Setting Realistic Goals and Expectations

One key to surviving marathon training is setting realistic goals and expectations. It’s important to have a specific time goal in mind for the marathon, but it’s also important to be realistic about what you can achieve. If you are a beginner, or if you have not been consistently training for a while, it may not be realistic to aim for a very fast time. It’s better to start with a more modest goal and work your way up, rather than setting yourself up for disappointment or injury.

It’s also important to recognise that marathon training is a journey, not just a race. The process of training for a marathon can be just as rewarding as the race itself, and it’s important to enjoy the journey and appreciate the progress you are making along the way.

Managing Stress and Balancing Training with Other Commitments

Marathon training can be a significant time commitment, and it’s important to manage your stress and balance your training with other commitments. Here are some tips for managing stress during marathon training:

• Set aside dedicated training time. Plan your training sessions in advance and stick to your schedule as much as possible. This can help you manage your time and reduce stress.
• Don’t overextend yourself. It’s important to be realistic about what you can handle. Don’t try to do too much at once, or you may burn out or get injured.
• Prioritise self-care. Make time for rest and relaxation, and engage in activities that help you de-stress, such as meditation, yoga, or spending time with loved ones.
• Communicate with your support system. Talk to your loved ones about your training and your needs. They can help you manage your stress and support your training goals.

Building Mental Toughness

Mental toughness is an essential quality for marathon runners. It’s what helps you push through the tough miles, overcome setbacks and injuries, and stay focused and motivated during training. Here are some strategies for building mental toughness:

• Visualisation. Use visualisation techniques to imagine yourself successfully completing your training and achieving your goals. This can help you build confidence and overcome obstacles.
• Positive self-talk. Use positive self-talk to boost your confidence and stay motivated. Instead of focusing on negative thoughts, try to focus on your strengths and your progress.
• Set small goals. Setting small, achievable goals can help you stay motivated and build momentum. As you achieve these goals, you’ll build confidence and mental toughness.

Marathon Training Race-Day Nerves

Race-day nerves are common among runners, and it’s important to have a plan for dealing with them. Here are some common race-day nerves and how to deal with them:

• Pre-race jitters. It’s natural to feel anxious before a race, especially if it’s your first marathon. To deal with pre-race jitters, try to stay calm and focused, and don’t get caught up in the excitement. Focus on your race plan and what you need to do to prepare.
• Fear of failure. It’s common to worry about not meeting your goals on race day. To deal with this fear, try to focus on the process rather than the outcome. Remember that you have trained hard and are prepared to do your best.
• Fear of the unknown. If you are racing a new course or in unfamiliar surroundings, it’s natural to feel anxious. To deal with this fear, try to familiarize yourself with the course and the surroundings as much as possible.

Here are some tips for staying calm and focused on race day:

• Stick to your routine. On race day, try to stick to your normal pre-race routine as much as possible. This can help you stay calm and focused.
• Don’t try to do too much. On race day, focus on what you can control and try not to worry about things that are out of your control.
• Stay positive. Use positive self-talk to stay calm and focused. Remind yourself of your training and your ability to handle the challenge.

Marathon Training Conclusion

Marathon training can be a mentally challenging journey, but with the right mindset and strategies, you can survive and thrive. It’s important to set realistic goals and expectations, cope with setbacks and injuries, manage stress and balance your training with other commitments, and build mental toughness. On race day, try to stay calm and focused and use positive self-talk to boost your confidence. With mental toughness, you can overcome the challenges of marathon training and achieve your goals.

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You’ve done all the hard work after months of training and completed your marathon. Now it’s time to recover strong so you can go again… if you want to!

As you finish

Try to keep moving for at least 20 minutes. Avoid static stretching. The soreness you feel is down to a lot of muscle damage, static stretching could make this damage worse.

Within an hour

Eat a carb-rich snack or drink. Make sure you replace the carbohydrates you’ve used up. Within the next 1-2 hours, try and eat a balanced meal of carbs, vegetables and protein.

Make sure you keep hydrated and keep an eye on the colour of your urine over the next 24 hours – it should be a light yellow or clear. If it was particularly hot then take more fluids and salts on.

Avoid lingering in damp, sweaty kit. Get changed and get a wash as quickly as you can. I tend to put my ‘event’ t-shirt on if I’m given one!

Later in the day

Try having a nap. Sleep is key when it comes to muscle repair, so rather than heading to the pub, have a nap – your body will thank you. You may want to balance this with celebrating with your friends, and all the early nights and sacrifices you’ve made.

Drink milk before bed. The carbohydrates and proteins in milk can help aid recovery.

Avoid taking anti-inflammatory painkillers such as ibuprofen. These should be avoided for several days after the marathon as they can damage your liver. If you are in pain, paracetamol is fine.

