Long Runs out of proportion w/ the rest of the week (Read 2158 times)

Firstly, I disagree with how you are training for the marathon to begin with. To me, it's not ideal. Secondly, as the other poster mentioned (who is a HS coach), if I were your coach I'd probably be kinda ticked off about it. Thirdly, if you don't care about the track season, then don't run track. When is the marathon? If it's before the track season, fine. If it's during, I'd be hesitant. Tough to train for a marathon and run in meets 2-3 times a week for several weeks.

I always figured senior projects were about bettering the world around you, not doing something for yourself and that would possibly hurt your team...

I guess not ours, they said these are designed to teach us about ourselves, and our own interests and abilities. And I won't be hurting the team, because I really don't have any chance to score or make a relay. I enjoy track, and that is why I run it, I enjoy training and I enjoy racing, and I like to think that that is what high school sports are about, enjoying yourself. And my coach is cool with it, people have done it before, and they said that if I wanted to do it, they would do what they could to help me out with it.

Firstly, I disagree with how you are training for the marathon to begin with. To me, it's not ideal.

What would you suggest I change? I really just have the weekends to myself. I'm just going to be happy to finish, not run a fast time. Edit: Also, thanks for all the feedback, it is helpful to see the issue from a lot of different perspectives.

I'm training for a Marathon in May for my Senior project, but I'm doing track as well. Typically in a week for track we won't run more than 20 miles. It is the offseason right now, so I can do as much as I want, but I've never been a big mileage guy. So, recently, I've been doing long runs of 12, or 15 miles. My weekly mileage has been between pretty much 30 and 35 mpw. As I move forward, into 18 and 20 mile long runs, my mileage probably won't get much higher than 40-45ish. Is this going to be really detrimental? I hear typically a long run shouldn't exceed 33% of the weekly mileage as a max. Note I'm just training to finish the marathon, so I don't need to train to run a 2:20 or anything. Just bop along at 3:30 to 4:00 hour pace.

First off, I agree with Scout: you should choose track OR the marathon. Second, if you're not "a big mileage guy" then why train for a marathon? Third, why won't your mileage get much higher than 40-45ish? If this is to be a really meaningful venture (as Senior Projects ought to be), then why are you going to stay with all of your old habits? Why are you going to train to finish and "to just bop along"? As the tone of your post already indicates, finishing ought to be easy for a runner of your experience. If you are going to keep doing track and train for the marathon in spite of the advice to the contrary, then what you ought to do is start running an easy 45-60 minutes every morning before school. Then go to track practice and run in the afternoon with your buddies. Then your mileage will be at the level to support a long run on the weekend. Why take up something you already know that you can do? Push the envelope with your running. Change your habits. Run an experiment. Make people think you are nuts. Be somebody. It would suck to have to write a Senior Project about how you settled for less.

First off, I agree with Scout: you should choose track OR the marathon. Second, if you're not "a big mileage guy" then why train for a marathon? Third, why won't your mileage get much higher than 40-45ish? If this is to be a really meaningful venture (as Senior Projects ought to be), then why are you going to stay with all of your old habits? Why are you going to train to finish and "to just bop along"? As the tone of your post already indicates, finishing ought to be easy for a runner of your experience. If you are going to keep doing track and train for the marathon in spite of the advice to the contrary, then what you ought to do is start running an easy 45-60 minutes every morning before school. Then go to track practice and run in the afternoon with your buddies. Then your mileage will be at the level to support a long run on the weekend. Why take up something you already know that you can do? Push the envelope with your running. Change your habits. Run an experiment. Make people think you are nuts. Be somebody. It would suck to have to write a Senior Project about how you settled for less.

