Help structure my last 22 miler

Triathlon Forum
1

I am trying to structure my last long run before my marathon. I am running (or racing) a half marathon on that day and am thinking about one of the two options:

  1. 7 mile warmup followed by 13 miles at marathon pace. Finish with 2 miles at an easy pace.

  2. 3-4 mile warmup followed by 13 miles at half marathon race pace. Finish with 5-6 miles at an easy pace.

A little background now…

I haven’t ran a non IM marathon in 4 years and am having some trouble determining my marathon pace (as I rarely run just a road race). I just came off half ironman training and had an overall good base. This will be my 5th training run in the 18-22 mile range. I also have done up to 15 miles at marathon pace (with several in the 8-10 range). Every run (sans my long runs) is at or below MP.

I am torn between the two options…the first will help me feel the fatigue of MP up to mile 20. The second will give me a good idea of what pace I am capable of running the marathon at (based on calculators) and my time will most likely be a PR (current PR is from a HIM race).

Any opinions?

2

Why not warm up for a mile, use the half marathon as a tempo run then do some easy miles after the race or later in the day.

3

My tempo runs don’t generally last longer than 8 miles…at what pace are you referring to as “tempo”?

4

for 13 miles? probably just a bit faster than your marathon pace, like nor more 20 secs per mile faster than the pace you want to go at your marathon.

5

This is REALLY good advice. I am shooting for a 3:15 at Chicago and ran a 1:34 this past weekend. So, basically I ran about 15 seconds per mile faster for my 1/2 than I would in my marathon. I was trying to get it to about 30 second per mile faster, but I’ll probably run my last 1/2 (Philly) at 7:00 and then my final 22 miler at MP the following weekend. After that it’s maintenence runs and good strong tempo runs, albeit shorter.

Bob

6

I have used that basic formula several times whenever I run a half before a marathon, it seems to work pretty well, especially if you ACTUALLY do those extra miles after the half Mary.

7

Assuming the marathon is in the next few weeks I would run it near your projected marathon goal pace after 5/6 miles warm-up and 2/3 cooldown.

Pfitz uses a 17 miler with 14 at goal pace normally 5 weeks out from race date. He also is a fan of a 8-10K 2 weeks out.

A 10K race , if there are any, would generate a reasonable result to plug into a calculator for your goal pace. Otherwise, run the first half of your HM at your estimated goal pace
and then kick it up the rest of the way if things feel good.

My $.02…

8

I don’t understand option 2. Doesn’t running 13.1 at HM race pace leave you maxed out? How can you add another nine miles to that effort?