I'm actually debating the same thing (although I actually signed up for both already). I'm interested in anyone's experience in making the quick recovery. I have a HIM five weeks before IMFL. I'll mainly be focusing on the run training and doing maintenance bike/swim training from here on out. I've done an IM in the past and this one would be done more for fun than PR as I have a number of friends going up for their first (and it's paid for). I care more about the marathon PR. I've gone from 3:58 (2012) to 3:38 (2013) in my marathons and would be shooting for sub-3:30. I wouldn't want to materially affect this time goal but I'd hate to miss out on the IM with everyone. If I was more conservative on the bike (+/-65% FTP) and treated the run as my peak long training run (60-90+ sec over MP - my plan already has me doing 20 that weekend), would I still be setting myself up for a let down come marathon time? I've historically had solid recovery luck (Ultra Ragnar races, Goofy, etc). Thanks.

---

TRS Racing
138.2 IronBrick Florida Finisher

The one time I qualified for Boston was a month after doing an IM. The marathon was so easy, mentally, it is to this day the only marathon I have ever run (without some walking) and is still a PB.
So go for it.

Everyone is going to be different, but I know that sometimes I have felt fine after a month and other times not. Does this local marathon sell out? If not, just wait and see if you feel like running a marathon after your IM.

What did your training look like in that month between your IM and your 20.6?

Yes.

I think 2 months is a good amount of time to convert IM fitness to marathon speed.

After 1 month, you will be recovered (and fit), but will not have marathon specific speed. Your marathon time will not be as good as it would a month later or a month earlier (if you had raced the marathon instead if the IM).

My answer is no. You already know you can finish a marathon. Why not try to race it?

I guess it depends on your marathon goals. I've run marathons with friends and just chatted the whole way like it was an extra long version of our weekly long run. Recovered just fine. As in, was ready to get back in the saddle the next day.

If you're going for a PB, BQ or something like that, well I guess it depends on your fitness and how much mileage you have built up. Also, you could have all of that fitness and whatnot, but still be recovering from your IM. If your goal is to do well, I suggest playing it by ear. Seeing how your recovering from IM is going, seeing how you are able to run after your IM, seeing how you feel on race day, that sort of thing. Mentally, I don't know if I could take trying to do well in an IM then turning that right around for a PB or BQ in a marathon. I would need some more mental recovery.

There are several threads on here about how long people wait to start really run training again after an IM. It seems like people wait just under a week to run and about two weeks to really run.

At the end of the day, if this is your local marathon that you look forward to and would have FOMO if you didn't run it, I would do it. Goals--that would play by ear.

This is from a really long time ago when I was a lot younger. I ran my second fastest marathon in my life (have run something like 18 not in Ironmans), was 5 weeks after IMC Penticon 1991. I spent 2 weeks recovering and then got back into the groove of bike commuting to work and running short at lunch time with some accelerations as I wanted to get some semblance of foot speed back for some fall 10k's. The 4 weeks out I ran a 20K run. That Sunday evening, I got a call from my sister asking me if I was racing the marathon in Toronto. I was not really thinking about it and then hung up the phone and thought, "hey, if I could run a marathon 5 weeks ago, in an Ironman, I must be fit enough to run a marathon), so the next day, I called back and said I'd drive down for the weekend, and stay at her place and race. Since I had nothing to lose, I decided to just go all out and experiment and went through the first half with the sub 2:40 group in 1:19 (which to this day is my half marathon PB...wtf was I thinking). It did not seem that bad and hung in till around the 34-35K mark and I went from running 3:45 per k to Ironman pace almost in an instant. The last 7 K were not really fun. Felt EXACTLY like I was in another Ironman, but I was young and experimenting and actually did not care. Second half was 1:31 for a 2:51. I'd kill to have those legs back even for a SINGLE kilometer today.

Anyway, thanks for bringing back the memories. It can be done, but the last 10k may get ugly...if you pace well they will be less ugly/painful than how much I slowed down for the last part. 5 weeks after an IM is always a crap shoot when it comes to having running 26 miles.

The more I think about it, the more I agree with you all.
The marathon is not sold out yet, they have 500 spots to go. Half marathon is full though.
So I think, I still have time to sign up.

But what about training plan?

I've tried running a small local marathon 3 weeks after an Ironman. It wasn't good. My stand alone marathon time was about a minute faster than my marathon in the Ironman.
I felt good for the first half then I hit the wall really hard. Got chicked, walked, hurt, not fun.

Sorry that was 11 years, 5 IM's 2 marathons, 40 other races, 3 moves and 1 retirement ago.
Have no idea, although I almost certainly swam 3 times a week.

Three weeks is too little time. I will have about 5 weeks

Yes, and as fast as you can......

As if you needed to ask :)

no, im takes a month to recover from, recovering for a month is not good training for a marathon, you dont "use ironman fitness", you suffer from ironman caused damage, assuming you raced the im i guess

I would sign up and see how you feel. If you are well trained for your IM and out down a great race (I.e., you leave it 100% on the run course), you may be a bit shelled even 5 weeks later. If you have a pleasant IM race and go a bit easier, or if something happens and you wind up walking a bit of the marathon, you might feel great 5 weeks post IM.

I've had IM's where I was completely spent and couldn't even think about a marathon for months, and I've done marathons a month after an easier IM (an IM where I went easy to ensure finishing vs "racing").

Think about how you feel after an easy run vs how you feel after a hard session of intervals and extrapolate.

Have fun.