Marathon Training and Lifting...

Frankii_x
Frankii_x Posts: 238
in Fitness and Exercise
Hiya,

I've just completed my third half marathon 2 days ago and I'm doing my first marathon in September. I love lifting and running but I'm struggling to balance it. Does anybody have any tips/ideas? I'm running 4 days a week and don't want to be heading to the gym all the time because I need it to be something I can upkeep alongside planning a wedding and full time work!

Thanks in advance :)

Replies

  • Carrieendar
    Carrieendar Posts: 493 Member
    I can share what I do; I try to do lifting twice a week and plyo once. so I run monday then I do back and core targeted exercises at home. I have a pull up bar (the kind that fit in your doorway--- and, yes, I use a chair to help me get reps) and dumb bells for rows, heavy pants, etc for the back work and then I do supermans, planks, and other core exercises as well. Tuesday I run and do plyometrics (there are a lot of great 5-10 different move plyo sets for runners that you can look up. Runnersworld often has features on these as well).

    I rest wed and do heavy lifting along with a run on thursday. I go to a gym for that one and just hit each area once or twice. I'm not looking to build tooooo much muscle (it's hard to lug lots and lots of muscle 26.2 miles...but the lifting helps you burn fat, gain strength for hills, etc).

    I do Yoga friday with a run, long run saturday and rest again sunday. It can be a lot, but I have an odd work schedule (12-8) that allows me to use mornings to workout since my kids all leave for school early. But you can easily cut things to doing your 4 runs and 1 strength day at home then up to to two strength days when you feel ready.

    I am following Matt Fitzgeralds "Racing Weight" plan and he really feels 2-3 days of strength just 20-30 min or so is sufficient.
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
    Sounds like you have a lot going on. I don't have any advice on how to manage it all. Just wanted to say that when I started lifting, it was the first time in forever that my running pace actually improved. I had really been stuck for awhile at a turtle's pace and I kept getting injured. I believe the weight training made me stronger, and those stronger muscles were not only more powerful, but they also helped me prevent injury so I could train harder. I haven't had a single running injury since I started weight training (and that's been a few years now.) Good luck! :flowerforyou:
  • alesilo
    alesilo Posts: 1
    Hi, rookie marathoner here (1 marathon and 1 ironman-distance triathlon).
    There is a plethora of schools of thought for long distance running, and I can only give you my anecdotal opinion.

    I would suggest you to try a bodyweight exercise program (I'm doing "You are your own gym" now and I like it a lot)
    on one side you don't need a gym membership nor to visit a specific place to follow the program and on the
    other side is more "self-limiting" than weight lifting and could strengthen your articulations and core (injury prevention).

    Well done trying to balance all these things!
    It's a scientifically acclaimed fact that women are good at multitasking but you are a bit of an overachiever :)
  • geebusuk
    geebusuk Posts: 3,348 Member
    While I haven't done marathon training, I have done some long runs while weight training and did do a 32 mile trail ultra marathon, though it was a spur of the moment thing, so no specific training for it.

    I've got my own weights setup, which helps. Running outside with others (as opposed to treadmill etc).

    While traditionally doing weights on alternate days to cardio is suggested, I found my body often worked better on the same day - but separated by a good few hours and a load of food. Was surprised to find my weights didn't suffer TOO much even after an 11 mile run for doing weights later (and got to eat LOADS that day :) ) - but weights the day after and squats might be a bit troublesome.

    Generally I tried to do weights first and running after.

    I decided that as my lifting wasn't going to improve in a deficit I'd accept some slight further strength loss and focus on cardio more, which can be improved more with a deficit.
  • Frankii_x
    Frankii_x Posts: 238
    Thank you all so much for your input! I'll look into all your ideas and see what I can come up with. I think I'm just crazy trying to balance everything!

    I am a member of a gym so I can use the gym, I just don't want to spend 6 days a week there, so I think I'll try and go along with geebusuk on that one doing weights/running on the same day where/if possible!

    I noticed that I was having more hip/knee pain for my half marathon training when I stopped with my squats so I'm definitely going to be jumping straight back to that, though I think my ego will be taking a bit of a battering when I'm on much lower weights!

    Again, thanks so much I really appreciate it. If any of you want to add me please feel free, I like to have like-minded people on my friends list :)
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
    I would go with 2x full body strength days a week, minimum. Keep it simple, all compound exercises. If you can split up a run & a strength session say before/after work then you might be able to add a 3rd strength day. Also don't be too worried if a mid week run is a little slower because of lifting. It can take a little bit to juggle, but it can be done.
  • Frankii_x
    Frankii_x Posts: 238
    I would go with 2x full body strength days a week, minimum. Keep it simple, all compound exercises. If you can split up a run & a strength session say before/after work then you might be able to add a 3rd strength day. Also don't be too worried if a mid week run is a little slower because of lifting. It can take a little bit to juggle, but it can be done.

    Awesome, thank you. I think that was my concern with my half training, I was so worried about sacrificing my speed because there's not much speed there in the first place! If I'm doing 4 a week though I can make sure I keep my split days onto my shorter run days which should balance well? Hopefully. I'll try and get my plan together this week to start next week and then it allows me a couple of weeks adjustment until I have to get into full training :)
  • sdreed25
    sdreed25 Posts: 208 Member
    I lift and run on the same day when I'm doing speed or interval work of less than 45 mins, my long run days are lift free.

