Well, I certainly have done a big no-no. Last week I signed up for the Woodlands Marathon thinking I could train in less than 4 weeks. I generally run 3-5 miles a day. Then of course sickness/pollen kicks in and my training has been further cut back. I ran 7 miles on Friday, 9 miles on Saturday and 10 miles on Sunday. Got a massage yesterday with emphasis on the IT band and took the day off. Today I ran the most miles preparing for this race - 11 miles. I have completed several half marathons with 3-4 weeks of training but starting to get a bad feeling about this. I have completed almost 10 marathons to date. Has anybody completed a marathon with little training and finished with a respectable time (i.e., without walking the whole thing?) Thanks in advance....

MosesHallDeadPot94 said:

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Has anybody completed a marathon with little training and finished with a respectable time (i.e., without walking the whole thing?) Thanks in advance....

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Not me.

Hell a lot of times the preparation for a marathon is well executed and things still fall apart on race day.

Maybe you don't want to disclose this, but curiosity is getting the best of me. Why are you doing this?

You sound like you've got enough of a baseline to finish. It's going to realllly suck towards the end. Then it'll keep sucking for a few days after dealing with the soreness. Have fun, don't die. #notadoctor

ptothemo said:

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Maybe you don't want to disclose this, but curiosity is getting the best of me. Why are you doing this?

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Due to limited staffing at my office, this is the only local race I can sign up before a race in June. I wanted to get a race in to kick-start my training for a more difficult race - Running with Devil Marathon in Las Vegas (I know my family thinks I'm crazy). I'm almost 50 and my body (and family) beginning to tell me it's time for that ceremonial transition to cycling. In fact, my family almost disowned me after I signed up for (and fortunately finished) Pikes Peak Marathon last August.

Gig 'em
Eric

For those curious about Running with Devil Marathon...
http://calicoracing.com/events/running-with-the-devil/

For those curious about Pikes Peak Ascent (Half Marathon) and Full Marathon...
https://www.pikespeakmarathon.org

Understood. In hindsight, my question sounded more judgmental than I intended, so I apologize if it came off too strong. I figured there was underlying reason. It's not like you don't know what you're getting into, good luck!

I think it really depends on your base fitness... how many marathons have you run in the past? 2 or 30? When was your last bigger training block? 6 months ago or 3 years ago?

I have done three races like that. Silver Rush 50 miler in leadviile. A buddy came out to run it and convinced me 5 days before it to run it with him... I hadn't been training for about 6 months, and did one 7 mile run the day he convinced me to sign up. Was on pace for a 9ish hour finish until about mile 30 then limped in at about the 11:30 mark. So it didn't go terribly well.

Devil on the Divide 50k. This one went really well. Had about a month to 'train' and got in a couple of 20+ milers and ran at least 6 miles every day. Toed the line not in the best shape but fresh and finished 13th in a fairly competitive field. Was in the top 10 until the last mile but had no kick and nothing left to hold on.

Estes Epic 50k. Got a free entry the day before and hadn't trained at all (like 15-20 miles per week for 3 months) but had trained and finished the Bighorn 100 in June (Estes Epic was in September) so had a good base of endurance to pull from. Finished in 6th place.

But I have a pretty solid endurance foundation and can tolerate an abnormal amount of discomfort and still be able to push and enjoy it. I have friends who can run 100 milers on any given day regardless of training, and I know folks who have to trail for a couple a few months to get through a half marathon. So it also depends on your own body and how it naturally handles this stuff.

SO it can be done, but experience and base fitness plays a pretty big role. Just assess and go in with realistic expectations and you'll have a great run. Good luck!

smudge14255 said:

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I think it really depends on your base fitness... how many marathons have you run in the past? 2 or 30? When was your last bigger training block? 6 months ago or 3 years ago?

I have done three races like that. Silver Rush 50 miler in leadviile. A buddy came out to run it and convinced me 5 days before it to run it with him... I hadn't been training for about 6 months, and did one 7 mile run the day he convinced me to sign up. Was on pace for a 9ish hour finish until about mile 30 then limped in at about the 11:30 mark. So it didn't go terribly well.

Devil on the Divide 50k. This one went really well. Had about a month to 'train' and got in a couple of 20+ milers and ran at least 6 miles every day. Toed the line not in the best shape but fresh and finished 13th in a fairly competitive field. Was in the top 10 until the last mile but had no kick and nothing left to hold on.

Estes Epic 50k. Got a free entry the day before and hadn't trained at all (like 15-20 miles per week for 3 months) but had trained and finished the Bighorn 100 in June (Estes Epic was in September) so had a good base of endurance to pull from. Finished in 6th place.

