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Anyone ever run a marathon?

post #1 of 5
10/8/10 at 1:58pm
Thread Starter 
I just registered for my first one and I am elated and scared at the same time. Any advice would be much appreciated.
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post #2 of 5
10/26/10 at 6:33pm
get a good training plan. the runner's world website has a good one where you plug in parameters and you get a personalized plan.

once you have the plan, DON'T look forward to the race, or a month in advance, or even a week. Just look at your next run, and go out and do it. keep doing that, and eventually you'll be there. but if you keep considering the huge race at the end, you'll psyche yourself out.

since it's your first marathon, don't pay ANY attention to time. don't push yourself or set a time goal at all. your ONLY goal is to finish. after that, if you want to run another one, then you can start focusing on time.

good luck!
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post #3 of 5
10/27/10 at 7:53am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by fugazi View Post

get a good training plan. the runner's world website has a good one where you plug in parameters and you get a personalized plan.

once you have the plan, DON'T look forward to the race, or a month in advance, or even a week. Just look at your next run, and go out and do it. keep doing that, and eventually you'll be there. but if you keep considering the huge race at the end, you'll psyche yourself out.

since it's your first marathon, don't pay ANY attention to time. don't push yourself or set a time goal at all. your ONLY goal is to finish. after that, if you want to run another one, then you can start focusing on time.

good luck!


Thanks!
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post #4 of 5
10/27/10 at 10:35pm
I have not run a marathon but I do climb mountains frequently...maybe not as stressful on the joints, but the extreme need for endurance is there, especially for longer (8+ hour) treks at elevation.

So my advice is this:

Bring more performance food and drink than you think you'll possibly need, and consume small amounts of it consistently, even if you don't feel hungry or thirsty. I have learned this the hard way. Your body needs a steady flow of calories and liquid to function efficiently at high output.

Also, if you have even slightly flat feet, make sure your shoes have the arch support you need! Long periods of bashing your joints is bad enough with support...pronation for such a long period can compound the damage that will occur anyway and can cause serious damage all through your lower body. And speaking of that, take lots of glucosamine/chondroitin/MSM before and after the race (and all the time if you run a lot).

Let us know how it goes...good luck!
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post #5 of 5
10/27/10 at 10:46pm
I ran a half marathon. The only advice I have is don't overtrain! I hurt myself badly by overtraining a month before the race and had to withhold running entirely for those 4 weeks leading up to the race. I spent a lot of time on a rowing machine and an exercise bike, but that was a poor substitute. Come race day I still wasn't fully healed and my time suffered (and so did I!) greatly.

Also, I know most training plans don't incorporate any full race length runs prior to the race, but I made sure to do a full half marathon run prior to race day. It's all just a mental thing, but it was so nice on race day to be able to think "You can do this before, you have done this before!"
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