Marathon Training

If you are planning to run a marathon in the fall of 2010, the Second Wind Running Club's Marathon Training Group could be a great complement to your training schedule. The club is sponsoring organized long runs featuring courses with marked miles. Participants must be paid-up members of Second Wind – there is no additional fee – this is a benefit of your Second Wind Membership. Each run will start promptly at 7:00 a.m. Second Wind will provide marked courses, water and Gatorade.

Our target Race Weekend is October 16–17, but please join us no matter what Fall Marathon you plan to run—or join us just because you like to run long. The runs will be every other Sunday except Labor Day weekend, which will be Saturday. The run will begin at 7:00 a.m. starting with Sunday, July 25. The confirmed dates and initial locations are below. Make sure you are on the Second Wind email list to receive updates. If you attend 4 out of the 6 runs and complete a Fall Marathon you are eligible for prizes from Marathon & Beyond at the Second Wind Award Event in January!

Date	Distance	Maps	Starting point
Sunday, July 25	14 miles	14 mile map	Hessel Park, Champaign
Sunday, August 8	16 miles	16 mile map	Meadowbrook Park, Urbana
Sunday, August 22	18 miles	18 mile map	Lake of the Woods, Mahomet
Saturday, September 4	20 miles	20 mile map	Prairie School, Urbana
Sunday, September 19	20 miles	20 mile map	Prairie School, Urbana
Sunday, October 3	14 miles	14 mile map	Hessel Park, Champaign

All runs begin at 7:00 a.m. Questions? Email Nancy McCarty at stanruns@hotmail.com.

A Marathon-day checklist for all of the things you might considering wearing, taking, and consuming for an out-of-town marathon.

General Physical Condition: Before beginning any training regimen, you should have established a ‘base’ distance that you run every week. Opinions vary on the appropriate base. Some experts say you should be running a minimum of 20 miles a week. Through the course of your training, this may increase to the range of 40-50 mile per week depending on what kind of runner you are. You should be in good health and have had a recent medical examination (the usual caveat and good advice in any event).

Hydration: It is surprisingly easy to let yourself become dehydrated during a long run. For any distance over ten miles, we recommend pre-placement of water or a sports drink every 3-6 miles. Drink early, even if you are not thirsty. You need to be especially careful during your training phase. You may want to buy a water bottle carrier to wear during the long runs. These are available at most running or hiking stores. We also recommend that you find out what sports drink will be offered at the marathon you intend to run. Also find out the distance between aid stations at your race. During your training runs, practice taking fluids of the same type and at the same interval as offered at your race. Many runners find sports drinks to be too strong and alternate water and sports drinks. For first time and less experienced runners, it is recommended that you walk through aid stations to ensure that you get enough fluids.

Nutrition: During training, your diet will have a significant effect on how you feel and perform during a run. Naturally, you should eat a healthy and balanced diet. National Research Council guidelines recommend that less than 30% of calories in your diet should come from fat. Equally as important, AVOID FATTY FOODS BEFORE A LONG RUN! Fat ingested within about 12 hours before a run will digest slowly, make you feel lethargic during the run, and can cause other gastrointestinal distress (Okay, in English, you will need to dart into the corn fields frequently during the run). Carbohydrates are your friends. Pasta seems to be the favorite (avoid the Alfredo sauce). For those of you that know about ‘Carbohydrate Loading,’ research has shown that it does work, but that the nutritional depletion phase can do more harms than good. Eating during your run can have a beneficial effect on your performance. Favorites include energy bars and gels. Don’t try this for the first time on Marathon day, however!

Training Tips from Lore of Running by Timothy Noakes

Long runs done every other week are more than sufficient for marathon training. Any more than this will tear your body down interfere with the recovery time needed between long runs, and invite injuries.
Get plenty of sleep on a regular schedule. Rest is very important in a marathon-training program.
On shoes: Never do any long distance training in shoes with more than 500 miles on them. REPLACE THEM. Never race in shoes with less than 50 miles on them. In your marathon, it is recommended to not wear shoes with over 100 miles on them. Get fitted for shoes by an expert, telling them about your training goals.
Blisters are not your friend. Buy a good pair of wicking socks. Another runner’s secret is to liberally smear Vaseline or Body Glide on your feet before a run. By the end of the run, you won’t even know it was there and you’ll be blister free.
Lubricate your body for the long runs and the marathon race. Use Vaseline or ointment. The areas to lubricate are the armpits, nipples, inner thighs, crotch area, and the feet.