So Boston was kind of tacked-on this year, a late marathon, oddly spaced.
I ran the Louisiana Marathon in January. It was my "goal race". I PR'd, enjoyed it, could have stopped there. But 6 weeks later I had RnR NOLA. I threw in two 20-milers and barely much else (I was sick for most of the time) and ran a PR but didn't love it. Two weeks later was Publix, a hilly course that I'm pretending will be all the training I'll need for Boston.
That left me with just four weeks until the Boston marathon. That's weird. Four weeks is weird. You have to count one week out for recovery. And you probably need two weeks to taper. So then...you just get one week of running.
Last week was that week. It was mediocre. Nothing special. In fact, I ended it with a crappy 10k (excuse the pun!) and a so-so long run. I'm feeling mentally and physically tired (work is unreasonably busy). I did about 50 miles last week, and 50 miles the week of Publix; other than that I've been in the 30+ mile range. Not enough.
In other words I didn't train for Boston. This, I think, makes me almost unique among runners. I wear my non-training badge proudly.
Ha. Talk to me about that non-training badge at Heartbreak hill!
If you run back-to-back races, what's your ideal amount of time in between?
I think either 6 weeks or 2 weeks. Any more than 6 weeks and you have to pretty much start training all over; any less than two and you'll be tired. Anything in between doesn't leave enough time to fully recover or little enough time to count the last race as your last long run.
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Good question... The only two I have done close together were the ones I recently did in Houston and Little Rock. They were 7 weeks apart. To me this spacing was perfect. I was able to race a 15K, do a 21 miler halfway through and race a 10K as well as other random runs. It gave me the confidence I needed to PR in the 2nd one. I am thinking about pulling another "double header" this fall. This time I may only have 4 weeks between.
ReplyDeleteI am anxious to see how Boston goes and you better believe I will be tracking you! I know you are gonna fly!
So you're saying I'm not crazy for thinking about running (not racing) the Eugene Marathon 2 weeks after Boston?? Ha! Gracie, you will obviously do great in Boston...I'm certain. You have so much training under your belt and sounds like you're resting enough to absorb it all. Excited to meet you.
ReplyDeleteWhat?! I knew it!
DeleteDO IT!!! :-)
DeleteYou are going to do great. It's always those last couple weeks where you start to get antsy and wonder if you should be running more. I've never done two marathons, but I did two half marathons back to back and they were 2 weeks apart and that was perfect. I mean, you normally have to do a higher mileage week and then a little bit less anyway, so it's like a training program in itself!
ReplyDeleteI ran San Diego Rock and Roll and then the San Francisco Marathon a month later. Just know that you'll have to take it easy! It works! Have a fun race, I can't believe it's almost here!
ReplyDeleteGracie - you are going to do GREAT. Your non-training training really seems to work well for you. I am curious about how you do this, so off to check your tabs up top :) Wishing you ALL the best. Have a fun time in Bean Town!
ReplyDeleteI love it! Your "non-training training!"
DeleteI think you will do great. Other than my 100 attempt, I have never trained specifically for ANY race.
ReplyDeleteI think you are going to kill Boston, wouldn't surprise me at all if you PR again. I don't race much, but I seem to like at least 2 weeks between races if I want to go all out in both races. (I think you are describing marathons, if which case the gap should probably be at least a month so your body can recover).
ReplyDeleteAnd yea, thanks for the comment about me getting a coach and possibly avoiding injury. That is basically my goal, to have them tell me - alright this is what we are doing today, and take things out of my hands. I think I usually start to do too much, and likely that leads me back to injury. So after tax season I'll email some coaches and see what happens. At least it will put me at peace because I have a plan to follow - even if it is just a rehab plan.
Girlfriend, you are going to surprise yourself at Boston.
ReplyDeleteI had 4 weeks between my first and second marathons in nov 2011 and dec 2012. I actually decreased my time by like 25 minutes...(but this is mostly because I was super sick before the first one in november.) So I think that amount of time actually worked quite well for me.
eh. who needs to train for boston. i didn't. and it showed, haha. i hated it. you have at least done some long runs, even if they were 4 weeks out. i don't think i did any 'honest' long runs within 2 months of boston. and then i went and ran the kentucky derby marathon a few days later. i'm smart.
ReplyDelete