2012 NYC marathon would have been my first marathon but it got cancelled. I would be running 2013 NYC marathon and probably 2013 Chicago marathon.
There are a bunch of training plans you can find online and they all share one thing in common: start out easy and work your distance up, then back off a month before the run. Make it to 16 or even 18 miles as your longest training run, give yourself at least a couple weeks to recover from it before running an actual marathon.
Identify your pace! There's a ton of rules of thumb out there based on half marathon times. I looked at my finishing time in a half marathon 2 weeks before the full, then used that to determine the percentile I was in and how it corresponded to the full marathon results. Saw that it wasn't crazy to do a sub 4 hour, so I set my pace accordingly. I used both a running watch, and in general kept with the pace flagger.
Final word of wisdom: don't do what I do and train in only 5 weeks! It's way harder on your body that way, even if you are in good cradio shape (I bike alot). Your muscles need to build up to stabilize your knees.
This part needs to be first because it heavily discounts your first paragraph.
Your experience is not common for people that put in the effort early.
I tried to cut back on training but still do the marathon, as it wasn't far off; but on the day, 6 miles in, I tore my right calf (most likely because I had unbalanced my stride from the first injury).
A torn calf takes weeks to recover from, but after I recovered from that I found I was still hirpling from the injury on the left. That was over a year ago, and while I don't limp any more, I still can't walk distances without pain, despite physio.
The moral here being - don't attempt to run one carrying an injury.
I didn't use online tools. They feel like the opposite of why I run. I like to feel free and untethered, feeling just the wind. About once a year I try running with an mp3 player and they ruin my experience. I run in minimal shoes now (Vivo Barefoots, which I recommend) and will consider moving to total barefoot when I run my next.
I just run. If I'm not running my best time, so what? I don't expect to win. I expect to push myself, to practice discipline, to enjoy myself. I know how not to get injured. If my time could be a few minutes better because I'm too busy running the way I want instead of running optimally, I sleep just fine.
Here are more of my thoughts on running marathons and inspiration -- http://joshuaspodek.com/on_reading_new_york_city_marathon_re....
It'll keep you a lot more motivated than running by yourself, and it's a lot more fun. Plus if you're a techie, it's a good way to get outside and meet people.
FWIW, the 2013 Chicago Marathon and the 2013 NYC marathon are pretty close together for a first-time marathoner. I would suggest just doing one or the other.
If you get really into marathons, there's a very interesting subculture of people who do them all the time - for instance, the Marathon Maniacs - http://www.marathonmaniacs.com/
Since my first marathon I have trained alone for a number of them. But, I have consistently trained well and timed well when I trained with a group.
In terms of what organizations to choose: if you are looking for charity based training groups there are a tonne.
If anyone is in Chicago and planning to train I would recommend checking out CARA(Chicago Area Runner's association). They have an excellent marathon training program.
The catch (if you want to call it that) is that it's a fundraising group for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society so you're obligated to raise some money (or make a sizable donation yourself).
The entire experience changed my life forever.
Best subculture I've found for actually getting training help and discussion is in the 'Marathoners' subforum at Runners World message boards: http://forums.runnersworld.com/forums/runner-communities/mar...
FWIW, training for a marathon isn't too complicated. Start at least 18 weeks beforehand. Run about 10-11 miles during the week and do one long run on the weekend, building up to 20 miles two weeks before your race.
I'm using his half marathon plan for my first half mara and training is proceeding nicely. The pace feels right.
I did 4 marathons, 200lb guy with 5hr finish times. 3 Marine Corps and 1 Big Sur. I enjoyed each and every race, except my first. but I would take that painful race again anytime.
Tip for back-to-back marathons: Based on my experience, two back-to-back is a killer. I would NEVER enjoy NYC after running chicago, if chicago is going to be your first. Again.. this is my experience and I would never do it. But some people are driven and they are able to do it.
For Training: HalHigdon is best and simple.. The way I do every time is, take 18 wk plan, and stretch it to 36 weeks.. that way, each week is repeated twice.
As you have lot of time (you might think ;), make sure you include Weight Training and Speed Training. Helps a lot.
Take lots of breaks, even when you are a 7min miler. http://www.halhigdon.com/training/51137/Marathon-Novice-1-Tr...
btw.. get off the phone, and enjoy the Race, Scenery and Crowds.
I used Hal Higdon's programs, Novice 1 for my first marathon, Intermediate 1 for my second, Advanced 1 for my third. Followed them almost exactly.
3:40 for my first marathon, down to 3:10 for a Boston qualifier on my third; I'm extremely pleased with those results.
If you're still excited after 3 marathons, then I would tell you to jump over to letsrun.com and look for advice there.
