Can/should I do this?
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lporter229
Posts: 4,907 Member
My good friend will be running her third marathon (Cincinnati Flying Pig) on May 1st. She and I trained for and ran our first marathon together (also the Pig) in 2013. It was such a great experience, but we kind of went in different directions with our running since then and have not run together very much since. I had not been planning on running the marathon (maybe the half), but she and I were talking about it last night and I suddenly felt like maybe I wanted to do it with her. Here's the problem. I have not trained for it.
On one hand I think maybe I can do it because: I have been running between 30-40 miles per week for the past several months as a means of maintaining my aerobic base and also working a bit on my speed for shorter distances. My long runs (weekly) have been between 12-14 miles. Most of those runs have been done at a comfortable pace between 8:30-9:00 per mile. I ran a half marathon two weeks ago in 1:47. I ran two fulls in the past year,the most recent one in October at a PR time of 3:38:26. Her intended pace is around a 9:30 (4:10). And I still have time to do at least one, maybe two 20 mile training run with her.
On the other hand, I haven't done any training runs longer than 14 miles in over 5 months and I have not run any runs longer than 4 hours in years. So, in a way, I am actually a bit concerned that I might not be able to handle the slower pace. What if I go out there with the intention of encouraging her and I am the one who can't hang in there? Am I underestimating the difficulty of running a slower marathon, especially with out seriously training for it? 4+ hours is a long time to be on ones feet.
Does anyone have any experience with this type of situation? Thoughts and opinions appreciated!
On one hand I think maybe I can do it because: I have been running between 30-40 miles per week for the past several months as a means of maintaining my aerobic base and also working a bit on my speed for shorter distances. My long runs (weekly) have been between 12-14 miles. Most of those runs have been done at a comfortable pace between 8:30-9:00 per mile. I ran a half marathon two weeks ago in 1:47. I ran two fulls in the past year,the most recent one in October at a PR time of 3:38:26. Her intended pace is around a 9:30 (4:10). And I still have time to do at least one, maybe two 20 mile training run with her.
On the other hand, I haven't done any training runs longer than 14 miles in over 5 months and I have not run any runs longer than 4 hours in years. So, in a way, I am actually a bit concerned that I might not be able to handle the slower pace. What if I go out there with the intention of encouraging her and I am the one who can't hang in there? Am I underestimating the difficulty of running a slower marathon, especially with out seriously training for it? 4+ hours is a long time to be on ones feet.
Does anyone have any experience with this type of situation? Thoughts and opinions appreciated!
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I think you can do it, just take it easy since you have not trained with a lot of long runs over 14 miles. Fuel well and eat more on the run during the full to help delay that wall, and run easy...easier even to make it without hitting it so hard. You only have a couple weeks to try longer runs and that is not enough time to help. So kerp training like you have been and just go do it. I can't think of any reason why you can't save for going too fast and eithrr bonking hard enough to want to quit, or getting injured because you are not trained to run with any intensity for that distance. Plan for a casual chatty 26.2 miles. And smile a lot and try to make everyone else smile and laugh those last several miles. That helps too. You have the aerobic capacity to go for a long, long time obviously. Slow is the way to go, don't doubt that. Find ways to enforce that slow pace, don't fall for feeling like it's a special, stronger than normal day.0
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^^^^ Agree with @WhatMeRunning
I don't have experience with this, but I think that if you got a 18 or 20 miler in sometime in the next few weeks, you'd be good to go with the base you've maintained. Running the race at a slower pace than you're used to, I think you can hang in there as long as you don't let it intimidate you mentally!0 -
If you are going in with a casual attitude and have no time expectations, I think you can certainly do it. If this was your first marathon, I wouldn't recommend it, but you have experience. If you plan on running and chatting and having fun, I think it will seem easy to you!
I wouldn't stress about getting a 20 miler in. Keep up what you are doing and maybe get to 18 miles. Last year I was injured and never got a 20 miler in before Boston. I went about 6 weeks without running and managed a decent time of 3:16. I went in with the attitude to not stress about time and just finish. I think lifting that pressure off of me really helped.
I am still undecided about doing the Pig. I don't think I can pull off the full marathon 13 days after Boston--my old body just says no. I would like to do the half if up to it. A friend just decided to do the full. I know she will be going for the win--another reason for me not to compete! Pig weekend is my favorite!0 -
I love that weekend too. Just so much energy floating around. That is why I would like to do the Pig with my friend. Since I will be running along side her, I think I will be able to resist the urge to run faster than I should. I am honestly just worried about the length of time on my feet, since it's way than I am used to and more than double anything I've done so far this year. I think I will run with her this weekend and see how it goes. I can probably decide better after that.
Thanks for your input everyone! Good luck to your friend Wendy! That is amazing!0 -
Without meaning to be blunt, why are you not already seeing if you can do a 20 miler now?0
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Training doesnt need to belporter229 wrote: »
Training doesnt need to be more than this anyway...0
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