Marathon/GAA Training

mcnewberson

Hi All, I initially posted this thread in the wrong forum last night. got some good advice over there but was directed here.
I play GAA to a decent standard an I am hoping to run the Boston Marathon for a charity next April, My question is how can I combine both? Training/Playing GAA and training for the Marathon.
It will be my first Marathon and I am aware of how tough it will be. Because it will be my first Marathon I wont be too bothered about the time I finish it in, I would be hoping to finish in at least 4.5 hours.

Any thoughts and ideas would be greatly appreciated Thanks

--amadeus--

First question - why Boston?

As you probably know Boston is the oldest continual run marathon in teh world. As such it is always oversubscribed and so you generally need to run a set time for your age to qualify (see here). I know that some tour companies have guaranteed entry to Boston but I would guess you'll pay through the nose for them. There are plenty of other marathons both in Europe and the US.

Boston is also quite a tough race - I haven't run it yet myself for exactly that reason. It's often run in hot conditions and the second half is notoriously hilly (Google "Boston Heartbreak hill" ). Again not ideal as a starter.

Anyhow in terms of combining training your most important session is your weekly long run. Make sure you include it and at least one other mid distance run each week. Take your time, they are about building endurance not speed so just plod through them. You don't need to worry about speed - it's not relevant in a first marathon and you'll be doing sprint drills in GAA training anyway. Do get good footwear though.

In terms of training plans you will be time limited because of teh GAA so I would suggest this plan, it normally fits well when running is your secondary sport.

Big warning though - marathon running and ball sports like GAA, hurling and soccer are not *that* compatible. Long runs can blunt sprint speed making you less effective on the pitch (although this varies and you get more stamina as a trade off). The biggest worry is the risk of injury from either overtraining or from twisting an ankle or a knee. As you get closer to the marathon and miles build you may need to choose one or the other.

mcnewberson

I have been to Boston a few times and have some friends over there so I was thinking of using it as a holiday also. Yes I actually know that hill. I am under no illusions as to how hard it will be. It is the injuries etc that I am worried about picking up by combining both, I agree that they are two different sports one of with short bursts of speed and the other a more endurance test. I'm sure I will have plenty of endurance come next summer because of it though.

ecoli

Like Amadeus said unless you have run the times required in a previous marathon only way to get in is to pay through the nose would have a look into marathons in the area you might get lucky and there will be one near enough to it depending on how flexible you are with your choosing dates

mcnewberson

I thought that when you run for a charity that they get a certain amount of entries?
I would be fairly active in the winter anyway, I play 5 a side soccer and that but this year I decided I will train for a Marathon, I know training in the winter is not the best time but sher hey. I would like to get some ideas of training techniques as I am relatively new to running, I would regularly run 5K runs but I would have been running them just over 23/25 mins for GAA really. I know I will have to change how I run now but all the same I am looking forward to trying this

--amadeus--

mcnewberson wrote: »

I thought that when you run for a charity that they get a certain amount of entries?

It's possible but I wouldn't bank on it. Most of the charity places I have seen are for London / New York and a few for Chicago. I've never seen Boston mentioned. But then I've never looked, so you never know. I'd be a bit surprised though as charities tend to go for teh whole "fun runner / fancy dress" thing and Boston is quite a serious race.

Research teh charity thing carefully in any case - for London runners are expected to raise £2000+ and that's often just for an entry, your flights and accom. may be at your own expense.

getfit

I did both athletics and GAA in my late teens, but I was running400m/800m/1500m which was a pretty perfect compliment for GAA.

I drifted from sport for a few years and drifted back to doing easy running and an odd road race. All runs were slow, easy with an odd long run. I went back to GAA a couple of years ago with a good "general running fitness". My basic speed was down right non existent.... I could have knocked out a 57 sec 400m easily when I was unfit and playing GAA a few years ago and with good training was able to do 54 secs.

Right now, even though I am much aerobically fitter than when I did 57 secs I can not break 60 secs!!!!! That's all down to the complete lack of speed work and too much long easy running.

The body is made up of 3 tpyes of speed fibres.
1. Fast twitch
2. Slow twitch
3. Intermediate.

Types 1 and 2 are genetic and you live with what you got. However, slow training turns intermediate fibres to slow and fast training turns them to fast twitch. Marathon training would turn your intermediate to slow... Also, any bounce (plyometric training) and lactic acid tolerance your body has built up from GAA training over the years could get eroded by the long easy running.

