Mistakes to Avoid When Training for a Marathon

You have signed up for a marathon and are not as fit as you think you should be. You are not used to taking regular exercise and perhaps are looking for the easy way to train for the race.

Unfortunately, there is no easy way to train for a marathon. Running a marathon is a major physical challenge and should not be taken lightly.

Don’t think that you can get a whole training program complete in 12 weeks

 If you are not used to taking regular exercise, you must do a lot of running before even getting to the more intense marathon training. You may need to start by taking long walks which gradually turn into light jogs which then can turn into runs. It would be sensible to leave at least 6 months to work up to being able to run around 5 – 6 miles before even looking at the marathon training program.

Don’t take on too much too soon

Continuous intense exercise can cause injury from a blister to fractures. Because of this ease yourself into it. It is also important to maintain your interest that you don’t try to overdo it at the start. Ensure you have your base fitness first.

 Do train enough

 There is the problem of people trying to throw themselves into the training too quickly, but there is also the problem of those who don’t train enough. Once you have your base fitness levels and have been running for around 6 months, youare ready to start your proper marathon training. You should allow around 6 months for this. It is important that you stick to your training schedule and get enough of the long runs in. If you haven’t got up to running at least one run a week where you are running around 20 miles per week you not only risk putting in a poor time on the day but you could also risk injury.

Don’t burn yourself out

Your training should comprise 3 – 4 runs per week of varying distances. Only one of these should be a long distance run which should reach a maximum distance of around 20 miles. The others will be shorter (but still long) runs and sprinting days. This will help you develop different types of fitness and strength. If you try to run all long runs, you will struggle to get to the big day and will burn out before then.
 Do enjoy yourself

By the time you reach the day of the race, you should have commited a year of your life to the training and preparation. If you have done this, then there should be no problems and you should remember to enjoy the experience!