Tips To Run A Marathon Besides Just Running

I have a few current clients and several past clients who are training to run marathons or some type of distance event. They aren't professionals, they are just doing it because they enjoy the challenge and something they like to do. They work with me to try and give them that extra edge to help their performance. So, I'm going to discuss a few tips that I use with these clients that might help you out as well.

• Strength Training - No, just running a lot of miles doesn't necessarily make your legs stronger. What we are trying to do when we strength train is to get you stronger which in turn will make your running more efficient. If you are more powerful, then you won't have to work as hard during your runs thus you can run longer when you couple this with the right running program. A good exercise routine will also help strengthen your core. If your core is weak, that could be the first to go, thus it can't keep your body in proper running position. If that happens, then you have to work that much harder to run and that wears you out quicker.

• Stretching - Distance runners sometimes have flexibility issues because they are always doing the same range of leg motion for long periods of time. Thus they lose some of their elasticity. This will hurt you when your trying to sprint towards the end or other areas of your race. You can't get the greatest range of motion possible, so you got to do more leg cycles to get to the same place. So stay flexible to keep that range of motion big.

• Plyometrics - These are movements such as jumps, that help train your fast-twitch muscle fibers. They also help develop the power and explosiveness in you. Doing some of these will help train your body for those bursts that you need at the beginning, up a hill, or towards the end of a race. Your body needs to feel that explosiveness before you actually do it in a race.

• Nutrition - My sister-in-law is a professional ironman competitor. Her big problem was always collapsing at the end of a race and not being able to keep everything down during the race. She hooked up with a nutritionist recently and what happened, she won her first professional ironman. Don't underestimate the importance of nutrition and how it can keep you performing optimally during a race.

Hopefully, you can implement those tips so that your performance can be at peak levels for your own race. See how it will improve your time and you'll be hooked on these items just like you are for your 10 mile run.