Race Ready? Expert Marathon Training Tips
Over 26,000 people are training for the Rock'n'Roll
Seattle marathon and I'm one of them.
Last year, I was halfway through my chemotherapy in my battle against cancer, when I ran the Half Marathon.
Now, the June 26th race day is fast approaching and I'll be honest with you, I'm not ready for to run the Full Marathon. I injured my foot during training and haven't put in as much mileage as I would like, so I'm a little concerned.
So, I connected with 4-time Seattle Marathon champion and marathon coach Dave Steffens, who gave me some great training strategies, and convinced me that I really can do this.
Steffens told me at this point, with the race coming up in just three weeks, the one thing I shouldn't do is panic, because the truth is, almost all of us haven't trained as much or as well as we should have, but really, it's okay.
"Calm down, don't panic and don't try to do everything at once," says Steffens, "listen to your body in spite of what this says."
By this point, you should have completed at least a few long runs, a couple ten milers for the half, 20 milers for the full marathon.
But if you haven't, like me, now is not the time to play catchup.
Steffens says, "you really need rested legs, no matter what, on race day."
He also says you should try to get at least one long run in now, a month or three weeks out, and then back off on the mileage.
"You don't need to do it as close as you think," he says, "so, you don't want to get injured and you want to be prepared and if you do the long run too close to the event, there can be an injury issue."
A we get closer to race day, your diet becomes more important.
Carbs are your friend.
So, eat well, don't try to lose weight and don't be alarmed if you gain 2-to-4 pounds in the final days before the race.
Steffens says "If you taper and you eat carbohydrates, you are storing glycogen, your fuel, into your muscles. and for every gram of glycogen in your muscle it requires 2 grams of water. So you're gain some weight, it's not fat. and it's needed for the marathon or the half to get you through it."
The other thing to think about right now is your shoes. Buy a new pair of race day running shoes. You can expect to pay $100 or more for a good quality pair from a respected running store. It's the best investment you can make to avoid injury here in the final weeks before the race.
I'm running with the American Cancer Society's Determination team and raising money for cancer research. If you want to help me and the team out, click here to make a donation to my team . I appreciate it!
Last year, I was halfway through my chemotherapy in my battle against cancer, when I ran the Half Marathon.
Now, the June 26th race day is fast approaching and I'll be honest with you, I'm not ready for to run the Full Marathon. I injured my foot during training and haven't put in as much mileage as I would like, so I'm a little concerned.
So, I connected with 4-time Seattle Marathon champion and marathon coach Dave Steffens, who gave me some great training strategies, and convinced me that I really can do this.
Steffens told me at this point, with the race coming up in just three weeks, the one thing I shouldn't do is panic, because the truth is, almost all of us haven't trained as much or as well as we should have, but really, it's okay.
"Calm down, don't panic and don't try to do everything at once," says Steffens, "listen to your body in spite of what this says."
By this point, you should have completed at least a few long runs, a couple ten milers for the half, 20 milers for the full marathon.
But if you haven't, like me, now is not the time to play catchup.
Steffens says, "you really need rested legs, no matter what, on race day."
He also says you should try to get at least one long run in now, a month or three weeks out, and then back off on the mileage.
"You don't need to do it as close as you think," he says, "so, you don't want to get injured and you want to be prepared and if you do the long run too close to the event, there can be an injury issue."
A we get closer to race day, your diet becomes more important.
Carbs are your friend.
So, eat well, don't try to lose weight and don't be alarmed if you gain 2-to-4 pounds in the final days before the race.
Steffens says "If you taper and you eat carbohydrates, you are storing glycogen, your fuel, into your muscles. and for every gram of glycogen in your muscle it requires 2 grams of water. So you're gain some weight, it's not fat. and it's needed for the marathon or the half to get you through it."
The other thing to think about right now is your shoes. Buy a new pair of race day running shoes. You can expect to pay $100 or more for a good quality pair from a respected running store. It's the best investment you can make to avoid injury here in the final weeks before the race.
I'm running with the American Cancer Society's Determination team and raising money for cancer research. If you want to help me and the team out, click here to make a donation to my team . I appreciate it!
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