    If there is one thing i have learn in recent months now I talk to running coaches is that is quality over quantity, previously I ran 5 times a week at my "main" pace for at least an hour, since taking advice and switching to shorter interval and VO2 max runs with 1 or 2 long runs my PB's at 5k, 10k and half have been smashed and are still coming down. I'm make sure you aren't running too much and get that lifting in there.

    You are doing brilliantly my friend and will continue to improve with the right balance.

    Follow littlerunnergal on twitter and ukrunchat for more awesome advice
  • bebeisfit
    bebeisfit Posts: 951 Member
    I can't add too much more. I've not done a marathon but a couple of half marathons. I too agree, you must strength train. And don't leave out the core. For me, 4 days of running is too much. I agree quality over quantity. I had no idea what 'junk miles' meant..but now I do.

    Congrats on all you've done so far. Don't forget about good nutrition. You'll need sufficient and quality fuel for those workouts.

    Oh...and rest! Take a full two days off every few weeks. Let your body recover and you will be rewarded.

    Good luck!!
  • MlleKelly
    MlleKelly Posts: 356 Member
    When I was training for my 5th half last fall, I found that with all the running and hardly any lifting that my muscle tone was going away, my arms were getting flabby, and I was in general not feeling it anymore. I googled around to find "strength workouts for runners" or "cross-training for runners" and I found some really great workouts.

    Try total-body strength/resistance workouts twice a week, but no more than that since you'll be doing your long runs and your body needs plenty of recovery. Even when full-marathon training, your short runs are going to be 6 miles, so you don't want to over-do any of it. In the last 6-8 weeks before race day, I would cut back to just one day a week of cross-training/strength-training to really concentrate on race-day form, pace, rest any injuries, and make sure that you're giving your body enough recovery time for those long runs.

    I found this circuit to be a good balance of challenging, but not leaving me too sore for a recovery run (can't remember the website, but it was specifically for runners who wanted to strength train):

    1 mile warm-up, easy pace

    10 walking lunges (with dumbbells)
    15 chest or bench press
    15 deadlifts
    8-10 pull ups
    8-10 single leg or pistol squats
    12 tricep dips

    1 mile cool down

    Repeat strength moves in order with 30-60 seconds of rest between each move. Do the full circuit 2-3 times, then do your one mile cool down at an easy pace.

    Good luck!
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
    Triathlete and lifter here. Basically, during the season I s/b/r, and I lift in the off season with only minimal cardio.

    Past season's I've tried to continue to lift during the tri season and I was just spread to thin. I was disappointed that I wasn't making gains in the weight room, and I was disappointed that my s/b/r weren't improving as they should.

    This year I'm being smart about my lifting, and only doing it IF I have time, and only as a supplement to my s/b/r. Also, I'm sticking to a lot of body weight work outs, kettle bells, and barbell complexes, and not a progressive overload program like 5/3/1.

    If you are only running, it might be easier to incorporate two lifting days a week. It would certainly break up the monotony. But keep it lighter than normal, especially on the legs.
  • Frankii_x
    Frankii_x Posts: 238
    Thanks guys.

    Loving all the advice it's really appreciated. I'm going to pull it together take the main themes that everybody has referred to because they seem to be key and then look into each individual comments and see what will work!

    I'm going to stick with the 4 runs a week because it fit in very well with my life but I won't be increasing them and keep one of those 4 at a really easy run because I found it helped my focus. I'll try and remember to come back and let you all know what plan I put in place, should hopefully know by Sunday.

    You're all fab, thanks again :)
  • lykostobias
    lykostobias Posts: 4 Member
    I'm considering doing my first half in August and was wondering about how to incorporate weight training. Thank you so much for all of the advice!
  • jason_adams
    jason_adams Posts: 187 Member
    I had a lot of luck training with a 3+2 plan outlined in a book called Run Less, Run Faster.

    Each week has 5 workouts:
    -1 Intervals running workout
    - 1 Lifting + alternate cardio day (stationary bike / rowing machine recommended by authors)
    - 1 Tempo run
    - 1 Lifting + alternate cardio day (stationary bike / rowing machine recommended by authors)
    - 1 Long run

    They replace the concept of rest runs or junk miles with alternate cardio + lifting.
    The running workouts are all tailored to your speed (based ideally on a 5k time).

    It's a little bit of work to figure out all your paces and interval times & splits, but I found the variety of workouts kept me interested every time out.

    I'm going to use it again to train for a full marathon.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
    Just another comment to add about that running part...for a marathon you need a LOT of miles under your belt. Doing so on 4x a week means that quality over quantity goes out the window. Your long run is a quality run already. At best do one of the 3 remaining runs as a tempo run. The other 2 need to be easy runs. The marathon is done building your aerobic capacity not by killing yourself with too much speed work. The volume of miles will be hard enough.
  • Frankii_x
    Frankii_x Posts: 238
    Thanks for that, I'm fine with what I want to do for the running side of it, it's the lifting side I'm wanting to focus on incorporating. My partner is a Physio and a long distance runner so I've got that in place. I wasn't detailing it all because that's not the part I needed any particular help with, I was hoping for ideas from the lifting side :) Thanks though, I do appreciate everyone's comments/ideas!

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