It is not too late to read this. One, or all of them, might just make the difference on race day.
The stage is set:
• You've been training for weeks.
• You’ve gradually increased the distance of your long runs.
• You’ve paid special attention to recovery days.
• You’ve monitored your fluid balance on an almost hourly basis.
What more can you do to make sure you're fully prepared for that upcoming marathon?
Well, quite a few things actually. A long marathon distance is way too vast to master with just a few basics. You need sophisticated strategies and a few marathon secrets from marathon veterans with years of experience.
To help you enjoy your best possible marathon a group of marathon experts were consulted to share their marathon wisdom.
See what you think:
The Top 10
These are the strategies that our experts agreed are the most crucial to marathon success. Make them the foundation of your marathon preparation.
1. Train, train, train
You don't get to test yourself at the ultra-marathon distance as often as you do at for instance a 10 km race. But you can do plenty of homework. Make sure you log five or six to 3-4 hour runs (one every other weekend, at most) in the three or four months before your race. And schedule your last long run at least two weeks before the big day.
2. Do your course work.
It is important to study the race and do your homework. If possible, order a video of the race. Talk to people who've run it. When you’re in Durban, drive the course. Cover every metre, from start to finish, at least once, noting landmarks and difficult sections so you can visualise your race in detail before you start the race.
3. Balance your fluid intake
Specialists recommend drinking lots of fluids before and during a race. They maintain, however, that thirst should be your guide. This usually means you should drink between 400-800 ml per hour, depending on the conditions of the day. Remember that overhydration can be just as dangerous as dehydration. It is interesting to note that a greater fluid intake doesn't necessarily translate into better performance. In a study conducted by the University of Cape Town it was found that top Ironman athletes were the most dehydrated participants.
4. Taper your to-do list.
Of course you're training less the week before the race, but that doesn't mean you should fill your free time with other daily chores. Don't clean the garage. Don't even arrange your books. Just sit back, relax and focus on the only task that counts: replacing your heavy training with some very heavy rest.
5. Race in your training shoes.
Your body learns what you teach it: no more, no less. So, if you wear training shoes during your long runs, your body grows accustomed to running for hours on end in those training shoes. Bottom line: If you wear trainers to train, wear them in the marathon. At most, you can gamble with lightweight trainers, but only if you've worn them on several long runs without a problem.
6. Avoid the shock of the new.
You want to be "in a rut" on race day. That means wearing not just the same shoes, but also the same socks, shorts and shirt you've worn without a hitch on your long runs. (Obviously out of the wash!) And it means eating the same foods and drinking the same fluids you did prior to and during your most successful long runs.
7. Prime the sponge.
That is, drink two 225 ml glasses of water or sports drink exactly 2 hours before the gun. The water will have passed through your system by that time and, even better, your body will be primed to accept the fluids you drink during the race.
8. Eat before you run.
Take in at least 300 calories, preferably a full breakfast, an hour before the start. It doesn't matter what you eat (yoghurt, an energy bar, eggs) as long as you've practised eating the same foods an hour before your long training runs, and you know your stomach can handle them. This pre-race meal will prevent your blood sugar from dropping and will fend off hunger later in the race.
9. Warm up - but don't wear yourself out.
Be a minimalist. At most, jog very easily for about 15 minutes, then stretch your hamstrings, quadriceps, calves and lower back for another quarter of an hour. With about 15 minutes to go before the start, do a few strides if you want. But no more! You'll warm up enough in the early stages of the race.
10. Find your pace-then pull back.
You know how 8:30s feel in training. But do you know how they feel when your heart's pounding louder than the enthusiastic crowd along the road. In fact, thanks to race-day adrenaline rush, any pace will feel far easier than normal, which could mean you'll go out too fast. So make a conscious effort to pull back until you hit the 10-mile mark. Remember, any seconds you lose early on are minutes you save later in the race.
April 3, 2011
Walk your way to fitness
Walking really is a painless and effective way of getting some good, daily exercise.
Don't dismiss walking. It can provide enormous health benefits such as improving your circulation and cardiovascular function, strengthening your bones, helping to build and maintain muscle mass, easing stress and anxiety, improving your sense of well-being and, if done regularly and at a high enough intensity, it can help to shed unwanted kilos.
To maximise the benefits you get from it, make sure that your walking technique is up to scratch. Perhaps get a friend to assess your body positioning and style.
Here's how to do it for maximum benefit
1. Keep your head up, eyes looking forward and focused ahead.
2. Ensure your back is straight, but relaxed.
3. “Zip up” your abdominals and squeeze in your gluteal (butt) muscles - this will help you to maintain a straight back. The deepest layer of abdominals acts as an important stabiliser for your lower back, and is very important when walking.
4. Keep your chest out, and your shoulders back, down and relaxed.
5. Let your arms, which are bent at the elbows, swing naturally from the shoulders. As you speed up, you might find it easier to bend your arms at 90º and use a stronger arm movement.
