When do you give up on a training plan?

[biomaj5]

If a marathon training plan isn't going well, and you know that it's very unlikely that you'll PR in the race, what do you do? Tough it out with less-than-ideal paces, drop to the half, sit out this marathon?

I ran my last marathon on Nov 24. I took a 5 week running break after that because of pain in my right foot. I eased back into running and training for the next marathon (apr 27). Starting in mid-Jan, I began having hip flexor issues (super tight). I've been dealing with that, as well as occasional foot pain again. In order to PR in the marathon, my pace needs to be 10:16 or better. I haven't had a run with an average pace under 11 min miles since Jan 19 (and that was 10:39). I've completely skipped 4 runs so far, and I did less than the required miles on 6 runs. The rest have had slow paces. 

I was supposed to do 15 yesterday. I managed 10.55. My hip hurt, my feet hurt, and my overall fitness just sucked. I had no energy. I got home and spent the rest of the night curled up in a ball with awful stomach issues (it didn't start until I got home). I was supposed to do 14 last week, but I did a group run with the local running club in order to find some motivation, and the road was icy and we had to run in snowy grass, so I cut it short to 8 miles.

I can't decide if I'm being smart in skipping this marathon (I haven't signed up yet) or if I'm a quitter and therefore a failure. If I skip it, I'll take a week off starting now (and I have to do that regardless, because my hip hurts more than I'd like), and then I'll make a maintenance plan that'll get me through until I start training for my planned fall marathon (start June 23, race is Oct 12). I'd do my long runs like this: 8 miles, 10 the next week, 12, back to 8, 10, etc, with 2 or 3 3-4 mile runs mid-week. Maybe a longer mid-week run; not sure yet.

I'm not happy with the way this training cycle is going. My trainer thinks that it's all a mental funk and that I need to stop focusing on the time. But I don't want to spend $120 if I can't PR. After yesterday's run, I'm not even sure that I could PR a half if I dropped down.

What do I do? I hate half-assing training, and all of this skipping runs and slower paces makes me feel like that's exactly what I'm doing.

[clseale]

There's no shame in walking away from this. You are not a quitter. Marathon training takes a ton of time, and honestly, you sound miserable right now. It's not the paces, so much as it seems like you're really not enjoying it. There's nothing wrong with changing your mind about this race. If you were already plugging away at 20 milers, I might tell you to push through and hope for the best, but with where you are at in training, there is still a lot of training left to do! There's nothing wrong with backing off & waiting until you can give your training the attention it deserves. Since you have the fall race planned, and your body seems to be rebelling against training, AND since you're not even registered, it wouldn't be a terrible idea to back off & refocus your attention to the fall marathon.

[runaways]

It kind of sounds to me like you really just aren't feeling it this time, and more importantly like your body needs a break. If I were you, having not registered, I would sit this one out, take a little time to re-evaluate, and find another race. I may be the only one who says that around here though, ha.

[biomaj5]

I talked to my bff about it last night, and she said that she knows that right now, I won't be happy with anything less than a PR in the longer races (I am ok with not PRing 5Ks every time lol). Maybe in another year or 2, when I'm faster, I won't expect to PR every time. But right now, I'm slow enough that there should be a time improvement every time IMO. When I talked to my trainer this morning, she looked at me sort of disapprovingly and didn't say anything. I would love to wake up tomorrow with everything working like it should, kwim? But my hips seem to be determined to be the death of me. I was close to getting sub-10 min miles right before the last marathon. I thought that taking that post-marathon break would be the smart thing to do, and instead my body went to crap.

Now, on another note, I've discovered a 24hr ultramarathon (with a 12hr option) a week after the fall marathon I'd planned on running. I can do one or the other, definitely not planning to try both. But maybe I can maintain some motivation by getting excited and making pro/con lists for both races and figure out which one I want to do. I'd LOVE to do the 24 hr option, but that's just crazytalk right now. But 12hrs? Maybe I could do 12. Also, my uncle managed to convince me to sign up for a Tour de Cure in June, and I don't even have a bike. But that's fodder for another post.

[runaways]

What is it with people's trainers? I know it's her job to push you, but she doesn't live in your body every day.

[clseale]

Feb 17, 2014 10:54:20 GMT -5 runaways said:

What is it with people's trainers? I know it's her job to push you, but she doesn't live in your body every day.

Seriously! People need to just stop talking to other people. 

I do not blame you (and share your outlook) on still PR-ing in the longer distances. There's nothing wrong with that. I just think that marathon training is something you really have to have your heart in if you are going to give it a fair shot. You can't half ass it. Well, you CAN (I did for my first), but it is going to be very obvious on race day. It's a long way to go to be disappointed at the end. The training is tough. The payoff for the hard work, is a (hopefully) great race. If I didn't think that was possible, it just wouldn't be worth it to me. I'm not one of those people who runs things (not the longer races at least) "just for fun", so take my opinion with a grain of salt. lol 

[runaways]

Feb 17, 2014 11:07:38 GMT -5 clseale said:

Feb 17, 2014 10:54:20 GMT -5 runaways said:

What is it with people's trainers? I know it's her job to push you, but she doesn't live in your body every day.

Seriously! People need to just stop talking to other people. 

