How to Prepare for a Marathon?

Steps to Prepare for Marathon

What to Do for Each Step?

• Schedule and Follow a Training Schedule

1. Come up with a training schedule 4 to 6 months ahead of the marathon.
2. Beginners should ideally run regularly for at least 6 months before the big day.
3. Aim to reach 50 miles per week during the training schedule
4. Don’t increase the distance by more than 10% when building for weekly mileage.
5. The main goal of building mileage is to finish a scheduled run successfully without running out of breath. 

• Getting the Right Food and Nutrition

1. Eat a diet high in carbohydrates. Ideally, 60 to 65% of your diet should come from mainly complex carbohydrates while you’re training. 
2. Consume sufficient protein. 15 to 20 percent of your calories should come from protein.
3. Get plenty of calcium. Calcium-rich foods includes collard greens, broccoli,  milk, yogurt, salmon and cottage cheese.
4. Stay hydrated and avoid consuming excess water. Excess water could dilute your blood and cause hyponatremia.  

• Getting the Right Hardware

1. Get a high quality shoes that suits you.
2. Running socks can prevent you from getting blistered.
3. Get a heart rate monitor eg, smart watch. Aim to monitor your heart rate between 50 to 85 percent of your maximum heart rate (220 minus your age).

• Rest and Recovery

1. It’s important to take rest days into account when scheduling for your training plan.
2. Ice down your legs especially shins, knee and soreness part after each run. 
3. Do dynamic stretches before each run and static stretches should only do after running.

We have posted a short video ‘Dynamic Stretches before Running’ on our instagram and youtube. If you are not sure what are the stretches you should do before running, watch this!

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