Training for your first Marathon
26.2 miles is a long way. If this is your first Marathon then do not worry too much about your finishing time, your first marathon should be an experience to enjoy and be proud of, just getting there and getting around is a major challenge in itself.
Where do we start?
Make a plan, It is essential to make a training plan if you are serious about running a marathon. A training plan will brake you training up in to manageable slices and make training more fun. This will keep you on track and help motivate you to achieve your personal goals on the way to the big day. If you can easily run 4-6 miles now it will take about four months of focused training to be ready for race day. Your plan should be realistic, start slowly and build on what you have already.
Your training plan should be around 16 weeks long; I would personally recommend four runs per week if your lifestyle permits it, however if you can only commit to three they will all need to be focused and with purpose.
As an example –Sunday, Monday, Wednesday & Friday.
Lets look at starting our training plan with the first run on a Sunday
Sunday is your long run! This is probably the most important run off the week, so you should not cut these short, they will be the make or break on race day. As a word of caution, do not try to go too far too soon, you will need to build up your endurance running to prevent injury.
Monday runs should be a gentle recovery run,this will help your legs recover from the long run on a Sunday. These runs will help loosen up your muscles and help ward off those aches and pains and the build-up of lactic acids, but they must be gentle, not too long or fast.
Wednesday runs, if you can try and make your regular club run at your normal pace. These normally last for around an hour and if you feel good you can add the odd mile or two on at the end of the run to help build on your mile’s mid-week.
Friday runs should be at a steady pace, just like your club run on a Wednesday.
If a good race time is important to you, then you may want to add some speed work or Hill training in to your sessions, these can be on any day, but they can be added to your Wednesday or Friday runs by adding in tempo sessions (Fartlek). Speed work will make you quicker but it does up the risk of injury so don’t over do it. Cross training is also advisable as it helps you to build core strength.
Rest days are also very important, your body will need to recover between runs and you will want to avoid injury! Try and make sure you have a least one day of rest from any training every week.
16 weeks is a long time and you will need to keep motivated. So it is essential to follow a Plan and to stick to it as much as you can. These can easily be made I have attached a copy of one that can be modified to suit all. Start with your race day then count back 16 weeks for your suggested start date.
When you start your training, the first few weeks are all about focus and motivation to get out of the door, you will need to make going for a run a habit, so get those regular runs in and get your self-used to committing to run time. Don’t go mad at first just get out there and do it.
Without doubt you will find from time to time that life will get in the way, late work, sick kids ect. Don’t worry too much if you miss a run unless it’s a long one, you may need to adjust your plan that week to make up the distance on another day by adding a couple of miles on other runs.
You will also have bad runs where you are tired or just finding it hard that day, these should balance themselves out with good runs where you are feeling stronger. So don’t worry about themtoo much.
It may also help if you break your training down in to 4 parts -
Part 1 - is all about gently building up your runs and making them regular with a gentle increase on Sundays, so if you can run 6 miles then do just that as your long run for the first week
Then up your long runs by just 1 or 2 miles at first.
Part 2 - is all about building your ability to run longer & further on your Sunday runs and increase your total weekly distance. You may want to add some additional miles to your midweek runs
Part 3- is maintaining and strengthening your endurance to distance running ready for race day.This is the hardest part so it is not unusual to start feeling tiered during this stage.
Part 4 - The Taper & Race day. By now you have banked all the long runs you need for the day, by reducing your miles slowly you will retain your fitness and give your body some recovery time ready for your Marathon. During the last week of training you will feel the need to run more but there really is no need. If you plan your taper well you will be like a coiled spring raring to go on race day.
Below is a simple graph to help build your distance on your Sunday long runs, assuming you can run 6 miles now. The first is a simple distance & endurance plan. The second plan allows for several recovery weeks, more of a yoyo plan.
Week / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15 / 16Part / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
Dist’ / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 14 / 16 / 18 / 20 / 20 / 18/20 / 14/12 / 8/6 / RD
Dist’ / 6 / 8 / 10 / 12 / 10 / 12 / 14 / 16 / 18 / 16 / 18 / 20 / 20 / 14 / 8 / RD
These plans are just a guide to training and you may want to adjust these to meet a specific training plan for yourself, you may also want to add some races in to your plan.
Don’t worry too much if your distance is slightly more or less, provided you build on your distance steadily and do not go too far too soon.
