Marathon and Half-Marathon (18 page)

• Make sure you have properly warmed up or cooled down before starting your stretching exercises.

• Be gentle. Relax into the stretch, and avoid forcing it.

• Get into each stretch position slowly.

• Until you feel tension, gently increase the stretch.

• If it hurts, ease off, and if the pain doesn’t subside, stop.

• Hold each position for 10 to 30 seconds.

• After about 10 seconds you may find the muscle relaxes, which enables you to increase the stretch.

• Develop your own sequence of stretches that become a routine part of the warm-up and cool-down portion of your training.

• Stick with light stretching as part of your warm-up, and keep the deep and longer stretching for after your run.

• Make sure you include stretches at the beginning and end of every workout.

Good running form

Good running technique is usually smooth and efficient. Try not to be overly concerned with your style; you will become more comfortable, more efficient, and stronger as your running increases. Everyone has his or her individual style; even the most elite marathoners may thrash or bob, but they still manage to be effective.

Good running technique will positively affect your performance. Here are a few suggestions for optimum form:

• Remember to focus on using your arms to get the pace you want and to keep the rhythm. As you use your arms, your legs will follow.

• Let your arms swing naturally, but keep them close to your body.

• Keep your arms slightly bent at the elbows.

• Keep your hands cupped.

• Point your feet straight ahead. They should strike the ground directly underneath your hips.

• Pull your pelvis inward.

• Try to focus on running tall.

Relax your shoulders. If the upper body and shoulders feel tight or strained, try pinching a thumb with one of your fingers. It creates a tiny pressure point and will relieve the tension in the upper body. Eventually, you’ll learn to run relaxed without the pinching!

Breathing

When you exercise, you begin to breathe harder and may feel out of breath. This is natural and normal. Without giving it much conscious thought, most runners breathe in a 2:2 rhythmic ratio. They take two steps as they inhale; they take two more steps as they exhale. While running very slowly, they often breathe in a 3:3 ratio. While running very fast, they might breathe 2:1, or 1:1, but 2:2 is much more common. If you count breaths in and out and discover you are breathing with a different rhythm, don’t worry about it. Adjusting your breathing pattern will not make you a better runner. As well, most runners and walkers naturally breathe through both mouth and nose.

Besides Running

There are many activities besides running that are fun, increase your strength and endurance, and complement your distance-running aspirations. Just about any activity that increases the flow of oxygen is considered cross training. Walking, cycling, swimming pool running, and hiking are all good ways to increase your overall fitness and add some variety to your routine. Cross training can also help your running by strengthening areas of the body that support you as you run.

How to cross train

• Give yourself a few weeks to adjust to your training program before adding cross training to the mix. Doing too much too soon could lead to injury.

• We suggest in this book’s training programs you cross train on one or two of your days off from running.

• Work out once a week at your local pool.

• Consider joining a gym or your local community center.

• Pick an activity you enjoy. If you don’t like getting wet, swimming or pool running might not be for you.

• If you’re new to exercising, or if you’ve taken a long break from any form of fitness, consider walking or stretching as cross-training activities. Again, be careful not to do too much too fast. You don’t want to be sidelined by an injury or burned out from too much exercise.

What cross-training activity best complements my
running?

All cross-training activities will help you to increase your strength and stamina, which is valuable for running. If done correctly, running in water most closely replicates running on land.

Here are several tips for water-running beginners:

• Imagine your own running gait. Your knee comes up in front at about a 45-degree angle, your leg extends to allow your heel to plant first, then your ankle flexes so that you can push off the ground with your toes as you drive your leg back behind you, and the opposite leg begins the cycle once again. Your lower body should follow this same pattern in the water.

• Avoid using a dog-paddle arm motion to stay afloat. Instead, concentrate on reproducing the action your arm follows when you run on land. Be sure to bring your arms straight through the water in front of you and extend them all the way back behind you, holding your hands relaxed as you do when you run.

• Start slowly. Structure your water-running program so that you gradually progress toward longer workouts. Before you dive into any of the workouts described, you should be able to comfortably handle a steady 30-minute run in the water.

• Make it as pleasant as possible. Find a pool with a large deep end or diving tank that is available at convenient times and not crowded with swimmers doing their laps or kids just playing around. That way, other swimmers won’t be in your way, and you won’t be in theirs. Sometimes it helps to explain to curious fellow pool users what it is you are trying to accomplish, but the best solution is to work out during quiet times of the day. Avoid lunchtime and after-work hours.

• Scout around for a pool that offers piped-in music. Music really helps pass the time as you work out.

• Find a partner. Make arrangements to meet and go for a “run” at the pool. Good conversation also helps pass the time; workouts are more fun, and there’s always better motivation when someone else shares the load.

• Keep time. Use a waterproof watch to time your runs and intervals, or find a pool with a large pace clock—the kind that lap swimmers use to time their intervals.

8
Including the Family

FOR MANY ADULTS, THE ACT OF BALANCING FAMILY, HOME, and career bears all the hallmarks of a marathon: non-stop hard work. For others, training for and running 26.2 or 13.1 miles (42 or 21 kilometers) is the ultimate challenge. Without question, training for a marathon alongside the competing demands that families face requires significant planning and a lot of organizing. But it can be done. From running with a jogging stroller to finding a good training partner, this chapter provides facts on family fitness and simple strategies for busy families making it to the marathon finish line.

Marathon Women

Women’s recent entry into marathoning

Much has changed for women over the past 30 years. As a result of the women’s movement, the opportunities open to females in Western cultures have never been greater.

Today women work in almost all fields and professions, and it seems the woman who doesn’t work outside the home is becoming the exception. The vast opportunities for women are also seen in sport, and the marathon and half marathon are great examples. Nowadays women make up over half the number of participants in most races.

Why the slow start?

Women are increasingly attracted to distance events in part because they’ve had a slower entry to the sport than men. Initially it was thought distance running was too taxing on the female body. As recently as the early 1970s it was commonly thought that women could not run long distances, the general assumption being that it was hazardous to women’s health. In fact, numerous critiques were written by doctors warning women of the harm they would do to their bodies if they attempted to run farther than a few thousand yards. The articles suggested that women who ran long distances were likely to permanently damage their bodies. These concerns were followed by research claiming that female athletes who engaged in rigorous training schedules risked their ability to conceive children. It was not until the 1984 Olympic Games that the marathon race was sanctioned for women.

Run clinics have a big role

Vancouver International Marathon organizer Derek Hodge attributes the boom in women running half and full marathons in large part to the increasing availability of run clinics. The clinics provide a safe and simple solution for female runners, some of whom will never before have seen large groups of women running. The experience of meeting women who are faster, slower, older, or younger than you can be motivating and empowering. In contrast, women can find it discouraging if they run exclusively with men who are faster and stronger. This is not to say that there aren’t superb women runners and men who make great training partners. The key is to figure out what combination works best for you.

The Marathon Clinic

Regardless of whether you’re a man or woman, a marathon-training clinic can provide expert advice, guidance, and companionship on the road to achieving your marathon goal. Most running stores offer clinics, as do private fitness clubs and community centers. Clinics vary in size, cost, and general approach to marathon training, so it’s important to try a few to find one that best meets your needs. Most clinics provide a free introductory session or request a nominal fee.