April 2017 Running Challenge

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  • KatieJane83
    KatieJane83 Posts: 2,002 Member
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    ctlaws44 wrote: »
    @Elise4270 -Thanks! I like this forum. I learn a lot from all the experienced runners. Now only if we could have a searchable archive of all this great knowledge!

    @KatieJane83 - K, that works! Are you going to follow a training plan or wing it? My goal is to just finish the damn thing with my body still functioning. :/

    I very definitely have a plan. Probably an overly ambitious plan, lol. My thought process is: I've never done a full marathon before, and have no idea if it will end up being a 'I've done it once and I'm NEVER doing another one again!' experience, so my goal is to train as well as I possibly can, so I can be as proud as possible of my performance, in case it's my only time doing one.

    I'm following Pete Pfitzinger's plan from his book 'Advanced Marathoning'. I'm also currently using his half marathon plan for my May and June hm's. The marathon plan I'm going to use I've actually created by splitting the difference between his 'Up to 55 Miles per Week' and '55 to 70 Miles per Week' plans, based on where my weekly mileage is going to be coming out of my half marathon training. I'm also making sure that I maintain my weight lifting to help with injury prevention, as I'll be going pretty high mileage.

    Sooo, yeah. Am I crazy? Very probably. Will I survive this plan? Who knows, but hopefully! :D
  • Stoshew71
    Stoshew71 Posts: 6,553 Member
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    @7lenny7 AWEESOME picture!

    In reply to @girlinahat 1,2,3 method- If you are not used to running 6 days a week and not used to running 2-a-day's; I strongly suggest you work up to it slowly just like you would for increasing any mileage.

    Usually a newbie runner would start off running 3 days a week at equal mileage. The first technique is to increase mileage by either evenly add distance to each 3 of the runs in the same week or adding an amount in a round robin fashion each week. Whatever works. This gives you the chance to get a complete rest day in between each run (and on 1 run you get 2 days break). You get to a certain point where you will add a 4th day which requires you to run 2 days in a row. For this, I would suggest dropping mileage from the run that connects the 2 days in a row so your weekly mileage is relatively close. Then build up weekly mileage across 4 days. Continue this until you feel comfortable running 6 days a week. Then start adding 2-a-day's. Your longest run should be no more than 35% of your weekly mileage.

    Another thing to note with increasing mileage is cutback weeks. I strongly suggest you use cutback (or down) weeks. If you consistently increase your mileage over a number of weeks, pick a week where you actually drop your weekly mileage before you start increasing again. The body needs some extra down time to absorb the training stress that you provide it. It could be every 3 weeks, it could be every 4 weeks. Ryan Hall who holds the current US men's record at the marathon distance took his cutback week every 7 weeks in honor of the Old Testament.

    @lporter229 As far as food consumption going into your marathon. I try and stay right near maintenance levels. If you are cutting calories because you want to reach your target race weight, I strongly suggest you hit your race weight as you begin your taper. Then throughout your taper hit maintenance calorie levels. No need to increase any more. And now is not the time to continue to cut calories. However, as you get closer to the actual race, you change your macros so that you are mostly eating carbs those last 3 days.

    This is what I have been following for my last few marathons.
  • Skipper111
    Skipper111 Posts: 392 Member
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    girlinahat wrote: »
    @Skipper111

    I recently came across a method of calculating long runs called something like the 1,2,3 method. It involves 6 days a week, usually done as short, medium, short, medium, short, long, rest.

    The medium runs are twice as long as the short runs, and the long runs three times as long. The rationale is that the long run can never be more than 30% or the weekly total.

    Alternatively, you could take the distance for your long run, and base your other runs round it ensuring the total is 100% and the long run is no more than 30% of that. For me sometimes this means I am running twice in one day to ensure I am covering the mileage during the rest of the week. I'm hoping this will help me as lately I have been overtraining (as pointed out to me from the lovely folks here) and so far I'm feeling a lot better for it.

    Thanks for this suggestion. I gave this a go today. Did a medium run (for me) and tried upping my speed. Rather than running a long distance till I was knackered!!!

    It was also great as my medium distance would have seemed like an impossible task a few months ago but now it's just enjoyable and dare I say relatively easy. Was good to feel so much stronger.

    Thanks so much for the share :-D
  • Skipper111
    Skipper111 Posts: 392 Member
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    salijk wrote: »
    Hey is it too late to jump in here? I have started the c25k as I am just back from a years injury and have to take it slow. My challenge is gonna be 15 miles running I now it's low but we are part way through the month and I am a tortoise.

    I started off with C25K and loved it :-)

    Hope it's going well!
  • T1DCarnivoreRunner
    T1DCarnivoreRunner Posts: 11,502 Member
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    @lporter229 I'm not sure how low your carbs are today, but my suggestion is based on an assumption that you are 'fat adapted' after eating low carb for at least several weeks. That suggestion is going to be that you do not load carbs at all. The research I've read about fat adapted athletes suggests that we oxidize fat much faster than athletes on a standard high-carb diet. Carb loading will cause problems with that fat adaptation. My personal experience is that it will also cause significant electrolyte issues that can take as much as 2 weeks to resolve. If you are fat adapted, then you should not attempt a carb load before a marathon. It will cause more harm than help. If you are fat adapted, then you are carb sensitive already. Any 'supplementation' of energy... energy you need beyond fat... can be achieved in fairly small doses of carbs (around 5g-10g), but timing is critical (carbs right before or during your runs). Again, based strictly on the research I've read and my own experience... I've not done anything as long as a marathon, though.
  • ctlaws44
    ctlaws44 Posts: 182 Member
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    @KatieJane - I'm going into it thinking the same. It's a "OK, I did that, but not again" thing for me. I plan to do a HM in September so I hope that at least gets me close to be able to slow run the marathon. I'll be trying to keep up with your mileage the closer it gets to October. I'm no expert on fitness by any measure imaginable but it sounds like you have a good plan. I do weight training to keep myself injury free and it's worked so far.
  • Mari33a
    Mari33a Posts: 1,134 Member
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    01/04 4.04 miles
    03/04 3.10 miles
    05/04 3.51 miles
    06/04 4.14 miles
    07/04 3.08 miles
    11/04 3.01 miles



