My marathon is next weekend. It will be my first and I'm looking for some advice as far as how to approach this last week before the big one in terms of training, rest, etc. Any help would be appreciated.
My marathon is next weekend. It will be my first and I'm looking for some advice as far as how to approach this last week before the big one in terms of training, rest, etc. Any help would be appreciated.
Dude-
It depends on the training that you have done up to this point. I would say, though, run about 45% of the mileage that you have been running throughout your training cycle this last week. Take a day off, probably Monday or Friday, NOT the Saturday before the race. Use that as a day to run 15-30 minutes as a "shake out run". And if you are really trying to bust one, deplete all your carbs starting Tuesday. Then load up on carbs starting on Thursday until right before the race on Sunday.
But overall, I guess the best advise is, rest and don't change too much - too many extra variables will screw things up.
Good luck.
I think the first response pretty much covers it, so I'll just add best of luck to you. I hope you have a great experience.
Monty
There's nothing like your first marathon. What's your goal?
I'm doing my first thon next weekend as well. I've been following some of Jack Daniels' program during my training, and I noticed that he recommends a ~15 mile long run exactly one week beforehand. Does anyone know the reasoning behind this? Is it worth doing? Thanks.
kayhaus1 wrote:
I'm doing my first thon next weekend as well. I've been following some of Jack Daniels' program during my training, and I noticed that he recommends a ~15 mile long run exactly one week beforehand. Does anyone know the reasoning behind this? Is it worth doing? Thanks.
What have your last 3 longest runs been?
Depends on what your other long runs have been. If your last three or 4 long runs were 20+, then 15 is fine. I usually do 10-12 the weekend before the race depending on how I feel, but if you've really trained big time, 15 isn't going to hurt anything. It might sound far, but it is still 11 miles short of your race the following weekend. Hopefully with your training, the hay was already in the barn three weeks prior to race day.
Thanks for the replies...it definitely helps. Technically, this will be my second marathon, but I really didn't know what I was doing then and did not properly prepare. And not that anyone is interested in my particular marathon, but the primary goal for me is to qualify for Boston.
I think it is important to do 4-8 100m strides every other day the last week or two. Need to turn the legs over quickly and give them a little "pop". This will help the first few miles of the race so that you won't feel dead legged. Of course in my case last week, I think they made me feel "too good" early on resulting in a "crash and burn'" at the end of the race, so go out conservatively. Good Luck and make sure you get plenty of sleep (Especially 2 nights before).
I have done 4 20 milers, the most recent being four weeks out. I have not gone over 20, however.
no need for 15 miles man - for what??? Just run 12, or 10 even, and call it a day. You've run 4 20 mile runs. Time to rest and race fast.
Agreed. You shouldn't need to do 15 miles at the end like that. 10-12.
I'm also a first-time. I started with a lower base than most people, and thus, have only managed to build up to an 18, a 17 and two 15's. While that's not enough for a great marathon, its more than I've ever done before. I'm even more inclined than these other guys to recognize my limitations and turn it off the week before. My marathon is in three weeks. I plan to do a 10 miler two weeks out and that's as long as I'll do from that point on. Does this make sense given my limitations at this point? For what its worth, I'm aiming fo a 3:20.
you doing philly?