T-minus 3 weeks: Am I in trouble?

Right now I'm facing the classic runner dilemma--you're just gearing up for the last few weeks of training before a big race and you get sick. What do you do? How do you salvage your training?

Here are the facts: My half-marathon is on March 17, less than three weeks from now. I was plugging along nicely on my training. A week ago Friday I knocked off a relatively comfortable 90 minute run (no walking). Felt good. We left for Seattle the next day and I got in one 40-minute run on the Tacoma waterfront a week ago today. Then I got sick. My plan for this weekend, if I hadn't gotten sick, would have been to try for an hour and 45 minutes or so, roughly 10 miles, with a bump up to 2 hours for next weekend.  This plus regular workouts during the week (about 10 miles of running plus gym workouts) would have kept me generally on track for the race. My goals for the race are *very* modest: (1) finish in about the time it took me to run the first half of my last marathon (approx. 2:15); (2) don't start too fast or do anything else stupid; (3) enjoy myself.

Assuming that I feel good enough this week to sneak in one 40 minute run while I'm in Champaign and then something longer when I get back to town at the end of the week, the question is: what  next? As I see it I have three options (no, giving up isn't one of them; just let me have my little running problem, will you?). Normally, these are options I would fully discuss with my Champaign running buddies, but given that we are currently in far-flung places like Nashville, Iowa City, and Geneva, I am posing my dilemma more widely here. Which plan seems best?

A. Pretend last week never happened, and just go ahead with the planned training schedule for the next 3 weeks, maybe taking things a bit slower this week until I feel 100%.

B. Rather than force a two-hour run this weekend, do two consecutive one-hour runs instead (say, on Friday and Saturday) and then try to cram in a 2-hour run in the middle of the following week (possible thanks to sabbatical). This still gives me a week and a half to taper before the race.

C. Give up the whole idea of knocking out a two-hour run entirely. Focus instead on cramming in as many one-hour runs as I can between now and the race. The assumption here is that it's more important physically to have the cumulative miles on my legs than it is to convince myself psychologically that I can do a two-hour run.

Help?

Comments

[Lu]

Cara - go with plan C. The psychological stuff is nice, but making sure you're fully over the cold is probably better for you in the long run. The air is still cool and it's more important for you to be healthy. If you've got that, the race will be fine.

[Sara]

Well, my first reaction was to go with plan A. Not that I'm the *smartest* runner around. But you're talking about a 2-hour run for next weekend (March 3-4), right? Since colds rarely last longer than 1 week, I think you should be pretty much recovered by then. Take things a little easy in the meantime.

I also like plan B.

But I think that whatever you decide, you'll do OK. You've got enough of a base right now to go out and finish the damn thing, and like you said, your goals are fairly modest. Although mine are even more modest than yours--I'm aiming for 2:30!

[mindy]

I agree that you've got a good base and that should carry you through regardless of which plan you choose (though I am partial to plan A with the caveat that you take the long run easy and walk if need be).

One of my regular aerobics class attendees just ran the Myrtle Beach marathon training with nothing longer than a 6 mile run and his regular gym workouts. He finished in 3:45. This was only 15 minutes slower than his PB. So, if you have a good enough base...you will have a great run :)

[caraf]

Okay, so I'm hearing a strong vote for plan C, and cautious votes for A and B? Not much consensus here, people! Right now I'm partial to B, which seems like a compromise between A and C in that it gives me the feeling of the long run but also reassures me with a few more miles, too.

[Lu]

I forgot to say - whatever you decide, I know you'll do great. You have the one intangible gift that every coach dreams of seeing in an athlete; the ability and drive to do your best on any given day. Enjoy the next three weeks and as my dad used to tell me before every high school race - "don't forget to breath"!

[Sara]

Do B, then! You'll just be putting off your long run by a few days then, right? I dunno, if I were you I'd want to have that long run under my belt (water bottle belt, that is) if possible. I'd probably urge more caution if it were a running injury.

[caraf]

OK, I think I'll go with B, which means, 6 miles on Fri., 6 miles on Sat., and 2 hours next Wednesday -- chances are, I could even do the long run in shorts because I'll be in Georgia next week and spring seems to have sprung there. I agree, Sara, I need to run that race knowing I've done a two hour run.

[Scott Springman]

O.K. You have already made up your mind and now I will give my two-cents...probably good timing being my two-cents is worth very little on the open market.

When this has happened to me I always just pick up my training where I left off and pretend the sickness never happened. As others have said, the base you have established will carry you through. So I suggest A. My caution with B is that by running a long distance during the week is that it can sometimes be frustrating. My body gets used to long runs on the weekends and having enough time to regenerate by the next weekend with short runs in between. When I try to do a long run during the week (I even tried doing one on a Monday and found this) I tire easly and find it much harder. I then find it hard both physically and emotionally to run a decent distance the next weekend as well.

With that said, I have run once in the last week. I have been sick. Lucky I am not training...