Marathon Hangover.....

So I ran an experiment. I learned a lot. What now?

First of all, at the end of my last post I was wondering how I would feel the next day. The only results I hadn't yet posted were of my marathon recovery. Once again, I learned even more. Of course I was slightly sore, but the marathon was on Sunday and Monday night I was doing demos of body weight squats at the gym. The first one felt a little creaky, but after that, they felt great. I was in the pool on Tuesday and cycling on Wednesday. Legs felt a little tired in the pool but other than that, the soreness went away much faster than it has in the past.

What now you ask?

Well, it seems that some peeps over at Crossfit liked my experiment. I have been invited to be their guest at a Running/Endurance Cert in LA the first weekend in December! Yeah! What does this mean? Well, I am not sure, but I know I wanted to attend one of these and didn't think it would happen for a long time. This will be a great opportunity to meet more people in the community and just be the crossfit dork that I am with good company!

In the meantime, I am going to enjoy the off-season. I really enjoyed my "marathon training" this year because: a) it gave me the exact variety I need to not get bored; and b) it is time efficient. I would actually like to run more this winter (maybe 20 miles/week); just haven't figured out when I will fit it in.

I've had many follow-up questions regarding my experiment. The most common asks something along these lines: Do you think you could PR training like this? Hmmmm. Great questions. I think the answer might be yes. I think it will take a few more tries and tweaks to my method. This gives me new enthusiasm for the marathon. I was getting bored with the classic training methods. Fortunately, I have a few months to enjoy other things before I put any structured training into practice.

Would love to hear from any of you who have tried or are trying something similar. You know what they say in science: The more data you have, the more valid. This is coming from a former middle school science teacher you know! Please share!!!

THE Experiment.

Hugging my kiddos at mile 21 or so. No actions shots!

Purpose: Could I run a sub 4-hour marathon with no long run training and added strength training (crossfit)?

Hypothesis: My first goal was really just to finish. I was doubtful that I could do it in under 4 hours, considering every other marathon I have run was accomplished with a full training plan of running at least 3 days per week, including one long run each week up to 23 miles.

Method:

1. My longest run would be at the track and would be kept to single digits. These runs consisted of extended warm-up, 3-5 miles of hard running and then a cool down to finish out mileage. My mileage these days ranged from 6-9 miles.

2. No other required running. Once in a while I would meet Julie & Courtney for hills on Fridays, but other than that, any running that was done was within a crossfit workout, which is minimal.

3. No running on weekends!!! I had a life on the weekend!

4. Crossfitting 4-5 times/week.

5. Swimming 1-2 times/week.

6. Cycling once/week.....and that is only if I was teaching my cycle class that week.

7. No taper.

Result: 3:31:01 (my PR is a 3:06:xx)

I started out ultra conservative. First mile was 8:40, 2nd 8:20, 3rd 8:40 and kept it in the mid 8's for quite some time. I passed the 9 mile mark expecting at any moment to explode since that is the longest distance I had run. Didn't happen. I kept up a decently conservative pace, enjoyed the crowd AND the absolutely perfect running conditions.

I passed the 1/2 marathon mark at about 1:49 feeling awesome. I sped up just slightly until the 20 mile mark. I didn't hit the wall. I sped up more. My last 5.2 were all done at sub 7 minute pace. I felt like a million bucks.

Conclusion:

I am completely shocked with this result. I was very doubtful I could break 4 hours, let alone feel good doing it. I was convinced at some mile in the teens I would hit the wall and the rest of it would be extremely painful. I was packing ibuprofen just in case! I thought I would be out of commission for the rest of the day. Not only is that not the case, I have been going non-stop since I got home! I can walk down the stairs like I normally do AND sit down and get up from the toilet without pain!

What did I learn from this experience? Much more than I ever thought I would....I learned that I am NEVER going to do long runs for a marathon again. If I ever go for a PR, my runs may go up to 15, but that 's it. I truly believe it's NOT necessary! How you start your marathon is SO important! I have always known this but had to learn the hard way. Being conservative at the beginning and not freaking out about going too slow is key. Increased strength training kept me strong throughout and less sore at the end. Crossfit helped me mentally because even though those workouts are shorter than a marathon, they are the hardest ones you will ever do!

One other conclusion I made was that my body was fresh from not doing long runs and/or high mileage. I wasn't borderline injured like many are that do a lot of miles. My body was fresh and my mind was ready to go!

I don't want to minimize the importance of training here. I trained very hard, it just wasn't specific to marathon. I wouldn't recommend doing your first marathon this way. This worked for me because I have several marathons under my belt and know how to start. I don't know anyone that hasn't had to learn this the hard way. In that case, those long runs will definitely come in handy!

Now, we will see how I feel tomorrow morning!!

Dreaded Long Run turned Fast Long Run....

I did a long run today. Not a long slow run like you are supposed to, but a long fast run. Why? Not sure. Wasn't my goal. I ran the first 7 miles with my great friend Julie. We were cruising. I felt great, didn't want to slow her down but knew this might bite me in the ass later. After that run I was meeting my husband and he was to be my sag-wagon. He rode the bike along with me with water and good company. 

I was sort of dreading this as I wasn't sure how Matt felt about being my sag-wagon. It ended up being great. He pushed me to go faster than I normally would've as I didn't want to go so slow that he would fall over. He handed me water, encouraged me to keep going, told me I looked good from behind and pushed me to keep my speed up at the end when I was clearly tired. I love my usual long run group, but this taught me the importance of mixing it up. I think my weekend group has gotten very comfortable with one another, we chat a lot and don't pay much attention to our intensity (I am speaking for myself).  Yes, we are always tired at the end, but I think we could do better! Okay gals, if you are reading this don't be scared to run with me now!

I ended up doing a little over 19 miles today. I might possibly be doing 2 marathons in October, Twin Cities Marathon as a pacer to help two friends qualify for the Boston Marathon and there is a chance I will be starting in the elite wave at the Nike Women's San Francisco Marathon.  I won't find out about the elite marathon until the end of August to mid-September so I am training for a marathon I am not even sure I am running! This long run I completed today re-inspired me to keep training hard for San Francisco in hopes I will be at the start line. 

Thanks to my wonderful hubby for supporting me today on the run, I will run with you on the bike ANY day! And girls, get ready to mix it up! I think we all have a little untapped potential!