I have a trail marathon on April 7. My schedule for the next two weeks (per my coach), beginning with this weekend is:Sat 24 trail milesSun 10 trail milesMon RestTues 5 miles steady paceWed 3 miles EZThurs 5 miles (1 EZ, 3 Race Pace, 1 EZ)Sat 10 trail milesSun 5 trail milesMon RestTues 4 miles (1 EZ, 3 RP, 1 EZ)Wed 3 miles (1 EZ, 1 RP, 1 EZ)Thurs RestFri Rest or 3 EZSat Trail Marathon
A running friend has indicated this is too heavy of a schedule and that this weekend I should be running more than 13/8. This is a typical taper for me. In your "humble" opinions, should my coach have me running shorter miles this weekend? My friend's new coach (she used to use the same as me) says this is too much running prior to a race.
What say you?
Leslie Living and Running Behind the Redwood Curtain -------------
Trail Runner Nation
Sally McCrae-Choose Strong
Bare Performance
Kalsarikännit
Huh. All the smart people are away from their computers and you need to know by tomorrow. I know nothing, srl would run two marathons every weekend leading up to it, DB would run the equivalent of two marathons every day leading up to it. Surely there is someone out thee that knows something.
I would really post this on the big page. Some smart runners float around there. Of course, they will probably steer you towards mileage that suits a traditional runner (lower mileage than an ultrarunner would do).
I really know nothing, but when I saw that 24 for tomorrow I was pretty surprised. It seemed like a bit much.
I want to do it because I want to do it. -Amelia Earhart
I personally wouldn't be too worried about a 24 miler followed by a 2 week taper IF you feel good. If you feel beat up, I'd cut that back. But that said, 24 is kind of in nowhere's ville regarding training goodness. You'd probably be plenty ok with something closer to 18-20.
So says the guy who hasn't examined your training log in any detail.
it really comes down to how you are feeling.
NOW... 24 followed by 10? I'm not sure what that's about. That's a lot of miles for two days to prepare for a marathon. I would ask the coach what the purpose of that is supposed to be. I dunno that I'd shave it to 13/8, but maybe 20/5. Depends on how you feel.
Edited to add: ok, now I've glanced at your log. The long run/10 mile combo has been a fixture of your training for a month or so your whole training program (?)... with not so much running during the week. I suppose that's a way to up your overall volume? Hmmm. Based on the build, 24/10 is a logical progression, but I'm not sure why.
What is the trail marathon?
Thanks for your input. SRL, I'm running Grizzly Peak
I didn't run my 7 this past Wednesday because I was exhausted (not sleeping well has been an issue for awhile now). Thursday, I felt like a brand new person.
But yes, all my training programs have been basically the same for a couple of years now.
Wrigley - The subject came up this morning. I wanted to post this question earlier; alas, my boss thought I should work my butt of today.
One of the things that surprised me was him taking me all the way up to 24. Previous training programs have had my longest run about 4-6 miles shorter than the race I'm actually running (usually 50ks). FYI, I was injured and not running for six months. I just started back up in September. I am participating in the WS 3-day training run (70 miles in 3 days) over Memorial Day Weekend and a 50-miler (Mt. Hood) in July. I'm thinking he's wanting to get my base built up. That being said, I've always had only one taper weekend before a race.
Eeekk
Sat 24 trail milesSun 10 trail miles
two weeks before a run is a bit heavy in my opinion, maybe three weeks out would have been a little better. However I tend to do a long one at about the same period but without the back to back ('cos I am lazy and old) . It is a bit like me saying should I do a hilly 50km tomorrow 3 weeks after a 100 miler....I want to but....do I really want to
Jerry A runners blog-updated daily
I've decided to go with the 13, but will back it up with 8-10 tomorrow, and we'll see how I do in two weeks.
Last night I did a little bit of perusing on the 'net re running plans. The few I was able to find tended toward this weekend being shorter.
I'm also very bored with my training programs as they are the same, i.e., I could go back two years ago and basically find the same program. I think it's time Coach and I had a talk about changing things up.
