So, you have decided that running 26.2 miles, or 42km, is a good idea. You know why you are doing it (if not read my blog on WHY) and now we are at the point of wondering what it might entail. Well wonder no more, this is what you need to know.
The very first thing you need to understand is that running a marathon is hard, but training for one is even harder. You will be running ideally 4 times a week, but a minimum of 3, you will need to allocate time for strength and conditioning training plus some rest and recovery. It’s a 7-day-a-week job training for a marathon.
A common mistake for a lot of people, and a common mistake on the free generic training plans found on-line, is doing way to much way to soon. This leads to injury. Depending on your age, your weight, your base fitness, both physically and aerobically, you will need to monitor the training load and how to progress that in a controlled and achievable way each week. If you don’t, you are highly likely to get injured or burn out.
Remove the notion from your head that a marathon is like running 2 half marathons. It isn’t. Yes the distance is the same, but thats where the similarity ends. You will need to be training with a different load and intensity for a marathon. You will need to pace it differently, and you need to be aware that somewhere between 15/20 miles, your body will run out of natural energy. That doesn’t happen in a half marathon, as your body is capable if fuelling itself for 13 miles, doesn’t mean you don’t help it, but you don’t have to, unlike a full marathon where you must feed yourself or you will run out of fuel and come to a grinding halt.
How long does training take?
This depends on the individual runner. The common time frame is 16 weeks, but in reality, you need a good level of base fitness to start training with just 16 weeks to the start line. If you can’t run a non stop 5k then you need 24 weeks. If you can’t run a non stop 10k, then 20 weeks. But my advice is give yourself as long as possible.
What should my training include?
A good training plan will cover the obvious miles required. However, what is critical to that is the intensity of those miles. Your weekly intensity is based on what you are trying to achieve. Someone who has no ambition of a time, but to simply get round, then their intensity will be different to someone who has a goal of a 3hrs for example? Simply just running miles, be it amount or pace, based on how you feel on the day, will not get you the results you demand.
Good running form is crucial to not only staying injury free, but to also allow your aerobic system to work efficiently. A running coach can give you pointers on form, such a stride length and body shape for example, but a consistent strength and conditioning plan with allow you to have a strong core and upper body, which means even when you are tired, you remain upright, thus allowing your aerobic system to flow freely.
Conditioning work includes things like yoga, pilates, and stretching. Doing this for 10/15 mins 2/3 times a week pays huge dividends when the high intense mileage weeks arrive. You will be running in excess of 40 miles a week at certain points in the plan, that might mean a 10 mile run on a Wednesday for example. You need to recover to run 18 miles a few days later. Doing conditioning work opens up your joints and stretches muscles and allows for better blood flow. Great blood flow = Faster recovery.
Though condition work for any age runner is good to do, it is especially critical for runners in the 40’s and older. As we increase in age, our joints and muscles become more restricted, so giving them as much help as we can is a great idea. Also, conditioning work needs to be ultra consistent, doing it twice one week and then not doing again for 3 weeks is largely a waste of time. This needs to be done weekly, at least twice, ideally 3, but only needs to be 10/15 minutes at at time. Feel free to do longer of course, but thats the minimum for best results.
Nutrition. As an endurance runner (yes that is what you have decide to be!) what you eat and when you eat it becomes critical to your energy supplies. There is an endless amount of things written about this, but the truth is, everyone is different. For example, I can not consume porridge before a run, it just doesn’t sit well with me, where as I know numerous runners who swear by it. I’ve found that a bagel with a peanut butter spread and a banana works for me around 30/ 60 minutes before a run. If my run is 10k or less, then it might just be half a banana and a slice of toast at most. Getting specific advice for you is key to this, and part of your training is trying things out. That is what training is for, giving things a go and seeing how it works out.
In-race nutrition is, again, unique to each individual runner. Whats works for me in a marathon is something after 60 minutes of running, then something every 30/40 minutes thereafter. This can be gels (they need testing if you are not used to them) sweets, flapjack, banana, Jaffa cakes, you get the idea! But what works for me, might not work for you. Crucial to test the theory out in training.
Hydration. Quite simple. 3 litres a day, every day and drink from the water stations on the course. As for alcohol. Just give it up. It dehydrates you and dehydration is pretty much the worst thing for an endurance runner.
Trainers!
The trainers you train in are unlikely to be the trainers you race in. During a typical 16 week training block you will run around 450 miles. If you run in the same trainers for all of this, they will be shot to bits. As a rule, trainers lose their effectiveness anywhere between 250 & 400 miles. They are probably still good enough for walking the dog, but not to run in. Log the miles you do and be prepared to change them.
Your race day trainers should be with you at least 6 weeks before the big day and you should plan to have done at least 6 runs in them of a variety of distances from 3 miles to 10 miles.
If you want to know what trainers are best for you, get a gait analysis done. You will be recommended a pair by the shop, but remember the first rule of new trainers. Do they feel comfortable. If not, don’t buy them.
Time Management.
For the training block of a marathon, it will dominate your life. Your family, work and friends will need to be on-side and very understanding. Don’t under estimate the effect it has on the people around you. Make sure that, before you start training, everyone knows what is about to happen. You will need their support.
The most common reason people don’t make the start line isn’t injury, it’s because of the amount of time and effort training takes is simply too much for the lifestyle they lead. They were not prepared for the sacrifices that were needed, their immediate family didn’t understand how it would effect them and the tiredness they took to work was unmanageable. Hence, they give up. Having this knowledge and being prepared for this is as important as the miles you will have to run.
So, when you see a marathon runner cross the finish line and get that medal placed around their neck, you now know what they did to get that medal. Of course they just ran 26.2 miles, but thats one day on between 120 and 180 days of living this marathon life. They earned that medal on a cold February evening, tired, hungry, stressed from work, stressed because the family are missing them (again), but they still ran that 7 miles, even though every inch of them didn’t want to. It’s why marathon runners burst into tears at the finish line, not because they ran a race, but because they know they are getting their life back.
So, you have decided running 26.2 miles or 42km is a good idea. Still think that?
P.s. It is a brilliant idea and the experience and accomplishment is more than worth the effort. Go for it and don’t look back!