Anyone have tips for Connemarathon Ultra 2013 Training Schedule

johnsherwin

Hi, I am training for the Connemarathon Ultra next year. It will be my first Ultra but have done a few marathons including DCM this week.

I have been looking online for a training schedule that I can follow over the next few months and I have emailed Connemarathon to see if they can point me in the right direction.

I would love to work out a good schedule now and stick to it over the winter.

I was wondering if anyone on boards has done the Connemarathon Ultra, has a schedule or even some advice? I am going to try and piece toghether my own schedule based on info from varied online sources but any help/advice would be appreciated!

liamo123

johnsherwin wrote: »

Hi, I am training for the Connemarathon Ultra next year. It will be my first Ultra but have done a few marathons including DCM this week.

I have been looking online for a training schedule that I can follow over the next few months and I have emailed Connemarathon to see if they can point me in the right direction.

I would love to work out a good schedule now and stick to it over the winter.

I was wondering if anyone on boards has done the Connemarathon Ultra, has a schedule or even some advice? I am going to try and piece toghether my own schedule based on info from varied online sources but any help/advice would be appreciated!

John Im no expert but have run the Ultra for the last 2 years. Basically I followed a normal marathon training plan but also included one 30 mile run. I also ran the Donadea 50K which I have to say was great preparation aswell.


This years thread if its any use to u ( half, marathon and ultra ) is here :

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056432844



Thread for Donadea 50K is here :

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056180196

menoscemo

I have done it the last two years. Basically I did a marathon Programme as Liam says with some extra long LSR's and a few back to back long runs (building up to 20 on Saturday, followed by 20 on Sunday).

I built up the miles steadily peaking at 70 MPW for the 2011 Ultra and 80 MPW for the 2012 one.

Not that I did everything perfectly but if you want you can have a look through my Log http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055728014 to get an Idea what I was doing (look for between December 2010-March 2011 and Dec 2011-April 2012).

Best of Luck

b.harte

Sort of the same as above.
I ran portumna 50km on a slightly increased marathon plan and ran Dingle Ultra on a slightly reduced / modified 100km plan from the portumna site.
As above the back to back long runs were the key changes over marathon plan.
I had to fit my running around family/work so ended up doing back to back to back to back longish runs:eek:
Not something I'm in a hurry to repeat and I would advise against making that mistake.
I also threw in some long-long runs and lots of hilly runs in preparation for Dingle, obviously not enough of them given how I was in the later stages of it.
Next year...next year.....

TFBubendorfer

Sort of the same, once more.

I have done the Ultra four times, including a top-10 finish (still behind Liamo123 :rolleyes: ). You can follow any marathon training plan you wish. If you are fit enough to run a marathon, you are fit enough to do the Connemara Ultra. The secret is in running slower.

If you wish to do so, you can alter the long runs in one of two ways, either run long runs on consecutive days, or extend the length of your long runs, up to 30-or-so miles. I used to do the former and now prefer the latter, but it's an individual preference. I wouldn't do more than one 30+ mile training run though, and the Donadea 50K in February is a great opportunity to get that one done in some like-minded company.

tHE vAGGABOND

Also planning conn ultra here, and also doing donadee!

Been doing some research over last while - op search the forum here, some brilliant threads on the ultra over last few years, there was a mentored thread a year or two ago, great to read now to get ideas

I have stated listening to the talk ultra podcast this week, some good stuff in what I have heard so far!

Clum

Back to back 20 milers! 30 mile runs! You Ultra Runners are all nuts! What am I getting myself in for?

Seems to be a good few people taking on distances greater than the marathon next year so would it be useful starting a thread for Ultra Training over Winter 2012 / Spring 2013 where those training for ultras (not just Connemara) can post about long runs or long back to back runs, give advice on how to progress through the training plans and offer tips on how they recovered from workouts, offer encouragement, etc, as we train through the next few months?

There are plenty of marathon training groups around the country and in August or September it's almost harder to avoid them than find them but most Ultra training seems to be an individual thing so maybe a thread here might help us group together and train as some sort of digitally connected group?

johnsherwin

Thanks to liamo123 for the link to Connemarathon thread, that one is for 2012 so I have just started a new thread for Connemarathon 2013 here with advice from moderator. Probably best to keep all discussions in one place so I will probably close this one and hopefully we can chat on the other thread!

I think sharing tips for a long winter of training would be great!

