Skimping on mid week training but not weekend LSR

tvc15

I had been training as if i were going for the Dublin marathon on the Hal Higdon for a little over a month now but since i can see time commitment problems during most of the summer i haven't been taking it too seriously and will probably not run the marathon this year

I have been keeping up with the LSR distances and can keep my 9:30 pace fine but i have stayed around 3 miles x 3 days mid week.

Today i did a 10 mile run (not huge looking at some of the logs) and i felt like i could have done another 5 without a problem (there may have been a problem of course) and i don't even feel like i've done much today, it was the same with my 9 mile last week

So question time: if i did't have to commit to much more than 5 miles mid week (with some exceptions near the end) would my LSR training be enough or would i start hitting some problems when i pass the half marathon stage?

TFBubendorfer

It depends what you want to get out of the marathon.

If you just want to finish no matter what then that's sufficient.

If, on the other hand, you want to do yourself justice then 5 miles during the week won't cut it. Plus, the more training you do the better the marathon experience will be. You get out of it what you put into it.

To be perfectly honest, I have heard the "I don't have time" excuse so many times and it always stinks. If I can commit to running 80 miles a week despite a demanding full-time job, 4 demanding young children and one demanding wife ( ), then virtually anyone can do it.

tvc15

TFBubendorfer wrote: »

It depends what you want to get out of the marathon.

If you just want to finish no matter what then that's sufficient.

If, on the other hand, you want to do yourself justice then 5 miles during the week won't cut it. Plus, the more training you do the better the marathon experience will be. You get out of it what you put into it.

To be perfectly honest, I have heard the "I don't have time" excuse so many times and it always stinks. If I can commit to running 80 miles a week despite a demanding full-time job, 4 demanding young children and one demanding wife ( ), then virtually anyone can do it.

Well I probably won't run the Marathon this year so I'll put my soon to be new born child first if I can't squeeze in both! I will be looking at sub 4 hours when I do commit, otherwise I'm not all that interested in running it

So even if a can keep my lsr's up and on pace I won't be able for sub 4 hours? I understand you don't run the Marathon in training of course

Rogue Runner

"If you're too busy to run, then you're too busy." - Noel Carroll.

chinguetti

Regardless of what type of training you do, you need to build up to doing a marathon. Its the time of the year (the long evenings) when people decide to do a marathon and pick Dublin. They start off great but when the big distances need to be done, the injuries then kick in as they don't have a base. You wouldn't build a house without steel in the foundations.

I don't know your running history but i would suggest that you work your way up to a marathon in gradual steps in 5 mile, 10k, 10 mile etc. Take Dublin 2013 as your goal and aim towards that. So keep doing the lsrs at the weekend and whatever you can during the week.

I find your comment about wanting to do a sub 4 marathon or not bothering to do it otherwise very interesting. What are you going to do if the wheels come off at 22 miles and you've 35 minutes to make the finishing line and the pain in your legs is like someone is stabbing you in the legs with a knife?

Good luck with the running and the new arrival.

tvc15

chinguetti wrote: »

Regardless of what type of training you do, you need to build up to doing a marathon. Its the time of the year (the long evenings) when people decide to do a marathon and pick Dublin. They start off great but when the big distances need to be done, the injuries then kick in as they don't have a base. You wouldn't build a house without steel in the foundations.

I don't know your running history but i would suggest that you work your way up to a marathon in gradual steps in 5 mile, 10k, 10 mile etc. Take Dublin 2013 as your goal and aim towards that. So keep doing the lsrs at the weekend and whatever you can during the week.

I find your comment about wanting to do a sub 4 marathon or not bothering to do it otherwise very interesting. What are you going to do if the wheels come off at 22 miles and you've 35 minutes to make the finishing line and the pain in your legs is like someone is stabbing you in the legs with a knife?

Good luck with the running and the new arrival.

Well if I did a 4:15 I would of course be happy but I wouldn't want that to be after putting in a huge amount of effort and training and having a perfect race if that makes sense? If it happens because I don't train enough or get injured then fine

I agree with aiming for 2013, I'm going to continue building this year though as after 5 weeks I really enjoyed the 10 miles today, it was hard to not keep going but I am trying to mind myself a bit

chinguetti

tvc15 wrote: »

Well if I did a 4:15 I would of course be happy but I wouldn't want that to be after putting in a huge amount of effort and training and having a perfect race if that makes sense?

I get ya. However the plans of mice and men can go awry. You could pull a calf while walking or get hit by a car 2 days before your goal event - these have happened to me - so once you put in the effort, thats all you can do. The problem with the marathon is that you can't do one every week. Some things like the weather you can't control on the day and you just have to let it not affect you if possible.

Some times the person who finishes in 4.26 can surmount a bigger challenge than the person who finishes in 3.54 by getting to the start line and crossing the finishing line.