You’ve selected your spring marathon, but how do you prepare for the big race? Here are 5 things you should do before you start training for your marathon. Each of these elements represents a piece of the puzzle that will help arrive at the Start Line injury-free and ready to tackle 26.2 miles. If you haven’t yet picked a race, check out this list of 2023 spring marathons.
Set training goals
Is this your first marathon? Then perhaps your goal might be to finish with a smile on your face. Do you have a few marathons under your belt? Then maybe you want to reach a specific time goal. Many runners view the 3 or 4-hour times as benchmarks for achievement. If you have battled injuries during your previous training blocks, then avoiding injury might be your ultimate goal. Whatever goal you choose, make sure to memorialize it somewhere: write it on your mirror or on the back of your running shoes. Make it your background on your phone or computer. Maybe record it as a note on your phone and play it back before key workouts. Use your goals as motivation, but don’t be afraid to make alterations as your training block progresses.
Develop a training plan
Unless you have a degree in exercise physiology or are an RRCA-certified running
coach, you likely don’t have the knowledge to construct your own training plan. Veteran runners are certainly capable of figuring out their 12-week running schedule, but even the most seasoned runners can benefit from some type of structured plan. There are plenty of options available online, however, keep in mind that those plans are not designed specifically for your running goals. While hiring a running coach will likely cost more than online options, the benefits of a personalized week-to-week training plan can pay huge dividends on race day. A coach can alter your training based on your work schedule, family obligations, and any potential illness or injury that might pop up. Following a training plan, no matter what type you choose offers a better path to success than simply trying to figure things out on your own.
Invest in your gear
Running is definitely a sport that requires the least amount of gear. A good pair of shoes is all your need to get out the door and hit the road. These days, there are so many options for running shoes that most runners don’t even know where to begin. Luckily, there are many quality review websites and Youtube channels to help to guide you in the right direction. With that said, every person’s foot is different and models of shoes often change from year to year. It may be tempting to simply purchase the new model of your favorite daily trainer, but pay close attention to those shoe reviewers as they can provide some degree of insight into those subtle changes. If you are looking to get that perfect fit for your next pair of running shoes, head over to the local running specialty store. You can try on as many different shoes as it takes to find that perfect fit. Pro tip: then wait for them to go on sale on Running Warehouse and stock up!
Look at your weekly schedule
Unless you won the lottery recently, your weekly schedule is likely already chocked full of activities. Besides working for a living, you might have kids with schedules all of their own, laundry, cleaning, cooking, and probably other obligations that command your valuable time. When can you possibly find time to train for a marathon? Professional runners have the luxury of sleeping, eating, training, napping, and repeating. For the rest of us, we need to carve out time to achieve our goals. Before you start your training block, take some time to put all of your weekly activities into your Google calendar (or paper calendar if that works better for you). Enter everything that you must do in a given week. Now, look for blocks of time to run and train. This might mean getting up an extra half hour earlier in the morning. It might mean running when you get home from work. I’ve known more than a handful of runners who run around the perimeter of the soccer field while their kids are at practice. Training for a marathon will definitely involve some sacrifice, but the hard work will pay off on race day.
Select your nutrition
Besides your running shoes and a training plan, there is no other component of marathon preparation more critical than your nutrition. There are many facets to a solid nutrition strategy, but for now, I’ll touch on the easiest one: your race-day nutrition. Truthfully, this pertains to not only race day, but also your long training runs. Running nutrition can come in the form of gels, drinks, chews, and even homemade concoctions. All can help shape a successful nutrition strategy, but just like your running shoes, there are endless options. Unfortunately, there is no “one size fits all” nutrition strategy and some degree of trial and error is usually required. It’s critical that runners test their race-day nutrition during long training runs. This is the only way to determine how your body, and more importantly, your stomach, will respond to a particular type of carbohydrate.
Most sports dietitians are recommending that runners aim to take in somewhere between 60-90 grams of carbs per hour. This is an increase from older studies that suggested endurance athletes needed 30-60 grams of carbs per hour. As a result, the number of products available to help runners hit these higher numbers has increased in recent years. If you are new to the marathon or are looking to try out a new race-fueling strategy, your best bet is to order a few samples of several products and see what will work out best for you.
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