Added Race - Yes or No

[EMHDad]

I have my first half in late July and the Dis full in Jan. I am considering adding a race in late Oct to keep motivated. Maybe a full or at least a half. Any thoughts?

 

[stitchfan18]

I have my first half in late July and the Dis full in Jan. I am considering adding a race in late Oct to keep motivated. Maybe a full or at least a half. Any thoughts?

You could add a half as part of your training for the full. I get antsy not racing for a full month, so I usually try to run at least one race a month if not more, even if it's just a 5k. It keeps me motivated to train!

 

[Disfan11]

I'm running a 1/2 on 6/4.
And then another one on 6/26.
I've never done that before, so hopefully it will work out.
Then I'm running the DL 1/2 on 9/4.
I plan on doing some 5 and 10K's in between to keep going, along with my training program.

 

[John VN]

If the scheduling works, go for it. I would just be concerned about the possibility of injury.

I went Dopey in January, will do DL for C2C Medal then next year's Goofy. No other events planned so I simply use my training walks to challenge myself to remain motivated.

e.g.-1/2M time in Jan. was 2:20, in March I walked a 2:06 with next Jan. goal of under 2:00

Full time in Jan. was 4:56 but yet to do another full because of accident.
Plan to walk a 4:40 by Aug. then under 4:30 goal for Goofy.

I'm a firm believer of self motivation.

Good luck.

 

[marathonmommy]

Lately, I have been running a half about once a month to keep me going and keep my mileage up. I just registered for the Marine Corps Marathon that is at the end of October, so I am going to not do that anymore - plus there are less long distance races near me in the summer. I understand your thought process - I do need the races to help me stay motivated or I would probably run less.

 

[ludari]

I have my first half in late July and the Dis full in Jan. I am considering adding a race in late Oct to keep motivated. Maybe a full or at least a half. Any thoughts?

I say go for it! My friends and I use various races to keep us motivated and our training current. They key is to stay injury free.

 

[cewait]

I have my first half in late July and the Dis full in Jan. I am considering adding a race in late Oct to keep motivated. Maybe a full or at least a half. Any thoughts?

No reason you cannot run a race in October/November. I ran a half every 3-4 weeks last fall because I could not stand another season of 'training'

Adding a thought to your question.... I would really think through the full vs a half. Not being sure what your goals are I would stick with a shorter distance before Disney so Disney will be your first marathon. If you are looking for a little more distance that a half, look for a 25 or 30k to run. These are great training races and will help you keep your edge while reserving the fun of the last 12 k for Disney.

 

[runner_princess]

I did a half on 5/7, one on 5/21, and am planning one for 6/11. I try to do at least 1 10k or longer race per month.
That said, as a new or newer runner, or a lower mileage runner, be careful in planning too many race close together or that much of a ramp that close together. For you, a fall race sounds completely reasonable - - but be sure to plan for rest and recovery time in between races.

 

[johde]

No reason you cannot run a race in October/November. I ran a half every 3-4 weeks last fall because I could not stand another season of 'training'

Adding a thought to your question.... I would really think through the full vs a half. Not being sure what your goals are I would stick with a shorter distance before Disney so Disney will be your first marathon. If you are looking for a little more distance that a half, look for a 25 or 30k to run. These are great training races and will help you keep your edge while reserving the fun of the last 12 k for Disney.

Coach - So from your perspective, your first marathon should be a "destination race". I've been contemplating a marathon down the road possibly in 2012-2013. What's your reasoning for making for first one a "big" one? Especially with Disney being in January, I had the same thought of doing a 26.2 mile "training run" with water stops and medal in October.

 

[cewait]

Coach - So from your perspective, your first marathon should be a "destination race". I've been contemplating a marathon down the road possibly in 2012-2013. What's your reasoning for making for first one a "big" one? Especially with Disney being in January, I had the same thought of doing a 26.2 mile "training run" with water stops and medal in October.

Not necessarily....

I was working on the fact that the original poster had entered WDWM as a first mary. I wanted to offer that a training mary might 'spoil' the memories the WDWM since you only have one first event.

As far as destination vs home first marathons... Honestly, there are really more reasons to make you first event a home based event starting with sleeping in your own bed all the way to having much more support on course. My first mary was WDWM so I did run a destination race as a first. It is really a personal decision. My first full was Disney so I was a large destination virgin marathoner.

I would suggest that anyone looking for a first event not choose an inaugural event and do some homework about past events on marathonguide.com. The more speed challenged one is the larger the first event should be. There are lots of reasons such as: Longer time limits, better stocked, more course support. There is nothing worse than running a marathon and after the second or third corner finding yourself out on a country road by yourself.

 

[johde]

Coach - I can definately see your reasoning. As far as marathon on my "to do" list, Right now, I have Disney and either New York, or Chicago. I can see not wanting to enter a local small marathon as your first one to "race" your first marathon. Disney may need to wait until I'm ready to go Goofy because I'm thinking it may be a one and done based on the price. The big marathons around here are $60-90 and the smaller ones are as cheap as $25.