I wrote about reasons not to run a marathon (along with reasons it was right for me). If you are thinking about the marathon, here are some of the things that I think helped get me ready for the training:
Nourish Move Love strength work
Running at least a mile a day, every day
Completing a half marathon
Speed work
Upping my mileage to 25-30 miles a week for three to four months
Then doing a base-building plan
Eating and hydrating on the run (necessary once runs get longer than an hour)
Educating myself via podcasts, books, blogs, and research (where I got many of the above ideas
Talking to the running community
This is not a be-all, end-all plan, but just a few steps that helped me, well, step it up!
These are fantastic tips—especially the ones about educating yourself and connecting with the running community. I wish I’d had access to all those resources when I ran my first marathon back in 2003!
ReplyDeleteAs for running every day, it’s a great tool for some, but I personally stick to a rest day at least once a week. Sunday works perfectly for me—I really enjoy that rest day!
Thanks for your feedback! I am pretty sure I could not have run a marathon without all the resources available now. All of the free plans, carb loading info, shoe info etc. helped make the day!
DeleteAnd I am thinking I may not be able to continue the mile a day thing as I run longer more, but coming from a shorter distance running base, it helped me build those miles. We shall see what the future holds!