Marathon Training – Where Should I Be Right Now?

Part 3:

4 – 3 weeks to go.

BodyTrain:

Four weeks out from your marathon should be your last long run.  This is your confidence booster to prove you can do it!  After this your long runs should start to reduce in time.  4-3 weeks before the marathon is a good time to race.  This will help you to practice your pre- race routine, your taper, eating, drinking, what clothes to wear,what shoes to wear, should you Vaseline your feet?  Are you going to carry a fuel belt, take gels, and practice with Lucozade Sport? As this will be the drinks supplier at the FLM it’s a great idea to get used to drinking it before you race. That way your body knows what to expect on race day!

Food Focus:

You should be eating enough to balance your energy needs with your marathon running. At this point you’ll be in hard training and so need to focus on recovery and fuelling yourself correctly.  Eating an energy boosting snack within 15 mins of finishing long runs and hard sessions will help you recover more quickly. Try and then eating a well balanced meal with a couple of hours to replace all the energy you have used so you can train effectively again the next time you run.  Your diet at this point is as important as the running that you do. Don’t overlook any aspect. Tick every box along the way!

Brain Train:

Practise how you want your race to happen.  Imagine and create your future performance as you want it to happen.  Mentally rehearse the best things that could happen from start to finish.   Try this last thing at night, close you eyes and picture yourself warming up, toeing the start line feeling fresh, alive and energised, embrace the sensations of the spectators, the feel of the road under your feet, the perfect, cool, still weather conditions, the lightness of your step and spring in your stride as you coast effortlessly through the first 10kms bang on your target time.  Filling your thoughts with positive goals will create a greater like lihood of positive out comes.  Practice negotiating obstacles and facing challenges mid race.

Create scenarios that might happen and rehearse your strategies for every option you can imagine that can help optimise your performance in each situation.  ‘What if’s’ can help you work through a situation before it arises and keep you calm and focussed if it occurs.  Be thorough with the whole process.  Envisage not only the road before you but also your physical sensations in the race. Feel your pulse rate and breathing controlled and steady as you continue to meet your target times at 15k, 20k, 30k and 35k, appreciate the smoothness and efficiency of your running style and form.  Try viewing yourself from the outside, as if watching your performance on the television.   See yourself tick along with metronomic mechanically efficiency. See how all the miles you have ran to prepare have helped you become the best you can be.  See yourself cruising down the finishing straight, running tall, head high, happy and energised.  Cross the finish line and collect your medal, hold it, feel the cold metal and be proud of your achievement. Be ready to realise your dream.  Visualise what you’d previously thought impossible and make it possible.