I had my mind set on doing a marathon next spring, and doing it not just as a long workout but really trying to run it as fast as possible. It would be my first. My 10K PB indicates that I should be able to run sub 2.50 so that’s what I would be aiming for. I thought it could be a way to improve my running, my running endurance and my overall endurance.
A recent thread here on ST discussed this matter and it seemed to me that most people didn’t think that racing marathons was generally a good idea. So I have second thoughts now.
I really wanna race a marathon, but at the same time it´s equally important to excel in triathlon, where I currently haven´t raced anything longer than OD.
I’ve scheduled a marathon first weekend in June which would have A priority, then a HIM 6 weeks later (B) and then my next A race, an OD would be 5 weeks after that, and this would be my main goal for the season.
I figured that since I’d been focusing on running up until the marathon I should be able to do only cycling and swimming for a couple of weeks after. The question is; will I be to beat up even for that? And will this destroy my first HIM?
i don’t understand why running or racing a marathon isn’t a good idea. a marathon is part of an ironman, and alot of people here race an ironman distance.
if you want to run or race a marathon, do it. it will make you a better runner, and going 2:50 should be a boston time. it would be awesome to race your first marathon, qualify for boston, and have a fantastic tri season to boot.
i second that. seems like you have plenty of time to recover from the marathon to excel at your OD race, and especially if you treat the HIM as base building and don’t go too hard in it.
and doesn’t triathlon usually come down to the run? what better way to improve than run alot (except for, in the case of an IM, bike alot)?
that is too funny. it will be a great experience. stick to your plans. there is no sense in how an ironman athlete can’t recommend a marathon to another triathlete.
and, a marathon will strengthen your running. my only motherly advise is to build up properly (do the distance to ensure a good race), and recover properly. if your body can take it, that’s all there is to it.
I think the question is just matter of priorities…nothing at all wrong to wanting to do a marathon, and fast for that matter! IF you want to focus on triathlons, the marathon is not the best way to get there. You don’t see any Pro’s or really top AG triathletes racing marathons. The reason is that although they both require extraordinary fitness, they are just quite simply different events, that’s all.
I think that training for a marathon is a great idea, both for improving your running and because I think that running a marathon is fun (at least for the first 20 miles). With several marathons under my belt, I really wasn’t worried about running the half marathon at the end of my first half IM. In fact, it was a lot easier to run a half marathon at the end of a half IM than it is to run a second half marathon right after the first half marathon when you run a marathon.
But, I would probably schedule the races in the exact opposite order though because training for and then running a marathon can really beat your legs up. This is especially the case if you are doing your first half IM five weeks later, regardless of what priority you put on the race. But, plenty of people do run Boston fairly hard and then race hard all summer. Is it possible for you to run a marathon earlier than the first week of June? Then you would have more time to recover.
Alternatively, I might skip the half IM this year because while 11 weeks may be enough time to recover, train and then peak for the OD race, trying to squeeze your first half IM in there too might be a little too much if you really want to do well in the OD race.
It really depends on what the goals are of the person who is doing this.
My feelings:
Running a marathon is not a BAD thing. It really depends on what ones goals are. If a goal is running a marathon, then great, go nuts and run the marathon. If nothing else it will give you a good deep base of running miles that will pay big dividends down the road. However, for this to REALLY work - just run the marathon this year and back off big time on the tri training. This would be particularly effective for people relativly new to tris or those who have less than 5 years of running in their legs.
It’s my feeling and a number of high profile coaches that running a marathon in the same year as a person has significant triathlon goals, including doing an Ironman, is not very helpful and in fact, may have a negative impact on your possible overall goals for triathlon/ironman in that season.
Marathon training for most rec runners and triathletes get’s them to focus on a lot of LSD running - not a bad thing if you are a new runner. However, if a key goal is to REALLY elevate your running performance, both standalone and in tris, you may be better off to focus on setting your absolute best time for 10K to the 1/2 marathon distances. Reason: If you are training properly for this type of race, you will spend more time at running intensities that REALLY boost the key endurance parameters that will elevate your ability to run faster at ALL distances.
