1/2 marathon runners...

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jchadden42
jchadden42 Posts: 189
in Fitness and Exercise
I usually swim on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I run on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays. I don't do anything intentional on Saturdays.

In less than a week, I will be running my first ever 1/2. I will be running 3 miles on both Tuesday and Thursday.

My question is, should I swim this week or not?

Replies

  • justal313
    justal313 Posts: 1,375 Member
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    I would not swim, you need to taper. What have you been running on weekdays and saturday lately?

    My first 1/2 is on oct-13, good luck!
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    I don't see why not. If you really want to you can drop the Friday swim, especially if the race is Saturday, but I wouldn't say you have to. If you do go Friday, I wouldn't do a hard workout.
  • TheGymGypsy
    TheGymGypsy Posts: 1,023 Member
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    You can still swim, just keep it leisurely and don't do it for more then 30-40 minutes. Take it easy this week!
  • RunHardBeStrong
    RunHardBeStrong Posts: 33,069 Member
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    I just did my first half yesterday and I would drop at least 2 of the swims! Even though I trained and trained, I feel like I've been hit by a train today! Save your energy, fuel and hydrate well all week long! Good luck and enjoy!
  • EdTheGinge
    EdTheGinge Posts: 1,616 Member
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    I would do tuesdays run and then swim as normal, that's just a personal choice. Enjoy the experience :)
  • jchadden42
    jchadden42 Posts: 189
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    I would not swim, you need to taper. What have you been running on weekdays and saturday lately?

    My first 1/2 is on oct-13, good luck!

    I ran 8.5 miles yesterday, 9.5 the Sunday before, 10 the Sunday before, and 12.5 the Sunday before. This morning, I swam for 25 min and stretched in the therapy pool for 10.
  • emAZn
    emAZn Posts: 413 Member
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    Since you'll be decreasing your miles I would consider just decreasing the time or effort of your swims.. maybe instead of vigorous effort you do easy effort?
  • Cannon_G
    Cannon_G Posts: 77 Member
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    I think ultimately you should do whatever you feel more comfortable doing. If you stick with your normal routine you will be fine. If you decide to rest and not swim you will be fine. It's more mental than anything else. Over Labor Day my wife and I ran the Disneyland Dumbo Double Dare challenge. That's a 10k on Saturday and then the half on Sunday. We also ran 3 miles on the Friday and walked several miles in the parks each day. Come race day I was really nervous I really thought I had pushed myself too hard the days before. This was only my second Half and it was 16 months since my first day of running. When I started running I was 300+ lbs and in terrible shape. Once the half started I was so filled with adrenalin that I couldn't even tell my legs were tired. I ended up finishing the Half in 1:53:06 and finished in the top 5% of all finishers. I think as long as you do the training your body will be ready for either option.

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