Marathon Training Question (Read 886 times)

I have decided to do a marathon this May (Colorado Marathon) and instead of following an eighteen week schedule, I am doing an eleven week schedule. I ran a long run of fourteen miles the other day and felt great. My question is, I have a seven mile run scheduled on friday (a day before my next long run of fifteen miles) and I have to work that day. Would I get the same benefit if I ran three and a half miles before work and three and a half miles after work or should I just do it all before or after work?

This assumes that the 7 miler is one of the "get in the miles" easy runs. You aren't trying to split one of the 'key workouts'. So... you will not get the same exact thing by splitting an easy 7 miler... but it is still goodness. If that's what it takes to get in your miles for the day, have at it. Me? The later I push my run into the day, the more likely that real life will poke me and I'll have to skip. I'm great at getting my morning workout in... less so about the afternoon/evening ones. So for me, I try to get my key workouts and all the miles I can done early on. But everyone is different. Whatever it takes to get the miles.

Would I get the same benefit if I ran three and a half miles before work and three and a half miles after work or should I just do it all before or after work?

No, splitting them won't give you the same. But if you've got time after work to do 7, then I'm not sure what the problem is.

Split the 7 into a 6 and a 4.

Philosopher math. For future reference, I'll share my split run equations. 4+4 = 7 8+4 = 9 8+5 = 10 10+8 = 14 10+10 = 15 15 + 6 = 17 15 + 8 = 18 17+ 7 = 20

Nope, splitting X miles into 2 runs A+B=X will not be the same as doing X. If I need to split due to not having time for one longer run, the total miles will add up to more than X. Not that even that will necessarily do the same thing as X, but it's a lot better than splitting X miles in half.

Nice job.

but if you scheduled for X number of miles, you can't run Y and Z and expect them to equal X. Doing it occasionally is fine, no one day or week makes up how fast you are, but you shouldn't regularly be breaking up runs to make them more manageable. Stress/Adaption and all that.

Yes, but if you split that 7 into a 6 and 4, you're better off than if you just ran 7. (as long as you're not running too hard on your easy runs).

If a situation like this occurs just once or twice in a training cycle, then it really doesn't make much difference. It's a very minor disruption in a 16-20 week training cycle that will have no measureable effect on the final outcome. OTOH, if it's a routine "problem", then an overhaul of one's fundamental training regimen is in order. For instance, going to doubles with an increase in total mileage would make sense. Sometimes we can overthink this stuff.