Okay, here's the deal. I might run a mini-marathon in May and begin training with some people starting in the coming weeks. We would all be in this for the long haul, and be guided by one who has done a few of these before.

My question is how would training for this affect my mass or weight lifting gains? Is this too much endurance, long term cardio? Am I going to be breaking down more then just fat? Or would I simply have to up my caloric intake to cover my ass while I'm running these extra miles.

Right now I run a few times a week (2 or 3) and basically do one of each: 1) a 15 minute run at a very quick speed and see how far I can go. It's usually 2.5-3 miles, or 2) a 30 minute jog. If you follow my journal, you'll know that I love compound lifts, and I lift just to stay strong and in shape. I'm not too concerned on how big or cut I am, just strength gains. I want to keep the mass I have, (gain if it happens :D) but not lose.

So how can I go about this Mini without hurting what I have going for me? Up the calories? Or will this form of cardio not change my routine much from what it is now w/the 15 minute runs?

Thanks everyone!

My question is how would training for this affect my mass or weight lifting gains? Is this too much endurance, long term cardio?!

If you eat sensibly (which might mean bumping up calories to compensate), and subtract the marathon training from your existing cardio, then this is not a huge issue if you have decent cardio fitness.

If you have poor cardio fitness (which I guess you do not), you would want to fix that anyway and the mini-marathon training will fix it.

Once you have good cardio fitness then you can worry a bit less about how much of it you do.

a 15 minute run at a very quick speed and see how far I can go. It's usually 2.5-3 miles
In terms of a 5k race, 2.5 in 15 minutes is not bad and 3 miles in 15 minutes is phenomenal.

How long is a mini marathon? 6.5? :confused:

If you eat sensibly (which might mean bumping up calories to compensate), and subtract the marathon training from your existing cardio, then this is not a huge issue if you have decent cardio fitness.

If you have poor cardio fitness (which I guess you do not), you would want to fix that anyway and the mini-marathon training will fix it.

Once you have good cardio fitness then you can worry a bit less about how much of it you do.

Thanks, thats what I was hoping. Just a diet change (uping) is nothing I can't handle.

In terms of a 5k race, 2.5 in 15 minutes is not bad and 3 miles in 15 minutes is phenomenal.

How long is a mini marathon? 6.5?

Yeah, when I was playing college FB I was running 2 mile runs in under 11 minutes quite easily. I faded away a bit when I stopped, but I've gotten it back. I used it as a goal for myself to get myself back to that level.

A mini marathon is half a marathon: 13.1 miles :D

My wife and I were just considering the idea of doing that same mini marathon in Indy! We haven't signed up yet, but may do so in the next few days.

Gotta start training though. It'd be our first, and I haven't been running much lately. :bb: (Where is the running smiley?! :confused:)

Anyway, Good luck!

Mike

Best of luck! Half-marathons are a lot of fun, test your endurance, and don't shred you down quite as much as full marathon training.

I hope to participate in one or two in late Spring; I did them when I was in my 20s (oh so many years ago), and they're one of the sports that don't seem to be affected too badly by age.

No worries. This issue constantly pops up here and I made a thread about it before starting my marathon training. I'm about 1.5 weeks out from my marathon. I started at a weight of about 175 and I'm about two lbs heavier. My bodyfat is about the same (10-10.5%, which is where it was when I started). It's possible I put a couple of lbs of muscle on, though I really can't say...it's also possible and maybe probably that I'm terminally bloated from all the food I'm eating :)

I've been averaging a touch over 30 miles/week over this period, peaking with 43 miles/week about two weeks ago, with a couple of 20 mile runs in the past few weeks.

I've continued lifting weights just as heavy and frequently as before. My overall upper body strength has stayed the same or _marginally_ increased. I did 6 sets of 210 X 5 reps on bench yesterday, which is about where I was before I started.

The only weight approach I've changed is with squats and I jacked the reps right up in some hope of increasing endurance, though I realize that's probably a bogus way to do it and nothing will increase it like simply running!

Anyway, I tried losing fat initially on my program but found that to be unenjoyable for a couple of reasons. 1) running a lot while on a calorie deficit just kind of isn't fun and 2) I wanted maximum energy to cover my body's healing. Now that I've built up the base mileage and my body is more acclimated to the miles, I could lose weight and may do so after my race, but during the program and its constant jacking up of miles, it may not be a good idea to try and lose fat.

So, how did I keep the bodyfat where it was and not lose weight? Eating! About 3600-3700 calories/day. That's definitely one of the big bonuses of running so much.

You probably know already, but make sure you're in the correct shoes from a stability stand point and don't be afraid to miss a workout or two if you think you're pushing past the body's recovery limits!

Thanks a lot for the info. You def. touched on almost everything I was wondering. And it helps to hear from you as you are almost done with your training. Best of luck in the race!