Training for a marathon or half marathon is an exciting adventure. Having trained hundreds of runners to injury free, successful races, I have found 3 key strategies to racing success.
- Increase your weekly mileage by only 10% or less. Most people get excited about their goal to run a marathon or half marathon and go all out. If you stick with the 10% mileage increase or less, you are more likely to avoid injury and enjoy the training process.
- Eat foods, gels, and/or sports drinks that you have used during training. Keep your eating consistent with what you always eat before and during your regular training runs. If you always eat a peanut butter and banana sandwich one-hour before your long training run and drink a certain brand and flavor of sports drink during your run, do the exact same thing on race day. (I’ve learned this from experience!)
- TAPER! I am a big fan of tapering. Having fresh legs and replenished body fuel is a key component to having a great race. When training for a marathon or half marathon, your longest run should be three or four weeks out from race day. Two weeks before your race, your long run distance should be half of your longest run. One week before your race, your long run should be one quarter the distance or less of your longest run. This allows your body to replace all glycogen stores and your legs to feel fresh on race day.
If you would like to learn more racing success strategies, please join Bellingham Bay Race Director, Ben Twigg, and me on May 11th.
BBM Toolkit: Everything you need to run your best at Bellingham Bay
with Coach Carol Frazey & BBM race director Ben Twigg
Thursday, May 11th
7:15 – 8:15pm
At Fairhaven Runners
Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1881642025381162/
Get more information at the Fairhaven Runners & Walkers Clinics & Forums
Lastly, remember to enjoy your marathon or half marathon. You may make some mistakes, but being part of an event, pushing yourself to your goal, and enjoying the experience is what it is all about.
Let’s do this!
Coach Carol