Marathon 2 months after running marathon?

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Lora99

4 posts since
Jul 9, 2007

Jan 23, 2006 1:30 PM

Marathon 2 months after running marathon?

Hi!
I ran the Carlsbad marathon in January and wasn't happy with my time. I probably overtrained and didn't taper enough. Anyhow, I thought I would use the run as another "long run" and try for a PR in LA in March. Does anyone have any advice about how to train for the 2months in between marathons? Obviously my mileage has been really low since the recent race. I'm not sure how fast or how much to ramp it back up. Any advice is really appreciated!

Joyjoy4all

46 posts since
Jul 9, 2007

1. Jan 23, 2006 3:04 PM

in response to: Lora99

I don't know your running history or anything, but if you over-trained for the Jan. marathon - maybe you shouldn't do another one in March. Your body needs recovery or you can get an over-use injury. If you "have to" do this next run, back off now, build in feb. -then back off again 'til 2-3 weeks before the race.

There are always other marathons at later dates. Focus on safety and health to stay injury free first.

If you don't do so now - I hope you are also doing heart rate monitor training (hire a p.trainer to help you out w/ this). It's also a great tool to use to see if you are over-training.
http://www.marathonguide.com/training/articles/HeartMonitorTraining.cfm

Good Luck,
Joy

www.joyspersonaltraining.com

pegasus95

68 posts since
Jul 9, 2007

2. Feb 7, 2006 8:01 PM

in response to: Lora99

Good advice from joey. There are ironmen who do events back to back, but they are pros wjo are genetic freaks, so that said, and nothing against them, I have the upmost respect and admiration for them. Heart rate training is very important. If you overwork your heart repetitively, then you can actually damage your fitness and your cardiovascular system. I have run a half marathon 1 week after the marathon, but it hurrt and I regretted it. Do you have any joint pain, or weakness in your muscles? It is not too early to run one two months after, but you won't have PR. Not if you are new to running those ditances. You have about 7 to 10 years to reach your peak from the time you start running seriously. So you have time to get to your target goal, because once you peak, you may stay at that level for many years. Good luck

henrydavidhall

48 posts since
Jul 9, 2007

3. Feb 8, 2006 1:23 PM

in response to: Lora99

I ran poorly in Hartford's rain (8 Oct 05) then went to Phoenix (15 Jan 06) and did better (I DNF'ed Hartford)but not by much. This back to back was part of the plan long ago - like since April when my daughter got accepted into Grad school in Phoenix area.

Back to back - unless you are one of those genetic anomalies like the guy in the gatorage commercial... take a break if you want to PR.

jpnairn01

10 posts since
Jul 9, 2007

4. Feb 9, 2006 2:02 AM

in response to: Lora99

See Hal Higdon's advice on training for multiple marathons:
[u]http://www.halhigdon.com/marathon/multiple/Multiplemara.htm[/u]

He has training programs for running marathons with two, four, six, or eight weeks between them.
It's not hard to do two marathons 8 weeks apart, but it is hard to run the second one better than the first one, if you really did the best you could in the first one.

ericr262

2 posts since
Jul 9, 2007

5. Feb 15, 2006 5:38 AM

in response to: Lora99

You can do this but you have to have realistic expectations.

I just ran a second marathon four weeks after another. My time was not as good because 1) the course was much more challenging, and 2) I had minimal training between. But since my objective was to finish without hurting myself rather than beat my last time, it was all good. I suggest the following:

You've already had a week or two off, so start building like you're building for your first long run. Like you said, treat the next marathon like it is a long run, and do it at your training pace. You will still have most of the fitness that you had to run the first marathon. Keep in mind that you HAVE to think of this as a long run and not get caught up in the excitement.

You need to do a lot of walking (1 minute breaks after every mile or two) in the first half and you should plan to do a significant amount of walking after mile 21. Just build it into your strategy.

It's not a guarantee for a PR in March, so make sure you enjoy yourself and don't hang your happiness on the PR alone!

Jan 23, 2006 1:30 PM

Marathon 2 months after running marathon?

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