Ironman: Run a Marathon?
Question: I was planning on doing a big run focus in Jan-Feb and I was thinking of using an early season marathon as a goal to keep me motivated. The Napa valley marathon is March 1st. I know there is a significant recovery cost after a marathon...is it worth it? If you feel that this is worthwhile, a sub-3-hour marathon would be a very satisfying accomplishment for me, but only if it is something which is building towards the higher priority goal of a 9:14 Ironman thois spring.
Answer: There is not a compelling reason to do a marathon when training for an Ironman. But there are many reasons why you shouldn’t. You mentioned one – the necessary recovery afterwards which may last a month if you PR’ed. During this time you’d be losing running fitness (the WKO+ Performance Management chart confirms this). There’s also an increased risk of injury and a loss of focus on swimming and cycling. Trying to PR in a marathon makes it an A-priority race. Too many of your resources (time and energy) are shifted to running as a result. You're first and foremost a triathlete. And, besides, the pace you run in an Ironman is no where near the pace you run in a marathon PR-attempt.
You’d be much better served by training for a half marathon. One of the many upsides of this, one which I really like, is that you train faster than when training for a marathon. The key to training is not how much training you do, but how much quality there is in your training. This generally equates to the intensity of your training. Faster training means faster running. I like to have Ironman triathletes run fast in the late base period because in the build period the running becomes much slower being done at your goal IM pace, which you could do all day if you hadn’t just finished a 4k swim and 112-mile ride.
posted by Joe Friel @ 5:30 AM
15 Comments
15 Comments:
Joe, how would you tailor this guidance for HIM? For example, might such an athlete focus on a late base 10K or would a half marathon also be of value? I'm wondering how far one might take the general pattern you describe.
Hi Peter--Yes, I believe I'd do what you suggest here. When training for long (4+ hr) events I like to have the athlete race a shorter distance in late base having prepared by developing better speed.
So is it okay to run an A-priority half-marathon while training for an A-priority HALF-Ironman?
-Big D
Big D--It is certainly OK to run an A-priority race of any distance if that is a goal you have set. But if you are training to run a fast HIM using a H.M as a steeping stone to such a goal is not all that beneficial in my opinion. You'd be better served to run a fast 10k. That way you can truly work on becoming a faster runner--not just one who can simply run for a long time. But, again, it all comes down to what you want to accomplish, perhaps on many fronts. Very few of us are making a living from racing, so training to produce fast times is something done, for the most part, as a personal challenge.
Joe, how about doing a marathon 5 or 6 months before an IM? I have never done a marathon and my first IM will be in november 2009 but I am not sure if it is good to be prepared for the distance.
Alfonso--It's ok to run a marathon. My point is that it's not necessary or even beneficial when training for an IM. A marathon after 112 miles on a bike is done so slowly compared with what a stand alone marathon can be run at that there is no similarity.
Joe, is this advice about not running a marathon during IM training a departure from your sample Ironman training plan as detailed in "The Triathlete's Training Bible" second edition, or am I misunderstanding something? I am signed up for my first IM at Louisville '09 and have an "A" race marathon planned as shown in week 12 of the sample plan. Believe me, I am happy to make it a half-marathon if that is the current thinking!
Hi Greg--You're a very careful reader. This does contradict the case study I used in the TTBible. That's one of the problems with writing a book. Your are held accountable forever for what you said. I have, indeed, changed my mind on this. I've seen such training result in injury and a delayed start on IM training. A half marathon is really more beneficial as far as developing run speed without the higher risk of injury and the long recovery afterwards. Good luck with your training.
Hey. Long-time Training Bible user here. This question isn't really on topic. Sorry for that and also sorry if it's a dumb question.
I think most people agree caffeine is safe, effective thing to take before and/or during a race for slight performance enhancement and in my personal experience this seems to be correct, but I now question this very, very slightly based on a couple things I've read recently. Caffeine is a vasoconstrictor, correct? Would it not then *restrict* blood flow to working muscles? Or does that kind of thing only happen when one uses excessive amounts? In "The Cyclist's Training Bible" you mention that using enough caffeine to get a doping violation might actually hurt performance. Is this what you were referring to — overly constricted blood vessels due to taking caffeine in huge amounts?
--Bobby from the Midwest
Bobby--I have never seen any research on caffeine, vasoconstriction and performance. But you could do a search at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=pubmed to see if there is.
I am preparing for a HIM in late April, I am running a marathon in early June, therefore concentrating mainly on running at this time, hoping this fitness will help with the lack of swim and bike now. Am I fooling myself?
HM-Wuhan China
Hi HM--Well, I guess it depends on what ability you want to improve. If it's endurance then a marathon may be a good way to go. If it's a faster pace you're after then training for shorter races will be more beneficial. It's interesting that you're doing marathon after the HIM, which I assume is your A race for the year. So I'm guessing you are either treating the marathon like an A race or you are doing a long triathlon (HIM or IM) very late in the year or next year.
Joe,
Thanks for the comment, I am wanting to buildup endurance, but actually the Marathon is in February, my sub-conscience must had been wanting June:) Anyway, do you still think it is good, if the HIM is an A race?
-Herb
Herb--If you want to increase endurance and you are not concerned with your pace then a marathon may work out ok. The point to remember is that you need to come out of it needing only a few days of recovery before getting back into HIM training. If you are sore and stiff for a week with deep fatigue lingering for 2-3weeks then it did more harm than good as you will lose endurance as you recover. This is one of the reasons why I recommend against such a plan.
First thanks for the Triathlete's Bible, it has transformed my physical ability! I am in my third year of triathlon, am 54 years old and have done Olympic and Sprint distances. In 2007 I had my first successful tri season and then finished with the NY Marathon. Predictably I had an injury free first ri season but in training for NY I pulled a hamstring and then my groin. I finished NY in 4.10.
I am now going to run the Paris Marathon in April and am training to do that with the aim of doing two Olympic A races and two or three sprint Tris from June through to September. I want to come in under 4 hours in Paris and I want to have a successful tri season with the first tri in June. How would you recommend I achieve this?
Thanks
MKH
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