Thanks to TFBubendorfer, will check out Donadea. Also thanks to tHE vAGGABOND, will try and track down the Ultra podcast.

Thanks for menoscemo too for the link to your training log, will read that with interest. Was considering starting one myself.

Cabaal

i was going to end up posting this type of thread as also planning on Donadea (already entered) and Connemara Ultra's this year, this saves me time asking the questions that have already been asked

Just added some extra stuff to the connemara event thread which was created

ray lanigan

have a look through my log,DO MORE MILES MEAN MORE IMPROVEMENT,it would have my training log for all this year in it,including conamara ultra.welcome on board

menoscemo

ray lanigan wrote: »

have a look through my log,DO MORE MILES MEAN MORE IMPROVEMENT,it would have my training log for all this year in it,including conamara ultra.welcome on board

Your log should come with a public health warning Ray. Most people would end up in a grave if they tried to do the amount of training you do

Cabaal

menoscemo wrote: »

Your log should come with a public health warning Ray. Most people would end up in a grave if they tried to do the amount of training you do

I've not looked at his log yet but purely based on the fact he currently has 3753 miles clocked on the 1,000 mile challenge for 2012 and he's number 1 on the challenge I'd imagine its pretty insane :eek:

johnsherwin

Hi Ray, that is an fascinating log. Scary but brilliant!

I think the ratio of my increasing fitness vs decreasing youth will hamper me hitting your level! But you are an inspiration.

My partner already thinks she is a running widow, how do you fit it all in!? We were laughing at the "hope the missus doesn't read this.

Thanks for your words of support!

johnsherwin

b.harte wrote: »

Sort of the same as above.
I ran portumna 50km on a slightly increased marathon plan and ran Dingle Ultra on a slightly reduced / modified 100km plan from the portumna site.
As above the back to back long runs were the key changes over marathon plan.
I had to fit my running around family/work so ended up doing back to back to back to back longish runs:eek:
Not something I'm in a hurry to repeat and I would advise against making that mistake.
I also threw in some long-long runs and lots of hilly runs in preparation for Dingle, obviously not enough of them given how I was in the later stages of it.
Next year...next year.....

Thanks for that, will have a look at Portumna schedule. Was thinking of the Donadea, timing would be good for Connemara, but I found out it was 10 laps. Not fond of laps, putting me off a bit.

johnsherwin

menoscemo wrote: »

I have done it the last two years. Basically I did a marathon Programme as Liam says with some extra long LSR's and a few back to back long runs (building up to 20 on Saturday, followed by 20 on Sunday).

I built up the miles steadily peaking at 70 MPW for the 2011 Ultra and 80 MPW for the 2012 one.

Not that I did everything perfectly but if you want you can have a look through my Log http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055728014 to get an Idea what I was doing (look for between December 2010-March 2011 and Dec 2011-April 2012).

Best of Luck

Will have a look at your log. Thanks for tips, first run today since DCM, looking forward to getting out a bit more now

menoscemo

johnsherwin wrote: »

Thanks for that, will have a look at Portumna schedule. Was thinking of the Donadea, timing would be good for Connemara, but I found out it was 10 laps. Not fond of laps, putting me off a bit.

Portumna is 5k laps too. Don't worry about it, loads of people have done donadea and never any complaints. It sounds tough doing 10 laps but it really isn't. It means you get to have loads of support on the course.

b.harte

johnsherwin wrote: »

Thanks for that, will have a look at Portumna schedule. Was thinking of the Donadea, timing would be good for Connemara, but I found out it was 10 laps. Not fond of laps, putting me off a bit.

Actually laps work out brilliantly.
Or at least I thought so in Portumna.
It takes the stress out of wondering where the next fuel station is as you will see the friendly faces on every lap.
It's also great for giving / getting encouragement as you invariably see the same faces each lap.
I was the same as you, dreaded the thoughts of 10 laps but looking forward to next year already.
I'm signed up for Donadea, all I have to decide now is if I'll travel up that morning or stay the night before.

Oisin11178

menoscemo wrote: »

Your log should come with a public health warning Ray. Most people would end up in a grave if they tried to do the amount of training you do

Bigtime, I'd be in a wheelchair :-)

ray lanigan

johnsherwin wrote: »

Hi Ray, that is an fascinating log. Scary but brilliant!

I think the ratio of my increasing fitness vs decreasing youth will hamper me hitting your level! But you are an inspiration.

