How to Train for a Marathon - Marathon Training

How to Train for a Marathon

2010-04-11T16:31:00.000-07:00

How to Train for a Marathon

Running a marathon is quite a big deal, which is why many people look for marathon training tips to help them in their preparations. To run in a marathon, you need to commit to giving the time and investing the effort to succeed before you start the training. When you first start out, it can be hard to develop a training routine and actually follow it, but if you give it some time it should come along easier after you get used to it.

Also, you will want to dedicate a day off or the weekend for distance runs so that you can train your body to run the many miles that you will be havint to run in a marathon. This will give yourself more endurance and stamina while also training you how to pace your body and what type of routine you should develop for the big race.

You will need to make sure that you slowly wean yourself into and out of your training so as not to put too much strain on your body. Start low and make sure that your increases are only 10% or less every week so that you don't overdo it on your body and injure yourself in the training process. When you first being training, you are not going to be able to run for a full marathon. Therefore, you should condition yourself by running as much as you can, and then walking for a while before you start to run again. This will give you the endurance you need and help you to strengthen your legs and your entire body.

Weight training and a proper diet are definite tips for how to properly train for a marathon, as well.

Find more marathon training tips at the following sites:

How to Train for a Marathon

Marathon Training Tips - How to Train for a MArathon

2010-04-10T20:13:00.000-07:00

So, one of your goals this year is to run a marathon? This is quite a task and it will take more than keeping in shape and watching what you eat if you are serious about achieving it. To train effectively for this goal, you must have a well thought out and coherent plan that will bring you gradually to the right fitness levels. This holds true for all fitness level you are at. So how do you go about training for a marathon?

Well the best advice for doing this is to break your training down into different phases. What each phase entails, and how much time you spend on each phase depends heavily on your current fitness level. It will also depend on how much time you have to prepare yourself. Obviously if have a year to prepare yourself, your training regime will be different than if you only have two months.

What most professional marathon runners advise, is that regardless of your fitness level, you will want to break your training into various phases. One aspect of each phase will be that you will want to bring your running ability up to the twenty six mile length of a marathon. This will usually be more of an issue for beginners than for more seasoned runners. However, it is a major issue for beginning runners as many people can hardly run one mile, never mind twenty six of them right after each other!

A good example would be if you had twenty six weeks to prepare. Then you could aim to go for a long run once a week, which would gradually increase, perhaps by a mile each week, until the end when you could run at least twenty miles. This would not be the only aspect of your training, but it would be one way of ensuring that you had the stamina and energy to run the entire length of a marathon.

As well as worrying about the length of you running capability, you have to make sure that you are running every day. Of course, you will take rest days, and you may even rotate your training so that you

Boston Marathon Training Tips

2010-04-09T20:12:00.000-07:00

The Boston Marathon is the world's oldest annual marathon. The opportunity to run in this race is an earned privilege as those in the race must qualify. I ran the race in 2005 and had a wonderful experience. For a successful race and finish it is important to train diligently and mimic the Boston marathon course.

The following training tips will help you get to the finish line upright and smiling.

1) Train on hills. The Boston marathon course is known for "heartbreak hill" which comes up around mile 18. Your legs are tired at this point, so you have to do everything you can to get up the hill. Be sure to add hills in your long run training and be sure to add those hills towards the end of the run. Running hills at mile 5 will feel a lot easier than running hills at mile 18!

2) Pace yourself. Boston marathon runners are more advanced and therefore, the pace of the race is much faster compared to most marathons. Be careful not to go out so fast that you bonk at mile 18. Wearing a pace band is a great way to be sure you stay on your pace and avoid the common mistake of going out to hard and fast.

3) Be prepared for any weather conditions. I watch and follow the Boston race every year and the weather can be anywhere from cold and rainy to a mild sixty degrees. Either way, bring clothing that can handle warm and cold weather and be ready to layer up.

4) Strength Train. Lift weights to strengthen your legs: specifically the quadriceps muscles, but also the calf and hamstring muscles. To fail in this regard is to invite injury and to insure a poor performance, especially on the up and down hills of the race course.

5) On race day, write your name on your shirt. Hearing the crowd chant your name can be enough motivation to keep you going and feeling like a celebrity.

6) Fuel up. Do not wait to long before eating and drinking. Drink water at every aid station and be sure you start eating a carbohydrate snack beginning at mile 12. To wait any longer and you will be playing catch up with your body and lose energy. Energy bars and gels are a great source to quickly get glycogen in your blood.

The Boston Marathon presents a lot of challenges in both the training for and running of the race. These insider tips will help you run a smart, strong Boston Marathon.