Forums >General Running>Aww crap what should I do?
I'm training for Georgia Publix Marathon. It's on March 17th. Between December and January, I have done 5- 20+ milers (including Disney's Goofy Challenge). In January and February-- I have done 2- 16-17 milers, and one 20 miler. My last 20 miler is scheduled for Monday. Between now and Monday, the weather is a hot mess-- Thunderstorms, flooding rains, tornadoes. I would love to move it up, but tomorrow we are leaving for New Orleans, so my husband can run the New Orleans Marathon on Sunday (so no 20 miler either day). Tuesday, I have an all day dental appointment with my son for upcoming surgery. I would do it on Wednesday, but I'm doing a half marathon the next Sunday that I plan on PR-ing. My last 20+ mile run was Feb 11th, before that was Goofy Challenge (January 11th). I really don't think I should skip it. What sounds like a better plan:
Plan A: Run said 20 miler on the treadmill on Monday
Plan B: Get up at 3 AM on Tuesday and run the 20 miler outside before DH goes to work
Plan C: F(#* the PR on the half marathon, run 20 miles on Wednesday
Plan D: Skip the 20 miler all together you should be good (I'm running between 45-50 miles a week)
Plan E: F(#* the PR on the half marathon, run the half marathon, and tack on mileage before and after the race to make it 20 miles.
Jodi
PR:
Half: 1:48 (March 3rd, 2013)
Full: 4:05:40 (March 17th, 2013)
2013/2014 Goals:
Sub-4:00 hour Marathon
Sub- 125 poundsSub- 1:45 hour half.
an amazing likeness
D.
or
B.
One run does not a training regime make, or break.
Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.
Or PR your HM and have a nice 6.9 joggy warm down
Proboscis Colossus
D is a perfectly acceptable choice, or so I've heard. I know where you're coming from, though...I always feel like I'm slacking or ruining my chances at a PR if I skip a planned run.
That said, I'd probably end up doing B. Or E.
"God guides us on our journey, but careful with those feet." - David Lee Roth, of all people
Thanks, I'm going to keep an eye on the forecast. One thing I'm considering is doing A, but doing it like 5-6 miles at a time. I think if I break it up on the treadmill, get off the treadmill walk around and stretch, it will make it less monotonous, plus if the weather doesn't look too crappy, I can go out and run outside.
Plus if I do it that way, and for whatever reason I bonk, I could do TechW's plan or the plan were I do the half marathon and then tack on a 3.45 mile warm up and a 3.45 mile cool down during the PR half.
Why can't you do the 20 miler on Sunday while your husband is running the marathon?
Start from the finish line and run backward on the course 10 miles. Then turn around and run to the finish.
And you can quote me as saying I was mis-quoted. Groucho Marx
Rob
Two kids and no sitter .
Good reason -- Ignore my previous suggestion.
3.45 mile warm up...
that's quite a long warm up! the PR will carry you through a longer warm down
I like A or D. PRing in the half marathon seems pretty important to you so, I wouldnt give myself only 3 days to recover from a 20 miler (Option C). There's no way I would trust myself to actually get up 3AM to run despite my best intentions (Option B) or not try to race a race (Option E). But, like MilkTruck says, a single run shouldn't make or break you. I would just try to get in as many miles as you can in the next week or so.
I've done a couple 20+ milers or the treadmill before. I don't know if your treadmill is at home or at a gym, but have as many distractions as possible - magazines, t.v. shows, music, podcasts, people watching. Basically keep your mind busy to ward off the boredom. I also take more breaks (the treadmills at the gym only go up to an hour anyway) than I might if I were running outside because to walk around or stretch due to the repetitive motion. And lately, I've been running by time rather than distance. So, if it would normally take me 3 hours to do 20 miles outside, I would run that long on treadmill rather than trust the distance according to the machine.
Good luck figuring something out.
My blog is JT Running DC. It's awesome. Guide to Washington DC Area Running Routes. Guide to the New York City Marathon. Guide to the Boston Marathon. Guide to Running Gear. Guide to Running Clothes.
I say either d, or run the hm and pr with a 2 mile warmup jog and as many cooldown miles (again, easy jog) as you can muster. Either way, you have a lot of long runs behind you, so you'll be fine!
I vote for running an easy-paced warm-up before the half-marathon, with a few easy-paced cool down miles after. At least, this has worked for me when I've had a similar issue. Pick up your packet and get race stuff ready (pin on #, etc.) -- then do the warm-up run (perhaps a friend can be convinced to run with you) -- then back to the start with enough time to adjust layering, make a potty stop, and have a pre-race gel -- then off to the starting line, where your legs will thank you for that nice warm-up!
Option 2: Break up the 20-miler into back-to-back runs (but do them early in the week so your legs can recover prior to the race). 10-11 miles one day (on the treadmill), followed by an early morning 10-11 mile run the next day.
I wouldn't get hung up on doing another 20-miler. One run will not make or break you and in a lot of ways a half marathon raced all out is a better marathon workout than a 20 miler at an easy pace. I'd do maybe a mile warmup before the the HM, race it all out for a PR, and then if you're feeling up to it, add maybe 3 miles afterward. Good enough.
You've already done more 20+ mile training runs than I've ever done in in a marathon training cycle.
Runners run
I'd go with A or B. A sounds like the most reasonable choice. If you're charged-up about a ripper of a half, it would be a shame to sacrifice that. But a 20mi training run is a key marathon workout. Shuffle it one day or the other but bailing on it entirely is a poor option unless the problem is injury.
highdesertdirt.blogspot.com
Julia-- it's at home. I have TV, Blu Ray, and Kindle. I'm planning on doing 5- 4 mile jaunts on the treadmill, because I have a 4 mile loop I like to do in my neighborhood, so if the weather clears, I can do a few loops.