Whether you are a seasoned and experienced runner, or you are just beginning to enjoy the fruits of this incredibly addictive sport and pastime, you need to train if you are going to run a marathon. There are several marathons happening during the year. They occur in major cities and smaller cities. They can be hundreds of runners, or literally thousands of runners.
The Chicago marathon usually has about 40,000 participants believe it or not. These are not all seasoned runners either. Often times they are people who have signed up for the challenge and camradery of it all. They like to see what their body can do.
But if you are serious about running a marathon without crippling yourself for a couple days with soreness, or being too winded to keep going, then you should really start on some sort of training program. Often times training to run a marathon starts off with slow joffing and lighter distances, so that the body can slowly adjust itself to running.
Experts usually recommend you start off slowly so you don’t injure yourself or go too far and get so sore that you can’t even get out of bed the next morning, making training almost impossible.
A lot of marathon runners say that it’s more the mind than the body that gets you through the toughest parts of a marathon. If you’re strong of mind and heart, then you can push yourself mentally and physically into the next stratosphere of distance, or speed even.
Training for a marathon helps you train both your mind and body. It’s also all about building confidence in yourself that you can indeed do this thing that may have seemed totally daunting or nearly impossible for you at first. Once you see what your body is capable of doing, it’s easier to talk your mind in to sticking with it.
I’ve used this theory on myself a lot when I’m doing a simple jog down the road in my outdoor jogs. I put a challenge out there for myself. I make landmarks for myself. I’ll say, ok if I can make it all the way down to such and such road, then I’m even better than I was yesterday. Or if I can run as fast as I can for five full minutes, then I’m really building my speed and stamina.
Things like that really help push you to the next level .But you should never write checks that your body can’t cash. Make sure you are doing things that aren’t going to jeopardize your body for the next week or two. You want discomfort, but you don’t want to be doubled over in pain or simply unable to continue on a physical level. That is just too much.
Take it slow, but make little goals for yourself every day. As long as you keep doing that, then you will be built up to a full on marathoner in no time.
If you want to have a comfortable and painless running session you need to wear special running shoes. It is essential to invest in a pair of proper running sneakers if you run regularly. Professional shoes can protect you from injury and also maximize forward speed.
Running Shoes
You can find 3 categories of running sneakers: road (general purpose), off-road (trail) and racing flats (track spikes).
Road Sneakers: shoes that have a lot of support and cushioning to absorb the shock of long distances run on hard surfaces;
Off-Road Sneakers: shoes that have a deeper tread to provide traction on softer and slippery surfaces;
Racing Flats: shoes with much lower heel, they are lighter and more efficient;
Running Feet
The way you run affects your choice when you are buying sneakers. Most of the runners do not tendto hit the ground squarely, but usually the impact is on one side of the feet and then rolls forward diagonally. This action is called pronation and if you do not wear the proper shoes can cause injury if you run long distances.
You can find running shoes with extra support: motion control shoes, cushioned shoes and stability shoes. The motion control shoes are for over-pronation, which most of the runners have, the cushioned shoes for under-pronation and the stability shoes for neutral pronation.
New Sneakers
To be sure that your running shoes are effective you should replaced them when you see they are overused. Running sneakers should be replaced after 400-500 miles of running, depending on your body weight, running style and the surface you are running on. If you start to feel knee pain or another discomfort this may be an indication that you need to replace the shoes.
Also if you run a lot of miles it can be good to have 2 pair of sneakers and rotate them so that each pair will last longer.
The best thing you can do is to go to a local running shop where you can be advised by a specialist. They will help you to choose the perfect running shoes for your foot type and running style.
