After 9 weeks of successful marathon training I was forced to take things easy for 4 weeks tags to a niggle in my left leg which has now left me with 33 days till my marathon. The longest run I will ever have done. I really don't feel prepared (having to take time out to rest and recover has really impacted my training and confidence)
Sunday's Plymouth Half will be a good indication as to how my leg will fair, and I've been given some awesome advice about my running style which is causing my injury - I over stride - so I'm working on improving that. I'm also slowing things down quite some bit right now.
I've just come across this guy that trained for a marathon in just 4 weeks (see link) and am thinking I might try to follow what he did. Am I stupid for considering it, or could it help?
I was training successfully for 9weeks then had to pause & rest for 4weeks - the 4 weeks with the most mileage planned in them so all that's left on my current plan is tapering.
HELP!!!!
Is it actually possible for me to run 26.2miles???
Written by
Bike_and_Run
Half Marathon
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6 Replies
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Ohhhhhh crikey watch out for that injury, goodness knows how your gonna manage adequate resting time, and hey remember they'll always be other marathons
Hmmmm. Us mere mortals can’t shortcut the training route to a marathon. If you’re already struggling with injury you might not be able to run the whole thing but you can finish it if you put some walking breaks in
Come race day you might be just fine. Who knows 🤷♀️
It looks like fun, I can see why you're attracted to it! And I think you and Jules are both pretty young (? well, he was on the right side of 40 anyway!), so probably a bit more resilient than me for example 😂
But I note that Jules went into it injury free - which you are not! Hidden makes a good point, there will always be other marathons.
If you feel fine after the half at the weekend and want to make a go of the marathon, maybe you'd be better off doing a longest training run the following weekend, 18 miles maybe - take plenty of walk breaks. Practice your eating/drinking strategy. After that just taper - so do a 9 mile long run the following week, then 4.5 after that. Keep any other runs shorter and take plenty of days off - walk, or cycle if you want. Do the burpees if you like -great exercise! I wouldn't bother with speed work at this late stage, that could well aggravate your injury - take the speed days off instead. Better to manage your expectations and think about having a fun marathon and finishing in one piece!
In your favour, you have been running more recently than Jules had! But I think that his plan has too much running for where you are at the moment.
I've seen people achieve comparable feats - but at a hell of a physical cost.
This plan, in all honesty, smacks of "Forced march" territory. If you "have" to do it, it is possible - but for me it would need to be a huge "have". Additionally, I would need to know this guy so I could actually rely on his veracity.
I'm with Abi, do your half... if that goes well do a longer training run, I'd even go to 20, but then just ease back, look after your legs and regroup for the big day.... BUT, if the half doesn't go well, ie pain during more than a few miles during the run then look to drop your M down to a HM on your planned date.
If you make your niggles worse now it's going to take you a lot longer to heal and recover.
The reality is you can always push your body through pain and make it happen if you want it bad enough. The bigger point is whether you should! (and how bad the consequences might be)
roseabi you're right. It does look like a fun challenge, and I am attracted to the short term discipline. I've been quite amazed I managed to stick with my training for 9weeks and was in a position mentally where I would have continued. Normally I only last a 2-3weeks before I give up on my new exercise regime (C25K & B210K has really helped with this discipline)
But as many of you have pointed out, with an injury lurking in the background I need more rest. So I've taken a good look at the schedule and adapted it slightly to better suit my needs.
Hopefully this will be a little more manageable and will give me the focus and discipline I need to build the confidence to get around 26.2miles.
I'm not overly concerned about a time, just a completion.
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Marathon training
