Marathon Thoughts (Read 559 times)

I am almost in week 14 of my Marathon training of 16 weeks at the start of tomorrow. So I have a couple of quick questions Thought 1: I plan to do a faster then race pace 10 tomorrow morning. Easy running next week and then an easy 20 miles on Friday. We that in mind I am thinking about taking one of the followng two weeks off completly. I have a calf muslce that when I wake up is very sore. As I move around it gets better but I think it needs to heal some. Next Friday will be my six run of 20 or more miles so I think I have the training in to do this. So any suggestion on which week and any opinion's on if this is a bad idea. From what I have read the only reason to run during the last two taper weeks before a marathon is for myself. All of the hard work should have already been done. I have even considered taking both weeks off but not sure if I can do that. Thought 2: Any suggestions on what you think I should target my race pace at. I've run a couple of 20 milers at 8:25 which is what I was targeting but now I wonder if I can run faster. My main goal with this race was just to finish strong but I've put a lot into my training and would hate to leave something on the course. I was thinking maybe going with the 3:35 pace group which would be around 8:11ish Any thoughts or suggestion would be greatly appreciated.

Thought1:I think we all run with nagging injures and I have been living with this one for a while. However, I get the impression from the books I have read that this running is for us mentally not physically. I mean if you think about itl what are a couple of shorter runs really going to accomplish at this point? We have put our bodies through a lot of work and stress leading up the race it only make sense to let the body heal some before the big moment. I am just not sure how much rest I should give it. Thought2: Your running a lot more miles then what I am running these days. Plus you just ran a 24 mile run (very nice). Do you even know what an easy run is because it is at the same pace as your long runs Just kidding of course. I don't think I am in your ball park. However, I do feel good about my 8:11 pace with our long runs beinig the same pace and you planning on going faster. 20 - 30 seconds faster. I don't know how you do those two a days.

Not sure if you're going to see this, BearcatRunner, but I'm wondering how your sore calf situation worked out. I'm in a similar position as you were - entering my taper with a sore right calf that suddenly reared it's head after my last long run... It's not too bad - It hasn't, yet, really affected my running. I just notice it after the run. Even then, I can walk OK and everything - it's just noticeably sore, and I think there is a barely perceptible swelling around the ankles... I'm trying to figure out whether to rest it a few days, or train through it with my planned taper runs...

A little late and a dollar short, but taking a full week off before a marathon is generally a mistake. Drastically cutting your mileage can impact your immune system almost as much as drastically increasing it, which makes it more likely that you are going to get sick before your race. If I read that right, you were planning on doing a 20 miler 8 or 9 days before your marathon? Or was it 15 or 16 days before hand? Either way, I wouldn't have done it that close. I try not to go much past 15 or 16 miles in the couple of weeks before, and save my last 20-22 miles for 3 weeks ahead of time. I'm a big fan of thoroughly exhausting yourself and then doing a long run, such as running a 5k cross country race and then running 16 miles uphill to get home. That worked out pretty well for me last year. As for your pacing, again I realize this is late, but if you've been training at 8:25 pace then I'd run the first half at 8:20 or 8:25 pace and then try to pick it up on the second half. Then again, most of my training involves negative splits when I can manage it, which could make a difference for how well that works for you.