Do you already want to participate in the marathon? When you made this decision, you should not start training for a marathon for all possible marathons. Choose one for yourself and start.
Preparing even for one of them is very hard work.
You should not forget about all your business. You still have to pay attention to free time. It will be lack of it.
30 days to start: training for a marathon
You need support.
No one likes listening to training for a marathon story. On the other hand, it would be nice to keep your loved ones up to date. Boast of success. This will help keep a good attitude. If you are experiencing before the race, ask for support.
Take into account the season of the year. Think about when you will spend most of your training for a marathon and long runs. If there are a lot of trips planned for the summer, maybe your version is a spring marathon.
Why is it necessary to run a control long training for a marathon session?
What you should do for 30-40 days before the marathon? You are already used to running on Sundays like this. This weekend, a month before the start, you will find something more.
You need a three-dimensional control training for a marathon of 32-36 km long. Why is it worth to spend and in what mode to run, now we find out.
The largest long run is held a month before the start. It is a sort of springboard to the marathon: that is, 30 days before the event we run 32-36 km at a rate slightly lower than the competition.
If you do this later, the body may simply not have time to recover.
Of course, there are some athletes who run more than 20 or even 22 miles during the long run, and there are quite a few professionals among them. There are quite a few sceptics who believe that 18 miles (28.8 km) are more than enough.
It comes to amateur running, for sure.
The majority of finishers in the world’s largest marathons run this distance in 4 hours or more. This means that it will take more than 3 hours to overcome 32 km. It can have a negative, rather than a positive, effect on the body. It will increase the risk of injury.
Problems you can be faced during training for a marathon:
1. You never ran long distances
There is only one thing, thanks to which you can run a marathon. It is running for long distances. Are you suddenly wake up a few days before the start?
If you followed the elaborated training program and left enough time to recover before the marathon. It is very likely that everything will be fine.
2. You never ate while running
During training for the marathon, you can often see articles and reviews of gels. Have you ever used any sports supplements? Suddenly they do not fit you?
It is better to try the gel when you run a long distance. Energy gels contain a large number of vitamins needed by the body. We still advise you to study the composition of the supplement before purchasing.
They need to drink plenty of water to minimize discomfort. If you could not find a suitable gel for you, use the advice of our expert.
3. You have not decided on the equipment
Before the marathon, you hoped to buy a brand new set, but it was not up to it. What to wear?
Corns and trouble with your fingers – the last thing you need in the run for 42 kilometres, so trust your beloved couple, even if it is not new anymore.
4. You are worried about injury
Suddenly, your foot/thigh/calf began to hurt. And the pain does not stop even during training for a marathon. What to do?
Do you feel severe pain? You should immediately consult your physical therapist. A last minute injury can mean the end of your marathon. In some cases, a five-day rest can get you back in the game. Good luck!
For marathon runners it is useful to perform in a pair of minor starts at 5-10km. For the half marathon, choose a distance of 3-5km.
The pace of the training for a marathon
There is also no definite answer to the question at what pace it is better to run. We are talking about a long 30 days before the marathon. Methods of training are different.
It can be used and a quite long run (in cross mode), and developing the run, and running on the rise. It also can be run, which includes segments in the speed of the marathon.
Training continues after its actual end.
It will take about 5 days to recover after that. Dedicate the whole next week to a quality recovery. You can run calm crosses of different lengths. In the middle of the week include one easy interval training.
Do not forget about the mandatory stretching after a long run. You also have not to interfere with trips to the pool or bath.
Three weeks before: training for a marathon
Three weeks before the marathon you spend your last longest training session. You should train yourself so that the maximum duration of a long should not exceed 2:30 or 2:40 hours.
This is an important rule. The training effect in running is achieved during this period of time, running training for a marathon for more than three hours is no longer highly effective!
If you missed something during the preparation, then you should not try to perform the workouts for the last two weeks!
First week
Training for a marathon starts immediately after the last long workout of 30–36 km. Last week was supposed to be the most difficult in your plan. Now it is necessary to reduce the mileage and intensity.
Leave short runs without changes, and shorten medium and long runs by about 20–30%. And your long this week should not exceed 24 km.
Avoid too complex reliefs, do not do large interval work. This can lead to microtraumas, and your task for this 21 day is to fully recover.
Second week
This is a transitional period. You are already halfway from the terrible fatigue due to the high volume of training for the pre-competition excitement and joy from the race. Now you have more time not only to rest but also to think out a smart strategy.
This week your mileage should be half as much as the last week before the rest. Leave one run at a marathon pace of 6–8 km. Do the rest at a quiet pace. Your longest training this week should not exceed 15 km.
Test your gear and power
Spend the last test drive of the selected equipment in the form of 4-5 km tempo race at the competitive speed of the marathon.
The purpose of this workout will not improve your performance. You should try to feel that your shoes and clothes are comfortable and free. It will not rub or cause another discomfort.
You can work out the algorithm of dressing and undressing before the start. It provides no nervousness in the last hours and minutes before the start.
Get enough sleep!
It is important to restructure your daily routine in such a way as to go to bed early and get up early too. Even if you always get up early to get to work on time, do your best to go to bed no later than the time given.
Get up at a time that is required on the day of the marathon.
It will not cause the effect of lack of sleep if you have slept a few days before that.
Eliminate fried from the diet!
Food in the last days during the training for a marathon also has some features. The first thing you should pay attention to is the consumption of complex sources of energy. These include pasta, rice and potatoes.
There are the main energy stations of the body.
Do not experiment with new dishes. It isn’t known how your stomach system will welcome innovation. You least want to put on the card performance at an event for which you have been preparing for several months.
Do not eat potatoes, a lot of green salad and other high-fibre foods during training for a marathon. You need to be as free as possible during a long race. Dinner on the eve of the race should be as simple as possible.
It can be pasta, preferably a low-fat sauce, a small amount of salad.
The last week of training for a marathon
Just a week left before the start of the marathon.
Usually, in the last week, you do a couple of runs. In the middle of the week, at the end and in the evening you go to the final training for a marathon. As a rule, it is a 3 km training for a marathon, which runs at a very quiet pace.
How many run, all yours. Now the body must have a good rest.
Last week, go to bed and wake up at the same time.
Synchronize the start of runs with the start of the marathon race. Our body loves the regime training for a marathon and quickly gets used to a certain routine. This also applies to eat and even going to the toilet.
Last preparations
Stick to the rhythm you are used to. You should not drastically change something in your life in the last week training for a marathon.
Imagine in your mind the start, distance and finish. Make a plan for the passage of the route and come up with its separation. Plan your pace in advance at each site.
In addition, this week you need to take care of nutrition. Starting from the middle of the week, try to eat more carbohydrates.