This is a marathon – not a sprint
Well are you in or are you out? The time has come where thousands of runners find out if they have got a place in the Virgin London Marathon. For most people the response is the same. “Oh No I’m not in”. And more often “OH NO I AM IN”. Whatever your emotion – pleased, terrified, relieved or excited you have got a lot of work to do to get to the finish line in one piece. Training is not to be taken lightly and needs to start months before the race. Many runners do not know where to start, how far and how often to run, what to wear, what to eat and drink. This causes people to give up on their training and get despondent, or injured. On the other side of the coin they over train and arrive on the start line exhausted and in no fit state to run a marathon. My marathon advice takes you through training plans, food, drink and clothing and relates to any marathon, I am just using The VLM as an example. I have ran 5 marathons over the past 3 years, some good, some (very) bad, but all hard work.
Firstly marathon training should not take over your life completely and enforce you to give up the things you enjoy. OK, so spending 5 nights a week in the pub may not help your training at all but some treats are fine and well deserved. You do however have to fit your runs in, have rest days, eat nutritiously and drink sensibly to have a positive marathon experience. Before starting your training it is a good idea to have a medical check up if you are not used to regular exercise, or are over 55. In addition to this you need to get a health check if you have any heart condition, chest pains, bone or joint problems, high blood pressure, are pregnant or recently had a baby.
When deciding on a training plan you need to think realistically about how many runs you can fit into your week. If possible try to include runs into your daily routine. When I worked 8 miles from home I used to get a lift in to work and then run home in the evening a few days per week. The commuter traffic got so bad sometimes at rush hour I actually used to get home faster than some of my colleagues who took the car. I used to be so tired and hungry after work, running was the last thing I wanted to do, but running home woke me up and gave me some energy for the evening. I also used to do a speed session at the local running club, Lancaster and Morecambe Athletic Club, a hill session and a long run at the weekend. Some weeks I would not fit all this in but this was the basis of my training. Circuit training sessions were also dotted in between some runs which helped keep my body fully conditioned and strong which in turn helped my running form. If you have trouble fitting runs in and it is not possible to run to work try lunch time runs, running with your dog instead of walking with it, run to an exercise class, run while the kids cycle in front of you. Marathon training is not all about running 7 days per week. It is what you do with these running sessions that matters – quality means more than quantity, although long runs should not be missed out, after all a marathon is a very long run. Look at my training sessions post for information about the different types of runs. Train smart not hard!
In my first marathon build up I attended a marathon training camp in the Forest of Dean with a company called Trail Plus. The guides on this camp taught us about all the essentials needed for a marathon such as training, food, kit, and what to expect on the day. It was great to be able to train with like minded people who were after the same goal, a successful marathon experience. We did a mixture of hill sessions, tempo runs, an easy 5K run and a long run. It was actually my second attempt at the training camp as the first time I went I had a tibial stress fracture and although I did attempt to run on the first day, after having my swollen painful leg looked at I was told that if I ran on it I would risk a full fracture. Good advice I realised after a time. Trail Plus now offers adventure challenges and ‘Hellrunner’ races, one of which I am going to attempt in November! Sports Tour International offer marathon training camps at home and abroad, including Club La Santa in Lanzarote. This sports complex has everything an athlete could ever want, it was like taking a child into a sweet shop when I first stayed there. A full sized running track, Olympic size swimming pool, classes all through the day, a half marathon, 10K, 5K each week, guided runs ever morning. A must for anyone who likes an active holiday. If the rest of the family don’t enjoy sports there is still plenty for them to do or just lay by the pool or beach. You can book a week or two there anytime of year but certain weeks offer specific training.
It can help to write your training sessions in a diary or training log and count up the mileage at the end of each week. This can help you to see if you are over (or under) training and adapt your training plan accordingly. Signs of over training can be irritability and depression, raised resting pulse rate, lack of motivation, recurring colds and sore throats, amnesia and general fatigue. Irregular or absent periods can also be a sign of over training and can put you at risk of weakened bones so should not be ignored. Regular over training can put you at risk of injury as well as illness, and what is normal for one runner may be over training for another so it really does depend on the person.
To start a marathon plan you should be able to run or be building up to running, 30 minutes without stopping. It does not matter how slowly this is run but it is best to start with some basic level of base fitness. My plans are for 16 weeks but if you are still building up your base fitness you may need to start well before that, by increasing your level of exercise slowly. This can be by walking more, taking the stairs instead of the lift, and adding run/walks (run for a few minutes then walk) into your week.
For my beginners plan click here.
For my intermediate plan click here.
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