Race Ready Marathon Prep

Similar to our planning for skiing preparation, getting  ready for marathons or mini-marathons can prevent severe soreness, 
pain or more  importantly injury.  A progressive  running plan over a five week period with a proper diet and strength 
exercises  are necessary to prepare yourself for any type of marathon.

Equipment-Purchase a new pair of running shoes from a specialty running  store that employs staff knowledgeable about 
matching the right shoe with your  biomechanical needs.  Use Dri-fit or  other synthetic blends apparel (socks, shirts, 
shorts, etc.) that moves  perspiration away from the body and enhances your comfort level.
     
Record Keeping- Use a  notebook, calendar, or log book to record at a minimum, the following  information: miles run and 
total time run.   Records can also be kept on resting heart-rate, weather conditions,  running route, and shoe model worn.  
The three  main reasons for keeping a log are that a log provides a history of your  running, crucial to finding the 
possible cause of a running injury.  Reviewing a running log can help determine the  training methods that have been 
the most effective in the past regarding your  best race performances.  Finally, keeping  a log is highly motivating, 
as few runners like to leave too many empty spaces.  Also, many serious runners keep a shoe  mileage chart for each pair 
of the shoes to determine when it's time to junk a  worn out pair.
     
Nutrition- Runners must  be well hydrated not only to avoid heat complications but also to run effectively.  For runs 
of up to 60 minutes or less, water is the drink of choice.  Over an hour looks to drinks like Rehydrate  to restore 
electrolyte balances.  It is  also important to emphasize healthy foods in your diet while at the same time,  limit 
fried and high fat foods. There is much debate now regarding the proper  mix of carbs, proteins, and fats. Make sure 
to add in complex carbohydrate  sources in your diet, aiming for approximately 65 percent of total daily  calories coming 
from that area for high intensity workouts.
     
Supplemental Fitness Activities- Some would  say to train for a marathon, the best thing to do is run, and this is still  
true today. Set goals to achieve ½ mile to 1 mile more  every week.  It is also important to  include some cross-training 
activities along with a regular stretching and weight  training program to both reduce the risk of injury during this 
period and to  facilitate total body conditioning. Cross-training is particularly important  for runners who are just 
beginning to build a mileage base and need to  strengthen the opposing muscle groups to reduce their chances of incurring 
an  overuse injury during the mileage buildup stage.  In addition, training the upper body is just  as important as the 
lower body due to amount of time of holding arms in  place.  

Upcoming Events
Yakima River Canyon  Marathon- Saturday April 2.
Wentachee Marathon- Sunday April 16.                                                                  
Bloomsday- Spokane- Sunday May 1.                                                                          
Seattle Marathon-  Sunday November 26-2.
  
…For more information and tips, check my website, www.chadamartin.com.