Taking a break during marathon training (Read 471 times)

Hi all,

I signed up for a marathon in April and started 18/55 Pfitz plan at the beginning of this month after finishing my first marathon at the beginning of November.  I was going through a slump and feeling very unmotivated during the weeks following the marathon and was told I should sign up for another race to get motivated again.  Well, I've signed up for the race, have been 2-3 weeks into training, and I'm still not feeling it.  I was thinking that I never really gave myself a break after the marathon.. I continued to run the weeks after, though not as frequent and mileage was quite low... But I think that perhaps I'm just burnt out from training and jumping straight into another cycle and just need to give myself a complete break from running for about a week or so.  What would the effects be if I took a week off in the middle of training?  Or should I just find another shorter plan and start over?

Hi all,

 

I signed up for a marathon in April and started 18/55 Pfitz plan at the beginning of this month after finishing my first marathon at the beginning of November.  I was going through a slump and feeling very unmotivated during the weeks following the marathon and was told I should sign up for another race to get motivated again.  Well, I've signed up for the race, have been 2-3 weeks into training, and I'm still not feeling it.  I was thinking that I never really gave myself a break after the marathon.. I continued to run the weeks after, though not as frequent and mileage was quite low... But I think that perhaps I'm just burnt out from training and jumping straight into another cycle and just need to give myself a complete break from running for about a week or so.  What would the effects be if I took a week off in the middle of training?  Or should I just find another shorter plan and start over?

So, obviously, if you skip a week, it will probably have an impact on the marathon.  What impact?  How much of an impact?  I do not know.

I had a non-running related medical issue crop up in the middle of my last marathon training, and I had to take a full week off.  I just jumped in exactly where I left off.  The loss in fitness is pretty minimal, and I felt crazy rested when I came back to training.

So maybe it has a negative impact, because you lost a small amount of fitness instead of making small gains that week.  Though, playing Devil's advocate, maybe the fact that you are burned out means that your body needs the week off, and you will be less likely to get injured than if you didn't take the week off.  

I will tell you - I have found, particularly with short days meaning that most of my runs are in the dark or on the treadmill, that Pfitz gets more mentally challenging as the weeks get longer if you are in my speed range or slower.  I'm in a three week stretch now where I'm doing 50, 54, and 48 miles, and it has been tough, and I've felt like all of my free time during the week is taken up by running, or doing chores that I neglected on days that I had to run.  If you need a mental break, it is probably better to take it now, and get into the heart of the program feeling ready to attack it.  

You aren't trying to get a shoe deal are you? 

Ha.. I was just reading about Andrew Osagie's tan. 

As your marathon is not until April, and never really took that break after your Nov. marathon, now is the best time to take a break instead of waiting.   If you're feeling burned out and fatigue now, chances are it will get worse.  Would you rather take a week or 2 now, or lose time during a more critical time in your marathon training?

THIS^ 

I also ran a marathon in November and took "off" the remainder of Nov. and Dec. before starting right back up on Jan 1. for an April marathon and May ultra.  I think the break is really important. I quoted "off" because I didn't just stop running, I am just running less, and running for fun. Basically, no Garmin, no planned paces, no required distances. However, I have been trying to keep up a decent weekly base as I will need to start logging big weeks starting in January

I think you probably were suffering from a bout of burnout plus "post marathon depression" which I get after almost every marathon. It is a real thing, even if it sounds made up.  I think you definitely did the right thing by signing up for another race right away, but you owe yourself a nice break.

The catch 22 with us runners is that we live for endorphins. So once we stop running for a bit, sometimes we feel even worse. But your body and mind will gladly thank you for a week off. I am not familiar with the 18/55 plan but I think it's worth it to give yourself a break now, instead of risking further burnout or injury. Find something else to do during the week, whether it's another physical activity or not.