But I have a pretty solid endurance foundation and can tolerate an abnormal amount of discomfort and still be able to push and enjoy it. I have friends who can run 100 milers on any given day regardless of training, and I know folks who have to trail for a couple a few months to get through a half marathon. So it also depends on your own body and how it naturally handles this stuff.

SO it can be done, but experience and base fitness plays a pretty big role. Just assess and go in with realistic expectations and you'll have a great run. Good luck!

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I tip my hat to you. People like you help drive the rest of us to aspire greater things.
Eric

MosesHallDeadPot94 said:

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smudge14255 said:

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I think it really depends on your base fitness... how many marathons have you run in the past? 2 or 30? When was your last bigger training block? 6 months ago or 3 years ago?

I have done three races like that. Silver Rush 50 miler in leadviile. A buddy came out to run it and convinced me 5 days before it to run it with him... I hadn't been training for about 6 months, and did one 7 mile run the day he convinced me to sign up. Was on pace for a 9ish hour finish until about mile 30 then limped in at about the 11:30 mark. So it didn't go terribly well.

Devil on the Divide 50k. This one went really well. Had about a month to 'train' and got in a couple of 20+ milers and ran at least 6 miles every day. Toed the line not in the best shape but fresh and finished 13th in a fairly competitive field. Was in the top 10 until the last mile but had no kick and nothing left to hold on.

Estes Epic 50k. Got a free entry the day before and hadn't trained at all (like 15-20 miles per week for 3 months) but had trained and finished the Bighorn 100 in June (Estes Epic was in September) so had a good base of endurance to pull from. Finished in 6th place.

But I have a pretty solid endurance foundation and can tolerate an abnormal amount of discomfort and still be able to push and enjoy it. I have friends who can run 100 milers on any given day regardless of training, and I know folks who have to trail for a couple a few months to get through a half marathon. So it also depends on your own body and how it naturally handles this stuff.

SO it can be done, but experience and base fitness plays a pretty big role. Just assess and go in with realistic expectations and you'll have a great run. Good luck!

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I tip my hat to you. People like you help drive the rest of us to aspire greater things.
Eric

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I'm blushing

Let me add that I'm a very middle of the pack runner with a handful of anomalies that are 'impressive' finishes, and far more that are complete $h!t shows. Did Bandera 100k last month and it was brutal and I may not have finished if the race was a few miles longer. My point was that you can still have a good race even if you don't get in the proper training. You can also have terrible races when you're completely dialed. I have more DNF's than great races, for sure. And all but one of those DNF's I was completely prepared for and things went to total crap. Just run for the love of running and adjust expectations according to the situation and it will always, well usually, be rewarding!

My first marathon I did on a long run of 7 miles and very inconsistent training. It was miserable.

Have fun!

The Pilot said:

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Sign up for the pikes peak double next year.

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Are you saying you signed up for the double or telling me to do this? LOL!!

Me in front of my boy at the start of Pikes Peak Marathon...


After...

MosesHallDeadPot94 said:

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The Pilot said:

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Sign up for the pikes peak double next year.

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Are you saying you signed up for the double or telling me to do this? LOL!!

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He's telling you to do the double because he is a crazy person. The Pikes Peak races are a H&F Board favorite.

Pretty much! I did a double a few yrs ago. Probably the dumbest thing I've done race wise. Lived in Dallas at the time too.

If not in marathon shape, might try doing that Galloway thing and walking for 2 minutes after each mile marker, beginning with the first one. That could potentially decrease your actual finish time over what you'd do otherwise. Just go out slow and enjoy the race.

My experience with the Pikes double sucked. Went easy on Saturday, felt OK Sunday morning. Still felt fine at the top on Sunday, but was woefully unprepared for the downhill portion with no hills to train on. Treadmill with incline is great training for ascent, but not much help on descent. Took almost as long to come down as it did to go up....and had trouble walking for a week afterwards.

I once ran a marathon having run a grand total of one mile in the preceding six weeks. This went... every bit as well as you would expect.

I would try to run 18, 20, or 22 miles as soon as you can, just so your body has some inkling of what to expect, and then try to be fresh for race day. It's inevitable that you're going to crash somewhere on the back half, just treat it like a slow long run after that.

Update...
Completed Woodlands Marathon last Saturday. Time: 4 hours 40 minutes. Pleased with time given less than 4 weeks to train. Up next...Running with the Devil Marathon - Las Vegas Desert June 20, 2020. Going to be a hot one 105-110 degrees. http://calicoracing.com/events/running-with-the-devil/

Gig 'em.
Eric '94