Boston Marathon (and other races). Have you tried?

[norway]

Has anyone here ever trained for a marathon, or attempted to? I was thinking about trying to do a half-marathon this year, and was wondering if anyone had any good tips?

[aMuse]

I've never done the Boston Marathon, but have done a number of races that qualified me for it. As far as training goes, it depends on your current fitness level. My main tips would be, 1) Take care of your feet: lube your feet with KY Jelly to prevent blisters and wear synthetic socks. Get a good pair of shoes, don't cheap out and make sure they fit properly. You foot arches will extend during long races. 2) Lube inner thighs/butt crack with KY Jelly to prevent chafing. 3) Stay hydrated. 4) Eat high carb the night before and go to bed early. You will likely need to get up like 5) Don't stop. If you get tired walk fast then start jogging again when you catch your breath.

As far as training, make sure you always do your weekly long run on the day the event will be held. So if race day is on Saturday, make sure you get up early every Saturday morning and do your long run. Then train on pace and distance runs (but not really long) Mon. Wed. Fri. Take the other days to rest your legs. Start at a low millage and increase the millage every week by at least a mile. Once you have your distance down increase your pace.

[aMuse]

*get up like 3 AM

[Belgie]

I've run half marathons before.

As a general rule, if you're a good long distance runner, you should be okay with a few months of training for it.

You don't hit "the wall" on a half-marathon, so the main thing is to learn how to run steady and pace yourself. Increase your distance over time, and don't worry about trying to run a fast half or whatever. Especially not for your first try.

On the training sessions, work your way up to a 10 mile run. Runnersworld.com has plenty of training modules for this sort of thing.

[madmisskelly]

I attempted to train for a half marathon and got up to 9 miles. Its fun, but I get bored at like, mile 7 and I've spaced out for as long as I can and I just get so tired and want it to be done.

I also notice how I only focus on running instead of weight training. I just went back to weight train after a long time off and holy crap is it hard. Its such a trade off between weight training and running training.

[MyNameIsJonas]

Tips: Train for it. depending on what type of marathon you are doing. Try The Spartan, Tough Mudder or Mud Run.

Im doing the tough mudder April 28th, It's only running and obstacles that use upper body. I swim, bike and run. More focus on running, I try to run 2 to 3 times a week. I ran 16 miles today, and I have never done that before in my life.

Remember YOLO!

[martyfellow]

Start preparng months ahead. GEt a lot of sleep and do a lot of stretching, and don't just run. Do weights and yoga to maintain strength and flexibility, which you'll need to avoid injury when you run that far.

Don't train 100 miles a week, unless you're an Olympic level athlete. It just invites injury from overstressing joints and muscles.

[izzybk]

hmm wear long calve socks...get a good amount of music probably 2 hrs worth to entertain yourself

other than that forget the distance and just look ahead :)

GL I love running