My partner already thinks she is a running widow, how do you fit it all in!? We were laughing at the "hope the missus doesn't read this.

Thanks for your words of support!

well john,how do i fit it all in,its not easy,early in the morning or late in the evening,not working at the moment so have a good bit of free time,but ya get lazy,welcome to the ultras lad:),its great but not for the wife,i just got a good earfull from mine:D

tHE vAGGABOND

topical...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/nov/06/ultrarunning-ultimate-runners-high

DogSlySmile

b.harte wrote: »

Sort of the same as above.
I ran portumna 50km on a slightly increased marathon plan and ran Dingle Ultra on a slightly reduced / modified 100km plan from the portumna site.

Ive been through the portumna site and cant find any training plans... have you got a link?

johnsherwin

Trying to pick a good prep race before Connemara Ultra.

Was thinking Donadea, but one of my running mates has dodgy ankles and is concerned about uneven surface.

Looking at Clonakilty back to back 17th Feb. Would that be the right amount of effort 1.5 months before connemara ultra? Has anyone done it?

menoscemo

johnsherwin wrote: »

Trying to pick a good prep race before Connemara Ultra.

Was thinking Donadea, but one of my running mates has dodgy ankles and is concerned about uneven surface.

Looking at Clonakilty back to back 17th Feb. Would that be the right amount of effort 1.5 months before connemara ultra? Has anyone done it?

Back to back marathons would be a bit much for Conn Ultra I think. It would be good training for a 50 mile race.

BTW the surface in Donadea is not uneven.

b.harte

DogSlySmile wrote: »

Ive been through the portumna site and cant find any training plans... have you got a link?

Ta-daaa!
Googledocs
Training Plan Index page


Shamelessly linked from Seb's online training forum:
Run Ireland

Also, anyone down south looking for a training buddy for long long long slow (slow slow) runs I'm mostly available with a bit of advance notice, especially for back2backs in the new year.

Bertie

digger2d2

johnsherwin wrote: »

Thanks for menoscemo too for the link to your training log, will read that with interest. Was considering starting one myself.

Check out claralara's log... Far more inspiring than Meno's :D

mithril

My tip is not to make the mistake of assuming that what is commonly perceived as an extreme event requires extreme training to complete. The biggest challenge I have found with Ultra events is to make the start line rested and uninjured.
The best approach is to only enter an ultra once you have a few regular marathons under your belt and can complete them without any great stress or hardship. Finishing time is not important.
The Connemara Ultra can be run well off a standard marathon program with slightly longer miles than you normally do.

tHE vAGGABOND

The Connemara Ultra can be run well off a standard marathon program with slightly longer miles than you normally do.

That is advice Im seeing a lot of here and elsewhere so I have to take it but Im thinking sub-6 as a reasonable goal for me [which I can get with decent training, but without killing myself since its my first ultra]- and that is basically running at a fractions slower than 4 hour marathon pace...

As someone who has not doneany ultra event yet, so who has no idea, that 50% extra time and distance seems like a lot?

9 min/mile is an easy running pace for me, so thats fine - but 6 hours is 6 hours

ray lanigan

tHE vAGGABOND wrote: »

That is advice Im seeing a lot of here and elsewhere so I have to take it but Im thinking sub-6 as a reasonable goal for me [which I can get with decent training, but without killing myself since its my first ultra]- and that is basically running at a fractions slower than 4 hour marathon pace...

As someone who has not doneany ultra event yet, so who has no idea, that 50% extra time and distance seems like a lot?

9 min/mile is an easy running pace for me, so thats fine - but 6 hours is 6 hours

it can be done with a few extra miles on top of a standard marathon program,but one rule of tumb to do is try and cover the race miles over two days on the weekend,so connemara is near 40 mile,so either do 2 x 20milers or maybe a 30+10,anything like that would be spot on for this,and some hill training during the week,if you could get a 50k race in coming around 3 or 4 weeks out you b flying:)

ultraman1

tHE vAGGABOND wrote: »

but without killing myself since its my first ultra]-

will be ur second....

belcarra

tHE vAGGABOND wrote: »

That is advice Im seeing a lot of here and elsewhere so I have to take it but Im thinking sub-6 as a reasonable goal for me [which I can get with decent training, but without killing myself since its my first ultra]- and that is basically running at a fractions slower than 4 hour marathon pace...