Edit: I've been playing with the "zombies, run!" iphone app and it's been fun for short runs, but (as I'm sure you know) it's going to get tedious quickly for training for a marathon. Audiobooks are wonderful, though. Especially stuff that's light, escapist, and fun but somewhat embarrassing: I listened to most of the Harry Potter books, for example. If you're disciplined enough to only listen to the books when you're running, it can be a surprisingly strong motivator.
Second Edit: (now I'm nostalgic) I also don't recommend a 2 mile warm up jog to the start of the race (I lived on Fell at the time).
I usually vote in every HN poll that I see anyway.
I can also second Hal Higdon's site above.
A lot of people in a recent half marathon I ran were using the half marathon as a staging ground for their full marathon. By running a half marathon/5k/10k you can get a feel for what running an actual race feels like, which is invaluable.
I followed a similar program for the standalone as I did for the Ironman marathons: one hard run (hills, tempo, fartlek, etc), one long run, and 2-3 easy-ish runs. Each run will get longer as you progress until you're at the point of doing 15-17 miles as your long, 8-10 as your hard workout, and the rest being as short as 3 and as long as 6 miles.
I personally never ran more than 2 hours (~15-17 miles) at a time when marathon training. Others, like my wife, would run three hours as their long run. For me, the recovery and wasted days after a three hour run weren't worth it. I'd rather run 2 hours then another hour the next day than run three hours and not be able to run again for two days.
And since you're still a ways out, weight train now to avoid injury later. You don't need to do massive weights and you can avoid bulk using higher rep sets but getting some lunges, squats, and dead lifts in now could save you from injury during your key training period.
Probably the most important thing, don't be concerned about time. Just learn to enjoy running, and the faster times will come.
My resources:
* one page of the fabulous book "Show me how" by Lauren Smith and Derek Fagerstrom, which I used to train for the 10K and 21K: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9z1cU74rEAQ/TSotdgSW5lI/AAAAAAAAD4...
* The Hal Higdon website. There are several programs, I'm specifically following this one: http://www.halhigdon.com/training/51137/Marathon-Novice-1-Tr...
Training programs are really dependent on your previous experience. If you're starting as a non-runner (or a once-a-week runner) then your training plan would be much different than someone who is running 5 times a week. Also important to take into account if you're doing it just to do it or doing it to do well.
I used a plan that was based on a Pfitzinger plan. It was helpful (I got a Boston Qualifier on my first marathon), but you need to be quite disciplined. It is high mileage and takes commitment to running 6-7 days a week.
Really the best training program is just to get out and run. Push yourself for long distance over a flat terrain. I did my elevation training on an elliptical. Long distance built the stamina, and the elliptical built the strength. I did the Flying Pig marathon last year for my first marathon. The combo of long running with elliptical cross training really did the trick for me. Everyone is different though.
Also, one long run per week -- building up to 20 miles or so a month before marathon -- is the mainstay of most good marathon training plans. It's foolish to run a marathon without having prepared with some "long runs". And you'd be surprised at how slowly you can run the long runs in order for them to be beneficial. In fact, pushing yourself too hard on them is more likely to do harm than good.
It also helps to look over the various training plans to find out what works, specifically regarding training mileage and training speed. You don't need to do much if any "speed work" for a marathon, certainly not if you're not planning to do at least sub 3:30 or so.
Finally, people should be aware that based on your training runs and a practice 5k,10k, or half-marathon, you should be able to gauge your likely performance in a marathon quite well. This is of paramount importance, because you have to know what you're capable of and pace yourself properly in a marathon. Many first-timers (and many who who have run multiple marathons) run the first 13 miles of marathon way too fast, which is partly understandable because the proper pace feels quite slow and easy in first half of the race. But it has bad consequences. There is a saying that "For each 10 seconds per mile faster than your goal pace during first half of marathon means you'll be running 60 seconds per mile slower than goal pace in second half." Or hit the wall and not finish at all. Even pacing is the key.
Once I got passed it was fine, up to the 39Km mark when I decided to walk for a bit. BAD DECISION! I walked for a few hundred meters, then went to start jogging again. No way. My body refused to start up! I had to do a weird shuffle-my-shoulders-in-a-circular-motion to get up a rhythm and work up back to a jog.
Got a banana at the finish line. Best thing I ever tasted.
One marathon in an Ironman (3:48). Tried for a BQ this year, but was injured and pulled out 10 miles in.
I under-trained the run (three runs over 15 miles, but raced a few half ironmans in training) and did a lot of long bikes on an indoor trainer (3-4 hrs) with short runs after. When I got to the run, I felt fine and just paced myself. Most ironmans have aid stations every mile, so the last 10k, I walked the aid stations.
Everyone is different. I don't like hearing people saying that running is bad for your body cause I did "x". It might be bad for "your" body but not everyone else. Also it might be bad for your body cause you ran with poor mechanics. There's so many factors...
I'm inclined to say that running is not bad for your body, but bad running is.
What I really enjoy is my 3-5 mile runs, which I have done regularly for about 20 years.