1/2 Mary or Full Mary and IM ???

Aaron,

I am also looking at the Whiterock Lake 1/2 mary in December.  Was set to do the half there and again in Houston, but I don't want to overdo things going into my IM training, which starts at the end of December.

Decisions, Decisions!!

How do you feel about the individual IM distances right now.  Can you swim 2.4 miles non-stop?  Can you bike 112 miles non-stop?  Can you run 26.2 miles non-stop?  If you can not go these distances yet it really is not a big deal.  You still have 313 days to get ready.  That is a ton of time to slowly build up your training, the key is to stay consistant and injury free.

IMO if you have never run a marathon before then you should not run one 5 months out from an IM.  3 weeks of marathon taper and then another 3 weeks of recovery (if everything goes well), thats 6 weeks of easy training all for the benifit of one long run.  Instead of a marathon it could have been 3 long rides and 3 long runs.  The only real thing a stand-alone marathon has ever done for me is show me how slow an IM marathon really is.

I do not think that a half-marathon is a bad idea but I would not commit to the full at this time. 

Thanks, T.  In looking at all the variables, including my schedule and the fact that I have a family to consider, I am going to stick with the plan of doing the 1/2 mary in December in Dallas and/or the 1/2 mary in January in Houston.  The training plan is much more "doable" and it will give me some good improvement on my running before my IM training program kicks in, without knocking me down nearly as hard as a full mary would.