What's the best way to train for a marathon?
Question:My friend and I who ran XC in high school have had the ambition to run a marathon for the past couple years, but because of college, me breaking my leg and having a metal plate put in, and a slew of other things (my friend is in Japan at the moment) we've never had a chance to really hash out any kind of training schedule.
What we really need to know is; should we start with
"long slow distance" and stick with that until race day, or should we incorporate speed drills every now and then? Is there any particular way we should eat? Heavy carbs, heavy protein? We have a good amount of experience running, but we're not exactly in the shape of our lives, so any advice would be incredibly helpful. Thanks.
Answers:
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Runner's World Magazine has great training and nutrition tips for runners who are preparing for races of all different distances. They also have an on line training program which is available at a very reasonable cost. This program caters the training to you specifically, based upon your conditioning, and your goals. The RW training program will provide both exercise and nutrition tips to help you maximize your athletic potential without overdoing it and hurting yourself. I highly recommend it. I believe that you should start out with a moderate amount of miles and work your way up. Vary your workouts between hard and easy, and longer and shorter, to avoid injury and allow your muscles to improve. Increase mileage slowly over time, and train regularly. It takes most people 4 to 6 months to properly train for a marathon, so start well ahead of time. You need to put in some long training miles before the marathon. Most marathon runners will do training runs of 20 to 24 miles before the race. You have to work your way up to it, so start out shorter and slower, and gradually work your way up to that. A marathon pace is very different than the shorter races...long and steady at a moderate pace will get you across the finish line in one piece. Best advice: Run, run, run , and run some more. Check out RW mag's web site. Good Luck!!Whats a good time for a 15 year old 100 meter sprint?
I've had a few friends run successful marathons by following Hal Higdon's training plan. He has plans for various levels of experience which usually involve running 3 times a week and then a long run on the weekend, gradually building up the distance. The plan for beginners to running marathons can be found here: http://www.halhigdon.com/#marathon...Find more discussion, information, articles, tips, drills, etc on training for running marathons and more at http://www.active.com and http://active.typepad.com/teamsports...
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there are a lot of good training tips and training plans for the beginner to the elite at www.runnersworld.com they have a plan called smart coach that will design a program according to your ability, also another good website for runners is www.coolrunning.com...Good LuckIn womens track how high is a hurdle?
Also there are some great tips for new marathon runners on http://www.26-2.com/. The site has links to various good training plans. I agree Hal Higdons plans work very well.It is best to do a mixture of runs , including long slow distance and speed work. which is why a good training plan is a must , so that you get the balance right
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There are a couple things you can do. I ran my first marathon last year and I did it by joining Team in Training. They are a group that helps raise money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's. The will tell you everything you need to know. Not only how to train but advice for race day and get you set for the race. It will put you with a group of people to give you support and have coaches to help along the way. They offer clincs on many things such as injury prevention, what type of clothing to wear and nutrion. However there is a cost for this. You need to raise money to help support the group. This can be very and can actually harder than training.Another suggestion is get "Marathon: The Ultimate Training Guide" by Hal Higdon. This is book that will tell you everything to do. Most people I know who have run a marathon have used books by Hal. It becomes your bible.
If neither sound good to you...here are some suggestion.
My average training week went:
Monday: Shorter run (45 minutes)
Tuesday : Cross train
Wednesday : Speed work out.
Thursday : Rest (this is very important)
Friday : another shorter run
Saturday : LONG run
Sunday : Rest.
The long runs would build for about 3-4 weeks and then take a step back for a week, then continue to build. The long runs should be at a slow relaxed pace, at a pace where you can carry on a conservation with somebody else.
Also do not be on a carb-free diet, you are going to need your carbs.
Remember to stretch always
And Get a good pair of shoes. Go to a running store and get fitted. They will make a HUGE difference.
if you need more advice, email me
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i am 21, and i ran my first marathon while i was in college. in fact, i ran it in october, so i was literally taking classes while in the final phases of training. this actually worked out to be a blessing in disguise because i simply didn't have the time to panic and overtrain before race day. over the summer, i ran 6 days a week for time rather than trying to hit a certain mileage. my runs usually took 1 to 1.5 hours, and i could go anywhere from 6-13 miles in that range. by going for time, i made sure that my body was the final arbiter in my training plan, and i really didnt have any injury issues throughout the process. i gave up track my freshman year of college because i kept getting stress fractures. i also started focusing on my abs more, and i lifted at least 4 days a week.you will definately want to strenghten your abs, and your lower back, because they are what will carry you for the last 4 or 5 miles on race day. as for diet, i ate normally until about 2 weeks before the race. then i really cut down on carbs (i only ate them in the form of oatmeal for breakfast). then about 2 days before my race, i did the old "carbo load" thing. supposedly, by depleting your carbohydrate stores before overloading them, your body absorbs them better. i have no idea if this is true, but i felt pro-active by doing it, and i felt dandy during the race so at least it didnt hurt me.
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Marathons are hard work, I would say to put sprints in your training to help with breathing. Remember good, large shoes, (because your feet will swell). Don't wear new shoes for the marathon. Set-up how you will get home, or rest after the race, (maybe stay at a hotel with a sauna), I have seen people go to the gym after a marathon, but they were seasoned runners. Drink good water from a health food store. Bring good music. Good luck to you.What is the best way to start a running program?
I always go to runnersworld.com for a good, solid marathon training program. They have programs ranging from 16-18 weeks, beginner to advanced runner.It's like a recipe for success. If you follow the program, put in the miles, you will be able to finish the race. You already have some good sound advice here, so I will just say:
Good luck!
Do I need differ ant shoes, socks or just more time running?
keep a schedule.More Questions & Answers...