As someone who has not doneany ultra event yet, so who has no idea, that 50% extra time and distance seems like a lot?

9 min/mile is an easy running pace for me, so thats fine - but 6 hours is 6 hours

Vagga, there was a gaggle of us doing it last year with a loose plan to go sub 6hrs.
Claralara and Marthastew were home in around 5:50, VaderMLK was just over the 6hrs, Digger around 6:25 and I was 6:38 or so but I had been sick leading into it and it took it's toll from mile 15 onwards. There should be enough comparisons there to realise 6hrs if very doable for you as long as you get in 4 or 5 weekends of long, slow back to back runs. Donadea is an excellent prep race and there's usually a few people doing LSRs in the park in the weeks leading up to both events.
As ever the key is to take it at a nice handy pace like what you would recommend to a novice marathoner. It's a long way home if you go out too fast! (Or are sick!!:D)

anthony.whelan

I ran it last year on pretty low mileage highest mile week was 73 and most were a lot less. I got around in 4.56 . I would echo what ray said about covering the race distance over the course of a weekend. I did 3 40 mile weekends (26 & 14, 22 & 18 , 31 & 9) bringing a few nasty hills into longer runs to tackle them on tired legs. Pace wise I just ran on feel and prob pushed a bit too much early on as I went through marathon at 3.10 but suffered late on. The goal was a sub 5 hour and thankfully I had some time in the bag . I plan on entering donadea aswel this year and also Connemara where I hope to take a significant chunk of time off my last years finish. Best of luck with training and see you at start line

hot to trot

Experienced marathoners have mental strength to dig deep and push on when facing tough times. For those who might not be as used to feeling challenged with lots of miles to go , and newbies to long distance, I found this useful...

http://www.trailrunevents.com/ul/schedule-50k.asp

It allows enough training even when you miss out on some of the long runs. Just ensure you are keeping the pace slow and it will give you great confidence.

Canine Marathoner

did this last year in 5:44...hoping to improve considerably this year...on reflection, i think i did too many back-to-back runs too slowly and intend to train more cleverly this time round: less junk miles, more bang-for-buck approach...

Aimman

A couple of other things which need to be taken into consideration in Connemara Preparation, which you might not find in a Marathon Training Program are

• You'll most likely get the munchies during the race, especially after you pass the Marathon mark and your body is wondering why you haven't stopped running. Normally, people can get by with gels for a marathon, but for Connemara, you should consider eating something at one or two of the drop off points, but get used to eating the food on some of your long training runs, like bananas, nutrigrain bars, pancakes with peanut butter, potatoes with salt. Not a whole picnic of the lot, but one thing you can eat to stop the hunger, will distract your taste buds, easy on the stomach but more importantly, getting some carbs, protein and salts back into the system.
• Run up some hills - Not the short bursts of hill work in boot camp, but get used to long inclines. There are a few scattered along the route and in any case, you can walk them all, but if the body is used to the incline endurance, it will stand to you to take them at a better pace when you pass the 26M mark in Lenane and the infamous Hell Of The West.
• Don't shy away from training in bad weather. If the weather on the day is bad, you'll be spending quite a few hours battling the elements (as anyone from the recent SixMileBridge Ultra will know). If you're used to very bad weather, you have less chance of wanting to drop out. Now, the weather in Connemara has been favourable for the last 3 years, but it's good to be prepared, just in case.

For the last three years in March, I have run from Howth to Bray for a 30 mile easy paced training run and was joined by a couple of people last year and there were good numbers doing the run again this year. The advantage is that it's all on the flat because of the seafront, but there is a nice training challenge around 24M when we have to scale Killiney Hill, plus, we can drop into shops along the way for supplies. I'll put something on the Connemarathon thread in the new year and we can try to get a group of us all starting out.

nshan

Hi, I am doing my first ultramarathon in connemara. As part of my training I was thinking of doing the tralee marathon which is on paddys weekend but am wondering if this is too near the ultra as regards recovery.

Canine Marathoner

wow, quiet on here...

did a marathon distance training run last week taking in some hills...went well...will prob do a slow 50k at the weekend...and maybe another marathon distance one 4 weeks out...will see how it goes...

just looking to pip last year's time as a base target...

any other progress to report?

sideswipe

Canine Marathoner wrote: »

wow, quiet on here...

