Marathon and Half-Marathon (5 page)

Quick-drying clothing

Cotton is a great natural fabric that is good for casual clothing and bedsheets, but these days, with all the advancements in “breathable” fabrics, cotton has no place in your marathon wardrobe! If you’re tempted to pull on your favorite cotton T-shirt from college before heading out the door for a long marathon-training run, just remember that cotton can absorb up to seven times its weight in water, and, when damp, can cause chafing and lead to blisters and abrasions. As well, clammy items against your skin will make you cold in the winter.

When choosing your running gear, the most important clothing consideration is to ensure that the layer closest to your skin is nylon- or polyester-based moisture-wicking material. There are numerous great brands on the market; try a few, and pick one that fits you and your pocketbook.

Tips from an elite athlete: Keep odors away

As a two-time Olympic triathlete, Jill Savege seems to always be changing from one sport to the next, which means she needs to use a lot of different gear. To keep her clothes smelling fresh, she washes her quick-drying fabrics regularly. “The material is great, but it is highly prone to capturing body oils and making you unpopular in close quarters. And avoid drying your running clothes next to extreme heat, like hot dryers, radiators, and campfires.”

• If you are large breasted, you will probably need to wear a bra that is the same size as your regular bra, rather than a “bra top,” which is worn as a bra and an outer garment at the same time.

• The true supportive sport bra is usually an undergarment, which is sold by chest and cup size. Material is patterned to support in certain areas and is designed to wick away moisture.

• The elasticized lower portions of the bra, or the underwire area, need to be comfortable. Lubricating the area may create more problems than it solves, if the gel absorbs into the garment.

• Duct tape on the skin is a terrific anti-chafing device for all areas of the body. It is particularly good because it doesn’t lose its stickiness when introduced to moisture.

• The shoulder straps are another common area of concern, as they can cut into the skin and/or chafe. Some bras have padded straps, or padding can be added if the bra of choice has only thin straps.

3
What’s Involved?

THE BASIS OF THE TRAINING PROGRAMS IN THIS BOOK IS to build a strong foundation of walk/running. Nothing fancy; just back-to-back weeks of progressive training and a slow increase in running time that will improve your endurance and gradually develop the mental and physical strength required to complete the 13.1- or 26.2-mile (21- or 42-kilometer) course.

What most beginners may not understand is that training for a distance event like the marathon is a process of stress and rest. The programs here have you completing two short-to-medium-length sessions and one long session per week. Most sport medicine practitioners suggest that beginning marathoners should not walk/run every day and should avoid back-to-back training days. Allowing yourself one recovery day after each session increases the likelihood that you will be rested and ready for your next run, and in turn this decreases your chances of injury and overtraining.

Dealing with the Physical and
Psychological Demands

Physical demands

There is no doubt that distance running is a physically demanding sport. Even the lean and fit need time to adapt to and recover from the miles of running. For the average person, or for those of you carrying some extra weight, a gradual training schedule that incorporates flexibility as well as rest and recovery days is essential.

This book does not, in any way, support the theory of “no pain, no gain.” But it is important for you to understand that some level of fatigue, stiffness, and soreness is unavoidable when you begin running. As you can tell by reviewing the training program, progressing at a slow rate helps to minimize the aftereffects of running. A gradual approach also minimizes the risk of injury and burnout. The goal is to gradually and safely improve your aerobic cardiovascular fitness as well as the efficiency of your heart and lungs. The training guidelines suggested are by no means rigid. Rather, they are intended to be flexible and adaptable for the individual. We do, however, strongly encourage a graduated approach to training and discourage jumping ahead and cutting your training short of the suggested program. As we will discuss in chapter 4, if you cut your program short, you are preparing yourself for failure. You may be cheating yourself by drastically increasing the risk of injury or simply increasing the likelihood that you will fall short of your goal.

One of the biggest risks for new runners is doing too much, too soon, and too intensely. The result is stiffness and soreness. In the early stages of your program, and possibly after some of the longer runs, you will experience some degree of muscle and joint soreness. As you get used to running, your strength and stamina will improve, and you will more easily cope with the jarring that accompanies running. As discussed, good-quality running shoes are essential to minimizing muscle and joint soreness, as is your choice of terrain. Harder surfaces such as roads, pavement, and sidewalks will likely lead to sore legs. Grass and dirt trails are softer and therefore more forgiving on the legs and muscles. As for hills: running downhill is extremely jarring on the legs. For beginning runners, it’s probably best to run on flat surfaces whenever possible, and when you do have to go downhill, try to back off a bit and run extra slowly to look after your legs.