I've been training in the 30s for mileage all year, I feel like if I spend the next 2 1/2 months increasing mileage (into the 50s and 60s) I'm just asking to get hurt. On top of that, that seems like it exacerbates the fatigue issue, I can't see myself bumping my mileage up every week and being able to do quality interval work, and be an active team member. I hadn't really considered finishing a marathon something "easy", though. I've only heard horror stories about running 18+ miles, and I've only run 15 miles once so far in preparation. I kind of assumed just getting up to a level where I can finish would be trying enough for me. If running a marathon were easy, then I wouldn't have any trouble just throwing an extended long run on my training and still doing everything else relatively normally, right? So if I have an issue with the standard track training, that means I'm challenging myself enough with the project. I don't want to seem like I'm half-assing it, it isn't that I don't want to do the work, I just don't want to strike a balance between track and the marathon. The bottom line I guess is this: I love doing track, and I want to go to practice 5 days a week, and be part of the team. I also am really interested in challenging myself with something that is, for me, going to be a huge over distance feat. I'd like to be able to have the marathon training impact my track participation as minimally as possible. I'd rather do 12x400m with my friends than 5x1k by myself. If this means struggling to run a relatively slow marathon as opposed to cruising to a faster time, I'll gladly accept that. Hell, I'd say even this conversation is accomplishing the goal of the senior project, I'm certainly trying to figure out where my really passion is. I don't want to consume a lot of my life with this project, I'd like to balance the best I can I can between running track and running the marathon. People were mentioning hurting my team, I feel like even if I never score a point, if I spend a lot of time running on my own, and doing my own workouts, that is worse for the team then if I were to show up for practice every day and put in the work.

I've been training in the 30s for mileage all year, I feel like if I spend the next 2 1/2 months increasing mileage (into the 50s and 60s) I'm just asking to get hurt. On top of that, that seems like it exacerbates the fatigue issue, I can't see myself bumping my mileage up every week and being able to do quality interval work, and be an active team member.

What makes you feel like this? Why do you think the mileage will hurt you? And how will getting in wicked shape hurt your interval work and be bad for the team?

I hadn't really considered finishing a marathon something "easy", though. I've only heard horror stories about running 18+ miles, and I've only run 15 miles once so far in preparation. I kind of assumed just getting up to a level where I can finish would be trying enough for me. If running a marathon were easy, then I wouldn't have any trouble just throwing an extended long run on my training and still doing everything else relatively normally, right? So if I have an issue with the standard track training, that means I'm challenging myself enough with the project.

Champions don't rationalize. Neither should you. Running more during the week will help your track workouts and your weekly long run. As long as you stay slow (9 min miles) and listen to your body.

I don't want to seem like I'm half-assing it, it isn't that I don't want to do the work, I just don't want to strike a balance between track and the marathon.

How does running more hurt track? How does experimenting with some doubles undermine a balance between track and the marathon?

The bottom line I guess is this: I love doing track, and I want to go to practice 5 days a week, and be part of the team. I also am really interested in challenging myself with something that is, for me, going to be a huge over distance feat. I'd like to be able to have the marathon training impact my track participation as minimally as possible. I'd rather do 12x400m with my friends than 5x1k by myself. If this means struggling to run a relatively slow marathon as opposed to cruising to a faster time, I'll gladly accept that.

Why can't you run in the morning and do 12x400m in the afternoon? You may not be able to run them as fast, but so what? It's training.

Hell, I'd say even this conversation is accomplishing the goal of the senior project, I'm certainly trying to figure out where my really passion is.

There ya go.

I don't want to consume a lot of my life with this project, I'd like to balance the best I can I can between running track and running the marathon. People were mentioning hurting my team, I feel like even if I never score a point, if I spend a lot of time running on my own, and doing my own workouts, that is worse for the team then if I were to show up for practice every day and put in the work.

I think you can do both. Maybe you can't. But hey it's worth a try, right?

Champions don't rationalize. Neither should you. Running more during the week will help your track workouts and your weekly long run. As long as you stay slow (9 min miles) and listen to your body.

This is the key thing. If you do run more (and you definitely should if you're running a marathon), just make sure those extra miles are real easy.

This is the key thing. If you do run more (and you definitely should if you're running a marathon), just make sure those extra miles are real easy.

This is a good point. I think it would be cool if you kept a journal of every run, how you felt before and after, the things you thought about, how it felt to be running when everyone else was sleeping, the color of the sunrise, etc. This journal may also help you avoid injury. Be smart, listen to your body, don't be afraid to run very slow on the doubles, and good luck!

I think it would be cool if you kept a journal of every run, how you felt before and after, the things you thought about, how it felt to be running when everyone else was sleeping, the color of the sunrise, etc. This journal may also help you avoid injury. Be smart, listen to your body, don't be afraid to run very slow on the doubles, and good luck!

The journal would also greatly enrich your senior project.