Bjørnmannen
So I ran my first marathon this past Saturday. It was pouring ran the entire time which caused some problems for me. Long story short, I think I could have done a lot better if there were better conditions. My back-up race was/is the Ann Arbor Marathon on June 8th.
Part of me really wants to do to the Ann Arbor Marathon but I suspect that this may be a bad idea because of potential injury and the taper/reverse taper taking time from training for a fall marathon.
What do you all think? If I don't do 26.2, I will do the 13.1, so travel expenses/time are really immaterial here. Thanks so much for your advice!
Normally I would say go for it if you have unfinished business and feel up to it. But it may be stressful on your body at your current level of mileage. This seems like a really great opportunity to get away from marathon training and run an awesome half. Then build off that and get revenge on the marathon in the fall.
Former Bad Ass
I think 6 weeks is enough to recover if you want to do the race. However, I am not the best person to respond since I do 1-2 marathons per month so I would say go for it.
Having said that, how strong is your base? Do you like the distance? It will be good to do the race 6 weeks out as the training is fresh and you will benefit from it, but if you are really concerned about injury and whatnot, then do some speed workouts addressed to the HM and do that instead.
Good luck with whatever you decide.
Damaris
No advice about what to do - just about how to approach it. What are your main goals? Would running the other race interfere with your fall goal? Are you OK with it if the answer is "yes?" Are you willing to risk injury for the Ann Arbor Marathon?
Short term goal: 17:59 5K
Mid term goal: 2:54:59 marathon
Long term goal: To say I've been a runner half my life. (I started running at age 45).
Are we there, yet?
If "(3) 1500 miles logged" in your signature is your goal rather than what you've run this year, I think dropping to the HM is a better choice. Even if you think you could have done better, 26.2 miles takes a lot out of you and your base isn't that strong to begin with. Tryhing to go out that soon after and run faster is a potential for disaster because of the temptation to start much to fast in conditions that could be dangerously warm. June 8th, even in Michigan with an early morning start could reach pretty high temps by the time you would be finishing.
2024 Races:
03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles
05/11 - D3 50K 05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour
06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.
Well I am not the best qualified person to give advice, but I will anyway because that's what this thing is for.
If your log is correct, it seems like you don't have a crap-ton of base miles. You might be best served to target your training for the fall marathon, and do the AA half. That will help build up your race confidence after the marathon performance you were unhappy with, as well as help set your goal pace for the fall.
Also AA might not also be optimum race conditions either. Never know about rain, but by June it might start to get kind of warm (by MI standards), and I think it is slightly hilly (again by MI standards). I am actually planning the AA full myself, and did the half last year. It is actually on June 9, make sure to show up on the right day.
Good luck whatever you decide!
MTA: I did not see wcrunner2's post before I posted, but some similar comments...listen to him, he is the man with the experience.
Dave
You all are right. I'm not very good at this thing people talk about called "moderation." I'm actually not even sure I know what it means. My DW will thank you all!