How to prepare for a marathon

My preparation for a marathon in 2015 took 6 months. It is worth noting I was going back to training from scratch half a year after breaking left leg fibula.

As always the beginning was hard. Short runs 1-2 km 2 or 3 times a week. To avoid overloading my joints I also introduced stationary bike cross training initially 30 min 3x, later on 1 h 3x a week. With each week I was slowly increasing the distance.

After 2 months when I was comfortably running 8 -10 km I added strength training once a week (squats, box step up, lunges) In the end my training was as follows Tuesday bike, Wednesday strength, Thursday bike, Saturday and Sunday long-distance running.

In the last 5 weeks I kept regular weekly training with the exception of weekends when I focused on a single long run 20-30km and a shorter one day after if I felt ok.

It is worth noting that I skipped any interval or speed workouts focusing entirely on endurance. It was my first marathon and just getting to the finish line was satisfactory for me. Sometimes I had to shorten my trainings. You should listen to your body and never blindly follow a plan, in case of discomfort or pain finish early – it is not worth it to run 2 more km only to wait 2 weeks to be able to train at all.

Common mistakes to avoid:


1 Test run few days before the start. Final 1-2 weeks should be spent with only few short runs and light trainings

2 Partying a lot. One should avoid alcohol and sleep a lot to facilitate recovery.

3 New shoes. Never start in a competition in unproven footwear. Your running shoes should be comfortable, broken in and fitting for the terrain the race is going to be on.

4 Fast pace from the beginning.  If you are not a seasoned runner with a lot of experience who knows his or her capabilities it is better to start slow and save your strength for harder second part of the race.

5 Too many clothes. Warm jacket and raincoat is unnecessary weight. As the run progresses you will warm up anyway. Additionally cold muscles work better than overheated – better dress lightly.

 

I encourage you to take the challenge. Choose a race in your area and start training 🙂

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