I love the marathon. The preparation for racing this distance is a rigorous test of mind, body and spirit. It requires discipline and strategy, and enduring the training eases and clears my mind to tackle the non-running challenges life presents. But as I found myself finishing up Vermont City Marathon at the end of May, just six weeks after Boston, and immediately planning a training schedule for a fall marathon, I began to wonder if I was getting carried away. And in the long run, if I was hurting my long-term running goals.
Just about the time these doubts surfaced, I got the July/August issue of Running Times in the mail and read the provocatively titled piece by Jonathan Beverly, “The Marathon: A Race Too Far? Is it time to get over the marathon?” My instinct upon reading the title was to say, “heck, no, who’s this crazy anti-marathon guy anyway?” But as I read on, I found myself agreeing with many of the points he made, especially as they related to my own running.
Basically, Beverly isn’t dissing the marathon, or suggesting people shouldn’t run them for the joy of simply finishing them, or anything like that. He’s saying that for someone interested in racing a marathon for a specific time, and who has done three or four times without making too much improvement, and who doesn’t have much more time to commit to training than he had the last time around, there’s another option. Take that 45-to-55 miles a week you were going to use to train to run a marathon at about the same level you ran the last one at, and apply it to training for a 10K instead. This could bring much bigger results. Why be a survival or mid-pack marathoner two, three or more times a year on 55-miles-a-week training, when you might become a competitive, or at least a further-toward-the-front-of-the-pack, 5K runner? During the past couple of years while I’ve focused on learning to run marathons, my 5K PR has only improved by a few seconds. That’s been bothering me… I think I could run faster than that, but marathon training precludes the kind of speed work that would allow me to test that.
How can I improve my marathon times?
And that’s where I found myself as I tried to pick a fall marathon. My last three marathon times, all run within 12 months of each other, were Bay State 3:13:20, Boston 3:12:49, and Vermont City 3:13:06. That’s about what running peak mileage of 55 miles a week gets me. Maybe I can get a bit faster without increasing that mileage, but to really make a big jump, like running a sub 3:00:00 at some point, I’ve got to really improve my turnover efficiency on the speed side, run more miles during the week, and lose some weight.
Three of the reasons I'd rather not try taking my mileage from 55 miles a week peak to 75+ this year...
This summer/fall is not a good one for going beyond 55-mile weeks. I’ve got family, including three awesome, very young children who I want to take fishing and hiking and read to and play with and teach, and lots and lots of work, and frankly, other things I care about doing in the bits and pieces of precious free time that are left. So while one mad and masochistic part of me would love to take my mileage up to 75+ a week and see what that gets me, and thinks I could do it by adding miles at night while everyone is in bed, it’s just not going to happen this year. A man’s got to sleep once in a while. (At least this guy does. I know some who manage 75 miles a week, work, family and more amazingly well, seemingly because they can get by on about three hours of sleep a night. Not me.)
Focus on speed and efficiency
So ruling out adding more miles to this summer/fall’s running schedule leaves speed and weight. I’ve concluded spending a season dedicating 45-55 miles a week to workouts designed to build speed over shorter race distances, and aiming at a fast half marathon and 10K for the fall, will bring a bigger gain in the marathon I run next year than I would see if I trudged through another marathon this fall. As for the weight, we’ll see. I’d like to drop another 10-15 pounds over the next year or so, and I’ll give it a shot, but there’s a balance to find in all things, and if I’ve got to let discipline slip once in a while, then a fine meal and a good drink is a sweet pleasure to do it for … And as a non-elite runner, the pleasure of being able to eat a slightly decadent meal once in a while without feeling guilty is one of the perks of a 2,000 calorie Saturday morning long run. I’m not sure dropping a few pounds is worth giving that perk up for.
