Refocusing marathon training after illness?

lporter229

Hi all. Just looking for some advice from some veteran runners. I have a marathon coming up on January 17th. I have been training hard, but had a recent bout with illness (started as flu, but ended up with acute Crohn's related arthritis due to missing my immunosuppressant therapy). I missed almost 2 weeks of running as a result. My last long run was 20 miles on Dec 18th. Since then, I have run three times totaling 9.5 very slow miles. I received my therapy yesterday and am ready to run again, however, I still have a slight cold and need to be cautious since my immune system is suppressed.

According to my training plan, I should a marathon simulator run this weekend and be heading into my taper next week. My original A goal (very lofty and probably wasn't happening anyway) was a 3:45 with a B goal of sub 4. At this point, I am not even sure about the sub 4. I am wondering how to refocus my training efforts to get the most out of my final 2.5 weeks while still getting the benefits of the taper. Also looking for advice on what would be a realistic goal.

Here's a little background info on my running. I have been running pretty steadily for about 18 years. I have run 1 full marathon in 2013. My most recent races were a HM in October (1:43:57) and a 5 miler in Nov (37:40). I have been running 40+ miles/week for the past 3-4 months. Any thoughts on where to go from here?

CarsonRuns

Well, the fitness is already in the bank. There is nothing you can do now to be better prepared for the race, but you can certainly do things that will hurt you on race day. I would suggest just a few miles easy running each day for the next half week and then execute your taper. There is no reason to try to get back anything you missed. I would especially discourage any long run that is designed to simulate the marathon. You don't need to put your body through that kind of stress right now.

lporter229

Thanks for the advice. I think that seems to be the consensus opinion of others I have talked with. But this essentially results in a four and a half week taper. Certainly not ideal, but will I still be okay for 26.2? Any thoughts on realistically adjusting my goal?

CarsonRuns

Too many variables that I'm unaware of to give you concrete advice. I'd be conservative for sure. Maybe start out at that 4 hour pace and then see how you feel around mile 18 and adjust accordingly.