A Marathon improvement question from a newbie

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RiversideRed May 2012 12:08pm, 28 May 2012 First-time poster!!	0 RiversideRed Hi Fetchies! I've been a Fetch "lurker" since the beginning of the year but thought it was about time I started posting on here and ask some friendly advice. I started training for the Edinburgh Marathon in January and was aiming for sub-4 hours. I followed the P&D plan up to 55mpw but really struggled after mile 20 with the heat, and my legs just gave in and I managed 04:16:11. I'm running Frankfurt at the end of October and really want to get the sub-4, I was thinking of moving on to the up to 70mpw P&D to really build up the miles. Do you guys think this might be too much of a leap? I went from pretty much nothing onto the P&D plan but not sure if I ended up maybe over training and being burned out for Edinburgh?! Thanks
fetcheveryone May 2012 12:11pm, 28 May 2012 11,193 posts	0 fetcheveryone Welcome to posting There are some infinitely more experienced marathon runners who can answer that, I'm sure. Take care
plodding hippo May 2012 12:15pm, 28 May 2012 42,415 posts	0 plodding hippo hello welcome to fetch Id just say dont underestimate the effects of heat-can add 45 minutes to my marathon time I dont train as such, but wouldhave thought the P and D 55 mpw should still be fine for a 4 hour marathon Not that many on here do 70mpw, and you are correct to be worried about overtraring if you are relatively new to running
Mick n Phil May 2012 12:20pm, 28 May 2012 48 posts	0 Mick n Phil welcome indeed i am but a novice myself could you give us some more info please , like what was your preparation , you see it's also about pre race prep and mental attitude etc, its not only about physical mileage i see no problem with moving from 55 - 70 mpw, but for now id have a littler rest and do some light ( no pressure ) training to keep the momentum going most people on their first marathon aim to jst get around - aiming for a time puts hug pressure on ones self
Bazoaxe May 2012 12:21pm, 28 May 2012 4,387 posts	0 Bazoaxe The heat was pretty tough yesterday and caused a lot of us to slow..... You will improve further just from continued miles, so stick with the P&D 55 plan it will get you in shape. Increased miles risks injury so I would hold off for a year or two before upping mileage that much
plodding hippo May 2012 12:22pm, 28 May 2012 42,416 posts	0 plodding hippo you put that better than I did bazoaxe
sprouty76 May 2012 12:26pm, 28 May 2012 2,644 posts	0 sprouty76 I was a couple of minutes slower than predicted yesterday, and that was just for a 5 miler! I wouldn't change too much based on yesterday because you don't really know how well your training would have worked if you'd have had more normal conditions.
JohnnyO May 2012 12:35pm, 28 May 2012 13,054 posts	0 JohnnyO I see no reason to go up to 75 mpw. Yesterday sounds like it was just hard for everyone. I am not good at the longer distances, my half times are much better than my marathons, but I have had improvements on 50mpw. Its just about consistency and getting your body used to it, and that takes a lot longer than 16 weeks!
plodding hippo May 2012 12:37pm, 28 May 2012 42,419 posts	0 plodding hippo oh yes and I think thats a superb time for a first marathon in those conditions BTW thats my pb time
RiversideRed May 2012 1:31pm, 28 May 2012 2 posts	0 RiversideRed Thanks guys, Cheers PH The heat did really get to me, I don't even like sitting in the sun never mind running in it! I don't want to do too much to fast and get injured and ruin my trip to Germany so you're probably right there. If I stick on the 55mpw plan do you think I could start it at a higher weekly mileage? For instance some of the long runs in the first several weeks are only 11, 12, 13 and 14 miles - Could I make these more like 17-18 miles? So I'm adding miles early on but still staying within 55mpw?