Seven Ideas to consider before you start training for your first marathon

Marathon training should be fun. In fact, your training time should be more fun than running the actual marathon, so work hard at setting yourself up to have an amazing experience.  Here are seven ideas to consider before you start training for a marathon. 1. Prepare yourself physically – You should not start marathon training if you aren’t comfortable running 15 miles per week. Get in the habit of cross training to tone your entire body too.  The core supports everything while you run.  2.  Prepare yourself mentally – Marathon training takes a lot of time and energy. Will you be able to commit to running hours upon hours nights and weekends?  3. Make sure you have the support of family and friends.  Get family support so you know you have someone there to watch the kids for you.  4. Improve your diet – Eating healthy foods will fuel your body and enable it to work harder for you. Living on junk food and soda will not help you get through the final miles of a long run. If you start eating healthy before you are running 35 miles per week, you may be able to make better choices as you run more miles.  5. Pick a training plan – Look for a plan that works well with your schedule and lifestyle.  6. Dig up information – Read everything you can on training, eating, injury prevention, etc. It will not only provide you with valuable information, but it will help motivate you too.  7.  Start with a good mileage base – As mentioned in item 1, make sure you have a solid mileage base before you start week one of a marathon training plan. Work up to the mileage in week one for a few weeks. Otherwise, you may find yourself injured or burnt out.  

posted Wednesday May 30th