Preparing for your second marathon of the season

So how long does the mere mortal need between marathons? We know that Dean Karnazes can run 50 back to back, but what about the rest of us? Whether on a quest to qualify for Boston or seeking to soak up the scene in warmer climates, back to back marathons are absolutely possible for the “average age-grouper.” To whom am I speaking? Triathletes maximizing the winter months to complete a run focus and improve on the third leg of their race, marathoners who travel the world- the US- or their local hot spots to cover the distance one greek soldier Pheidippides did back in 490 BC and everyone in between.
Think about your goals. Are your goals to accomplish as many marathons as possible? Are your goals to PR each one- if so you may need more time between efforts. The higher the intensity the more time needed to recover, so plan accordingly. 6-8 weeks between marathons is reasonable, however this varies on an individual basis. Once you have your goals outlined and an idea of the races you would like to attend- then what?
The game plan: Build your base! Doing back to back marathons are less taxing when you are used to pounding the pavement (or the treadmill) for 2-3 hours at a time. Allow approximately 8-12 weeks to build your mileage to where you can run 18-20 miles “comfortably.” I know your thinking, you’re crazy lady, 18-20 will never seem comfortable. What I mean by comfortable is that you are able to bounce back quickly. The clear indicator of comfort from a physiological standpoint is that you can come back in a day or two and hit it hard again- perform some tempo runs or another mid to long distance run without injury. Remember your first 18 miler? You might not have been able to move for days, it shouldn’t feel like this. You should get to the point when you can look at your schedule and say 10 is a short run, and 2-3 hours is standard and not “long.”
Once you have reached this level of base, you are ready to work on speed. The base you have built over the past 3 months will help you recover faster from your marathon effort- as you will be accustomed to the long miles and ready to hit another within a few weeks. After my last marathon- which was admittedly slow- I was back doing 18 within one week and feeling fine. This goes to show a few things 1) I am fairly fit and 2) I did not race the marathon.
The speed of the effort is what often leads to such a taxing of the muscle glycogen that molehills (or side walk curbs) really do seem like mountains. To minimize your post race soreness and to maximize your training between marathons hop in a pool. Find a pool at your hotel and do some deep water jogging the day after your marathon. Moving your muscles will bring blood flow to the area and help flush the metabolic waste (muscle breakdown) from your system. While it hurts, it is helping. A word of caution- there is good pain and bad pain, know the difference between the two and push the good pain to speed recovery, hold back on the bad pain (often the pain of an injury, a muscle strain or a tendonitis of sorts) fully heal and then dive back in. Those daunting curbs will not seem so high and the odd looks you get making your way “waddling” as my friends like to call it- will be kept to a minimum. Don’t forget your recovery drink immediately after your marathon- I put recovery powder in a water bottle and store it in bag check. Then at the finish line I grab an extra bottle of water and mix up my miracle drink- skipping this step is a bad idea and will just prolong your recovery time- eating into precious training days between efforts.
Another tip: a little goes a long way- what do I mean by this? 5 minutes in an ice bath will make you feel like a million bucks the day after a hard effort- be it the marathon or a hard training day.
After your base work and first marathon, focus on tempo and speed. Long tempo work- 10-12 miles at 15 seconds faster than your marathon pace is the goal workout for this block. Be sure to warm up, cool down and then hit the tempo hard and long. You can incorporate two of these workouts per week along with one longer (18-22) mile day and there you have it, your in between race workout plan.