With summer here and fall quickly approaching, now is the time of year when a lot of marathons are taking place all over the world. If you are looking to run one the first step is to take the plunge and actually sign up for one. But the next step is easily the most important, and that is to train and prepare for it.
Before looking at some tips as to how to prepare for a marathon, let’s get an understanding about what a marathon is and the different kinds. A full marathon runs 42.195 KM (which is just over 26 miles), but there are also half and quarter marathons available to be ran. The marathon was also one of the original Olympic events in 1896 and as a result, has a long history throughout the world. In fact, more than 500 marathons are held throughout the world. And most of the competitiors in these racers are just recreational athletes like you.
(source: outdoorsmanlab.com)
So now that we know it is largely people like you racing in these events, how should you prepare? Well, the first and most obvious answer is to work on your running endurance. As you could imagine, sprinting this race is not possible and as a result, it is important you improve your stamina. You can do this by practice, practice, practice. You should be running and jogging almost day for at least a few weeks to a few months ahead of the race to work up your running prowess. But the last week or so, you should be resting up and doing only light training so you aren’t tired or sore at all for your race.
Another key preparation tip is to actually figure out and work out your race pace. If you have no plan of how you are going to use your energy during the race, you will be in for a rough race day. Before the race, you should figure out when during the race you are going to go hard and when you are going to jog it out.
(source: halhigdon.com)
And lastly, your diet is incredibly important. While you want to be eating healthy and clean, taking in a lot of carbs during training is a great idea so you can be properly be refueling and recovering your body. You will be burning a lot of calories during training, so it is necessary to replenish them.