Need to "pause" marathon training for 2 weeks. How can I bounce back?

Train a really high volume week right before you leave so that your first week of vacation is a 'down week'. But overall for the vacation try to keep it as close to your normal training as you can. Instead of your 80-90mpw maybe you can still hit a 70.

I agree with the other poster. If you know going in you're taking a break, push things up a notch and get some really solid training in.

Then fit in what you can while on vacation. The more the better.

During my first marathon buildup I lost a solid 2 weeks due to the flu. My mileage was only in the 50s, but those two weeks were around 25 as I was trying to keep things going but still had lots of days off and all short, easy runs. I did have 7 solid weeks after the illness, and I got back up to 60 mpw for about 6 of those weeks, then a short taper. The race went mostly well, though I know it would have been better if I didn't have that break. But I was within 2 minutes of my goal time.

These are all good points - thanks guys! It sounds sensible to possibly try for a mileage PR the week or 2 before vacation.

Upon my return, with about 1 month to go, should I be doing 2 weeks of hard workouts followed by a 2 week taper?

I'd recommend a 7-10 day taper in your case; I think the downtime on vacation being two full weeks long will springboard you into your peak a little sooner. I wouldn't do an absolute killer workout ten days out, but I'd still have a pretty decent one planned with 10-11 days to go and then back it off. Good luck!

doesitreallywork wrote:

These are all good points - thanks guys! It sounds sensible to possibly try for a mileage PR the week or 2 before vacation.

Upon my return, with about 1 month to go, should I be doing 2 weeks of hard workouts followed by a 2 week taper?

Hard to say. I think maybe go in flexible? If you got a few good runs in on vacation, maybe you can hit it hard the first week back. But you might need to be careful that week. So you could do something like 3 weeks of stair stepping things up, or 2.5 weeks, maybe, and then a shorter taper.

I just think so much will depend on how your body's feeling.

Your first week back a month out I'd run another extra high one, you'll be a bit recovered from your two lighter weeks and can handle another high week, just do one longer/harder workout that week. Then a typical 80 mile week the next week three weeks out, then gradual cut down the two weeks before with some medium level fartleks touching half marathon pace.

So if you've been doing 80/90 miles per week, a 95 the week before vacation, then lighter during vacation, then another 90-95 right when you get back, then 80, then 60-70, then a light race week.

Lagat takes 5 weeks of doing nothing each year and is fine after.

You are a 80-90 mpw runner, probably with 3-4+ years experience at least. Your ability won't go away fast at that point. Yes, sometimes people need months to get back to where they were, but it is primarily due to two reasons:

1) They are a novice runner (less than 2-3 years of experience) or are doing low mileage (less than 50-60 mpw)

2) They gain weight because they don't adjust their calorie intake. This can take a long time to fix, also depends on genetics.

As long as you make sure you don't gain weight you should be fine. Also, I don't think doing a "super-hero week" before your vacation does much good, you don't want to risk injury. Just enjoy the time off, then don't just go on crazy tempos or long runs right after you start running again and you will be fine, trust me!