First Marathon and Second Marathon 3 Months Hence
Name: Brian
Question: Mary, I am training for my first marathon. I want to run Disney in Jan08 and I plan to do this sub 4:00. As part of my training, I am also thinking about running the Akron marathon Sept 29th and plan to use this as a training type run with no pressure at all on time -more of a dry run. I started running half marathons last year - 5 in total and have run the Cleveland 1/2 this May with a time of 1:50. My question is, as this will be my first full marathon, do you think running Akron slow Sept 29th will be too much before Disney in Jan? Let me know your thoughts, I am currently using Hal Higdons marathon Novice 2 as my training plan.
Answer: Since you ran 5 Half Marathons in the past year, I think doing both your Akron marathon in September and Disney 3 months later would probably be fine. I think your idea of focusing on the Disney Marathon and just running the Akron marathon easy would be the way to go. I would also recommend taking a full week off from running after the Akron Marathon. Even though you plan on running Akron easy, a marathon is still 26.2 miles and your body needs to rest before you continue your training for your goal race. Also, I think a sub 4 hour marathon sounds realistic for you, given your 1:50 half marathon time. I wish you success in achieving your goal. Cheers, Mary