Training for a marathon is a challenging and rewarding experience, but it’s important to avoid common mistakes that can negatively impact your performance and increase the risk of injury. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced runner, it’s essential to have a solid training plan and avoid common pitfalls.
Here are some of the most common marathon training mistakes to avoid:
- Starting Too Late
Starting your training too late is one of the most common mistakes made by marathon runners. It’s important to give yourself enough time to prepare, build up your endurance, and avoid injury. It’s recommended to start training at least 16 weeks before the race to give yourself enough time to gradually increase your mileage and avoid burnout. i would recommend at least 3-4 months of around 25-30km before undertaking a marathon plan.
- Not Building Up Gradually
Another common mistake is not building up gradually. It’s important to gradually increase your mileage and intensity over time to avoid injury and burnout. This means starting with shorter distances and gradually building up to longer runs. Generally speaking there is an unwritten rule of increase by 10% of the total volume for the week. Alternatively, your long run shouldn’t be more than half your weekly volume. Running over 40 miles per week would require to reduce by around 5% as there is a sharp increase in injuries when running over this distance per week.
- Not Cross-training
Cross-training is an essential component of any training plan, but it’s often overlooked by marathon runners. Cross-training can help improve your overall fitness, reduce the risk of injury, and provide a welcome break from the repetitive motion of running. This offers a welcome break but the majority of your training needs to be running.
- Ignoring Strength Training
Strength training is another essential component of a well-rounded training plan, but it’s often neglected by marathon runners. Strength training can help improve performance, reduce the risk of injury, and increase endurance. It doesn’t have to be chasing more and more weight. You should focus on lifting a weight for around 5-8 reps 3 times would be ideal.
- Not Resting Enough
Rest and recovery are essential components of any training plan, but they’re often neglected by marathon runners. It’s important to allow your body to rest and recover, especially after long runs, to avoid injury and fatigue. Some people cite over training as a main cause for injury. It tends to be in a matter of fact under recovering that leads to more injuries. Low hanging fruit such as sleep, hydration, nutrition and diary completion help to avoid overtraining / under recovering.
In conclusion, training for a marathon is a significant undertaking that requires discipline, dedication, and a well-rounded training plan. By avoiding common mistakes, such as starting too late, not building up gradually, ignoring strength training, and not resting enough, you can improve your performance, reduce the risk of injury, and have a successful marathon experience.
Thanks For Reading
James @physiorun