I do not blame you (and share your outlook) on still PR-ing in the longer distances. There's nothing wrong with that. I just think that marathon training is something you really have to have your heart in if you are going to give it a fair shot. You can't half ass it. Well, you CAN (I did for my first), but it is going to be very obvious on race day. It's a long way to go to be disappointed at the end. The training is tough. The payoff for the hard work, is a (hopefully) great race. If I didn't think that was possible, it just wouldn't be worth it to me. I'm not one of those people who runs things (not the longer races at least) "just for fun", so take my opinion with a grain of salt. lol 

Yep. I'm here too. I'm okay with not PRing if I've trained hard and am still giving my best (so, in case of illness or having a kid or something) but if I am not physically or mentally up for that, I need to wait until I'm in a better place before I tackle something like a marathon.

[biomaj5]

Feb 17, 2014 11:07:38 GMT -5 clseale said:

Feb 17, 2014 10:54:20 GMT -5 runaways said:

What is it with people's trainers? I know it's her job to push you, but she doesn't live in your body every day.

Seriously! People need to just stop talking to other people. 

I do not blame you (and share your outlook) on still PR-ing in the longer distances. There's nothing wrong with that. I just think that marathon training is something you really have to have your heart in if you are going to give it a fair shot. You can't half ass it. Well, you CAN (I did for my first), but it is going to be very obvious on race day. It's a long way to go to be disappointed at the end. The training is tough. The payoff for the hard work, is a (hopefully) great race. If I didn't think that was possible, it just wouldn't be worth it to me. I'm not one of those people who runs things (not the longer races at least) "just for fun", so take my opinion with a grain of salt. lol 

LOL. That cracked me up, considering that's exactly what I'm doing here. ;-)

I'm glad that I'm not the only one who doesn't run solely for fun. I mean, I enjoy running a lot, but in order to maintain motivation, I need to either compete against someone or myself. I need a training plan. The only time I've ever gone out and ran just to run was last year on a holiday that I can get upset about easily. It took 13 miles for me to feel better. Besides that, every other non-race run has been either a training run, or a scheduled between-training-plans run.

[clseale]

LOL. I should have specified...People need to stop talking to other people who do not share the same opinion as us! I kid. It's good to get other opinions, but I don't like your trainer making you feel bad about it, or being disapproving when you are coming to her with legitimate concerns. It's good to encourage you, but the answer isn't always to just suck it up & push through.

I genuinely enjoy running as my form of exercise, and even relaxation, but if I'm following a difficult training plan for 16-18 weeks, it's going to be because I am pushing myself to be better.

[Brit]

If it were me, I'd walk away. But I am also a person who doesn't mind blowing off paid for entries if I know I won't PR, so I may not be the right person to ask.

Even aside from the PR aspect, you don't sound excited about the training right now. Why do something that you're not excited about? There will be other races.

[Susie]

Feb 17, 2014 10:21:29 GMT -5 biomaj5 said:

I'm not happy with the way this training cycle is going. My trainer thinks that it's all a mental funk and that I need to stop focusing on the time. But I don't want to spend $120 if I can't PR. After yesterday's run, I'm not even sure that I could PR a half if I dropped down.

If this is really how you feel, then I would bail.  This does not sound like a PR training cycle, and it honestly doesn't matter why, whether it's mental or physical.  

I would probably not bail, but I don't need to PR every race for it to be worth while.  There are races that I am in it to PR, and there are races that I'm in it to experience.  There are also races that I start a training plan intending to PR, and I have to adjust my expectations because of injuries/etc. that come up mid-training cycle.  I had that last experience with the Philly Half this fall, I wanted to PR but ended up just happy to finish it due to achilles issues and missed runs during training.

It doesn't sound like you'll enjoy the experience of finishing it out, so don't.  Life is too short to feel miserable about something you SHOULD BE DOING FOR ENJOYMENT!  I mean obviously you don't enjoy every minute of every run, but the net should be a positive in your life, not a negative/drain.  Take a break from it so you can come back and enjoy it another year/season.

[emuni04]

Feb 17, 2014 10:32:34 GMT -5 clseale said:

There's no shame in walking away from this. You are not a quitter. Marathon training takes a ton of time, and honestly, you sound miserable right now. It's not the paces, so much as it seems like you're really not enjoying it. There's nothing wrong with changing your mind about this race. If you were already plugging away at 20 milers, I might tell you to push through and hope for the best, but with where you are at in training, there is still a lot of training left to do! There's nothing wrong with backing off & waiting until you can give your training the attention it deserves. Since you have the fall race planned, and your body seems to be rebelling against training, AND since you're not even registered, it wouldn't be a terrible idea to back off & refocus your attention to the fall marathon.

All of this. You sound JUST like me before my half earlier this month. I really wish I had walked away. I didn't enjoy one second of my run and was SO freaking sore afterwards and was pissed at my finish time. I mean, yeah, I am glad I did it (I guess), but honestly I wish I would have listened to the voice in my head that told me to just not run it.

You are not a quitter.

[emilyinchile]

I would not be happy with a trainer who ignored my concerns about injury. To be honest, if you were just worried about not PRing, as your trainer I would probably say to push through, snap out of it, get what you can out of difficult circumstances, it's about the journey, blah blah blah. I think even if you don't PR, you can gain experience and toughness that lead to a future PR from sticking it out. But if you're saying that you hurt, then I'd tell you to back off for now and focus on getting healthy so you can train for fall.

Hope you feel better soon!