I'll be out of town for the 21 mile benchmark & am planning on walking 21 miles the following week (Sept 17th)... I'll just repeat the 7 mile route 3 times. Angela, if you want to walk the 2nd "7" with me I think I can get my husband to walk the 3rd "7". Do the coaches see any problem with walking 21 miles 2 weeks before the marathon instead of 3 weeks prior? I'm a Purple walker, first-time marathoner, feeling good, and ready to go. Woo-Hoo!

Lisa, after looking at our remaining schedule, it seems that 2 weeks is too close. But I'll defer to the head coaches on this one (and you since you know your body's recovery time). I'm available either 9/3 (you'd walk 9 with the group and 12 with me) or on 9/17 if that is what you want to do. My email is akw@aterwynne.com

Lisa,

Doing the 21 miler 2 weeks prior to the marathon is probably too close. The last 3 weeks are the taper period. I think the 3 weeks period between the marathon and the 21 miler is less than what we have had in the past.

If you completed the 18.6 (30k) in August I would not walk or run the 21 miler 2 weeks prior to the Marathon.

If you get a chance get a longer walk in while you are away. Then follow the schedule as it reduces mileage to put you on target for the marathon.

Angela's idea of getting the 21 miles in on 9/3 is a good one since that gives you 4 weeks to recover.

Its better to be rested and ready for the 26.2.

AC Michael

In general most marathon training programs require a 3 week taper, and the USA FIT program we're following has a 3 week taper. Some training programs even recommend a 4 week taper. But a 2 week taper would be too little except for someone who is (1) relatively young and (2) experienced at marathoning.

The issue is that you need to be very fully recovered from your last long run/walk before race day, and that requires youth -- definitely under 30 years old, maybe even younger. And the experience is important because that ensures that your body is very well trained and you know what it is to have done a marathon.

So it would be far better to do a 4 week taper as AC Michael suggests than to try to do it in 2 weeks.

I would also say doing the 21 miler 4 weeks ahead is better than 2 weeks. ESPECIALLY if this is your first marathon. I've got 30+ marathons under my belt and I still wouldn't feel good about a 2 week taper. (I don't have that YOUNG part of the equation, but I do have experience)

When you get to the starting line of the Portland Marathon you want to be rested and fresh. There really isn't any training you can do in the 2 weeks before the marathon that will make you stronger or better prepared. Rest is the key - and staying loose. Having your last LONG run/walk 3-4 weeks prior to your event is perfect! Still try to get out and walk if you can when you're out of town, but my call is: do the 21 miler before you go.

Good luck and have fun!

AC Christina

Thanks for all your coaching advice! I've changed my plans to walk the 21 miles 4 weeks ahead of the marathon and then follow the schedule to be sure I am rested and ready to go. I can hardly wait for the big day. Woo-Hoo!

Just a follow up for all of you curious people out there - Lisa walked with the Vancouver group for the 9 miles on Sunday, and then the two of us walked the other 12 miles. She was smiling the entire way (even when telling me how much she hated me for forcing her to do this) and was headed home to stick her feet in ice water when I last saw her.

She is so ready for the marathon! As an AC, it has been a pleasure for me to watch her from the first few weeks of the program to now.

From what I can tell, she did everything right: She used the 21 miler as a dress rehearsal for Oct. 1. She had already broken in her new shoes. She ate dinner early and had practiced different foods over the last couple months so knew just what to eat (spaghetti and meatballs works for her). She laid out her clothes the night before. She had a banana in the morning, and brought along a peanut butter sandwich that she ate around mile 12. (Again, she's practiced different foods and knows what she needs and what works for her.) She drank water. She kept a good attitude. She recognized when she was getting close to her 'wall' and scampered over it. (By close to her wall - it was a point when her mood definitely dropped, she mentioned her feet hurting, she became less talkative and focused on the short distances ahead, she could have been easily talked into stopping for a nap...) But, as I said, she scampered over that wall and continued on. She'll have to confirm this but it seemed to me mile 18-19 were toughest, and then the rest got easier.

I tried to tempt her with cold grapes about mile 17 and she turned me down flat, saying that she had never had grapes while walking and didn't think now was the time to try them...

EXCELLENT JOB LISA!! Enjoy the East Coast and we'll see you in a couple weeks.

Good thinking there by Lisa ... grapes are loaded with fructose and fiber that can be disagreeable to a body under the stress of a marathon. If you want to hear a story about "grapes gone bad" then just talk to Yellow Coach JR Malpass who ate some grapes in the middle of an Ironman one time and regretted it.

Nobody lets me forget the error of my ways! (It seems like I always have to run into a wall before I believe that it is really there!)
Yes. Mile 16 of the marathon, after 112 miles on the bike, and a 2 1/2 mile dip in a cool lake I thought a medium sized bunch of slightly sour grapes might make me feel like running alittle faster the last 10 miles. Ha! Shortly thereafter, while looking up at a dark sky (it was night by then) with fluffy white clouds as contrast I had to admit that the grapes were not a good idea.
Make sure that whatever you do on marathon day has been tried and tested on training runs. Now you can forget who told you this story and why.
JR-Yellow Coach

THANK YOU ALL for your great advice and especially THANK YOU ANGELA for walking those 12 miles with me. Your presence and upbeat conversation made all the difference!! I am still in disbelief that we walked the last two miles in a 15-min mile pace (that's good for me). SO I learned a lot about what I CAN do and what to expect. The wall is indeed a reality ... and that is where I so appreciated Angela and my Vancouver Fit training. Thanks to whoever said that we get thru the first 20 miles because of our training and the last 6 miles because of our heart. (Although Angela added that GUTS help too!) I needed every organ I had...

My feet definitely hurt, but I survived without a single blister. An epsom salt bath has been a post-walk ritual for months and that helped too. I was sore but didn't need any advil, etc., just rest, rest, rest. My only complaint was a headache for two days... I think it was from squinting in the sun. I didn't wear a visor & it got HOT toward the end. And perhaps I should have had more water afterward. I realize I didn't drink much after I got home.

In any case. I am HAPPY because I accomplished something I worried I was unable to do. I encourage everyone out there who has doubts to realize that doubts are a normal part of the process... just get out there and TRY. Your training, no matter how many weeks or walks you've missed, will kick in! Each effort builds momentum to accomplish the next task. I'll be cheering you all on next Saturday! Go Angela!

And I am thrilled to say, I am looking forward to the marathon!
Woo-Hoo!

So, Lisa, during our walk you told me no way - now that it has been a few days - how do you feel about joining a Portland to Coast team next year? I'm telling you - it is FUN!