Avoid excessive alcohol. A celebratory alcoholic drink is fine, but avoid turning things into a big celebration, as excessive alcohol can dehydrate your body further, slowing down recovery.

The next day

Try wearing compression socks or tights as much as possible. Studies have shown they can help boost recovery.

Avoid people with colds and infections. The amount of stress you’ve put your body under makes your immune system is compromised, making you more susceptible to a post-race cold.

In the next few days

Try a gentle walk, swim or cycle. Active recovery is better than sitting on the sofa. This will help with the muscle soreness you’re likely to experience in the proceeding days (DOMS)

Avoid ice baths. If you’re going to have an ice bath, make sure it’s almost immediately after the race. In the days after, opt for a warm bath. Hot baths promote blood flow to the muscles by dilating blood vessels – this is not what you want immediately after exercise. In the days that follow, when any acute pain has receded, a hot bath is best to help increase circulation, which aids healing.

5-6 days later

Go for a ‘test’ run of 20-30 minutes, observing any enduring aches or pains.

Avoid speed-work, hills and sessions. Especially attending your local club night and trying to keep up!

When should you run again?

Unfortunately, there’s not one specific answer here, and it really depends on how you ran and how you feel. Some experts recommend one day of rest for every mile raced, or 26 days of rest. Remember, running a race at a less than maximum effort is different from racing it. In reality though is that there is no exact formula to follow for recovery after a marathon, so the best guide is really tuning in, listen to your body and try a few small sample runs to gauge it.

Spend time with family and friends. Marathon recovery is also mental, you’ve likely become more of a hermit during training. Consider a holiday and even leave your running shoes at home.

While you may feel ready to go, your muscles, tendons and soft tissue are not. Jumping straight back into your running routine will only increase your risk of injury. Burn off your excess energy with one or two weeks of light cross-training.

If you use running for commuting or socialising it can be hard not to rush back. This will all be in context to your running experience, so running within a week following a marathon is not recommended for the majority of recreational runners. If you’re unsure, consider using an online running coach who can plan your return and what to do next.

See my post on marathon recovery and top tips to run your best marathon. 😎

The post How to recover after a marathon appeared first on Run Tall.

Marathons are hard on your mind and body. After you’ve completed your goal race, your need to recover from the race and months of training. There’s no set time or rules for returning so hopefully these tips should help you plan your return.

Take a holiday

Spend time with family and friends. Marathon recovery is also mental, you’ve likely became more of a hermit during training. Consider a holiday and even leaving your running shoes at home.

Take your time

If you use running for commuting or socialising it can be hard not to rush back. This will all be in context to your running experience, so running within a week following a marathon is not recommended for the majority of recreational runners. If you’re unsure, consider using an online running coach who can plan your return and what to do next.

Whilst elite athletes may return within 3-4 days, an unwritten rule from many experts recommend one day of rest for every mile run, so 26 days of rest following a marathon. You shouldn’t sit around and do nothing, try to avoid running. Active recovery is the key. Perhaps cycling or walking – low-intensity exercises.

Eat

Prioritise nutrition immediately following your race. In the weeks following your marathon, try not to reduce your calorie intake because you’re not doing as much activity. You need nutrients in order to repair your muscles, so don’t delay your recovery. Focus on eating a variety of healthy foods, a good balance of carbohydrates, fats and proteins.

Your Return

After a number or weeks you can start returning to running, but do so slowly. Aim for 15-20 minutes for your first run back. If you can run off-road then do so, and avoid any ‘sessions’ for longer.

Build up your mileage slowly, it may take time before your mind and body enjoys it again so don’t be discouraged if it takes you longer than you expected. Be patient and take your time, rushing back to establish your normal running routine may put you at risk for injuries.

Already looking forward to your next marathon, read Training for a marathon, 10 ways to smash your personal best! and put in place a Training Plan.

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1. Get a training plan

Don’t spend your time doing the odd run with no specific focus. The marathon is a long way and your training needs to reflect that. Variety of training is important. If it’s your first marathon and you want to get round a good frequency and consistency will be your focus. If you’re going for a personal best, then you’ll want to build alternate training with easy, long and interval runs. Consider how much time your can dedicate to training before picking a plan. As a good foundation you should aim for 4 runs per week, with your weekly long run increasing weekly. This will prepare your body for the distance and time on feet. 🏃‍♂️

If you don’t know where or how to start then consider an online running coach.

2. Do your long runs

Three to four weeks out from your marathon, make sure you’ve banked your longest run. I would recommend basing this on time on feet or distance. Most aim for 20 to 22 miles depending on your schedule and recovery. You want to recover well enough to get out for your next run, rather than be inconsistent and miss a week of training.