6. Your foot strike action is important. After you land on the outer side of your heel, your foot rolls inwards, which is essential for adequate shock absorption and the final phase is a push off with your toes.
7. Beware of pounding your heels down when walking briskly; this generates unnecessary forces on your joints.
8. Dorsiflex your foot (bend the top part of your foot back) adequately, rather than just shuffling along. The foot needs 10º to 15º of dorsiflexion in order to walk correctly. Otherwise, to compensate, your foot will roll inwards excessively, which might lead to problems such as shin splints and plantar fasciitis. Stretching your calf muscles daily should help you to achieve adequate dorsiflexion.
9. Stride length is an individual feature of your walking technique. Most walkers take steps of the kind of length that promotes their walking efficiency.
10. Breathe rhythmically. For example inhale for three steps and exhale for the next three, or at a rate that feels right.
Walking is not as simple as it looks. Different techniques must be used for walking uphill and for downhill.
Tips for walking uphill
1. Since walking uphill is quite demanding, make sure you warm up by walking on the flat first for about 5 minutes.
2. Shorten your steps.
3. If you are fit, you can quicken your step rate with shorter steps, or if you are less fit, then at least try to maintain your step rate.
4. Lean very slightly forward into the hill. Leaning backwards will unbalance you.
5. Because hills are hard work, you should experience an increase in your heart rate and breathing rate. However, make sure that you can still conduct a conversation, even if it is somewhat breathless.
Tips for walking downhill
1. Relax and let your steps flow.
2. Going downhill, your stride will naturally lengthen. Whilst overstriding when walking on a flat surface is bad, when going downhill it will actually help you to brake slightly as gravity keeps you moving faster.
3. If you feel like your pace is out of control, shorten your stride and slow down your step rate.
4. Stay upright and don't lean back in an attempt to slow down.
5. If it is a very steep downhill, then you might want to lean forward a little for greater stability; keep your knees slightly bent at all times.
Well done on a great exercise choice – enjoy the benefits!
Don't dismiss walking. It can provide enormous health benefits such as improving your circulation and cardiovascular function, strengthening your bones, helping to build and maintain muscle mass, easing stress and anxiety, improving your sense of well-being and, if done regularly and at a high enough intensity, it can help to shed unwanted kilos.
To maximise the benefits you get from it, make sure that your walking technique is up to scratch. Perhaps get a friend to assess your body positioning and style.
Here's how to do it for maximum benefit
1. Keep your head up, eyes looking forward and focused ahead.
2. Ensure your back is straight, but relaxed.
3. “Zip up” your abdominals and squeeze in your gluteal (butt) muscles - this will help you to maintain a straight back. The deepest layer of abdominals acts as an important stabiliser for your lower back, and is very important when walking.
4. Keep your chest out, and your shoulders back, down and relaxed.
5. Let your arms, which are bent at the elbows, swing naturally from the shoulders. As you speed up, you might find it easier to bend your arms at 90º and use a stronger arm movement.
6. Your foot strike action is important. After you land on the outer side of your heel, your foot rolls inwards, which is essential for adequate shock absorption and the final phase is a push off with your toes.
7. Beware of pounding your heels down when walking briskly; this generates unnecessary forces on your joints.
8. Dorsiflex your foot (bend the top part of your foot back) adequately, rather than just shuffling along. The foot needs 10º to 15º of dorsiflexion in order to walk correctly. Otherwise, to compensate, your foot will roll inwards excessively, which might lead to problems such as shin splints and plantar fasciitis. Stretching your calf muscles daily should help you to achieve adequate dorsiflexion.
9. Stride length is an individual feature of your walking technique. Most walkers take steps of the kind of length that promotes their walking efficiency.
10. Breathe rhythmically. For example inhale for three steps and exhale for the next three, or at a rate that feels right.
Walking is not as simple as it looks. Different techniques must be used for walking uphill and for downhill.
Tips for walking uphill
1. Since walking uphill is quite demanding, make sure you warm up by walking on the flat first for about 5 minutes.
2. Shorten your steps.
3. If you are fit, you can quicken your step rate with shorter steps, or if you are less fit, then at least try to maintain your step rate.
4. Lean very slightly forward into the hill. Leaning backwards will unbalance you.
5. Because hills are hard work, you should experience an increase in your heart rate and breathing rate. However, make sure that you can still conduct a conversation, even if it is somewhat breathless.
Tips for walking downhill
1. Relax and let your steps flow.
2. Going downhill, your stride will naturally lengthen. Whilst overstriding when walking on a flat surface is bad, when going downhill it will actually help you to brake slightly as gravity keeps you moving faster.
3. If you feel like your pace is out of control, shorten your stride and slow down your step rate.
4. Stay upright and don't lean back in an attempt to slow down.
5. If it is a very steep downhill, then you might want to lean forward a little for greater stability; keep your knees slightly bent at all times.
Well done on a great exercise choice – enjoy the benefits!
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