Before an important competition, it is tempting to do a final test to reassure yourself or take advantage of your fitness to improve your personal record. If you are preparing for a marathon, you can notably run a half marathon in the preceding weeks. Let’s see the benefits of adding a preparation race and how to choose it well.
Contents
What is the purpose of doing a preparation race?
A preparation race breaks the training routine and serves as a full-scale test before your main goal. Whether you are preparing for a marathon in 3h or 4h30, you can test your hydration and nutrition strategy, as well as your equipment in real conditions.
In the best case, the preparation race goes very well and boosts your confidence for the main goal.
If, on the contrary, the race does not go well, it may create doubts about your ability to succeed in the next one. If this happens, take into account the lessons from the race to make adjustments for the main goal. It can be an opportunity to take your revenge! However, do not add more to your training, as it can also be a sign of fatigue, and running more will add even more. The last 7 days should be very light!
This is why a preparation race should be taken seriously. Therefore, plan 4 to 5 easier days before, and a few easier days after to fully absorb the race.
3 to 4 days before the preparation race, it is useful to do a pace reminder at the target race pace. This is suggested in the RunMotion Coach app when you enter an intermediate goal.
How to choose your preparation race?
Ideally, the preparation race is about half the distance of the main goal. If you are running a marathon, the ideal preparation race is the half marathon. If you are running a half marathon, it will be a 10km. The same applies to trail running. However, if your main goal is a 10km race, there are few 5km races, so you can do another 10km in preparation, and with some luck, you might beat your personal record right away!
The ideal preparation race is a race close to home. If you have to drive 2 hours each way, run, and drive 2 hours back on the same day, it is probably better to skip it and stick to your normal training. If the race is far, it is better to leave for the weekend so that the travel and the race cause the least possible fatigue.
Regarding the date, the ideal is 3 to 4 weeks before the main goal. This works well for the Paris Marathon since the Paris half marathon is exactly 4 weeks before! In this case, you can run the half marathon or your preparation race at 100% of your abilities, and you might even beat your personal record!
For preparation races of marathon distance or more, it is better to do this race 4 to 6 weeks before.
If you do not have any preparation races within this date range, do not panic! You can do a 10km or a half marathon up to 2 weeks before the main goal. In this case, you can decide to do this race as a test of your marathon pace if you are running a marathon 2 weeks later.
Can you do 2 to 3 races before the main goal?
If you love racing, yes! Just make sure to keep maximum motivation for the main goal, and if you do too much training or racing, you risk being too tired for your main goal or having little motivation.
You should do these preparation races because you really want to and not see them as an obligation. The marathon world record holder Eliud Kipchoge does not do competitions in preparation, but rather tests on distances a bit shorter than the marathon. However, when he does, he has people with him for hydration and nutrition. If you want to do a test, for example, a half marathon in training, try to have someone with you on a bike to regularly provide you with refreshments.
Do you want to run a marathon and have a half marathon in preparation in your marathon training plan? That’s great, the RunMotion Coach app allows you to do it with a personalized training plan including intermediate goals 😉
These articles might also interest you: