Thursday, September 24, 2015

Question Of The Day...

That moment when your Orthopedic Surgeon says "If I don't see you before your marathon Good Luck and have a wonderful trip!" (aka I'M CLEARED TO RUN!!!!)...
So the big "Question Of The Day" was: Should I attempt 15 miles this weekend or should I stick with the 10 miles that I'm scheduled to run? (since technically this is supposed to be a taper week). Is it still considered a taper week if you're not tapering from a long mileage run? The last really long run I did was when I got injured (20 miles on August 2nd). Since then I've run 10 miles once (or was it twice?) but it has been almost two weeks since my last 10 mile run. And I only have two weeks (pretty much) until Chicago, i.e. only two more LR opportunities.

I was talking to one of my best friends today and got the "don't do anything that will put you at risk for another injury" lecture. But I was battling between the logic of that and the underlying fear that if I don't attempt a longer distance my legs won't be ready for 26.2 miles in 2 weeks. So I did some more research and came across THIS POST that challenges the "mandatory 20 miler" claim for marathon training. The article AND the comments provide an interesting perspective and actually made me feel better about not being able to get another 20 miler (or anything close to that) done recently. It is important to note that the post does mention running up to 3 hours (which on a good day would probably take me to 15 miles). That being said I'm not sure there is much benefit to doing that 2 weeks before my race (in light of how limited my training has been recently).


The answer? I'll probably stick to my original "taper" plan and run 10 miles. I'm going to focus on the fact that I'm cleared to run Chicago and that whether I do 15 miles this weekend or not I'm still running 26.2 miles in two weeks. I would rather go into the race with rested legs than legs that have lingering soreness and pain from training runs. Plus, I got this text message from the coach of my running group...
(the "super smart" comment sold me on the advice ;) Although I can't take full credit for it since my best friend was the one who initially told me to stick with the 10 mile run as planned).

What is your maximum long run distance for your half/full marathon training?

Do you run for time or for distance when you do your long runs?

What is your favorite memory from your first half/full marathon?

8 comments:

  1. Congrats on getting the ok to race! I'll be running the Steamtown Marathon in Pennsylvania on the same day as Chicago.

    I run for distance most of the time, I got a couple of 20 milers in this training cycle - now I just have to not go crazy before race day! :)

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    1. Thanks Becky!!! Good Luck at Steamtown!! I hope you have a great race :)

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  2. Congrats on getting the green light for your race! I know happy you must be. :)

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    1. Thanks Shannon! I'm excited :) I just need to focus on pacing myself until then and throughout the race so I can finish ok

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  3. Congratulations! Are you running any of the local races this fall?--Mei

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    1. The current plan is for the Disney W&D (probably walking that one) and the Reggae half in Jamaica (Dec). I may do some 5Ks and 10Ks but I really need to rest my legs so I don't think I'm registering for more than that. I plan to volunteer at some races though.
      What's on your race calendar for the Fall season?

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  4. Yes, I'd recommend tapering and sticking with the original plan. I don't think you will benefit from a longer run at this stage. In fact, you'll probably feel a lot better with a bit of a rest. I try to do a few runs over 13 miles for half marathon training, but they are a lot easier to recover from.

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    1. Thanks James :) I think you're right about feeling better going into it with more rest. I really need to swim more so that I can give my legs a break too :)

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