Wife was training for the Philly Marathon and doing a fairly traditional buildup. Plans have changed and now she is thinking Hudson Mohawk which is 5 weeks sooner. It will be her first marathon. She has a base of a couple of years of about 30 miles a week. After many years of regular running with some time off having babies. Usually a little more than 5 miles a day, 6 days a week, pushing the double jogging stroller most days. She has done some longer runs of 8-12 but not consistently until recently.
Last 3 weeks have been long runs of 12.8, 14.4 and 12.3. These were done at an easy pace and caused little if any soreness. What do you think about her doing long runs of 17, 16, 20, 12, 8, race?
Here’s my 2 cents, FWIW. Fast buildup and a first marathon can be a recipe for disaster. Things that might work in her favor though are her good base and the patience to run all of her long runs very carefully and very slowly. If she’s at all competitive or the kind of person who thinks she can or should run through pain, this might be difficult to do. But, any hint of injury – knees, IT band, ankles – she should back off the distance and wait for the next race.
I ran too hard in training for my first marathon and was out for three months after recovering from an ankle injury. A good friend of mine (COTrimom here) still hasn’t recovered from an IT band injury she suffered after running her first marathon in January.
I’d be curious to hear from any running gurus about the wisdom of jumping from 12 to 17.
i’m no guru but I wouldn’t do it. Instead of jumping to 17, do 15 first. That will be a good eye opener without risking her legs falling off too badly. Honestly, If I had 5 weeks like that I would structure it as 15, 18, 20(ish), 8, taper. Since the weekend runs are ramping up so fast, she is going to have to do some major recovery efforts to stay injury free. Never underestimate the importance of that two week taper. It will be the difference between finishing and not, especially for a first time runner with not as much time in the long distances.