I am signed up for the Houston Chevron Marathon in Janurary. I am also signed up for Ironman Texas in May. Latley I have been reading articles in regards to not particpating in a marathon before and Ironman. This will be my first for both, but Im a triathlete, so the Ironman is more important to me. I would like to have the Chevron Houston Marathon under my belt as well. A little insight from the ST will help me make a decision. Thanks.
What are your goals for each race?
What is your training and racing background?
Saying that you want to do both tells us little more than that. Obviously, the timing is not conducive to two great performances, but the pair can be done at nearly any target effort, given the timing gap. Marathons are highly abundant year-round, and relatively inexpensive. IM races … much less so. Figure out how many eggs you want in each basket.
I have never run an open marathon, but I know that a half marathon beats me up at least as much as an IM. Not the residual fatigue, but my body just gets beat up. I can only imagine that the open mary would set me back minimum 2 weeks of training but probably 3+. That may just be me but I don’t think it is.
I did 3 20 mile runs for the first IM and 3 more for the second. I had one weekend prior to first that consisted of a Sat 10 mile trail run, Sunday 20 miler and a VERY easy 3 Sunday night, and with 33 miles in 27 hours I had NO reservations about making the distance. While 3:59 and 3:54 aren’t great marathons at all, I think they were good enough to learn and I was able to run the last 6 miles strong in both. I would say train thru it, don’t race it. One persons view of course.
Brent
Lets start off by saying im not fast, but as far as goal for each race… I am striving for 13hrs for the Ironman. As for the marathon, I wasn’t looking to go hard, but merely say I completed a the Houston Marathon in 4hrs or so. I’m leaning towards not doing the Marathon because its cuting into my Ironman training.
Thanks for the response.
CdA was my first this year, and then I did my first standalone marathon 2 months later.
Honestly I’m glad I hadn’t done one before the IM. It was kind of nice going into it not knowing what to expect. Of course, the two races were totally different mentally, and I feel like I suffered a lot more during the marathon than I did during the IM, but that probably has more to do with the fact that I ran a 4:45 in Idaho, and a 3:42 in the Mary.
Oh, and I recovered much faster from the marathon than I did from the IM.
Running 26.2 miles will take you 3-6 weeks to fully recover from. This is a generality. If you can afford in your Ironman training to miss quality workouts for this long, then do it. Otherwise, skip it. Depending on your build for IMTX, you may be able to run the marathon in Jan. and still have enough recovery time to start your training plan. Personally, I wouldn’t do it. I would use January to setup my training volume for the next few months. Running the marathon will not really help your training for IMTX. But, whatever you decided to do, GOOD LUCK!
Running 26.2 miles will take you 3-6 weeks to fully recover from. This is a generality. If you can afford in your Ironman training to miss quality workouts for this long, then do it. Otherwise, skip it. Depending on your build for IMTX, you may be able to run the marathon in Jan. and still have enough recovery time to start your training plan. Personally, I wouldn’t do it. I would use January to setup my training volume for the next few months. Running the marathon will not really help your training for IMTX. But, whatever you decided to do, GOOD LUCK!
X 2
Thanks guys. Looks like im going to sit out the 12’ Houston Marathon. Im going to need to hit training hard to hit my goal time in IMTX. I just needed some reassurance on my decision. Thanks again.
I would say skip the marathon before the ironman only for mental reasons. Did FL last November and ran a 3:28. Did Denver 26.2 2 weeks ago (first open one) in 2:58… If I knew how damn long 26.2 miles was before the IM, it would have scared me a bit…
That being said, I was back running again 2 days after the open marathon and had to take 2 weeks completely off after IM. Recovery from marathon felt super quick and easy.
Is it stuck in your head that you “need” to do a Martathon before an IM for the mental knowledge of what it feels like? I can’t stress how much this hurts the mental game. Some peole just can’t get it out of their head and can’t be talked out of it, even having it beat out of them won’t work! For those people, I just say, go ahead and do it, but “I told you so” is usually what I have to tell them a few months later. I have seen a lot of people do it and regret the decision. I hate to tell you, but an IM marathon and an open marathon are completely different runs for MOST people. I know ultra runners who run a Marathon every weekend or more during training. If that’s you, run the thing and have fun. But if you are not a genetic mutant, recovery will eat into your training time for IM pretty well killing an entire 4 week build cycle in your periodization. If you keep in great shape over the holidays and don’t pack on the new years blubber, you should be able to afford that recovery. If you spend the holidays eating cheese logs and drinking egg nog, you may not recover so well. You do say IM is more important so I think you have pretty much said what needed saying. BTW, my first three marathons in my life were at the end of IM races. I didn’t do an open marathon until three years after starting IM racing. I passed something like 700 runners on the run at one of the IM’s too, partly because my body wasn’t beat up from over-training.
Have fun!