Other things to consider to make your training easier
Try to find a running buddy or a group together, this will help you keep yourself and others motivated & focused on your training Plan.
Make your long runs fun & plan where you are going in advance, maybe you can rotate who is responsible for working out the route, take it in turns. Maybe on occasions meet somewhere different somewhere that you can grab a coffee or breakfast after.
Throw in a few races to break up your training and make it more enjoyable, they will give you short term goals on the way to Marathon day, you don’t have to race them but it will help to focus your mind on keeping to the long-term plan. If you are training with someone enter races together. Running a half marathon is recommended about half way in to the training plan. I would also recommend running a 20 mile road race during your training as this will do wonders for your mind and confidence.
Diet & Hydration
Diet is very personal and although it is highly published that you will need to carb up for longer runs I would not suggest changing your dietary habits too much. You will obviously need more energy for longer runs but these can be added by introducing energy jells or blocks during your long runs and by making sure you have a high fuelled breakfast.
Energy jells will take a little bit of getting used to as there are many different brand’s and what works for one person may not work for another, so experiment and find out what you prefer long before race day.
Start introducing, regular pre long run breakfasts, these need to be something that contains as much as fuel as possible for you long run, porridge & bananas are great. You should ideally consume this at least an hour ½ before your run.
Consider investing in a water bottle belt or backpack as keeping hydrated is vital during your long runs.
Avoid excessive alcohol the night before a long run as this will dehydrate you.
Try to avoid spicy foods before a long run or anything that you think may upset your stomach.
The month and weeks before your Marathon
Invest in some new trainers about four or five weeks to go along with some new socks and do your regular road runs in them. Wear these on race day and hopefully you will avoid any unnecessary problems on the day.
Make sure you wear your race day clothing on at least a couple of long runs before the day to ensure that you are comfortable when running in them and you have no chafing or other problems.
Trim your toenails a few times well before race day!
Make sure you purchase all the items you need for race day in plenty of time.
The day before the day before try and get an early night as you may not sleep that well before race day.
The day Before
The day before do nothing, sit on your bum all day, hydrate and fuel up for race day.
Rehydrate and rehydrate some more.
Do not eat anything that may upset your stomach it may be wise to avoid spicy food
Make sure your bag is packed with everything you need only, do not pack anything you can do without. There could be long walk at the finish & you do not want to be carrying anything you do not need.
Arrange your meeting point with friends and family for after the Marathon.
Try and get a good night’s sleep, go to bed early.
Race Day Dos & Don’t
Do’s
Make sure you are properly hydrated before the start, so drink plenty of water early in the day
Make sure you have a large carb fuel up meal the night before & have your regular pre-long run breakfast.
Make sure you have sun screen available if it’s hot & Vaseline to rub in any areas that you may possibly get chaffing.
Take something waterproof and disposable to sit on. It may be raining and you do not want to be sitting on something wet!
Make sure your trainers are comfortable, not too tight or too loose & double knot them so they do not come undone! You do not want your laces to come undone in the later part of the Marathon as you may struggle to get going again if you should stop.
Put your name on your vest (optional) it’s great to hear your name shouted out whilst you are running, it will give you motivation and a real boost when you are struggling in the later part of the run.
If it’s raining take a bin liner or disposable rain mac to wear over your kit, if it’s cold take something old to keep you warm, you can throw these away at the start line.
Take your own supply of loo roll, just in case you end up in a cubicle with none in it after you have queued up for ages, if you must go get in the que early. In fact try and go before leaving home or somewhere before you arrive at the start if you can.
Leave in plenty of time for the start, or stay in a local hotel.
Apply a thin layer of Vaseline around the toes can avoid blisters.
The guys may want to put some plaster tape over their nipples. Nipple rash is not funny.
Do some gentle stretches and about 15 min before the start to loosen up
Take an Imodium with you in case the nerves get to you.
Take a couple of blister plasters for after just in case.
Don’ts
Don’t run in new trainers
Don’t Spent too much time standing up for long periods of time before the start
Try not to eat within an hour of the start. Except maybe a snack, banana, wine gums, jells.
Don’t do anything different on race day that you have not done previously on one of your long runs.
Don’t run in a cotton t shirt!
After the race – agree on a meeting point
Take some wet wipes in your bag to wipe the salt of your face when you finish.
Wear your medal with pride! Go to the Pub and have a drink to celebrate your achievement.