Marathon
training schedules are important to follow when running a marathon
because they add structure to your training sessions and decrease your
risk of injury. If you
want to follow a marathon training program to train for your first
marathon then this is what I have found works to cross the finish
line.
Obviously,
without
knowing your personal fitness level to run a marathon you should
firstly consult with a medical practitioner before training for your
first marathon. However if you at a reasonable level of fitness it
should take you around 3-6 months to train for a marathon by
following a marathon running training schedule that is proven to work.
The
first thing you need
to do to finish your first marathon is to start getting miles into
your legs. However, the biggest mistake I see most beginner
marathoners make is over-training.
If
you are like most
first-time marathon runners then you will start out enthusiastically
and try to run as much as you can. The only problem with this is that
you are more likely than not to develop an injury whilst training.
The
reason for this is
that your body is simply not ready to run many miles yet.
When
your body is not
used to running then microscopic tears happen in your muscles. It is
these micro-tears in the muscle fibers that actively grow muscle
tissue. However, if you start out by over-training then the muscle
tears can form rapidly and cause the muscles you use to run to
rupture.
This
is when common
running injuries such as hamstring injuries, achilles tendonitis and
runners' knee injuries can develop.
A
smarter way to train
for your first marathon is to follow a marathon training schedule for
beginners that builds
your weekly mileage slowly over time.
The
most common marathon
training program recommends one long run, one semi-long run, two
shorter runs, a cross-training session (optional) and two rest days
per week.
This
type of training
schedule for marathon running gives your body the high cardiovascular
workout it requires
yet at the same time it allows your body the time to recover from the
harder sessions.
Obviously
when you first
start training for your marathon your fitness levels won't be high
enough to cover large weekly mileage programs. That is where the 10%
rule comes into play.
The
10% rule for
training for your first marathon states that you should increase your
total weekly mileage by 10% in any given week.
Sounds
simple enough?
Well it is.
Just
say you have built
your weekly mileage up to 30 miles of total training per week. What
that means is that in the following week you would do a maximum of 33
miles of running. And then the week after that you'd do between 36-39
miles of running for the week.
I
find a lot of beginner
marathoners also train right up to the day of their marathon. I hear
them say that they want to get as fit as possible before their
marathon. And they think that the more miles they get into their
legs, the better prepared they will be for their marathon race.
However,
the only
problem with this is that it doesn't give your body the chance to
recover from all of the miles it has done in the lead-up to the
marathon race.
A
better way that many
elite and veteran marathoners use is to peak their total weekly
mileage around 3-4 weeks before their marathon race.
When
following a
marathon training schedule like this, it then allows them to
incorporate a taper period into their marathon preparation.
In
the taper phase they
then relax their total weekly mileage by approximately 25% each week.
This leaves their body fully recovered and full of energy when they
line up to run their marathon race.
It
is through following
a step-by-step marathon training program that has been proven to work
that will get you across the finishing line of your marathon. That is
why it is critical to only follow a marathon training schedule that has
a proven track record for beginner marathoners.