Marathon cut down

I think you need a "cut down" week, every 3-5 weeks depending upon when your body calls for it. It sounds like things are going well for your training.

girlmarathoner wrote:

Training for my first marathon right now. For most of the summer, have progressed from 55-75 miles per week, running 75 miles the past four weeks. Went on my first 20 miler last week, ran really well, but felt horrible this week. I decided to take a day off, and cut down my miles a lot. I ran about 45 miles this week, since I was super tired and I have had a lot of aches and pains. Is this normal in marathon training, to cut down a lot? I feel like my body really needed it, as all summer i have been doing a good amount a mileage with three or four hard runs each week. Any advice?

20 miles is much too far for your long run, especially as you are only running 55-75 miles a week. The long run will leave you too tired to do the rest of your training. Basically what it does is try to fit all your training into one day, instead of spreading it out through the week.

If you insist to do 20 miles at one time, I would take breaks in between, or else take a clue from Rosa Mota and run no more than 90 minutes at a time.

Personally I found that one 2 hour run and 1 run of 1 hour 40 minutes gave me plenty of endurance for the marathon, along with consistent mileage the rest of the week, though I feel the consistent mileage is more important than long runs, the latter of which can be a detriment.

20 miles is NOT "much too far for your long run". Twenty milers are common in most every training plans, from beginners to elites. If this girl is doing 75 mpw...odds are is she isn't a beginner (at least to running in general).

girlmarathoner: Your training sounds like it is going very well, I personally take every 4th week as a "down" week while in marathon training. Too much building without any recovery is asking for injury or burnout. Trust me, your body will thank you and you should feel fine next week.

Thanks for the advice. I am pretty experienced, as I competed in the 10k and 5k in college. Am completely new to the marathon, though. We usually did 15 mile runs at our peak, so I thought the 20miler would be pretty standard for the marathon training. I probably made the mistake of not taking any cut down weeks and am paying for it now. Any other tips? Thanks again!

girlmarathoner wrote:

Went on my first 20 miler last week, ran really well, but felt horrible this week.

This is your answer right here. Train, don't strain. The fact that pablo takes down weeks shows that he can't handle it either.

Another way of looking at this is that you're only getting 35 miles on the other six days. Any time you can't handle your training, it's too much.

pablo wrote:

Twenty milers are common in most every training plans, from beginners to elites.

Except that twenty milers are stupid for beginners and about anyone who can't handle more than 60 mpw.

OP: cut down weeks are common among good runners, though I think maybe the fact that you needed to cut back so far was a sign that it was overdue for you. If you're doing 75 then maybe plan a regular cutback to 55-65 after two or three weeks at 75. You should be able to do that without taking days off that you ordinarily wouldn't. Hope you do great in your first marathon!

I think that many people training for Marathons forget to look at the long run as another workout. A 20 miler (even at an easy pace) is a tough run.

*If you're going to do them, make sure that you take at least 2 easy days after them.

*It's also a good idea to alternate 18-22 milers w/ 12-15 milers.

*Take a down/easy week every 3-4 weeks. Keep the same intensity, but cut the distances by ~25%.

*Try running your long runs by time, rather than distance. I know a 2:15 guy who swears that you're asking for injury by going longer than 2:30 with them.