Running for Beginners. He is training for his first marathon using Angie’s Official Guide Ebook.

In training for my first marathon, I understand the importance of the long run. Some days my long run is great, and some days the long run is not so great. You could say that I have a love hate relationship with the long run.

Let me share with you some ways that I love (or hate) the long run.

I Love Long Runs Because…. Read the rest of this entry »

Guest post from Andy Richardson author of Start Running For Beginners

One of the cool things about running a marathon is that it gives you something to talk about with other people. There is just something about the ‘M’ word that gets people’s attention. Even non-runners typically respect the idea of running a marathon whether or not they encourage you.

But I especially enjoy meeting and talking with other marathoners, new or experienced. The topic can often give you something to build a friendship on.

Not too long ago, I was talking with a neighbor of mine about my upcoming marathon (Rock and Roll Savanah Marathon), and it turns out that he is running the same race. We spoke for some time in my front yard about marathon training, and being an experienced marathoner, he gave me some thoughts on what to expect.

Here are a few pointers I thought I would share with you. Read the rest of this entry »