GreekChat.com Forums - GC Marathoners

I hope you have been training for awhile, with many of your LSD runs above 13 miles. The biggest problem I hear of with most people's training is they think they only have to train at or below the distance they want to run.

I'm an adovate of getting one day of rest a week. Some don't like it, but I find if I don't give my self one off day I end up with overuse injuries. Just remember the 'off' day doesn't mean no workout at all- just a bike or a pool workout instead.

Make sure you stretch after and during your run. The guidlines have changed on stretching and its looking like its more harmful to stretch on cold muscles than to not stretch at all. I generally don't strech until about half way into my workout, unless its shorter than 30min and then I don't stretch until I'm finished.

Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. But don't drink too much come race day. Runner's World has a great article on drinking too much during a race (can't think of the name right now, hypo something). Just make sure you replenish what your body uses.

Make sure you sleep. Your body will need to rebuild. Most people I know increased their sleep by an hour or two when they started training for a marathon.

My personal pet peeve: don't wear headphones if you are running on a road and don't get dependent on them to run. Most races don't let you wear headphones anyway because of safety issues, so make sure you can train with your own thoughts cause thats likly all that will be around (unless you're doing a race with music, like the Rock and Roll or Disney marathons).

I'm training for the Disney Half in January. Ideally, you should have 15weeks of training for a half marathon. Unless your P Diddy or Diddy or whatever the hell he's calling himself and can outfit yourself with the best trainers, massage therapists, and have nothing else to do in life but run.