Mental and psychological demands

The mental benefits of a regular running program are immense. Some of these include confidence building, stress relief, and an overall attitude boost. And running can help train the mind as much as it can train the body. It provides an avenue to overcome the obstacles that running brings, and it is a great way to learn and to improve focus and determination. However, the mental and psychological rewards that come with distance running are hard earned. It takes time, energy, and a great deal of patience.

As chapter 6 outlines in detail, training for a marathon has significant psychological demands. In fact, many marathoners consider the mental side as demanding as the physical requirements. Distance running is an activity that requires discipline and willpower. Especially in the initial stages of your training, it can be difficult to overcome the feeling of discomfort. Discomfort—how much and how you handle it—varies from one individual to the next. Although there are countless benefits to becoming fitter and more active, it is important to understand that a marathon or half-marathon goal requires considerable mental, emotional, and psychological commitment. Turn to chapter 6 to learn more about the psychological aspect of distance running. Athletes experience highs and lows in meeting specific time or distance goals and suffering through injury or fatigue; the brain can also experience the lows of cold weather, injury, and fatigue as well as euphoria after climbing a steep hill.

Pros and Cons of Shorter Running Programs

Not every marathon or half-marathon training program is the same. Programs can vary in duration, the number of weekly training days, the recommended distance, and the suggested training pace.

At first glance, it may seem that, for example, a 13-week program would achieve the same outcome as a 26-week program but take you half the time. However, the shorter program may be just that: shorter. It takes a significant amount of time to gradually build the strength and endurance needed to complete a marathon in a safe and healthy manner. There is a stark contrast between hobbling across the finish line or never making it to the start because you’re plagued by injuries, and a euphoric finish with minimal soreness and fatigue.

Sport medicine physician Dr. Jack Taunton, of the University of British Columbia’s Allan McGavin Sport Medicine Centre in Vancouver, recommends that people run regularly for at least a year before training for a half or full marathon. He does recognize that an increasing number of athletes use the half or full marathon as motivation to start a regular exercise program. Understanding that this is a growing phenomenon, we have created a gradual and progressive walk/run program to get you off the couch and to the finish line in 26 weeks. The programs included in this book were designed by our panel of sport medicine practitioners, program experts, and distance-running experts to assist you in meeting your distance-running goals.

Planning Your Schedule

Exercise is like most things in life: it needs to be considered a priority in order for it to get done. If running is new to you, one of the first things you need to do is to make it part of your routine. Review your weekly schedule and decide the best times available in your week for you to run. It’s important to consider the other commitments that take up your time, such as family, work, sleep, travel, and other activities. Once you have a good idea of your schedule, figure out where you can set times during the week to train. But it’s important to be realistic. For example, early morning workouts are great for some, but if you have difficulty functioning in the morning, a lunchtime run might be more sensible. It’s not important when you do your runs, just that you set aside the time and make it a priority. By writing these times into your calendar, just as you would a work commitment, you have a much greater chance of sticking to your plans.

Tips from an elite athlete: Logbook will help motivate you

Robin Beynon is an elite distance runner who has clocked a sub-32-minute 10 kilometers (6.2 miles). He is a big believer in keeping a training log or journal to stay motivated and on track with his distance-running goals. “If, for example, you’re having a tough time getting up off the couch, try picking up your training log and flipping through the pages summarizing all your hard work. Then look at the next blank page—the one that can’t be filled in until after that day’s training session. Most of the time, this will be enough to get you lacing up your shoes.”

Keeping a Logbook

Many fitness enthusiasts and athletes have daily training records that date back 10 years or more. These records allow athletes to see the big picture and the patterns that emerge only over time. In a nutshell, your logbook will enable you to analyze the effect of your distance-running training, monitor progress, keep track of any aches and pains, help you to stay motivated, and act as a resource in the event of any injury or illness.

Consider jotting down notes about your diet in your training log. Having a record of food intake can help you identify problem times, moods, or stresses that affect your eating. And you’ll be able to see how all of these things affect your training.