At age 52, I am doing my first marathon–Marine Corps in October. I had planned to do one at age 50, but other circumstances intervened. Here is my question–
My chosen marathon training plan (Hal Higdon Intermediate 1) calls for a 20-mile run three weeks before the race. There is a local sprint tri on that same day (600 yd. swim, 13-18 mile bike, 3-4 mile run) that I really like to do. Could I substitute the sprint tri for the run without substantial negative impact to my training plan? FWIW, my “goal” time is 3:36.
FWIW - You would not negatively impact your training plan by doing the tri - just your marathon.
That 20 miler IMHO is pretty important - the tri is NOT a substitute.
I am by no means an expert, however a sprint tri is not a 20 mile run. It will not give you the same “training” a 20 mile run will. Also a sprint is usually run at a higher RPE than a 20 mile run. If it is really important for you to do the sprint i would move the 20 miler to a different day. Long runs are one of your key works for marathon and above training. Seriously if it were me and first time at that distance I would stick to the plan and volunteer at the sprint. do your run after the race. This gives you a chance to be there and won’t mess up your training plan.
Agree with the others. A good marathon taper should be 17-21 days. That 20 miler is your last chance to go really long–and it’s an important run to get in.
I suggest doing the 20, you will be glad that you did. In my experience, nothing prepares you for running really far than running really far. That said there should be no problem if you do the run a few days before or after the race.
Congrats on the marathon goal, and the training plan you chose is a good one. Do the 20 miler. Sure, you should have already tackled 18, but for most people, me included, that 20 miler seems like more than just 2 mi longer. It’s important physiologically and psycologically.
Doing the tri the day before might be okay - you’ll do the 20 miler a little fatigued. Being able to run fatigued is a good skill. I’d only do this if you are sure you’re not on the verge of injury (you know, the “well, my knee kinda hurts, but I can run anyway. oh and my hip, too… but I’ll be fine…” mentality).
I agree with others that a sprint triathlon is by no means equivalent to a 20-mile run. Three weeks (plus two days) before Boston this year, I did a sprint tri on Saturday followed by my last 20-mile run on Sunday. I wouldn’t recommend that unless you’re experienced to know that you can handle the latter pretty easily, though. In any case, I didn’t push the pace during that 20-miler.
