As the weather gets cooler, the distances get longer. That’s right, people: it’s marathon season. While you can find a marathon during any time of this year, the fall season has a many, many options. And, there are also plentiful options for other racing distances: half marathons, 10 miles, 10K, 5k – and for those who really love endurance – ultras (50K or more).
Recently, I was tweeting with a fellow runner (runningtops) who asked for tips for first time marathon runners. I offered her some of the tips that I thought worked well for me. Then, it occurred to me: perhaps a post on the subject might be useful. I am by no means an expert. I’ve been there a few times, and along the way, I’ve learned a few things that are extremely helpful for finishing–and for achieving goals beyond “just finishing”.
Marathons involve a fairly long-term commitment to training – ideally four months. If you are BRAND NEW to running, I would recommend at least a year of training. So, if you are running a marathon this fall, you’ve probably been training for at least a few months already. I’ve run two marathons so far, and I’m training for my third (the Philadelphia Marathon, November 22nd). I can’t think of a better way to spend a Sunday morning. It is a truly exhilarating experience, complete with a strong sense of community, the challenge of pushing yourself to your limits, and the pleasant rush of accomplishment as you cross the finish line.
Below you will find a list of items that I have found helpful in my training. I’ve benefited much from the wisdom of others, and many of these tips were suggestions from other marathon runners that I have since found to work excellently for me. I do have a caveat: some aspects of training can be highly individual, so you may find that some of these tips don’t work for you. Hopefully, you will find a few that do work for you.
Training:
- Get with a plan. Select a training plan that incorporates a progressive training schedule–moving from building aerobic endurance (base period) to race-specific abilities (build period) to ideal race form (peak/taper period). (This type of plan is typically referred to as a periodization plan.) For my first marathon, I used the “smart coach” feature from Runner’s World. It worked like a charm! I know others have successfully used race plans from Hal Higdon’s website.
- More doesn’t always mean better. Don’t increase your overall volume by more than 10% from week to week. If you increase the distance too quickly, you will get injured.
- Easy means easy. Don’t go out and run your hardest every time. This does not amount to effective training. Most of your training should be done at a conversational pace.
- Fast means fast. Incorporate speed work into your training. Speed work has many benefits, including the development of your neuromuscular endurance. Even if you don’t have a particular time in mind, speedwork can help prepare you for the vagaries of pacing on race day. But, only do speedwork once a week–more than that you risk injury. the primary speed workouts are tempo runs and intervals.
- Get vertical. I live in Southern New Jersey, so we don’t have a lot of hills, but we do have many bridges. Hill training is a great way to build strength and endurance – it will also contribute to your overall speed – especially on flat land. Like speedwork, you don’t want to overdo hills. Some people recommend switching off between hill training and speedwork. I think this depends on your fitness level before you start training.
- Stock up during the run. I have learned that nutrition is HIGHLY individual. So, you need to find what works for you during training. (This connects to the tip #1 for race day: Don’t try anything new on race day!)
- Stock up after the run. Fuel properly within 15-30 minutes after a training session. This means a mix of both carbohydrates and protein. For a variety of nutrition information, see http://www.active.com/nutrition/.
- Ice, ice, baby. Ice your body after long or intense training runs. I know this might sound terrible – but it will greatly increase your recovery time and general soreness. If the ice is too much for you at first, consider sitting in cold water.
- Take recovery seriously. Every fourth week or so, you should scale back on your volume. Your body needs this time to rebuild and to fully realize the benefits of the previous training.
- Cross-train. You don’t need to run every day. Cross training, such as biking or swimming or whatever your pleasure, is helpful for building general endurance. I work out 6 days a week, running only 4 of those 6 days. The other days involve biking and swimming, as well as strength training. I take one rest day each week during which I completely rest or engage in a gentle yoga practice.
- Pump some iron. This does not mean you need to power lift 4 days a week. Not at all – twice a week is plenty! Don’t forget to include core work. In many ways, core strengthening is more important than any other part of your body. Include upper body work in your strength training. I know that you don’t run on your hands, but you’d be surprised how your upper body becomes involved in distance running. Upper body strength training will prepare you for this strain. Take a break from strength training about 2 weeks out from your priority race.
- Do yoga. Yoga is incredibly helpful for your flexibility, but there is oh, so much more to it than that. Yoga provides help with regulating breathing, relaxation, and strength training. That’s right: there are certain forms of yoga that can substitute for strength training. I have found some ashtanga flow classes more difficult than slinging weights in the gym. Don’t believe me? Try a class.
Race day:
- Now is not the time to be unique. DON’T TRY ANYTHING NEW ON RACE DAY! Wear clothing and shoes you’ve trained with (be careful of too new and too old shoes), eat food you practiced with during training.
- Go slow on the gels. During my first marathon, I had four gel packets. They made me terribly sick to my stomach. In fact, I didn’t have a normal appetite for about 2 days following the marathon. During training, the most gels I had eaten was two. (Takes us back to tip #1.) The last marathon I did, I mostly drank sports drink and ate bananas – I felt AWESOME when I was done.
- Gear up. If you can, pick up your race packet the day before the race. For many larger races, this is a mandatory requirement. But, even if you are doing a smaller race, I highly recommend it. Race morning can be chaotic. Avoiding that fray is important. Set out all of your race gear the night before.
- Walk the water stops. I know, this advice seems to fly in the face of all tips for enhancing speed. But, oddly, it works–especially during the water stops later in the marathon. I walk the water stops, making certain to get the fluids and/or food that I needed down my throat, rather than all over the front of me. It also gives your muscles a little bit of a break, but not so much that they start to tighten. This process takes maybe a total of 30 seconds to 1 minute of walking. It didn’t hurt my overall time a bit: I qualified for Boston during the Ocean Drive Marathon with almost 5 minutes to spare!
- It’s Getting Hot in Here… If it’s chilly at the starting line, you’ll want to stay warm. But, about 3 miles into the marathon, you’ll have that sinking feeling that you are wearing WAY TOO MUCH CLOTHING for the next 23 miles. Consider buying an inexpensive sweatshirt and sweat pants that you can take off at the starting line and won’t mind leaving there. (Thrift shops are great resources!) Race directors, especially for the big races, know there will be clothing left behind and typically have the leftover clothing sent to goodwill.
- Have fun! The comaraderie and community of a marathon is fantastic – smile, wave, and give encouragement. I have no doubt your effort will be returned in kind. Runners are some of the best people I know.
Post race:
- Celebrate! Do you really need me to explain how to do this?
- Ice, ice, baby. You know this one already from training.
- Take it easy. Don’t get back into heavy training too soon–especially after your first marathon. You greatly increase your chance of injury. It’s hard to go from such a heavy and intense training schedule, to barely running for a week or two. After my first marathon, I started swimming–terribly at first, but then I started to get the hang of it. (Incidentally: that’s how I found myself doing triathlons!)
- What’s next? Go online and research your next marathon – they are terribly addictive!
Do you have tips you’d like to share? Please post a comment – I’m always looking for suggestions.
Happy running 🙂
