How important is the breakdown of mileage for a marathon?

RunnerElizabeth

So I'm considering a marathon but I'm a single mom of a 3 yearold without a lot of outside help. So I fit my runs in, often to blocks of time dedicated to something else, like lunch or my commute. So because of this my week day runs are generally only 3-5 miles.

My weekly volume is currently in the range of 30-35 miles per week, occasionally I hit 40. My long run is in the range of 10-15 miles and I'm not worried about increasing that. Monday thru Friday I run 4 or 5 days of the 3 - 5 miles with an average of about 16 miles total volume, but sometimes 20 or 25. This has been working for half marathon training.

So I was looking at marathon training plans and it looks like I'd be able to meet the weekly mileage totals, but the first time marathon plans generally have a mid week run that goes to 8 or 9 miles. I can only do 5. I could do it 4 or 5 days, but I couldn't possibly shorten some of my runs to lengthen another without a major lifestyle change.

Is this a recipe for disaster? Or will it be ok because I'm meeting the weekly mileage and sticking with the scheduled long runs? Keep in mind my goals for my first marathon have nothing to do with speed. I want to finish, not get injured and still like running when it's over with and also have a more accurate picture of what my preferred distance is.

PeteWhoLikesToRunAlot

I'm lucky where I'm able to slip out of the office for as long as 2 hrs without any real fuss.

I personally feel it would be ok to break up a mid-distance into two shorter ones, as long as you're not sacrificing your long.
That being said, I'd try to get the two pieces of the broken-up mid distance done as close to each other as possible. Would you be able to do two-a-days for them? If not, I'd try to get them in within 12 hours of each other. That way you're still able to carry the fatigue from the first run into the second without too much recovery time.

Give this article a look - good info!

http://beta.active.com/running/Articles/Should-You-Split-Your-Long-Run

SonicDeathMonkey80

Not a recipe for "disaster," but a recipe for a long, potentially not-so-fun marathon. Been there, done that. I'm a single dad of a 9 year old, so I am lucky to be able to break away without him torching the house, but after my 4:27, I realized I needed to get more than 25 MPW on my feet. My long run leading up the the full was 20, and it felt good, but out on the actual course, my shiz fell apart on 20-21ish and it got to me mentally, and around that time my HR started to drift out of my comfy 140s and got into the 160s/170s with no increase in effort (hit my aerobic limit). You need to get those long runs in. You need more mileage. When are you planning on doing a marathon?

RenewedRunner

Do you have a jogging stroller? I trained for my first half marathon when my sons were 3 and 2 (god that seems sooooo long ago!) and I would push them in a jogging stroller. The funny thing is my first one was/is still my PR and I maintain it is from pushing 65 extra pounds for a lot of my runs. I would give them snacks, my phone, and a toy or two. Usually the oldest would fall asleep and the youngest would sing me songs. You can pick the strollers up on craigslist/bookoo fairly cheap even for nice ones. I splurged on my double, paid $400 for it, and used it for 3 years and gave it to a friend who is still using it 5 years later.

Treadmill access? Not ideal but would allow you to at least have the time on your feet.

RenewedRunner

Not a recipe for "disaster," but a recipe for a long, potentially not-so-fun marathon. Been there, done that. I'm a single dad of a 9 year old, so I am lucky to be able to break away without him torching the house, but after my 4:27, I realized I needed to get more than 25 MPW on my feet. My long run leading up the the full was 20, and it felt good, but out on the actual course, my shiz fell apart on 20-21ish and it got to me mentally, and around that time my HR started to drift out of my comfy 140s and got into the 160s/170s with no increase in effort (hit my aerobic limit). You need to get those long runs in. You need more mileage. When are you planning on doing a marathon?

If only they made kid crates! :laugh: Keep the puppy and the kid in line while you are away, hahaha

DavidMartinez2

As long as you are getting your long runs in you should be good to finish a marathon although I make no promises on how you will feel afterwards. When I had trouble getting those mid-week longish runs in I used to do the week long run Saturday and then run the mid-week long run on Sunday. Doing back-to-back long runs like that can help you adapt to distance running but if you push to hard you could end up injured so if you try this be careful.

CarsonRuns

I think a mid-week mid-long run is pretty important to being successful. The marathon is not just about the long run, but the cumulative mileage over time. That 10 to 14 mile run mid week really gives you a lot of additional aerobic benefit. I also believe that 40 MPW is the absolute bare minimum mileage you need to run to get to the finish line not hating yourself of being alive at that moment. More mileage is always better.

SonicDeathMonkey80

If only they made kid crates! :laugh: Keep the puppy and the kid in line while you are away, hahaha

Oh they do, it's called an Xbox lol

scottb81

You are doing enough to finish a marathon. You won't race as fast as you might with a more robust plan but you will be able to get it done.

Adding an extra day during the week will help also as long as it doesn't leave you overtrained. SInce you have been running a while you probably won't have that problem.

Train within the imposed limitations and enjoy the race. The mileage you do will contribute to increasing your aerobic base and in a few years when your child is older you can take on one of more time consuming plans to destroy your PR.

sammyneb

I am currenlty training for my first full. My long run goes to 22, and I have two 20 milers. As for the weekly runs, my schedule is a lot like yours. Most of my weekly runs are in the 4-6 range . Every other week I have an additional 3 miler day. But my scedule calls for Monday runs raning from 6-10 miles. I run at lunch (during the week) so I can't get more than 6 in at a time. So on my higher days I would "double down" I would run 6 at lunch and pick up the other 2 after work. My son is almost 7 so he would either ride his bike or run with me. But maybe you could hit a treadmill for some additional miles if that is a possible for you? Or the baby stoller?

WannabeStressFree

I've been having trouble keeping up with my long runs, it's getting me worried. Instead of worrying I'm going to amp up my training now til November. thanks for info!

RunnerElizabeth

Thanks Everyone!

So I was in an all day lecture/training yesterday so I had plenty of time to consider all of this.

Based on my training everyone thinks I could finish it, I too think I could finish, but at least half of respondents think I will have a terrible time.

So I've decided to train for a marathon, but not have a terrible time. Which means I'm going to have to increase my volume within schedule constraints. It turns out when I really thought about it, I do have more miles available to me.

I left it out of my original post that my 5 mile runs home from the office are with my daughter in the jogger. And just because my home is 5 miles from my office, that doesn't mean I have to stop running, I could push this to 8. 10 would probably take a bribe. I also have 3 possible windows on any given day to run, so I could sometimes take 2 of them. I could also try out some longer mileage on Saturdays too, the day before my long run. (I've seen this built in to some training programs).

But because I have an October half coming up (trying to significantly improve my time from last year) and my training is going to require cooperation from my daughte (new england winters aren't always good for stroller training), the only thing that makes sense Iis a fall 2014 marathon. So I've got some time to build up my mileage before I start officially training.

Thanks again!

mjpTennis

Good luck. I have decided to build up my miles too for a longer stretch and hopefully my speed before next year's marathon. I am sure that I can finish with my current training, but I am having so much fun that I would rather finish well and want to do it again after the first one.