045: How to Prepare for a Marathon - Mind and Body

The marathon is quite the beast of a race.  Many runners set the marathon as a long term goal or the peak of their running achievement.  

Others run a few every year while a rare few set out to run one in every state in the US or aim for global destinations.  Regardless of where you may fall on the spectrum from first race to hundredth, one thing is clear, the marathon is not easy.

 Running a marathon requires substantial physical preparation.  

• Runners must increase the time they are able to spend on their feet and the length of run they can complete.  
• They need to be able to learn how to fuel during a run.  
• Training for a marathon should include practicing different types of fuel to see which option works best with your body.  
• Runners also need to be able to deal with drinking while running.  
• The physical preparation slides into the mental challenge as the training requires the ability to handle whatever happens on race day.

 Mentally, the marathon can be intimidating.  

• First timers must be prepared for something they have never done before.  
• Training plans rarely take a new marathon runner past 20 miles, yet the race calls for 26.  There are a variety of workouts that can help a runner mentally bridge this gap.
• Having faith in a training plan can give you confidence as can working with an invested coach.  
• Training with a group, in person or online, can provide support and accountability.

Finally, Angie discusses the idea of showing gratitude for the goal while on the path to achieve the goal.  This is a wonderful mental shift that helps overcome the fear before a race and the disappointment in results that may follow a race regardless of the result.  

Remember that the marathon is a huge undertaking that needs appropriate training.  This training should create a physically prepared runner who also has the confidence and mental fortitude to battle and overcome any obstacle that comes their way on or off the course.   

Hope you enjoy it!! Let us know if you have any questions that you would like answered on our show!   

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