Just my thoughts. Others mileage and feelings may vary.
If I remember the Thread on running a marathon from before, the comments were not that you shouldn’t do it if you want to, but that it was not effective use of training time.
You lose to much time to recovery for the little added benefit of going that long.
Yeah, and how many of us can post a decent IM marathon split? The large majority of the IM field goes over 4 hrs on the mary.
My running has petered out and I tend to fall apart after 15-17 miles from lack of long run training. I am using a March marathon to motivate me to put in the run miles so I can improve my run endurance and harden my legs up.
For someone who ALREADY has a solid run background, I don’t think a marathon training plan is necessary.
Not just one pass; three key interceptions to lose three straight games. But, I’m sure that Brett Favre would have thrown three TD passes, and we would be 9 and 0 if we had just listened to TO.
There’s always next year, or at least that’s what I’ve been hoping since the 76ers had that parade on my 18th birthday.
“For someone who ALREADY has a solid run background, I don’t think a marathon training plan is necessary”
I think that you may have it backwards - someone with a solid run back ground will likley benefit more. Reason they have more durability and ability to recover from the marathon quicker. Newbies will be very beaten up and have big down-time.
The problem with many rec triathletes who come to the sport with no run back ground, is they get these nice little balanced training schedules and there is not enough running in there to REALLY boost the run training performance. Nothing wrong with this. It’s a great way to get started. However, if you REALLY want to boost run performance you need to increase running frequency first( runs/week) and then volume. This works best when you take, say 2 - 4 months and just focus on running. I know, hard for triathletes to get their head around this, but it works.
Again, I say run the marathon if you MUST, but don’t look for that marathon performance to REALLY improve your triathlon run training within that year. In fact it may have the opposite effect - it may comprimise your best tri performances within that year.
I ran 2 Spring marathons 3 weeks apart and ran a PR on a hilly course for the second one. By the way, my strength for cycling was way up just from the strength/endurance training for the marathons. However, with that said, I did 2 fast days a week (tempo and speed work) EVERY week to make sure I didn’t rack up slow garbage miles. My goal is to do Boston this Spring with some swimming and cycling in the training period for Boston so I can come off that and run Eaglenman 2 months later. So obviously, I think it is a great idea.
As far as predicted PRs go, a marathon is a different animal. My PR should be sub 2:50 but I have only run 3:14. Maybe on a fast flat course, I might be able to go low 3:00. I don’t ever see going low 2:50s and have run 4 marathons.
I agree with Fleck. The marathon will take the “speed” from you. I see a lot of very talented Fast runners moving into the marathon distance, or an Ironman, and never having the leg speed again. You obviously have some considerable leg speed, so why not use it to the max. Believe me, as you age more you will truly long for that speed back, but it’s only there for a brief time. I would hone it, and do the 10k to 1/2 as Fleck suggests.
“I don’t ever see going low 2:50s and have run 4 marathons.”
Don’t know your background, but based on what you said in your post, I am guessing that if you REALLY focused on running a marathon and trained seriously and properly for that marathon( and put tri goals aside for the time) you could run 2:50.
If you are running a PR in a hilly marathon two weeks after running another marathon then something is amiss.
w/out reading all the posts (so sorry for being repetitive): it depends on your recovery, but if it takes you a week to bounce back from a marathon (and that’s not a long time to recover), you lose some crucial training time 6 weeks before your HIM. Not a good idea. IMO, either focus on one goal, or schedule the marathon last in your group of ‘important’ races. Since you’re peaking for the OD, you should be nicely able to extend that peak into a marathon w/ some specific training about 3 or 4 weeks later. Your OD is in mid August, so you have plenty of time. I assume you’re doing more races than that?
Bottom line, a mary 6 weeks before a big race isn’t a good idea for me, but others (Joe Bonness, et al.) seem to be able to handle it fine.