Yeah, thought that myself- only 6 weeks to go on Sunday:eek:

Going well for me so far, 50K in 4:20 in Donadea last weekend, about 3 back 2 backs done. planning 2x20 miles next weekend and doing Barcelona 3 weeks before hand, doing 50-70 miles a week, just hoping that will be enough to get me through comfortably, really need to get some more hill's in though.

belcarra

sideswipe wrote: »

Yeah, thought that myself- only 6 weeks to go on Sunday:eek:

Going well for me so far, 50K in 4:20 in Donadea last weekend, about 3 back 2 backs done. planning 2x20 miles next weekend and doing Barcelona 3 weeks before hand, doing 50-70 miles a week, just hoping that will be enough to get me through comfortably, really need to get some more hill's in though.

Hey Sideswipe, it was good to run with you for a while on Saturday. Well done on finishing in 4:20!
Going by last year you should be well capable of 5:45 in Connemara at least and if things continue to go well between now and then you could have a serious shot at 5:30!

Best of luck for the rest of your training.

sideswipe

Cheers Belcarra, good to meet you too and sorry I didn't catch up with you afterwards. The thought of 8:30ish min/miles over those hills is a bit daunting at this stage but I'm really looking forward to after saturday, really enjoyed the experience. Are you registering for Chicago later on?

belcarra

Just get a few more runs around Howth or perhaps in the Wicklow Mountains and you'll be well sorted!
In fairness, after the finish I got really cold and hit off home without much delay so missed out on much of the banter.

Yip, I have a date with my laptop at 6:01pm...I reckon it could fill up very quickly given the situation with New York and Berlin selling out so quickly. It's funny when there's such pressure on to get signed up that you kinda forget about the fact the damn thing costs $200!:eek:

Canine Marathoner

sideswipe, what pace you planning to run Barce' at? was there a few weeks ago on holidays ...hope you're going to take Barce' nice and easy and save those legs

sideswipe

Canine Marathoner wrote: »

sideswipe, what pace you planning to run Barce' at? was there a few weeks ago on holidays ...hope you're going to take Barce' nice and easy and save those legs

Thats the million dollar question at this stage! feeling good so would love to go for a pb (currently 3:28) will see how the next couple of weeks go first before deciding. I don't really have a time in mind for Conn, just to complete it, but if I do take Barcelona easy I might have a stab at 5:30 for Conn.........in other words I haven't a clue :rolleyes:

Canine Marathoner

yeah sideswipe i did it last year in 5h44m off a mara pb of 3h15m...pretty disappointing yield...just didn't manage the pace well on the day (and a variety of other factors)...from my limited experience i'd suggest caution in barcelona if conn is your goal A race...but more experienced hands on here will lend better advice...but if Barce is your goal A then at least you've somewhat of a recovery time...we're prob going for around the same time in conn this year so i'll see you on the road...

sideswipe

Canine Marathoner wrote: »

yeah sideswipe i did it last year in 5h44m off a mara pb of 3h15m...pretty disappointing yield...just didn't manage the pace well on the day (and a variety of other factors)...from my limited experience i'd suggest caution in barcelona if conn is your goal A race...but more experienced hands on here will lend better advice...but if Barce is your goal A then at least you've somewhat of a recovery time...we're prob going for around the same time in conn this year so i'll see you on the road...

Thanks for the advice. When I originally penciled in Barca I was thinking of tagging on a four mile warm down to make a good final XLSR (even picked hotel 4 miles from the finish:cool:) or maybe doing another 14 miler the day after for a final back to back, I just don't know what would be of most benefit for Conn, and also the unknown of the effects of running a hard marathon 3 weeks before a 39.3 Mile race, am beginning to obsess about it already decisions, decisions
The last 4 weekends have been 20+20, 14+10, 50K race and a 22+18 mile, was planning another 20+14 this weekend but might take it easier as I'm starting to feel a little wrecked at the moment, so feeling the need to recover a bit.
Hope your own training is going well.

belcarra

sideswipe wrote: »

Thanks for the advice. When I originally penciled in Barca I was thinking of tagging on a four mile warm down to make a good final XLSR (even picked hotel 4 miles from the finish:cool:) or maybe doing another 14 miler the day after for a final back to back, I just don't know what would be of most benefit for Conn, and also the unknown of the effects of running a hard marathon 3 weeks before a 39.3 Mile race, am beginning to obsess about it already decisions, decisions
The last 4 weekends have been 20+20, 14+10, 50K race and a 22+18 mile, was planning another 20+14 this weekend but might take it easier as I'm starting to feel a little wrecked at the moment, so feeling the need to recover a bit.
Hope your own training is going well.

