Beginning of a plan...

Denver Marathon: J wanted to do another half this year. Price went up after yesterday, in a convoluted way (cheaper on the "13th" of every month, base price goes up next month). Less than a week after that, my sister gets married. Seemed like a good schedule to beat the legs into submission, so I signed up for the full.

It's been over a year since my last road marathon, and I'll admit, I started missing it more than I thought I would while watching the CM last weekend. But then I signed up, saw all the Active.com fees and optional accoutrements ($38 tech shirts, orange "charity" shoelaces, etc.), and then remembered things I *didn't* like about road marathons. But still looking forward to it.

Not sure what to expect. Here's the dilemma: I'm still thinking (logistics pending) about my first 100 in late August. This is the Lean Horse, relatively flat (for a 100) in South Dakota. This would be my goal race. 7 weeks later would be the Denver full. I like how the flatness will help with specificity of running a subsequent marathon...but will running a metric tonne of miles 50% slower than marathon race pace, give or take, blow any chances of a fast marathon? If needed, I can pace with some other friends, be happy to see my wife PR in the half, still enjoy the day while running slower...but that's not my ultimate preference. And, knowing the marathon is coming up after the 100, I would end up throwing a bit more tempo and intervals into some of the ultra training, which might help the 100...or might hurt.

What say you, dear reader? Any data on a fast marathon 7 weeks after a 100? I've read good things about fast 5k's and 10k's just weeks after...and I've read *bad* things about racing a road marathon *before* a 100...Just wondering what to expect here.