Running a marathon 7 weeks after previous training

moochachip

Long story short, I am running two marathons this year. I signed up for one the first weekend of September, then signed up for the other not realizing how close they were.

I am sure I can do it; I have great stamina and am in top shape. Training wise however I am a little clueless as to how to proceed after the first one? I am currently on a training program that is a bit like Hal's.. Should I just rewind the program to where it's 7 weeks before the next marathon?

arc918

Have you run any marathons before?

The question at hand is how well you recover from running long.

DavidMartinez2

If this is your first time running two marathons this close together you may want to play things on the safe side. I would take it easy the week following the first marathon then roll back into your training program at week 8.

moochachip

I am use to running 13.1, but yes the marathon in September will be my first.

arc918

I am use to running 13.1, but yes the marathon in September will be my first.

No disrespect intended, but for most of us 26.2 is a "whole 'nother beast."

It's hard to say how quickly you'll be interested in running another marathon after your first.

My $.02 - focus on the first one and play the 2nd one by ear. If you can recover and get a couple 20 milers in before the 2nd one, then great, if not so be it. I would just stay flexible on 2nd and be ready to drop down the half (if available) or ditch the race entirely if you're not feeling up to it.

Bottom line, you have the rest of you life to run marathons, no need so push too hard too soon.

Good luck and happy running.

FWIW - my slowest marathon of 26 was my 2nd one (sophomore slump)

amandamurdaugh

I did a marathon here in Phx 1/20/13 then the New Orleans marathon 5 weeks later 2/24/13. The long runs following the first was 13.73 miles, 18, 21, 13.1, then the next marathon. My time was better by 3 min on the 2nd marathon. For me, the worst part was the first long run after the first marathon. You have more time, so maybe you should only do a 10 miler, I don't know. I googled training plans for marathons close together. Chuck Engle, marathonjunkie.com was very helpful. He does marathons like every few weeks. My intention is to do 2-3 marathons six weeks apart this winter. I like the aspect of having a good base built up for the next one. Kinda continue on with the momentum. Good luck!

moochachip

@ Arc: No offense taken, I know 26.2 is a different beast. Just wanted to shoot my current longest distance out there so people know I have gone at least that far.

@ Nic: Good to know. Thanks for the website.


And thank you both for the pointers. We'll see how the first one goes, and then hopefully I can get a 10 miler in afterward. I did find that Hal Higdon had a multiple 6 week in-between marathon plan.

CarsonRuns

I agree with arc. If I had the opportunity, I would drop down to the half (if there is one) for the first one and do the second marathon. It's not just the physical aspects of the marathon that make the recovery difficult, but the mental aspects as well.

This past Fall, I did my third marathon and I had my fourth scheduled for about 14 weeks later. When I started running again after the first, I just could not bear the thought of ramping mileage back up to 70 mile weeks. I was mentally wasted.

Physically, the marathon is not twice as hard as the half. It's exponential. Unless you have years of base mileage (like 2000+ a year for a couple years), you will bonk at 20 miles. The last 10K will suck. It will be a grind. You will survive, and with time, the memory of that pain will dissipate and you'll be ready (or not) to tackle another one.

ETA: There is also a very big difference between "doing" a marathon and "racing" a marathon. Those marathon junkie types may run two marathons a month, but they aren't racing every single one of them. They can't, the body won't allow it. So, even though they say "heck yeah, you can run 2 marathons a month", in reality they are doing paid training runs most of the time and they may target a couple a year to really try to lay down a fast time.

arc918

Carson is totally correct on racing a marathon vs. running them as a long training run. I've done both (quite a few times). Recovery is very different.

ZenInTexas

Physically, the marathon is not twice as hard as the half. It's exponential. Unless you have years of base mileage (like 2000+ a year for a couple years), you will bonk at 20 miles. The last 10K will suck. It will be a grind. You will survive, and with time, the memory of that pain will dissipate and you'll be ready (or not) to tackle another one.

Carson you're scaring me! How can a person train so they are prepared and can avoid this??

CarsonRuns

Physically, the marathon is not twice as hard as the half. It's exponential. Unless you have years of base mileage (like 2000+ a year for a couple years), you will bonk at 20 miles. The last 10K will suck. It will be a grind. You will survive, and with time, the memory of that pain will dissipate and you'll be ready (or not) to tackle another one.

Carson you're scaring me! How can a person train so they are prepared and can avoid this??

Lots of miles over time. My first marathon I bonked at mile 20. I ran 2500+ miles before the next one a year later and I cruised to a powerful finish. There is no substitute for miles.

arc918

Physically, the marathon is not twice as hard as the half. It's exponential. Unless you have years of base mileage (like 2000+ a year for a couple years), you will bonk at 20 miles. The last 10K will suck. It will be a grind. You will survive, and with time, the memory of that pain will dissipate and you'll be ready (or not) to tackle another one.

Carson you're scaring me! How can a person train so they are prepared and can avoid this??

Lots of miles over time. My first marathon I bonked at mile 20. I ran 2500+ miles before the next one a year later and I cruised to a powerful finish. There is no substitute for miles.

You also have to run with patience, discipline and confidence in your training. And you can't go out too fast an just hope to hold on because you want to run a certain time (sub 4, BQ or whatever). Your training needs to support your race pace.

CarsonRuns

Physically, the marathon is not twice as hard as the half. It's exponential. Unless you have years of base mileage (like 2000+ a year for a couple years), you will bonk at 20 miles. The last 10K will suck. It will be a grind. You will survive, and with time, the memory of that pain will dissipate and you'll be ready (or not) to tackle another one.

Carson you're scaring me! How can a person train so they are prepared and can avoid this??

Lots of miles over time. My first marathon I bonked at mile 20. I ran 2500+ miles before the next one a year later and I cruised to a powerful finish. There is no substitute for miles.

You also have to run with patience, discipline and confidence in your training. And you can't go out too fast an just hope to hold on because you want to run a certain time (sub 4, BQ or whatever). Your training needs to support your race pace.

And just as important, your training needs to based on reality, not "I hope to run x:xx". You need to develop your training plan and paces based on current race results.

DavidMartinez2

ETA: There is also a very big difference between "doing" a marathon and "racing" a marathon. Those marathon junkie types may run two marathons a month, but they aren't racing every single one of them. They can't, the body won't allow it. So, even though they say "heck yeah, you can run 2 marathons a month", in reality they are doing paid training runs most of the time and they may target a couple a year to really try to lay down a fast time.

I'll handle this one. I ran 4 marathons this month; 2 the first weekend of May, 1 50K the third weekend and then a full this past Sunday. For the double I went at a comfortable pace the whole time, not pushing the pace but not loafing either. I finished both ~3:40. For the 50K I dropped my pace by a full minute after mile 20 and I had my 8 year old son "pace" me for the last 3 miles. Last weekend I paced a friend of mine to a PR, once again taking it easy (for me) and coming in at 3:22. I have another Full this weekend I am targeting a 3:30 finish. So yes, running a lot of marathons in a short period of time is possible (and enjoyable).

Now for racing, I am targeting Ventura Marathon in September for a PR race. I am taking almost 3 months off from races and focusing on doing a proper build-up for that race, the only exceptions will be some shorter races at the end of August (10K and less trail races). If your goal is to go as fast as possible you want to split your races up. If you just want to run some marathons for fun then you will be fine. There are those that can do both (Michael Wardian) but not many.