Marathon Training 101 

If you really want to see progress in your running and your weight loss, then one of the very best things you can do is to enter yourself into a marathon. Why? Because it will give you the motivation and dedication to keep training and it will really help to focus your goals. In this case, you want to focus on a steady state rather than an interval and the objective should be to keep increasing your distance and to keep reducing your time. You will also want to start going further than 6 miles and begin trying 10-mile runs and even 15.

There’s a lot to keep in mind though if you want to succeed, so here are some top marathon training tips…

Start With a Small Marathon

My first ever marathon was the London Marathon – 26 miles. That was a big mistake because I really had no idea what to expect or how to train (it didn’t help that I only had 3 months’ notice either!). Instead, I highly recommend entering into a 10k or shorter, to begin with so that you can see how your body reacts to distance. Then you can start to increase the challenge as you go. You’ll learn how best to pace yourself.

Chaff Management

Marathons are where the chaffing really starts to become an issue. The solution is to think ahead and prepare for it. That means wearing nipple tape – this is really important because they can bleed a lot otherwise and you don’t want this to be the reason you fail! Likewise, look into using some kind of talc for the crotch region and/or lubrication.

You should think about armpits too and carefully test the clothes you’re going to wear over the long distances you’re intending on wearing them!

Food and Blood Sugar

Incredibly important is the way you handle food. You’re going to want to top up on carbs before the race, which is called ‘carb loading’. Going out for a big pasta the night before can help you a great deal but especially if you combine this with some fiber in order to slow down the release of the energy through your stomach. If you want to take another leaf out of the Tarahumara book, then you might try chia seeds.

These are seeds that can absorb vast amounts of water, helping you to stay hydrated as you run. You’ll find water refueling stations around the track but eating chia seeds can help out a fair bit! Another great superfood for runners is coconut oil. This will provide you with ketones, which are an alternative energy source your body can run off of when blood sugar is low.

You’ll be offered energy shots on the way around too most likely. These are pure bursts of sugar that you can use to pick yourself up but they can come as a bit of a shock to the system if you’ve never had one before and make you feel quite sick. Experiment with them before you accept one on the day!
If you can’t get to grips with them, then Wine Gums or a similar sugary snack can do a good job too. One of the biggest mistakes people make though is to forget about salt. You’ll use up a lot of sugar, yes but you’ll also lose a lot of salt from your sweat! Make sure you replace this too by drinking an isotonic drink – Lucozade will do the trick nicely.

Tapering Your Training

The aim of your marathon training is to gradually build up over time and aim for longer and longer runs. But you should never go all the way to 26 miles before your actual marathon and you should also avoid going too far too close to the run. A week or two before your run, start to cool things off and give yourself time to recover.

The aim here is to train your heart and muscles hard but then let them recover so you can start on a fresh tank before you begin. And don’t push yourself too hard – the biggest problem many marathon runners face is injury. If you injure yourself prior to your marathon you’ll be kicking yourself for years to come!