Comments on My Dirt Road Anthem: Motivation Monday: Missoula Marathon offically an entrant!

Yaaaaaay! I've been waiting for you to post t...

2012-03-13T20:41:41.060-06:00

Yaaaaaay! I've been waiting for you to post this! You are going to do so awesome, I can't wait!!!! I have only ever gone as high as 20 in my training, but I definitely plan to add a 22 in next time. Good luck!

July would scare me too, but a 6am start does help...

2012-03-13T19:51:08.439-06:00

July would scare me too, but a 6am start does help! I agree that 5am would be better...but I am a morning person and a hater of hot runs. I don't have any real advice on the runs because I haven't done a marathon, but I think you should do what will make you feel prepared. It seems like a lot of people say you only need to do 20 but then they run more. So who knows? It is hard to balance being prepared and over-training I think...but like I said, I've never done one!! Good luck with training!!

yay!!! You are going to do amazing! I did a 20, 2...

2012-03-13T09:46:31.970-06:00

yay!!! You are going to do amazing!
I did a 20, 21 and 22 miler before my first marathon. I don't know if it necessarily helped to go up to 22, but it didn't hurt, either :). I haven't decided if I will do any more than 20 milers this time around.

Again, so happy for you, it's about time, beca...

2012-03-12T23:44:37.634-06:00

Again, so happy for you, it's about time, because in my head, you are pretty much one of the marathon gals already!

I did maybe 3 or so 20's (one of which was a 22) before Richmond and then one more 20 in the month between Richmond and Rehoboth. I don't think it's super important to go above 20 more than once, it's just more of a mental confidence booster! But that's just what worked for me.

Can't wait to follow your training :)

Oh. Also, for my first marathon, I did only one 20...

2012-03-12T22:48:34.836-06:00

Oh. Also, for my first marathon, I did only one 20 mile run, about 2 (maybe 3?) weeks before. And only one run other than that over 16. I think you have a strong base, and you will do fine. But... if for peace of mind you want to run a few, I say do it. You have plenty of time.

I ran the half in 2011, I would definitely rank in...

2012-03-12T22:46:04.835-06:00

I ran the half in 2011, I would definitely rank in my top 10 races! I think you will enjoy the race, you are a strong runner, you will do great. Can't wait to hear about it!

you will be rocking it!I cant wait to cheer you on...

2012-03-12T22:17:35.653-06:00

you will be rocking it!I cant wait to cheer you on!

You are going to have a great time! I only ran 20 ...

2012-03-12T19:43:00.835-06:00

You are going to have a great time! I only ran 20 miles before my marathon and I was fine. I did hit the wall about mile 22 or 23, so maybe doing a couple of longer runs would have prepared me better for that? I would say that it wouldn't hurt to run one or two longer runs just to get the feel for the race. But I wouldn't run too many, as you don't want to burn yourself out!

Yay, so glad you finally pulled the marathon trigg...

2012-03-12T18:39:36.396-06:00

Yay, so glad you finally pulled the marathon trigger! 117 days is plenty of time to be training for this. You're going to be a marathoner!

again huge congratulations!!! 117 days....

2012-03-12T18:33:28.552-06:00

again huge congratulations!!! 117 days....

Yay! I'm so excited for you. Also, that cat wa...

2012-03-12T18:25:58.257-06:00

Yay! I'm so excited for you. Also, that cat was hilarious!

OH! YAY!!! I am so excited you moved it up. You ar...

2012-03-12T17:40:46.541-06:00

OH! YAY!!! I am so excited you moved it up. You are so marathon ready. As you know I have no experience but I've been (slowly) reading "marathon" by Hal and it's taught me so much! I think you should read it while you're training. He said for more experienced runners you can take your long runs past the 20miler "wall" but most people won't go over 24. I think you'd be fine with a 22 miler somewhere before.

I am so sure that time goal is completely feasible too. You are a fast, strong runner and I think you'll be really surprised with yourself :D

Congrats on going for your first marathon! So exci...

2012-03-12T16:37:03.260-06:00

Congrats on going for your first marathon! So excited for you!

Great quote about the 1st marathon! I need to rem...

2012-03-12T16:27:26.959-06:00

Great quote about the 1st marathon! I need to remember that come June 17th

Missoula will be a great first marathon, Christy! ...

2012-03-12T15:07:57.609-06:00

Missoula will be a great first marathon, Christy!

Not sure i should be giving out any marathon training advice, but i would find a plan with a few 20 milers. It's nice to have a few to use as practice race rehearsals and if you are sick or not able to get one in, there is another one on the schedule.

so exciting and you are going to do so well - you&...

2012-03-12T14:04:55.620-06:00

so exciting and you are going to do so well - you've built an amazing base! On my last (and best) marathon training I did one 20 miler and two 22 milers and they TOTALLY helped. I highly recommend it - both mentally and physically it's beneficial. With your base you will be able to handle it just fine...can't wait to read all about it!

eeeeeekkkkkk!!!! i am so excited for you to offici...

2012-03-12T13:54:08.233-06:00

eeeeeekkkkkk!!!! i am so excited for you to officially be a marathoner! you are so strong and so talented in running...i know it will be an unforgettable amazing experience! I have never gone over 20...i think if you do its more for your own mental sanity than anything else. honestly my experience thus far has been that the first 20 miles are truly physical...maybe the first 23...the last 5k-10k are always mental and heart for me. this may just be my experience though!

I haven't ran anything beyond 13.1 miles yet. ...

2012-03-12T12:57:34.572-06:00

I haven't ran anything beyond 13.1 miles yet. But with my current half marathon, I actually ran a 13.1 mile as a training run. I think it helped me prepare for the distance - mentally knowing that I can do it and do well and physically subjecting my body to the distance. I usually tire around 7ish to 8 mile and this time around, I started to fizzle around mile 9 and was kinda out at late 10-ish.
So I think the extra distance helps prepare your body physically to go the distance. I dont think it will hurt.
I believe you have the speed and the training almost down. It is really the mental part (but then again, you have always been determined, so I think you will be fine.)
Trust yourself. I think you will have a great first marathon experience.

I think that long runs are the best indicators as ...

2012-03-12T12:32:48.170-06:00

I think that long runs are the best indicators as to how your body will handle the 26.2 miles. My current training plan has three 19 milers, three 22 milers, and two 24 milers. I know that seems like a lot, but it does give me a lot of confidence before race day. I would say to at least try and get in two 20 mile runs prior and you should be fine.

I am so excited for you! You will do amazing. Yo...

2012-03-12T11:56:10.696-06:00

I am so excited for you! You will do amazing. You are so well prepared and I think at 6am you won't have to worry too much about the heat. I love the picture of the cat:)

Fun!!!! You will kill it!

2012-03-12T11:30:38.472-06:00

Fun!!!! You will kill it!

You are going to do great!! How super exciting!!!

2012-03-12T11:15:16.536-06:00

You are going to do great!! How super exciting!!!

How exciting! I have a feeling you'll do far b...

2012-03-12T10:58:57.379-06:00

How exciting! I have a feeling you'll do far better than you are thinking Christy!
:)

You are going to do so well! I understand your co...

2012-03-12T10:58:46.208-06:00

You are going to do so well! I understand your concern about the July date - hopefully it won't be hot on that day and the early start time should definitely help!

Haven't ever run that far yet...nor will I be ...

2012-03-12T10:58:04.547-06:00

Haven't ever run that far yet...nor will I be in the near furure...but, looking forward to hearing all about your adventure!!!

Personally...I would want to go over 20...but that's just me