3. Practise your race pace

Whether it’s a tempo session or long run, aim to spend time in your race pace. For example you can (after a warm up) run 6 miles below race pace before a cool down. Alternatively you can do a long run, attempting to maintain your race pace for the last 4 miles. This aim of this is to experience your race pace on tired legs. This will both physically and mentally prepare you!

If you don’t know what your race pace should be use a pace calculator. This will help your understand how long each mile or kilometre should take you.

4. Learn to pace yourself

As a follow on from the previous points, know what your race pace is and get comfortable at that pace. If you have no idea, perhaps race a smaller distance to you can understand what a possible marathon time would look like for you.

There are a few ways to estimate your marathon time based on your performances across other distances. Multiplying your 10K PB by five, then subtracting 10 minutes, is one option. Doubling your half-marathon time and adding 10-20 minutes also works.

5. Build in strength training

Training for a marathon puts a lot of pressure on your body. Runners who can hold their posture and technique will find it far easier to maintain their pace in the final stages of a marathon. Strength training is often neglected by runners, even though it can boost performance. Use one or two sessions a week to focus on strength, with exercises such as split squats (shown below), single-leg squats and bridges, as well as core work such as planks and side planks.

6. Make sure you taper

Once you’ve cleared your last long run, start to reduce your mileage and intensity. As you move through the final two weeks of training, aim to keep the frequency of runs the same; if you are running five times a week in your peak weeks, run five times a week in your taper. Aim to reduce the volume of each run, though, by roughly one third two weeks out and roughly a half in race week. Listen to your body though, if you feel you need extra rest, take it.

7. Work on your nutrition

Good nutrition will see you starting your runs feeling more motivated and energised, but will also help you to adapt to the training more effectively. A balanced diet, with plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables and whole-foods, should be a starting point to fuel your training and your recovery.

Aim for 4g of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight on days before your key hard sessions or long runs. After your sessions, take on food or a shake with a 3:1 ratio of carbs to protein within a 20-40-minute window of finishing.

8. Maintain Flexibility

Don’t underestimate the pressure you’ll be putting your body through during training. All those miles on the on tarmac will mostly impact your hamstrings, quads and glutes.

Get into a good (and regular) stretching routine! This should target all your main running muscles. You should stretch yourself, along with using a foam roller, having hot baths and booking regular sports massages. See my stretching articles for ideas! 😀

9. Build ‘sessions’ into your training

Along with your long runs, make sure you build in specific sessions into your plan. This can be tempo, progression and intervals. You’re looking to push your body into being uncomfortable so you will adapt and be able to take on the marathon in fine form!

See my post on interval training for more information.

And finally….

10. Pay attention to your body

Training for a marathon is not easy. If you’re tired and unmotivated, review your nutrition and training schedule. Don’t try to push too hard, too soon. There’s no problem with skipping a day or two if you’re fatigued, but take lessons from it and perhaps look to adapt your future training plan. If you’re putting too much pressure on yourself to get a personal best, perhaps review and scale down your ambitions?

You want to get to the marathon start line feeling mentally and physically strong, rather than run down. 😎

The post Training for a marathon, 10 ways to smash your personal best! appeared first on Run Tall.

Why does this happen. What can you do to prevent it?

Who and when are you most likely to hit the wall?

It is suggested faster male runners are more likely to hit the wall (28% of men to 17% of women). Interestingly, most will experience the ‘wall’ in the three years prior to their marathon PB effort. It is thought that this is the period where they are improving, pushing your limits, but haven’t yet mastered the distance.

What is hitting the wall?

In endurance sports such as cycling and running, hitting the wall is a condition of sudden fatigue and loss of energy which is caused by the depletion of glycogen stores in the liver and muscles.

To boil it down. Hitting the wall when running can come about through a number of reasons. Firstly, going too fast too soon for your body and distance. Secondly, poor nutrition to fuel the distance and energy exerted. As runners are more likely to push their bodies in race conditions, ‘hitting the wall’ is more likely than in training.

Some people may call it ‘bonking’. When you hit the wall, it feels like you have run face-first into a stack of bricks. Your legs start feeling like concrete posts, every step is a triumph of will and you seriously doubt that the race actually has a finish line!

How can you prevent hitting the wall?

Practice, practice, practice. The more you get comfortable with the distance, fuelling, hydration through training, the more your body will be ready for the marathon challenge. You will very unlikely be running marathons in training, but should practice marathon pacing. Specific session training through tempo’s, progressions and long runs will target this specifically! Don’t forget, working with a running coach get really help here! 🏃‍♂️

The key to everything is strategy and pacing during your marathon, bringing all the aspects together. Being aware of your limits taking calculated risks. 😎

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