Jen Rulon

This topic can be a bit of controversy here but these are my opinions, as this is my blog. I know what I believe, and I know what works.

As we are heading into our “Season of Improvement,” many athletes will do various activities during their “season of improvement,” such as mountain biking, strength training, yoga, mobility work, and running a marathon.  This is a conversation between a coach and their athlete who is doing their 1st Ironman:

Athlete: “I am going to do a marathon before I do my Ironman.”

Coach: ”OK. Why?”

Athlete: “I want to see how fast I can go and run the distance.”

Coach: “Do you think you can run your best alone marathon time after you swam and bike in your Ironman? I don’t believe Christian Bustos* did that in Kona in 1992.”

Athlete: ”Well, I have never done a marathon before, so I feel that I need to do one before my Ironman. There is a marathon in the Ironman.”

Coach: ”I realize that. I understand that reasoning. My concern is the marathon’s recovery time and possible injuries.”

Athlete: “What do you suggest? To do a marathon or not do a marathon?

Coach: “DO NOT do a marathon.”

That coach is me. Here are my reasons why athletes should NOT do a marathon before their Ironman:

1. Recovery time: 

Recovery time from a marathon is about 4-6 weeks. Everything in your body is in recovery mode…muscles, tendons, joints, ligaments, immune system, etc. Whether you set a PR for your marathon or you did your first, it is all the same.

A scientific study has taken part in the calf muscle, pre, and post-marathon. The study showed that there was damage done during the marathon. The study explained that training for the marathon and during the marathon showed inflammation of the calf muscle, along with rhabdomyolysis, which is damaged skeletal muscle is breaking down at a fast rate, along with the possibility of having urine in the blood.

Have you ever got a cold or upper respiratory infection after a significant event or race? Yes, your immune system is severely damaged.  Check out this study about marathon training and immune function.

2. Possibility of Injury:

Training for a marathon is very hard on the body. The body is in constant motion for 26.2 miles. For example, running is you and the road. You have to push your body through space and time. When swimming, you have the water to help you stay afloat (well, for some). When cycling, you have a bike to help you go through space.

As a triathlete getting ready for a marathon, you may plug in some swims and bikes, but your focus will be 4-5 days of running. It takes a longer time to recover from a run than it would from a swim or bike. Consider how the ankle, hip, and foot absorb your body weight whenever you hit the ground. There are numerous studies about injuries and running a marathon. Check these ones out: Risk Factors for injuries… or Injuries Sustained by Runners…

3. Lose Quality Training time for the Ironman :

Let’s say your Ironman is in May. You did a marathon in December. It takes you about four weeks to recover, which puts you in January. We are starting to increase your swims and your long bikes.  Starting in January, you should be getting into your 4-hour bikes for the Ironman, but this is what happens…

The body is fatigued. The mind is fatigued. You may not have the desire to get outside for those long bikes. We are losing some quality bike workouts for your Ironman. You may not have the desire to push yourself.

4. Training for a fast marathon will NOT benefit you for your Ironman:

Running a stand marathon is entirely different than running a marathon after a swim and a bike. Your Ironman run will be slower than your marathon time. Check out Timothy Noakes’s “Lore of Running.” He has 15 Laws of Training. Check out #7, “Don’t Race When in Training…” Noakes explains that when you race, you race. Don’t race an event or do a “time trial” before your primary race (i.e., Marathon vs. Ironman). “Racing, then, should be only the time trials, and should only be run every two, or preferably three, weeks apart…six weeks between events would be more suitable for a marathon runner, but once every two months is probably better,” says Timothy Noakes. (Remember, he is talking about running, but many of his laws apply to triathletes).

*Who is Christian Bustos, you ask? Christian Bustos ran a 2:16 stand-alone marathon in Frankfurt, Germany.  At Ironman Kona in 1992, Bustos was on Mark Allen’s tail for 14-15 miles straight until he puttered out, clocking a 2:49 (6:27/mile pace) Ironman marathon time. Mark Allen clocked a 2:42:18 (6:11/mile) that day. I am not sure if Mark Allen has done a straight-out marathon. My point is that you cannot run a stand-alone marathon pace during your Ironman.

What do I suggest for your off-season?

  1. Strength Training: Click HERE for the “Strength Training” search link on my blog. You will see a #SHITTON of information. Start building those antagonist (opposite) muscles in the gym that you don’t use for the swim, biking, and running.
  2. Work on Mobility: Check out Kelly Starrett’s Mobility WOD Tons of great stuff for athletes.
  3. Sign up for a Masters Swim group: Want to improve your swimming?  Swim with FASTER people.
  4. More Strength Training…
  5. Find YOUR Zen. Read. Hang out with friends and family. Go to a movie. Clean those headboards. Focus on your recovery from a successful triathlon season.

I understand why new Ironman triathletes want to do a marathon before they do one. It is for the mental aspects that they can complete a marathon.

Let’s look at your off-season…let’s start looking at quality workouts versus quantity workouts. Let’s start looking at enjoying life for two months and do something different because, in January, you will be right back at it getting ready for your Ironman!

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AUTHOR: Jen Rulon

I have been coaching triathletes, runners, and cyclists for over 21+ years; I received my Master's Degree in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Exercise Science. And as you may have learned, there is more to life than swimming, biking, and running. It is a lifestyle, and I am here to help you cross that finish line with a smile, whether it is an Ironman Triathlon or the Ironman of Life. You can find my knowledge shared in Triathlete Magazine, Runners World, on the TEDx Stage, the Health and Wellness Expo in San Antonio, TX, Southwest Research Institute Human Performance Summit, Training Peaks Workshops, "Self Motivation Strategies for Women" on Amazon, Men's Journal Online, and the New York Times. I also practice what I preach—she's a 15x Ironman Triathlete who participated in the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii, on October 14, 2017.



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