Training with back to back activities?

[buckeyecinderella]

Curious about this: early in training, before the long runs get truly long, does it make sense to condition your body, for the time you would spend on the marathon course, by doing back-to-back activities that would take the same time as you would expect to complete a marathon? For example if you plan a five hour marathon would it be beneficial to go for a bike ride for 2 1/2 hours followed by a 2 1/2 run? Any benefit to this early in training? Thanks.




For example if you expect to complete a marathon in five hours, would it make sense to go cycling for 2 1/2 hours followed by 2 1/2 hour run?

 

[buckeyecinderella]

Sorry about the near duplicate examples... Had some trouble with the iPhone...

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Personally, I would not. Stress your body too much, too soon, and you are asking for injuries. The number one cause of injury to runners is pushing your body too far, too fast, too soon. It would be more beneficial to run more days or cross train on your off days, than to do too much on a single day - especially your long run day.

Keep in mind - training guides are just guides. If you are stronger (or weaker) than you should be on the day for a long run, run further (or shorter) - but not by too much. Stay close to the suggested distances and paces, but remember that it is only a guide. The person that wrote it did so based on his body, not yours.

Listen to your body and you will be fine. But listen early and often. Don't wait until after a run. That is what leads to injury.

 

[cewait]

Only been to the buckeye state....


If I read your post correctly, the question boils down to "Does it make sense to do a combined aerobic activity NOW that would be equivalent to your race time effort?"

Yes, IF you have the aerobic engine in place to support the effort, I see no reason not to go out for a combined training day. Doing a 30 minute long run and calling it a day makes little sense to a person who may have been riding 3-5 hours each weekend. Though, do your run FIRST. You want to complete your mission first then head out for a ride or swim to back up the run. You will want to build up your running miles in a controlled manner. If you are currently running a distance longer than your plan's beginning weeks, pull back your distance and merge into the plan over a 2-4 week period.

I could also read the question as can I split my near race long runs up into two separate sports. The short answer is no, run your training plan's distance/time The exception here would be if the runner is fighting an injury then a substitute aerobic activity may well be in order.