Don't get me wrong - you can do a nice bit of marathon running and it won't just eliminate all the GAA training you've already done, it will just slowly erode it. Be aware of that and be sure to include a few speed drills and short sprints in a few of your easy runs, just to keep the speed in the legs.

Psychologically easy running does create a "plodding" mind set which is hard to break out of, be aware of that.

Good luck and enjoy the marathon.

--amadeus--

getfit wrote: »

lactic acid tolerance your body has built up from GAA training over the years could get eroded by the long easy running.

Interesting idea. I know that faster programs involve LT runs to improve your your lactic threshold but I wouldn't have thought that marathon training in general or LSRs specifically would "erode" LT. Is that your experience or did you also read it somewhere?

theFinishLine

I agree with one of the posters above - why Boston as your first? I know you outlined your reasons - friends there, chance for a holiday, familiarity with the city. I have ran Boston a couple of times - it is an incredible event. The Americans really know how to make what already is a big event a really really big event. The city of Boston, and surrounding towns, go marathon mad for the weekend. It is in their genes.

I would advise against the tour route for Boston - mostly because you will see a lot of "I qualified" and "What time did you qualify with?" or "I have qualified X times for Boston". Nike even did a t-shirt 3 years ago with just the Nike Tick and "I qualified - Boston 06" on it. When you tell running people that you ran Boston - the first thing they ask you - "You qualified? What time did you qualify with?".

I would consider one of the great spring marathons in Europe - Rotterdam, London, Paris, Barcelona.

Work up to Boston, if you can! It will be a very very rewarding feeling for yourself.

I do think if you are playing GAA to "a decent level" you should be able to aim for a bit quicker than 4:30 for the marathon. I think your plan of weaving your running training around maybe 2 gaa sessions a week will work fine. Just get your long runs done.

The best of luck for whatever marathon you choose - it will be an unforgettable experience no matter which one you choose.

mcnewberson

Thanks for the replys guys

getfit - to you r point - this is the type of concern I would have. I am no Usain Bolt (never was) but I certainly wouldnt want to lose natural speed fibres or even speed fibres gained from training. Running a marathon appeals because of the sense of self satisfaction I wold hope to gain from it, Plus I think it may help me from a GAA perspective if I can run it early in the year and still allow me sufficient time to regain a decent level of field sport fitness for the rest of the year. Most games would be form the summer months onwards

theFinishline - why Boston as your first? I picked Boston as my first as it is early in the year and like I mentiojned aabove it would give me time to regain a decent level of fitness for field sports, I am beginng to understand how much the Boston MArathon means to runners as it is held in such high Esteem and i take your point of how much a personal achievement it is to finish it.
Thanks I will take the following Marathons into consideration Rotterdam, London, Paris, Barcelona.
Thanks for your thoughts and its good to know that you guys think it is possible to do both to a certain degree,

I think I may be back for some more advise as I am relatively new to long distance running (Anything over 5 miles)

Fionn86

mcnewberson wrote: »

Thanks for the replys guys

getfit - to you r point - this is the type of concern I would have. I am no Usain Bolt (never was) but I certainly wouldnt want to lose natural speed fibres or even speed fibres gained from training. Running a marathon appeals because of the sense of self satisfaction I wold hope to gain from it, Plus I think it may help me from a GAA perspective if I can run it early in the year and still allow me sufficient time to regain a decent level of field sport fitness for the rest of the year. Most games would be form the summer months onwards

theFinishline - why Boston as your first? I picked Boston as my first as it is early in the year and like I mentiojned aabove it would give me time to regain a decent level of fitness for field sports, I am beginng to understand how much the Boston MArathon means to runners as it is held in such high Esteem and i take your point of how much a personal achievement it is to finish it.
Thanks I will take the following Marathons into consideration Rotterdam, London, Paris, Barcelona.
Thanks for your thoughts and its good to know that you guys think it is possible to do both to a certain degree,

I think I may be back for some more advise as I am relatively new to long distance running (Anything over 5 miles)

Best of Luck, I play GAA too and the year cam to an early end so currently training for Barcelona on start of March. Should give me plenty of time to get my touch back. Il keep a eye on this too