Can you believe July is rapidly slipping away? This week’s Tuesdays on the Run Linkup asks you to wrap up the month and share a progress report on your training and goals. I’ll check in on my goals soon but first there’s an elephant in the room.
I’ll come clean. My training for the Berlin Marathon is off the tracks. Not a full-on derail, mind you, but off enough to worry about losing fitness. In my case endurance is the issue.
My endurance wasn’t where I wanted it to be when I ran the Utah Valley Half in early June and I’d hoped to build it since then. But that hasn’t really happened.
I didn’t do any long runs while I was on vacation. While I was good about hitting up the hotel gym’s treadmill for interval runs from 3 to 5 miles long, I failed to run longer. Sure I could point my finger at the crazy heat/humidity in Dubai, but I knew what I was getting into. I simply chose not to hunker down on the mill for hours on end. Now I suppose it’s time to pay that price. But how much of a price? I rifled through my coaching manuals and dug up some info.:
How Long Does It Take To Lose Running Fitness?
For our purposes here I’m going to be talking about aerobic fitness rather than the fitness of muscles, bones, tendons and ligaments and their ability to withstand the impact of running.
The Bad News:
Initial declines in aerobic fitness occur rapidly. Enzyme levels associated with performance drop by half in under 2 weeks. Eek! In my defense, I did not stop running completely. I just missed a couple of long runs.
The Good News:
“Lifetime” aerobic conditioning stays mostly intact IF you’ve been training for a long time. (I’m putting myself in this group since I’ve been running half and full marathons for over 10 years now). Maybe I don’t have to worry….too much. Runners with a smaller training base lose running fitness faster.
Crosstraining can be an effective way to maintain fitness. Studies on aquajogging suggest you can maintain running fitness for at least 6 weeks when you follow a rigorous pool running program. (I can personally vouch for this, having aqua jogged for exactly 6 weeks while I rehabbed an injury during a Boston training cycle). While I walked a ton and swam, I cannot claim I did sufficient crosstraining while on vacation to maintain my running endurance.
Here’s a great article about losing fitness due to missed workouts from my friends at Runners Connect.
The Plan Going Forward
I’m on track with my shorter runs so those will not change. Instead of ramping up into the 16-18 mile long run range, I’ve been in a sort of 13 to 15 mile long run limbo. I still have 5 weeks to work with before I taper so I’ll do my best to gradually build my long runs in a sensible way and make the best of it.
The verdict: While it’s been far from picture perfect, you better believe I’m going to save this training cycle. The plane tickets are purchased, the hotel is booked and I’m going to be at that starting line in Berlin on September 24. Count on it!
Have you ever missed runs due to injury, illness, vacation or something else and pulled off a decent race in spite of it?
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I can’t say I’ve actually had a long vacation right in the middle of a training cycle, so for that reason I’ve never really missed a lot of scheduled runs. I had this thought that because I do smaller runs each week (even if they are only between 2 and 5 miles) that I am keeping up my fitness and endurance, but maybe I’m wrong. I’d like to think that I’m always in good enough shape to run a 5k on a whim if the opportunity should arise but I can definitely tell that some runs are harder than others when I haven’t done it in a wile. -M
No matter what you do with this training cycle, you’ll be able to run and finish Berlin. It might not be a PR race but this is where experience will pay off! You got this!
If you were a newbie runner, I would worry about you. But this is far from your first rodeo so I’m confident you’ll be fine. Like you said, you have essentially a 10 year base to work from. If you’re not planning to get to 18, maybe you could do back to back long runs instead. But honestly if you have five weeks before taper and you’re already at 15, you could easily get to 18 with no problem.
Whatever you decide, you’ll do great!!
Of course I don’t run marathons, but yes, i’ve missed long runs due to illness. And while I don’t completely remember if the race was stellar (I’d have to look it up!), I do know that it went well.
So just a couple of missed long runs? I think you’ll do fine. Especially knowing you, probably better than fine — you’re such a gifted athlete!
Very interesting info!
