So… I am training for my first Boston Marathon and also slated to race IMLP. I have heard that Spring marathons usually don’t pair well with a mid summer Ironman. I am looking for a PR in Boston which means lots of speed work and also means any serious riding will have to wait until Late April.
Thoughts from any of you who have had any success and/or failures with this or similar race combinations?
I think that it should be a very reasonable combination of events to do. Just don’t over train for Boston and get hurt. Tim
I have several friends that have done it. It’s not optimal, but if you approach Boston as a long training day and not an A-race, you should be able to recover quickly enough so you won’t lose much training time for Ironman.
I have heard that Spring marathons usually don’t pair well with a mid summer Ironman
That’s right. It’s absolutely true.
It’s not that it can’t be done. Many have done this. People do wacky stuff like this all the time. What has to be decided or figured out is what are your goals. If it’s a Boston PR, then go for it - just don’t expect similar PR or optimal performances at IMLP.
Great IM performances come from sustained, consistent and uninterrupted training over many months. Running a spring marathon right in the middle of the key training time for IMLP, is disruptive. It’s going to cause some down-time, that would be better spent focussing on multi-sport training. So if it’s IMLP that’s the focus and the main goal, with a big PR, then I would suggest forgoing Boston.
Have you ever noticed that exactly no, top Ironman competitors in the Pro ranks and for the most part on the AG ranks run a marathon in the same year that they have really good IM performances. There is a message there.
I wrote something on my blog about this a short time ago:
http://stevefleck.blogspot.com/2008/11/marathons-triathlon.html
Thanks for the input. Luckily for me (not) my seat broke off at about mile 23 last year and had to stand for the next 30 or so miles. This was after two flats! So… I certainly hope a IMLP PR is in the cards as well, although time wise that isn’t saying much.
I did it last year.
But then again, I only trained for LP for about 6 weeks seriously (no joke either) starting after Eagleman (which I also didn;t train at all for). I was only going into it for the experience of the race and to have fun, not to set any blazing time or KQ. Still did a 12:20 though.
In 2000, I ran Boston (3:25:12), IMLP (10:42:28) and IM Florida (10:19:48, qualified for IMH). I was 49 years young. So it can be done. I had a good endurance base leading up to 2000. Leading up to Boston I focused on my running/swimming. After Boston, I started focusing on my biking. I’ve been doing tris for 20 years and still think 2000 was my best year ever. I felt really strong and fast that year. Oh to be 49 again 
p.s. I did this all without power meter or HRM. I’m still old school. Perceived effort.
Hey Fleck and D-man,
I am doing this in '09 as well so good to know I have company designman!
Fleck
It will be the first time I have done a spring marathon. I have done Around the Bay running race which I find beyond the pale hard and had my best ironman seasons when doing that race the last weekend in March. The last 10K of that race as you know is all hills and the weather is typically roubaix-esque. So, taking that as a confidence boost/leap of faith and applying my ironman run program I do, which has a maximum of 80kms running in a week, I will race Boston and shoot for a PB (sub 3:15), then do LP and shoot for a PB (sub 9:58). What I won’t do as you discuss in your blog, is treat my training lead up to Boston as A run training at the detriment to cycling. I will train like a triathlete with a few more of those long run weeks thrown in and I will know a great day in Boston is 3:05 ish, a good day is 3:15, and after 3:15 it could be 4hrs. I either blow, or I don’t-
Let you know how it goes but I actually believe it can be done if executed right. Take the post marathon fitness, apply run speed and progression/strength runs but minimize long distance runs, and cross over more time in water that took a hit in the spring leading into Boston. Bike remains constant throughout program.
I’ve done the Boston-Placid combo several times and live here in Rhode Island. The Boston training was always a great reason to keep fit through the winter while building a base for Placid which has always been my priority. I’ve been told by friends that this isn’t the smartest combo- but sometimes you simply need to think about what it is that motivates you.
if hitting Boston and Placid is a goal you want to achieve, then go for it. if it’s to go super fast at Placid, that will be a tougher sell. I’ve run 3:04 at Boston and then rolled into Placid with a 3:19 on the marathon. That’s pretty good for an age group guy with responsibilities. I am certain the base mileage for Boston helped. But that might be unique to me. I’ve had some very good races at Placid after Boston and know it can be done. 5 trips to Kona were earned on the marathon course, not the swim and bike. It could be argued that I could have biked faster too:) Go for what is right for you but manage your expectations. Steve Fleck is right about what he says above. Regardless, it’s a good challenge.
