Question for those running hundreds of miles per month
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If you have any races on the schedule before the marathon they will give you a good idea of goal pace if you run them all out. Since your mileage this cycle is moderate they may overestimate your goal marathon pace a bit.I had kind of been thinking that I would shoot for sub 4 hours on my first marathon, which is a reasonable goal for me, but this first marathon is basically all trail so 4:30 might be more realistic. I'll see how I'm doing running my long runs on the trails closer to time before deciding on a goal.0 -
Totally depends on what you goal for the marathon is. If you just want to get through it and have a good time, then you can surely do it on that mileage. If you want to actually race it and possible qualify for Boston, 40 miles per week isn't going to work. The caveat being if you have been doing 40 miles a week for 20 years, then you probably can.
THIS!
I saw huge improvements when I went from 40-55+ weekly mileage.
Ditto! When I increased my mileage slowly and safely, I also saw huge improvements in my times and performance, without even really doing stuff like speedwork....0 -
I have a second one planned 10 weeks later...
Be careful scheduling marathons that close together. The basic rule of thumb is one day recovery (not necessarily inactive, but not training) for every mile raced. So, you really should take at least a full week off after a marathon and then another 3 weeks of reduced mileage, easy running. Take two weeks off the other end to taper, and you are giving yourself 6 weeks to be ready for the next one. Not saying it can't be done, but exercise caution.
Yeah, I've been a little worried about that. I actually saw you make some post-marathon suggestions on another thread. I may have to tweak my schedule a little bit. Basically, though, I've been thinking of the second one as my first marathon all along. I'm not going to be "racing" the first one. My main goals include finishing and not falling down and hurting myself. It would be nice to do 4:30 or better, which should put me in the first half of the finishers, but I'm thinking of it more like a long hike in which I'm in a terrible hurry.0 -
If you have any races on the schedule before the marathon they will give you a good idea of goal pace if you run them all out. Since your mileage this cycle is moderate they may overestimate your goal marathon pace a bit.I had kind of been thinking that I would shoot for sub 4 hours on my first marathon, which is a reasonable goal for me, but this first marathon is basically all trail so 4:30 might be more realistic. I'll see how I'm doing running my long runs on the trails closer to time before deciding on a goal.
That's a good idea. I actually do have a couple of races in the months before and one of them I do intend on going for a PR. Based on my 8K race in the same series, I should be able to break 50 minutes for the 10K, but I'm curious to see if all of the running I do in the meantime makes me even faster.0 -
I saw huge improvements when I went from 40-55+ weekly mileage.
Ditto! When I increased my mileage slowly and safely, I also saw huge improvements in my times and performance, without even really doing stuff like speedwork....
Ultimately, I do want to get my weekly mileage up that high (maybe preparing for a third marathon next year and certainly before the 40-miler). This time, though, I don't think I can do it gradually and get there before the races, especially if I taper before each one and take some easy weeks after the first one.
I do want to build very slowly, though. I just did 13 miles in 3 days, which is about what I've been averaging for week recently, and I've got some pain in my shin. I'm hoping it's just shin splints, but it's close to the spot that I'm pretty sure was a stress fracture earlier this year (pain wasn't overwhelming, but there was some bone remodeling). I'm taking two days off completely (for the last time until the week of the marathon?) so I hope I'll be good for my first long trail run this weekend.0 -
I'm running my 5th full in 2 weeks and I've never run 60+ miles a week. My mileage has always topped out at 35-40/week. I personally prefer to run less (usually 3-4x per week) and cross train more. I tend to get injured otherwise.
Agree with this. The most I've ever run is about 40 miles/week.0 -
I have a second one planned 10 weeks later...
Be careful scheduling marathons that close together. The basic rule of thumb is one day recovery (not necessarily inactive, but not training) for every mile raced. So, you really should take at least a full week off after a marathon and then another 3 weeks of reduced mileage, easy running. Take two weeks off the other end to taper, and you are giving yourself 6 weeks to be ready for the next one. Not saying it can't be done, but exercise caution.
Yeah, I've been a little worried about that. I actually saw you make some post-marathon suggestions on another thread. I may have to tweak my schedule a little bit. Basically, though, I've been thinking of the second one as my first marathon all along. I'm not going to be "racing" the first one. My main goals include finishing and not falling down and hurting myself. It would be nice to do 4:30 or better, which should put me in the first half of the finishers, but I'm thinking of it more like a long hike in which I'm in a terrible hurry.
If you are going to use the first one as training, might I suggest you run the first 10 miles at easy pace and then finish it at your projected MP based on a race prior to this one? I think that will give you several benefits.
1. It won't beat you up as bad as racing the entire way.
2. It will give you the benefit of a fast finish long run
3. Give you confidence to run the distance with the bulk of it at MP.
Something to think about. That will have you fresher for #2.0 -
If you are going to use the first one as training, might I suggest you run the first 10 miles at easy pace and then finish it at your projected MP based on a race prior to this one? I think that will give you several benefits.
1. It won't beat you up as bad as racing the entire way.
2. It will give you the benefit of a fast finish long run
3. Give you confidence to run the distance with the bulk of it at MP.
Something to think about. That will have you fresher for #2.
I think that sounds like great advice! I'm going to be running my first long trail run this weekend and I expect it will tell me a lot about appropriate pacing. I've only run on trails twice now; actually, the same 2 mile trail. Three weeks ago, it was part of my 11 mile run (longest in 6 years or so). Last weekend, it was part of a 5K race. The McMillan calculator says I should be running my long runs around 10:00 per mile, based on an 8K performance of 8:00 per mile. In the 5K race, I raced at 8:40 per mile, which is significantly slower. I expect that 10:00 per mile on the trails will feel less "easy" than 10:00 per mile on the street (which does feel quite easy). So, I might end up running the marathon closer to my "easy" pace than my "marathon" pace. I do think it's a great idea to try and run a negative split on it, though.0 -
So... I ran about 6 of my 7 miles today on trail. I started with the 2 miles I'd done before (which I thought was pretty rough) and then ran to a different trail that's about 4 miles long. It was significantly harder. It was posted for advanced mountain bikers only. Basically, it goes up and down ridges along the coast of a lake. Plus, they've added in a bunch of stuff for the bikes, like jumps and obstacles to go over and little ditches to ride down into and then back out. I tried to take it pretty. I've been using 10:00 minute miles for my easy runs on pavement. I ended up around 12:00 minute miles and it was less easy. I had a great time, though. I chose the harder way when there was a choice and hurdled a lot of downed logs and ran up the ramps to jump off the top. There were a lot of hills, but at the pace I was using, I never hit one that felt like too much. Also, I saw 3 deer, so that was awesome!
Anyway, those first six miles are all part of the marathon course, so I think that 5 hours might be a realistic goal. The course record is just under 3 hours.0