Thanks ~
Imminent Catastrophe
Sort of too late but 24+10 does seem like a lot for a marathon. Is your coach thinking you're doing a 50-miler? Because 24+10 seems more like 50-miler/100k training.
"Able to function despite imminent catastrophe"
"To obtain the air that angels breathe you must come to Tahoe"--Mark Twain
"The most common question from potential entrants is 'I do not know if I can do this' to which I usually answer, 'that's the whole point'.--Paul Charteris, Tarawera Ultramarathon RD.
√ Javelina Jundred Jalloween 2015
Cruel Jewel 50 mile May 2016
Western States 100 June 2016
I agree you should go by how you feel. I think 24/10 could be ok if you feel good, but it's also a little unnecessary in my opinion for a marathon. (Says the person whose training has been shit lately.)
~Sara It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great. ~ Jimmy Dugan
I did 13 today, and it felt good. Tomorrow I'll do 8. We'll see how things go in a couple of weeks.
. . .
And I'm thinking I might need to look around for another coach to get a fresh, new perspective toward my running.
Marathon Maniac #957
Leslie - I agree that 24/10 two weeks out is a lot - it would be too much for me, as far as complete recovery. Maybe because I'm an old broad, but even three weeks out I would be more likely to do only 7/22 for a marathon distance.
Life is a headlong rush into the unknown. We can hunker down and hope nothing hits us or we can stand tall, lean into the wind and say, "Bring it on, darlin', and don't be stingy with the jalapenos."
I've trained to race somewhere around 15 marathons. The most aggressive I've done two weeks out has been 22 followed by 8 the next day, and this was when I was averaging 80 MPW. Maybe if you were doing 100 MPW, this schedule would be okay, otherwise, the general rule is long runs should be 30% of your total training volume at peak. Your coach has you doing long runs over 50% of your training volume during taper. Seems a little crazy to me.
The more I compare his schedules to my friends', yeah, I agree the mileage is crazy.
I decided last night (when I couldn't sleep 'cause all this coaching stuff was rolling around in my head) to go ahead and broach the subject with my friends, Russ and Gary, and see if either of them would be willing to take me on as a client for a nominal fee. I know I need someone to work with me, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed one of them will be up for it.
My buddy also said she was going to talk to her sister about sharing with me her 50-mile training schedule when she did Mt. Hood 2 years ago. If she is willing to do that, then I might only need one of the guys to tweak it for me a bit.
The hard part is going to be telling my coach, Bill, that I don't want to use his services anymore.
I know I need someone to work with me, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed one of them will be up for it.
Why do you feel this way? What is it that you get from a coach that is so important? I'm not knocking coaches, just honestly curious about what it is you are looking for.
24 trail miles done at a very easy effort level sound fine ... 24 trail miles done at a moderate or higher effort level would seem a bit much. It is all about effort level.
I would trust your coach ... if you want to do what you want to do - why have a coach?
I have a trail marathon on April 7. My schedule for the next two weeks (per my coach), beginning with this weekend is:Sat 24 trail milesSun 10 trail milesMon RestTues 5 miles steady paceWed 3 miles EZThurs 5 miles (1 EZ, 3 Race Pace, 1 EZ)Sat 10 trail milesSun 5 trail milesMon RestTues 4 miles (1 EZ, 3 RP, 1 EZ)Wed 3 miles (1 EZ, 1 RP, 1 EZ)Thurs RestFri Rest or 3 EZSat Trail Marathon A running friend has indicated this is too heavy of a schedule and that this weekend I should be running more than 13/8. This is a typical taper for me. In your "humble" opinions, should my coach have me running shorter miles this weekend? My friend's new coach (she used to use the same as me) says this is too much running prior to a race. What say you?
Long dead ... But my stench lingers !
You guys are killing me with the great questions! Making me think more and all.
Why do I want a coach? Because I know I don't have the knowledge to do what I want to do and succeed. I need all the help I can get, seriously.
I think my coach has done a good job up to this point, but I don't think he has the knowledge or experience to get me further. He has more experience at marathons and triathlons, has only run one 50-miler, and in the last couple of years has gotten more into his cycling than running, which is really cool because he's having great success in cycling. I'd like to work with someone who has actual experience in running 50 and 100 milers.