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So you signed up for your first marathon! Congratulations and be ready to take part in an experience that's bound to put you to the test. You're probably wondering how you're going to find the time to train for a marathon while holding a full time job. I mean, is marathon training for busy people even possible? Like you, many beginner runners have succesfully trained for their first marathon while holding various responsibilities. Whether it be a full time job, parenting, keeping track of your social life, or all of the above, training for a marathon demands a lot of focus, determination, and grind. But in the end it's all worth it! Here are 5 tips that will help you squeeze in valuable training hours in your busy schedule:
Running can be a lonely sport but extremely rewarding. We have solo runners, group runners, club runners and of course the ad-hoc runner. I’ve been running for over 6 years and for the first 6 months I was solo runner, which suited me perfectly. It wasn’t until I started to train for a marathon that I found the roads lonely and on occasion the thought of running almost killed me! Facing the road alone in training became a hard task. We all experience this as runners one time or another in our running careers. It was around this time that I said I would experiment and opened the door to running with a running buddy.
Let me help you answer your question 'Why All Solo Runners Should Have A Running Buddy'!
One often overlooked part of training for beginner marathoners is nutrition. In our previous blogpost we touched upon the importance of carbo-loading prior to your long runs. However, although carbs are a key element in fueling your muscles, it would be wrong to only eat food high on carbs. Protein intake should be another pilar in your nutritional plan because it helps to build stronger muscles which will be necessary to carry the weight and develop a proper running form.
My buddies at Runnerslevel.ie have provided me with a great blogpost with road races in Ireland to run a 10k pb. Now, while running a personal best should not be your main focus now during marathon training, it's still a great idea to have experience running actual races prior to marathon day. Additionally, these routes outlined in the blogpost serve as great options for those long run days.
There will be various theories as to which day should be dedicated to your long run. But there is only one golden rule in marathon training and that is: get your long run in no matter what. A lot goes into your long run, anything from which route to plan, what gels to test, what gear to wear, weather condition, and also what to eat in preparation of this long run. Let's not forget also the important role your long run has in preparing your body and mind for race day.
Today I want to talk about my personal experience with solo running. I'm by nature a very sociable person, but I am also quite fond of my alone time. Holding a full time job and having a relatively busy social life means I don't often get the chance to gather my thoughts and be alone in peaceful solitude. I often get taunted by my friends if I suggest staying home hanging on my good old couch instead of having a night out. Yeah, friends don't always support my couch surfing and netflixing abilities and it becomes a problem having to defend my stance without seeming like a boring couch potato...
It's no secret that athletes load up on carbs prior to major races or games. Soccer players will be stuffing themselves with pasta prior to important matches, and most marathons organize a pre-race pasta party. The aim of this is to carbo-load in anticipation of a big day, but why?
In our first blog post ‘Marathon training for busy people’ we briefly touched upon 5 tips that could help you optimize your training when you have a busy schedule and help you train for your first marathon. Some of the tips we covered were: getting your week runs in by running in the early morning, sticking to a training plan, and training alone. We also spoke about the importance of stretching in your marathon training. In my role as a coach I'm often asked 'should I really pay attention to stretching if I'm a runner'. This question becomes even more important for busy marathon runners who might jeopardize this key element in their training plan due to a lack of time or because they don't understand the importance of stretching.
So you signed up for your first marathon! Congratulations and be ready to take part in an experience that's bound to put you to the test. You're probably wondering how you're going to find the time to train for a marathon while holding a full time job. I mean, is marathon training for busy people even possible? Like you, many beginner runners have succesfully trained for their first marathon while holding various responsibilities. Whether it be a full time job, parenting, keeping track of your social life, or all of the above, training for a marathon demands a lot of focus, determination, and grind. But in the end it's all worth it! Here are 5 tips that will help you squeeze in valuable training hours in your busy schedule: