Racing before the Marathon (Read 150 times)

In 2012 I wanted to run a Boston qualifier in the Chicago Marathon. I was 37 at the time and I just started running when I was 36 and I was coming off a injury which sidelined me for 3 months in early 2012. I basically signed up for the Chicago marathon as motivation to stay in shape while I was on crutches for months.

 

Anyways, I ran a 130:00 half marathon a little over 3 weeks out from the 2012 Chicago Marathon, and that was a huge mistake. I ended up developing IT band syndrome and even though I made it to the half in 135:00 during the Chicago Marathon I felt crippled by mile 16, and the remainder of the race was absolute torture as I limped to the finish line in 355:00. I was so disappointed in myself that I pretty much never ran seriously as far as training for long distances until recently. In my opinion,  there is no sense pushing yourself that close to a marathon when you should already be in shape to complete 26.2 at your desired time.

That sounds more like an injury just waiting to happen, and probably would have happened in the marathon, or possibly even a training run, if you hadn't raced the half. It certainly wouldn't keep me from racing before another marathon unless I had strong indications that I might be on the verge of an injury anyway.