Dave
A dude in my hood who has recently taken up long course tri (strong Cat 2 rider, 40 y/o) is doing IMCDA (his first IM) next year and he’s dead set on qualifying for Kona. This is more than a goal, it’s an expectation. He’s somehow convinced himself (a 3:30 open marathoner) that if he knocks out two more (he just did one) marathons between now and June he will be able to get his IM marathon time down to around 3:20 which is where he believes he needs to be to qualify for Kona. He’s a great rider and I have no doubt he will do well and I also believe he’ll do his two more marathons uninjured and will meet his time goals. However, I expect he’ll show up to IMCDA completely trashed and it won’t be apparent until about Mile 16 on the run. And you know the rest of the story…
I just smile and wish him luck as I believe his approach and using open marathons and marathon training are counterproductive to IM training.
an IM marathon and an open marathon are completely different runs for MOST people. I konw ultra runners who run a Marathon every weekend or more during training. If that’s you, run the thing and have fun. But if you are not a genetic mutant, recovery will eat into your training time for IM pretty well killing an entire 4 week build cycle in your periodization.
This is some important information to consider before you make your decision. Completing a marathon and running a marathon are at opposing ends of the running spectrum. The IM marathon is much closer to the “completing a marathon” end simply because your body has a finite capacity for exertion after being in motion for several hours.
During ultra season, I will often run back-to-back sessions with 25-35 miles on the first day and 15-25 miles on the second day. This is typically done at a continuous but relatively easy effort. After a day off, then another easy day to follow, I’m ready to get back into my faster stuff. Conversely, I’ve yet to race an open marathon and be fully functional within 4-5 days afterwards.
Assuming that you enter the marathon with sufficient base training, the act of completing the distance shouldn’t set you back more than a few days. However, January will be a critical period for high quality work, so a period of limited (or zero) activity may not be acceptable. If you’re looking to get over the mental hurdle of the IM marathon, my best advice would be to build your long runs up to around 20-21 miles. If you can make it past 17 or 18 miles without hitting the wall, then you’re in sufficient shape to do the run.
If you want to do both, then git 'er done!
Don’t lose focus on enjoying yourself. Both events will be fun, so go for it.
from some dude called Dixon…
"
The demands of a standalone marathon bears little resemblance to a marathon following a 2.4-mile swim and 112 miles on the bike—the only similarity is distance covered. I always urge athletes to consider triathlon as one sport, not three individual sports. You have to train to be a triathlete, not a swimmer, cyclist and runner. (If there were a single component of Ironman I would encourage athletes to do, it would be plenty of open-water swimming. Most neglect open-water training, then show up on race day anxious about the swim.)
A great reason to avoid a marathon is the extensive specific training that it requires to truly prepare for an effective 26.2 miles, coupled with the recovery needed to restore full health. It is simply not a wise use of your training preparation. Fear drives people to include a marathon, knowing that they “can do it,” but to truly establish increased confidence in your preparation you need to have a structured and progressive training plan. The only time you might want to add a marathon is at the end of a season, when you can specifically train for it, but this is for people who really wish to compete in a standalone marathon. Don’t expect it to translate to improved Ironman marathon performance."
http://triathlon.competitor.com/2011/10/training/three-ironman-training-questions-for-coach-matt-dixon_42304/2
I’m in Houston and doing both. My coach thought it was a good idea to use it to focus on the run. Personally I want to know what to expect for IMTX.
I’m in Houston and doing both. My coach thought it was a good idea to use it to focus on the run. Personally I want to know what to expect for IMTX.
I’m in Houston too. What’s your coach’s name so I can tell people to avoid him/her?
You paid someone for that advice?
i was just looking for this to post
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The bigger running base (miles/week) you have the better you will recover from a marathon, I’m guessing based on your goal time that your running base isn’t very big so in that case you are probably better off NOT running the marathon - being on your feet for 4+ hours will beat you up, even at a slow pace. If you are running 80+ miles/week then you should be able to recover from the marathon pretty quickly if you do not race it and go easy, if this is the case I would say it’s ok but I still wouldn’t reccomend it. If possible, consider switching to the half marathon.
That said, I think you will probably be ok with whatever choice you make but running the marathon has potential for injury and/or a long recovery period.
Yea running base isnt very big for me so potential of injury escalates. I also thought about switching to 1/2 marathon, but the wife now wants me to be a support runner for her doing portions of the marathon, so ill defer to 2013 being its a lottery system marathon and I really would like to run it sometime. Off to IMTX training I go!
You don’t need to practice a marathon to know what a marathon will feel like in an IM. It will take a lot out of your body and unless you have built up some real good endurance I think it could be too much of an ask. Yes you will recover and yes you will be ok to do the IM. Will it help prepare you not in my opinion as the two are different and also IMHO the open marathon will be harder so may actually put you off.