Make sure you are not running the LSRs too fast. Perhaps ease back on the pace this weekend to see if the body copes better with all the mileage.
There should still be no need to alter target pace for Connemara though.

sideswipe

belcarra wrote: »

Make sure you are not running the LSRs too fast. Perhaps ease back on the pace this weekend to see if the body copes better with all the mileage.
There should still be no need to alter target pace for Connemara though.

I've been doing most of the LSR's at 6 in the morning with no breakfast and without gels or food so running too fast hasn't been too much of an issue!!! I only took 2 gels for Donadea and felt pretty good so I'm happy with that. Typically LSR's have been 9 min/miles for the first run of a back to back LSR with maybe 30 seconds less per mile on the second back to back which always seems to feel easier. Thinking about it now I'm probably running the second run too fast so will probably take your advice and slow it down this weekend.

My main debate now is weather too give Barca a good lash as this will effect how I approach the the next couple of weeks of training as well as possibly effect the last three weeks before Conn i.e. trying to taper and recover. I guess I'm kinda flip flopping on my A + B goals which is probably a dangerous game at this stage!

What kind of taper do people usually do for Conn?

belcarra

sideswipe wrote: »

I've been doing most of the LSR's at 6 in the morning with no breakfast and without gels or food so running too fast hasn't been too much of an issue!!! I only took 2 gels for Donadea and felt pretty good so I'm happy with that. Typically LSR's have been 9 min/miles for the first run of a back to back LSR with maybe 30 seconds less per mile on the second back to back which always seems to feel easier. Thinking about it now I'm probably running the second run too fast so will probably take your advice and slow it down this weekend.

My main debate now is weather too give Barca a good lash as this will effect how I approach the the next couple of weeks of training as well as possibly effect the last three weeks before Conn i.e. trying to taper and recover. I guess I'm kinda flip flopping on my A + B goals which is probably a dangerous game at this stage!

What kind of taper do people usually do for Conn?

Yep, you gotta make up your mind regarding priorities for sure. Keep procrastinating and you could well fall between two stools!

Regarding taper, I personally favour a 2 week taper for a marathon and I think a 3 week taper for the Ultra would be fine. Of course Barca complicates matters in this regard. Run it conservatively and it could be just your last big LSR before Conne, but race it and you'd have to build-in recovery time and then taper is on top of you before you know it.
So, I suppose unless you have a strong feeling about Barca you should run it conservatively, perhaps a 3:4x marathon rather than a 3:2x?

menoscemo

belcarra wrote: »

Yep, you gotta make up your mind regarding priorities for sure. Keep procrastinating and you could well fall between two stools!

Regarding taper, I personally favour a 2 week taper for a marathon and I think a 3 week taper for the Ultra would be fine. Of course Barca complicates matters in this regard. Run it conservatively and it could be just your last big LSR before Conne, but race it and you'd have to build-in recovery time and then taper is on top of you before you know it.
So, I suppose unless you have a strong feeling about Barca you should run it conservatively, perhaps a 3:4x marathon rather than a 3:2x?

From what I have seen SS could even run 3:15ish?? It might be worth the risk, pity not to cash in on that fitness and set a big PB. With 3 week recovery you'd still get around Conn ok, maybe not race it optimally but certainly still get a decent time. I would say sub 6 is a formality even after racing Barcelona...

Food for thought anyway.

belcarra

Ya I agree, he could well do 3:1x indeed. I was just using his current pb to make the point.
Just needs to balance up running the ultra strongly (which he may decide to never do again) and giving it a fair shot against the pb in barca. He can always pick any random marathon in May or June and still run the marathon pb.

TFBubendorfer

sideswipe wrote: »

What kind of taper do people usually do for Conn?

Same as for a marathon, usually.
Three weeks seems normal, but everyone has his or her own ideas.

sideswipe

menoscemo wrote: »

pity not to cash in on that fitness and set a big PB.

Food for thought anyway.

That's just it, I feel my Marathon PB is way too soft at the moment and am itching to take a bite out of it, but as Belcarra says I fear falling between stools. I haven't done much at PMP for a PB either. The other option of course is to take Barca easy and remain focused on Conn and aim to set a new Marathon PB there!