-Vinu
vinu@fuelbelt.com
Congrats on your 1st boston…I have combined marathons/IM and have enjoyed it immensely…Go do it!!!
Hey Vinu,
totally agree re: priority setting and motivation. That is why I am trying something so different! I never dreamed I could qualify for boston, it happened and I will race for the experience but want to set some stretch targets to stay motivated to train hard. As i said, it will either be a low 3hr run or a 4 hour run but doubt anything in between!
IMLP is such a great race, train there a lot but only raced it once and the day sucked so I am really motivated to put my mind to focus, raise funds for a great charity (www.race4kids.ca), soke in another IM experience and see if I can pull off some stretch goals.
AFter LP, it is bike racing, fun short stuff, beer, fries with mayonaisse season-
I am doing this combo after qualifying for Boston this past November. Of course you can do both races and pehaps do “well” in both, but only you can determine what the definition of “well” is. You’re focused on Boston for a PR and are delaying your riding several months, which you know will hurt you at Lake Placid. That’s totally your call, but you know that.
For me I am running Boston, but will not race it. My goal is 3:36 (3hrs plus my age) and I want to enjoy the race. I’ve dreamed about it for years and I want to soak it in all 26.2 miles. I’ve earned that, every Boston qualifier has.
As I said doing “well” is your definition but I don’t listen to anyone denegrating your racing Boston. Boston is freaking Boston. Enough said.
Bob
Thanks Fleck…this is perfect advice…Fleck nails it and pretty well zero pros run a marathon in the spring before a summer Ironman. Very few ever run a marathon.
For myself, I’ll even add that my overall triathlon performance across the board in all events took a big leap forward when I decided to “retire” from running marathons.
To Fleck’s point, let’s take Ms. Ficker…3rd in Kona 2006…then she starts toying around with racing marathons and US Olympic trials…what has she done since then in triathlon? Pretty well nothing for a Kona podium girl.
If you want to do the double, I believe that you are sacrificing performance at IMLP if you go nuts with the marathon and try to nail an “out of this world PR”…if you just treat it as a moderately hard training run with minimalist multisport taper (but yes to run taper), then LP can still be done well as Vinu points out. Regardless of what you may or may not feel for 2-3 entire weeks after Boston your body is still coming back to form…can you really affort 3 weeks of not so good training plus 1 week of taper if LP is the ultimate goal?
ok… i am going to disagree with this…
or rather… i am going to put an extension to this.
your example is quoting pros. not many people are in the same league as a pro or have the same lifestyle. or… or…
i will put my own example in. in years past my best marathon performance as been from running a completely anti-even-pacing race. i would basically run a ‘fast as i can’ first half and collapse in the second half. the reason why that strategy worked for me is that being overweight i would die around 30k and end up crawling/walking/limping regardless of my pacing… it didn’t matter if i ran 7,8,9 or 10 min/mile… at the end i would be doing the same pace of a walk. by running a faster first half i would minimise my time out on the course.
before you flame me… let me continue by saying that nowadays i am a lot lighter and now i CAN pace evenly and that is now working best for me. having qualified for Boston the OP is clearly not the overweight guy i was back then; i realise that.
i am also doing the same type of combo as the OP (but for me it is rotterdam and IMCH). i also want to PB in both (but that is a pretty easy goal due to the weightloss).
i do agree that they don’t complement each other very well but that is just one aspect.
what i lose on peak performance i will probably gain in motivation and energy/excitement and most of all… enjoyment.
to the OP i say… ask yourself what your priorities are and how important they are… if you want to PR boston and qualify for Hawaii then Fleck et al should be listened to. they are wise people.
if you want to PR boston and do your best at LP, then you can do that and then next year focus on just doing better at LP?
doing both does mean you need to be careful… but the benefit of doing multisport is that it can work well when doing these crazy things… like mentioned… taper on the running, but still do the swimming etc… when recovering after the race, swimming and biking are fantastic.
what is best for a pro, isn’t necessarily best for an AGer
what is best for a pro, isn’t necessarily best for a top AGer
what is best for a top AGer, isn’t necessarily best for an AGer
what is best for you, isn’t necessarily best for me
what is best for me is… buggered if i know yet, but i am having fun trying to find out!