The Gloucester Marathon takes place every January, when people from all around the country come together for a marathon that is traffic free and a good challenge for anyone interested in pushing their physical fitness to the limits.
Running marathons is extremely challenging for a lot of people, and as such, regardless of whether you are running this kind of marathon for the first time or you’re looking to try and beat a personal record, this article will go into detail about how you can effectively prepare yourself. Be sure to keep reading to put yourself in the best position possible moving forward.
If You’re Just Getting Started…
If you’re only just getting started with your training, then there are a few things that you need to make sure you’re aware of. These include but are not limited to some of the following:
- Your Limits
The 26 miles involved in a marathon puts you at high risk of an injury. As such, you need to be aware of your limits when you’re training as having knowledge of these will allow you to lower your risk of becoming injured because of your training.
Make sure that you’re taking breaks regularly, not just on a daily basis, but incorporate them weekly so that you’re giving your body enough time to relax. During these break periods, do something completely separate to training to allow yourself some time to chill out. A lot of people enjoy gaming in times like this so be sure to try out some of the different free casino games on the gambling websites’ free games page to find the right game for you.
- Start Early
You’re going to want to give yourself plenty of time to start training before you’re actually due to run the race. One of the most common causes of an injury is building up your weekly mileage too soon. Start early and build yourself up over an elongated period of time.
Remember Your Building Blocks
There are four building blocks that go into your marathon training, and these are the primary elements of getting yourself in the right condition. These building blocks include the following:
- Base Mileage
This means building up your weekly mileage over time. You should be running about three to five times every week and in doing this, you’re going to be improving your fitness going into a marathon.
- The Long Run
Make sure you’re doing a long run every seven to ten days a week. By doing this, you’re making sure that your body is going to be gradually adjusting to running long distances.
- Speed Work
You’ll also want to work on your overall speed, and this means laying out intervals where you’ll run at different tempos in a bid to increase your body’s overall cardio capacity.
- Rest and Recovery
You’ll need to ensure that you’re giving yourself enough time to rest (as mentioned above). In doing this, you’ll help to prevent injuries and also avoid any kind of mental burnout.
