Triathlon? Marathon anyone?

[Shibby]

I suppose but lifting actually improves your overall health and you see the results every time you look in the mirror, so it's great for all us narciscists :D

Lifting yes, but heavy lifting and adding excessive (as in more than you need to function day to day) mass has it's negatives. And before anyone tries to pick through this post, you know what I am saying.

[FrankTheTank55]

I ran a half of one a few years ago. It wasnt that hard really. It was in the fall so it was a nice cool day and the pace that everyone runs is so slow. That was the hardest part, I was used to running at a fast jog. But just do it for fun if it takes you 3 hours, so what. One thing I have heard alot of is more people hurt themselfs from drinking to much water than not enough water. You can even die from to much water. I think they say you should drink 8oz every 20 minutes.

[coffee-guy]

GREAT website full of GREAT advice for most all sports - should be a sticky here but not sure what sub-forum it should be placed in...

Marathon Training... Fitness Programs from Beginner to Advanced

BTW - I have run a few half marathons and spent about 4 years training for races from 5k to full marathons. You have to incorporate a lot of different training programs and bring them all together to get the most out of yourself. Running on slight declines to "over-speed" (or something similar to that term), run steep grade differences, sand/beach/lakeside running, finishing drills (being able to sprint when you're exhausted), lactic acid reduction exercises, breathing techniques, relaxation techniques...

Diet/nutrition play a huge role too - not that difficult to adapt your diet though - just have to give your body the fuel it needs.

And yes - four months should be sufficient training time to run a half marathon. Good luck bro....

[SonofBone]

SonofBone, where are you? :)

Here I am, lol.

My personal recommendation would definitely be a triathlon. If you're looking at an Olympic Distance triathlon (1500 meter swim, 24 mile bike & 6.2 mile run) then the event will take 2.5 - 3 hours. A marathon would take 3 - 4 hours. In the end, it may be a bigger accomplishment to do a 4 hour event, but here are the reasons I choose triathlon.

Triathletes are much more focused on being well rounded. It isn't just running & it isn't doing a long run on Saturday for 18 miles. You'll see triathletes of many shapes & sizes. The marathoners I typically see have no muscle mass because they run so much that they become catabolic.

Triathletes are recommended to do strength training at least 2x/week to help prevent injury and keep muscle mass. Also, for an Olympic Distance event you'll never run more than 80 minutes in training & that won't happen until very late...say week 14 out of 16 or so. I will admit the biking portion of the training can be a bit boring and monotonous up to over 2 hours at a time, but that is a small sacrifice you have to be willing to make.

Training plans can easily be found online for free, and I'd recommend giving one a shot. They're a lot of fun & if you're single, the atmosphere is conducive to meeting in shape individuals...not that that would be a reason for doing one or anything. :)

[BJJ PitBull]

thanks for the info.....i actually blew it. I was doing good, and running consistently daily. Got paranoid about loseing too much muscle mass, and so thought i would incorporate wieght lifting back into my life. I spent the last year or so doing a lot of body wieght stuff, sprints etc. mainly to be in better shape for Jiu Jitsu. So anyways, got back into the gym to try and keep or even gain muscle while running being the main focus still. After the 1st 5am trip to the gym, I have not run once. I got totally re-addicted to lifting, and have fine tuned my diet. I think i look the best in my life right now, but like i said i havent ran since around the time i posted this. I want to try and find a balance, but like sonofbone said, all marathon runners are lean and not a good looking lean. I still want to do a half marathon but just dont know how it will fit into lifting schedule. Loseing muscle mass greater then 5 pounds is not an option. Im 5'9" 185lbs. 8%bf.

[SonofBone]

PitBull, I have a friend that has run 5 marathons this year. I believe his best time is 3 hours 10 minutes. He is about 6' 2" & 220 lbs. He is fairly smooth, but has been able to maintain his size somewhat. If you decided to do a 1/2 marathon, I think you could maintain your size & stay pretty lean.

My younger brother had never done any type of running prior to a tri we did in October. Now, he is doing training for a 1/2 marathon & finds it to be much less time consuming & also easier to incorporate resistance training in his schedule.

Below is a beginner schedule he is following. Saturday is the only time consuming day.

Mon Tues Wed Thur Fri Sat Sun
1 Rest 3 miles 3-4 miles Rest 3-4 miles 3-4 miles Rest
2 Rest 3-4 miles 3-4 miles Rest 3-4 miles 4 miles Rest
3 Rest 3-4 miles 4-5 miles Rest 4-5 miles 5 miles Rest
4 Rest 3-5 miles 4-5 miles Rest 4-5 miles 6 miles Rest
5 Rest 3-5 miles 4-5 miles Rest 3-5 miles 7 miles Rest
6 Rest 3-5 miles 4-5 miles Rest 3-5 miles 8 miles Rest
7 Rest 3-5 miles 4-5 miles Rest 3-5 miles 9 miles Rest
8 Rest 3-5 miles 4-5 miles Rest 3-5 miles 10 miles Rest
9 Rest 3-5 miles 4-5 miles Rest 3-5 miles 11 miles Rest
10 Rest 3-5 miles 4-5 miles Rest 3-5 miles 12 miles Rest
11 Rest 3 miles 4-5 miles Rest 3-5 miles 6 miles Rest
12 Rest 3 miles 2 miles Rest 2 miles Rest or Race Rest or Race

[BJJ PitBull]

Thanks for the info bro, I appreciate you taking the time. I will keep this routine and give it a try.