There are so many reasons why you would want to challenge yourself by running a marathon. Personally, it was to test and exceed my perceived physical and mental limits. My initial thought was that it was wishful thinking that I could do 50.000 steps or about 26.2 miles in one day. Although it seems a bit silly considering that marathons are as common as sliced bread, that was my own mental limitation. Something I like to call…being lazy!
Anyone that has finished at least one marathon, says it’s addictive and they repeatedly go back for more to improve their times. Personally, I do not see a marathon as enjoyment, but more a means to be the master of my body and mind. It is an important element in overcoming the many blocks and limitations that we place on ourselves.
Most importantly it is a confidence booster, especially when you cross that finish line. In this article, I’ll share with you my tips on how to awaken the marathon warrior inside yourself. They do say the test is in the tasting and when it comes to marathons, the test is in the running!
How to get started?
According to experts, you need four months minimum to prepare. Very fit people can train in as little as 2 months. I took six months. You know yourself and your fitness levels better in addition to your other commitments and time availability or constrictions.
Start early – conventional wisdom recommends that you run consistent base mileage for a year, minimum, before starting a marathon training program. An excellent way is to start small with a few short races starting with a 5K. First of all pick a 5k run 6 to 8 weeks in the future and sign up for it. BBC Sport has a great couch to 5k training schedule you can follow which is supported by an app that you can use to manage your training.
Once you have a 5k run or two under your belt start the process again for a 10k. Once you can run 10k without stopping you can look for a half marathon.
What are the primary elements of marathon training?
Base mileage – you need to run three to five times weekly and build your weekly mileage.
Long run – increase your long distances once every seven to ten days for your body to adjust gradually to them. The most important workout is the long run. At least four to five months prior to the marathon, you should start building your endurance so that you can run 20 miles minimum prior to the marathon. As a first-time marathoner, you should be able to do these distances twice before race day.
Speed work – you want to increase your cardio capacity which can be achieved with tempo runs and interval training.
Rest and recovery – keep in mind that you can only prevent mental burnout and injuries with adequate rest.
How do you prepare for 26.2 miles and avoid injuries?
A marathon is just a word, a word that encompasses 26.2 miles, which is a very long way and an incredibly tough endurance test. It is a fact that many runners do not reach the finish line when their preparation wasn’t good enough.
There are a number of common injuries like runner’s knee or patellofemoral syndrome. This is an overuse injury that runners commonly suffer from when they don’t prepare adequately for long distance.
You can prevent and overcome it though when you incorporate physiotherapy into your training regime. While you might not need a professional team like a sports psychologist, nutritionist or massage therapist, a good physiotherapist will prove to be invaluable. Physiotherapists will provide you with an individualised training program and be invaluable to your overall performance.
Why your tempo is important?
Take into consideration that when you go for your morning jog, some days you might drag your feet and other times you might feel like a supercharged Duracell Bunny. In marathon training though, maintaining a consistent pace and tempo is important. You must know what your comfortable pace is – one that you can hold comfortably from a mile to ten miles. A good even tempo to aim for is 10K in an hour.
Fuelling and recovery
Your eating habits will change as you will undoubtedly be hungrier than usual after all that running. You have to eat the right foods to fuel your training and help in recovery. There is no one-size-fits-all meal plan but there are guidelines.
I started eating in preparation for my marathon months in advance simply because I am not generally a person that is big on breakfast. I followed a sports nutritionist’s advice and consumed according to the energy required for long runs during my training.
Marathon foods are typically things like oatmeal, banana and honey. Everybody recommends eating two hours before a run, which means getting up even earlier, but it’s well worth it. If you have a sensitive stomach, try a small white bagel with peanut butter instead. If you wonder why I talk about food instead of running, this is as important as training in preparing to last 20+ Ks. You cannot complete a marathon when your stomach starts cramping or you are too fatigued with plummeted energy levels.
Finding a race date and entering it should be first on your agenda
When you decide you want to run a marathon, find a race, sign up as soon as you can, pay your entrance fee and place it on your calendar. Working back from this date will soon focus your mind about how much training you need to do to reach a sensible distance before the race date. This will help you set some target dates for 5k, 10k, a half marathon and 20k which will then also help you manage your training for each distance.
See if you can find a friend or two who also want to run. Sometimes a little competition goes a long way to keeping everyone motivated and supporting each other.
Running a marathon is achievable for most people and it is an excellent way to achieve a good level of fitness and transform your body and mind. So what are you waiting for – why not find a race now?
