Race Free
I am not signed up for a running race until the October 2nd Milwaukee Marathon. And it feels good. I think I overdid it a bit with racing this winter/fall – 11 races and 2 walking events. And 5 of those were in the month of April – in four different states. Too much racing. I don’t think I am (mentally) built to race every weekend, or even every other weekend. Maybe every three weeks to a month.
Of course, that doesn’t mean I don’t have events in mind for the upcoming months before the marathon. I do, but those events are supposed to be for fun (I say that now). I want to take a breather, focus on getting healthy (ha ha), and work on my mental running game (triple ha). I don’t want to lose the excitement of racing by overdoing it. Racing is supposed to be a treat!
How often do you like to race? What frequency of racing is “too frequent” for you?
Alright, so I am “training” for the Milwaukee Marathon, and I am a little bit less than 16 weeks out. I made a nice little plan for myself that builds me back up to marathon distance in 16 weeks.
I am not cool, so I don’t have a google doc to share, but here is my long run distance for each of the 16 weeks:
| Week | Distance |
|---|---|
| 1 | 8 |
| 2 | 11 |
| 3 | 12 |
| 4 | 9 |
| 5 | 14 |
| 6 | 15 |
| 7 | 11 |
| 8 | 17 |
| 9 | 18 |
| 10 | 13 |
| 11 | 20+ |
| 12 | 12 |
| 13 | 20+ |
| 14 | 12 |
| 15 | 8 |
| 16 | Marathon |
And here’s my question – I have somewhat of a high mileage base built up, so should I be maintaining that base or giving my body some rest by running the shorter distances in the table above?
I’d appreciate your thoughts/input!
Themocracy
I am taking off all of July from racing. Just need the mental break and also to focus on training so I can run well this fall.
I am always amazed at how many races some people do. I seem to do hardly any in comparison. So far this year I’ve done 3 races (that I recall) and am not officially signed up for anything other than my marathon on Oct 30th. I will do a half marathon in Sept. and maybe a couple random smaller races but we’ll see.
I’m not sure I understand your question but your planned long runs look to be about what I keep reading for marathon training plans. Probably its best to not overdo it right away, even if you have a base built up since your race isn’t until October. But again, I have no experience with any of this so take my opinion with a grain of salt.
Racing exhausts me just because it is so metally taxing and my body is slow to recover. I have been admiring your racing schedule for some time now, and I am impressed. But like you’ve noted, sometimes it is nice to just take a time out to enjoy running and run stress free.
I think you’ve got some great distance runs there. It looks like every few weeks you back off and give your body a chance to recover. I would say go with it, and if you find out that it is too much a few weeks in then back your mileage down 5-10%.
I think it depends how you’re feeling. Are you burned out and needing a rest (physically or mentally)? Or are you feeling motivated and energized?
I don’t feel motivated! At all. Stupid summer running!
I’m of the opinion that you can back your mileage down to keep from getting overtrained. So, I say go with the plan you created.
I’m glad my next race is the duathlon. I have zero expectations and am just excited to try something different. I need to learn to run races for fun and not get so hung up on my times. Not every race can be a PR!
I am excited for your duathlon! Do you want me to come spectate and take photos?!
I’m so impressed with your races!
So, I became over-enthused with races this past winter/early spring and signed up for a bunch of them. For the first time in years I was able to run again, so I wanted to push myself. Which was great, except then I injured myself and couldn’t do ANY of them because I wanted to “compete” in my first olympic tri. Even when I was feeling better and was tempted to participate in a race, my partner would caution me “Keep the eye on the prize” – meaning, don’t f-yourself up on a stupid 5K.
I think, because of that experience, I’m being MUCH more cautious. This summer, I have another tri at the very end of the summer, and a duathlon in July. I’m actually excited that I did not fill up my Saturday/Sunday schedule with tons of races.
As far as advice – I have none to give! You’re way more of an expert than I. What do feel like, however? Do you think it would be good for you, mentally and physically, to step back?
I did that too – I didn’t have any stress fractures and felt good so I thought I should race race race. It’s too much! It’s smart to not fill up every weekend like you have 🙂
And I think I mentally need a break!
I never train according to a plan…I just generally run between 13 miles and 22 miles at least once a week. I always feel fine come race day.
So, unless our bodies react vastly differently, I don’t see any problem with running longer once a week to whatever distance is comfortable for you.
Yay for marathon training!
I think your long runs looks great. And really, October 2 is only 16 weeks away?! Guess I better start training for the Twin Cities Marathon – no rest for the weary I tell ya! 🙂