You have such a solid base, you totally got this baby. Like everyone has said, you still have time to up the long runs…more so for your mental well-being than anything LOL When I ran Grandma’s in 2015, it was a near train wreck due to my sporadic training that spring. I was over-committed with prom obligations, dance recital stuff, tennis meets, committee work for one of my women’s groups….and the unexpected passing of my MIL. My weekends were spent in vehicles going back and forth, so my long runs were MIA. Oh, and there also was that surprise visit from Plantar Fasciitis three weeks out from the start line. I think my longest run was 16 (?), but I went into the race with ZERO expectations and did alright (though there was surprise GI distress…a consequence of not having enough long runs to fine-tune my fueling strategy). If I can make it to the finish line with my less-than-desirable training cycle, you totally will be spanking Berlin. Go Marcia!!
Whoa – that’s very interesting information about how long is takes to lose aerobic fitness, I had NO idea!
Although you haven’t followed your exact training plan, I think that you have been good about getting in the shorter runs and that’s a plus. When you really think about it, the training plan is like more than 50% shorter runs, tempo runs, etc….AND you have been doing longer runs in the heat and humidity, which is super impressive!
Don’t be too hard on yourself – I am sure you will have a great race experience in Berlin!
Can this marathon training cycle be save? Absolutely. Might you have to adjust your goal? Likely. But you will be able to run Berlin and have a great time doing it–and who knows–you might surprise yourself!
I haven’t missed marathon training runs (I’m currently training for my first so I haven’t had a chance yet haha) but I have trained for a half in under 6 weeks and survived. I think your logic is good- since you’ve done them before and have been doing them for a while I think you’ll be ok. Maybe not a PR bid but I think you’ll finish!
I know you will! I think your experience will pay off in the end! With all the travel I know you aren’t expecting it to be your fastest race so enjoy the adventure! I will be cheering for you!
I have no doubt you will be able to make it to the race and finish it. Look forward to seeing you crush it
You’ve got more than enough running under your belt to be fine. I think you’ll surprise yourself, Sista! What will the weather be like in Berlin? That may help a great deal. I have missed months of training runs and pulled off a decent marathon finish. Well, at least a finish…
Yes, it can be saved! I don’t blame you for not wanting to spend hours on a treadmill. Trust in your current training. I heard an interview from Kara Goucher, and one piece of advice she got from Meb is your body has done this before, and it’ll remember.
I, too, have paid for Berlin plus hotel and flight. However, I’ve come down with a femoral neck stress fracture. So, please continue on so I can live vicariously through you!
BTW, I’m still going, as long as I am off crutches by then. Should be, according to the doc, as long as I follow the rules. I’ll be in the cheering section.
I think when you’ve been running as long as we have, it stinks to not feel like you’re where you want…but having conquered the mental side of it already you’ll totally be able to make it happen!! I swear getting over that mental hurdle the first time is the hardest part
You got this!! The crazy thing about running is most of us feel more worried about what we miss…I have done it every time I trained, it is a mind game. You have a great lifetime base 🙂 Crush these next 5 weeks!
Have you ever looked into the Hanson’s Method for marathon training? Their longest run is 16 miles….mind you, that’s at mostly tempo pace (or race pace), but they are well-known for not racking up the long run. Worth a look. But regardless, you will persevere, because that’s what you do :). I think the Running Gods are like, nope, I gave you enough now it’s time to focus on others, and just don’t want to give us (meaning, you and I) fast marathons anymore. So Maybe success is defined as finishing when things are going in the wrong direction. I think we’re being tested on mental toughness….and I know you will succeed there! Who cares what your finish time is – crossing that finish line says a LOT about your grit and strength. Badass Lou! Love that girl!!!
I’ve definitely wondered how much my running fitness has declined since my “post-season”…it’s frustrating that you lose it so quickly, but thankfully cross-training helps! You’re a pro when it comes to these marathons so I have no doubt you will catch up to where you want to be for Berlin!
It’ so hard to stay on track with marathon training when you’re on vacation. I find that I love short run because I love to explore on foot, but waste a day running/recovering from a long run? No way?
I think you’ll be fine though. Unless you were planning on busting out a PR, you just do what you can from now on, build up some mileage and tempo/pace runs, and relax your goals a bit. After all, you’ll be in Berlin. Run that race for the photo ops if nothing else!