So that’s my plan. Curious to see how it pans out. Half-marathon, 5K and 10K race times this summer and fall and next spring’s marathon time will either bear out my thinking or prove it wrong. Interested to hear from others who split years into seasons to train for very different distances, and how that’s worked out…
Tags: marathon, Running, training
Spot on, Ernesto! You have to take breaks from marathons if you want to get substantially faster such as going sub-3. I have been struggling with this issue myself. I would like to do a marathon but took a break so I could get faster. I am not as fast as I would like but am looking at a January marathon. It would be 13 months since my last one by the time I run it. We will see what happens. I would then take another break so I can work on 5k and 10k speed before I do another marathon. Best to you on your speed work and weight loss.
Keep us posted. I would love to hear how your decision affects your spring marathon. I will be running a couple fall marathons this year (running Smuttynose in hopes of a BQ and running a leisurely NYC 5 weeks later). Maybe once I get that BQ under my belt, I will be more inclined to focus on the shorter distances. Good luck!
I remember when I first read that article I couldn’t help but think of you. It just made perfect sense to me, and I’m not really biased one way or the other. You are really good about making sure your running time doesn’t cut into lots of family time already, so that wasn’t an issue. I know you are going to see improvements in your other race times, now. Looking forward to seeing you sneak up on some of our other running friends during races!
Ernesto I agree with much of what you stated especially needing to balance time with family. Since the arrival of Ethan days after the Boston marathon, I decided to make room in my schedule by shorting myself on sleep. I was unwilling the reduce training or family time. End result…injured abs and flat to slower race times. Summer with young kids can be a magical time and I do not want them to resent running/sports because it reminds them of Dad’s constant absence. I have been working running in with the kids as much as I can, not the best training but it is something. I plan on doing the higher mileage in the winter months when they are back in school.
You have never trudged through a marathon. Your times are fast and very consistent. You need to be patient for the next breakthrough to occur. It will occur it is just a matter of time, have faith.
Be careful with relying on losing that much weight. At your current weight that may be too challenging and risky. Plus buying all new clothes gets expensive.
Keep up the good work and enjoy yourself along the way.
Curt
@Steve – Thanks! And I look forward to hearing how your fall half marathon and January marathon go!
@Luau – The way you’re training, you’ll get that BQ. Smuttynose!
@Kristen – Couldn’t do any of this without you being so accommodating! Thank you!
@Curt – You’ve kept done a great job keeping the kids high on the list! And you make a good point on trudging – I probably shouldn’t have used that word, since truth be told I was thrilled when I ran each of those marathon times. I was proud of the work done, and I shouldn’t have diminished it. I suppose what I really mean is that I don’t want to get to the point where I feel like I’m trudging through them. On the weight, we’ll see. I’ve got some to spare…
As far as the weight, do keep in mind that you are very muscular, more so than your average runner, so I don’t know how much fat you’ve got to lose! Besides, if you get any more ripped, it’s going to be harder to fend off the women, and I don’t want to have to be crackin’ skulls- but I’ll do it if I’ve got to…
Kristen what is this sneaking up on his buddies remark? The way I see it, Ernesto buddies cringe when he shows at races because we know the pace will be high and the bar will be raised. There are never surprises when he runs well.
Ernesto I agree with a lot of what you said as far as backing off the mileage and concentrating on shorter distances to gain a bigger end result. I have started doing something similar to this by backing down and concentrating on half-marathons this year. My wife and I both run together so mileage never bothers us but our young daughter is almost 2 years old now and we are seeing more and more how we sacrifice running time for time spent with her. I’m hoping this break will allow us to more easily break our PRs and get some excellent quality time in with our daughter. Not to mention our next race is the Disney wine and dine half in October! Great way to incorporate family and running.
@Kristen – Aw, shucks, honey, flattery will get you everywhere!
@Curt – I might sneak up on you during a 5K, if you were wearing a weight belt and a blindfold!
@Justin – Thanks! I’m glad you and your wife are able to run together! I’m always grateful when Kristen and I are able to do that. Good luck with the half marathon training. Let me know how it goes in terms of the speed gains! Disney wine and dine sounds like an amazing experience.