Marathon Training Thread - Week Ending 7/11

Greg, fair enough. I think we all have to make a decision about our priorities in all aspects of life, running and racing included. Whilst I totally agree that it's great to be able to race the shorter distances and recover rapidly, part of the allure of the marathon for me (as PJ also indicates) is the magnitude of the "all eggs in one basket" gamble. I think this is part of the the reason that a good marathon is so satisfying. That said, I tend to try and balance the year, by spending 6-8 months focusing on shorter stuff (10k - 1/2M) and ~4 months preparing for the marathon. I'll be sorry to see you disappear from this thread, but wish you all the very best.

Also wanted to say that there's a ton of absolutely kick ass training on here this week. Keep it up everyone.

LOL..funny that you mention that! I didn't believe HR would escort you out of the building until I was laid off in 2003 from Deutsche Bank......

One more reason that I forgot and I apologize if I'm hijacking the thread. Physically, I'm not suited for the marathon. I'm heavier (155 lbs) and taller (6ft) than your typical marathoner but also I tend to fall more on the fast-twitch end of the speed spectrum. Unlike you PJ, I enjoy the speed work outs a lot more than the long tempo runs....Anyhow, thank you all for all your good wishes and good luck!

Greg wrote:

LOL..funny that you mention that! I didn't believe HR would escort you out of the building until I was laid off in 2003 from Deutsche Bank......

One more reason that I forgot and I apologize if I'm hijacking the thread. Physically, I'm not suited for the marathon. I'm heavier (155 lbs) and taller (6ft) than your typical marathoner but also I tend to fall more on the fast-twitch end of the speed spectrum. Unlike you PJ, I enjoy the speed work outs a lot more than the long tempo runs....Anyhow, thank you all for all your good wishes and good luck!

Heavier??? This morning I was 165.0 lbs for my 12 miler. I'm 5' 11" maybe 5' 11 1/2... I was 157.0 for Boston. My lightest basically for any of my 7 marathons.

My problem is that I suck at any race from 800m-21097.5 meters. There no fun in sucking at every race. I don't suck so bad at marathons....

My biggest problems with marathon training is the freakin' weather. You either training in the middle of winter or the middle of summer....

Actually, I think a January marathon would be best. Training in the fall. Taper comes at the start of winter. Maybe I should run Houston every year. Oh wait, I can guarantee that since they have a lottery now....

Is it September yet?

Yeah I'm 6' even and weigh 160 on a good day. In training my weight is routinely as high as 165

I have learned that the key to my enjoying marathons, running well in them, and recovering fast, is to pick flat, fast courses in cool weather.

If I run a race like Chicago, I'm fine 2 days after the race and ready to race again - hard - within 2 weeks

For a race like Boston, it's more like 2 months

Yeah, I'm not sure about the body type thing. I suppose there is probably some advantage to be had by the little 5'7" guys who weigh 118 lbs., but I'm pretty convinced that most any body type can be successful at the marathon. I'm 6'2", probably 160 lbs., and I've found that I may be more suited for the marathon than any other distance (maybe the HM). But I definitely seem to be much more competitive on the longer end of the spectrum. So I'm not sure that it has much to do with build. But I can understand your reasons for moving away from the marathon. For me, the marathon is still a new challenge, having only done one. So I still have a lot to accomplish at this distance. But if you've done all you set out to do, then there's no reason to keep working at that distance. And when you get right down to it, we run for the enjoyment of it. Do what you enjoy most. Makes perfect sense to me. Enjoy your new racing focus.