    exercise.png

  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
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    @7Lenny7- That is a great point about the quality of the carbs. I try to be mindful of the quality of my diet in general, so I limit my sugary treats. The problem I run into with carb loading is that I am gluten-free for medical reasons, which is the only reason why I tend to have a naturally low carb intake. Sometimes the addition of sports drinks and juice are the only way I can really get them. These are things that I rarely consume. Currently I am trying to eat a lot of rice and potatoes.

    @MobyCarp-Dang, that's a lot of calories! As a middle-aged woman woman who weighs 100lbs, I can't even imagine eating that much food, even when I am running higher mileage. I guess maybe that is part of the struggle I have with fitting in the carbs within my calorie allotment and part of the reason why I increase my calorie intake to get the carbs. Otherwise, I would get almost no protein or fat.

    @Stoshew71- I am not trying to lose weight. I have been maintaining the same weight within +/- 3lbs for years. The reason I increase my calorie intake is so that I can make sure I have sufficient carbs. On a normal day, I average about 160g of carbs, but I try to get that up closer to 250 while loading. That's about 360 calories additional from carbs. If I were to stay at the same calorie level, that would mean that I need to decrease my fat intake by 20g and my protein intake by 45g. That would put me at very low protein levels. I could probably stand to cut back on my fat intake, but there is a base level of fats that I get from cooking with olive oil, eating yogurt, etc that would really make that difficult. Like I said above, my normal calorie requirement is considerably less than what you guys would typically consume. With a 35 mile per week average, I consume about 1750 calories per day to maintain my weight. I add about 70 calories per mile over that, so a 50 mile week still only puts me at about 1950 calories per day.

    But the point that all three of you made about not increasing your calorie intake has me thinking that maybe I don't need as many carbs as I am trying to get??
  • BeeerRunner
    BeeerRunner Posts: 728 Member
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    lporter229 wrote: »
    Something changed within the last week with our security settings at work and I can no longer see photos in posts. I am so bummed because I want to see @7lenny7's race photo!

    General question for the group: Pre-marathon week, do you up your overall calorie intake, or just adjust your percentage of carbs? When do you start shifting your dietary focus and by how much?

    Traditionally, I slowly start ramping my carbs up about 2-3 weeks out because I generally eat pretty low carb and the sudden onslaught of carbs upsets my stomach. I increase my calorie intake by about 200 calories per day starting the Monday before a race. I focus on getting 55-60% of my calories from carbs and I focus on drinking a lot more fruit juices and sports drinks. This formula has worked pretty well for me in the past, but I was just wondering how it compares to what everybody else does.

    The only way I could get my carbs high enough (recommended carbs based on my weight) was to eat more calories. I pretty much ate at maintenance until the 3 days before the marathon. My normal macro goal is 55 to 60% carbs though. ;) Anyway, I think I had to try to eat like 400 to 500 g of carbs the day before the marathon and I was sick of them. I do believe it helped because most everyone was walking after 20 miles, but I was still able to run. Except during my fall of course. My maintenance calories are about 1500 per day, but I felt getting the carbs was more important.
  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
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    @midwesterner85 - I just saw your response. I am not sure how "fat adapted" I would be. I wouldn't say that I eat low carb, just probably less than the average endurance athlete. I have carb loaded for my previous 4 marathons and did not have issues. But I am thinking that you may be right in that I do not need to worry about getting in as many carbs as I think I do. I am going to look back at my diary leading up to my previous marathons and I am going to try and mirror what I did then since it seemed to work.

    Thanks for the input!
  • T1DCarnivoreRunner
    T1DCarnivoreRunner Posts: 11,502 Member
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    @lporter229 If you are eating very low carb, you are probably fat adapted. In my case, for example, I eat around 10g per day. If you are eating less than 50g per day, you are probably fat adapted.
  • KatieJane83
    KatieJane83 Posts: 2,002 Member
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    @ctlaws44 sounds good marathon buddy! lol
  • WhatMeRunning
    WhatMeRunning Posts: 3,538 Member
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    @MNLittleFinn - You're doomed once you start reading Relentless Forward Progress. Just sign up already. :naughty:
  • MNLittleFinn
    MNLittleFinn Posts: 4,271 Member
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    WhatMeRunning wrote: »
    @MNLittleFinn - You're doomed once you start reading Relentless Forward Progress. Just sign up already. :naughty:
    yeah....That's the problem with living in a national forest, I get drawn to these races....I'm doomed.
    Stoshew71 wrote: »
    @MNLittleFinn you might as well start growing that beard too.
    If I could, I would.
  • WhatMeRunning
    WhatMeRunning Posts: 3,538 Member
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    Stoshew71 wrote: »
    @MNLittleFinn you might as well start growing that beard too.
    Don't forget the trucker hat!
  • vandinem
    vandinem Posts: 550 Member
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    Date     Miles      MTD
------   -----    -------
Apr 02     5.0        5.0
Apr 05     4.3        9.3
Apr 07     6.4       15.7
Apr 08     4.3       20.0
Apr 09     5.0       25.0
Apr 11     5.1       30.1

    exercise.png

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