Read Online Marathon and Half-Marathon by Marnie Caron, Sport Medicine Council of British Columbia - Free Book Online
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week’s training. Remember, everyone progresses differently, so be sure to build a few extra weeks into your training schedule to allow for repeating certain weeks if you need a little extra time to build up strength and endurance before progressing to the next week’s challenges.
If you find you have an ache or pain, refer to chapter 9 for detailed information on rating your pain and how to know when you should take a few days’ rest. Or, if you catch a cold or flu bug when training and wonder how sick you need to be before taking a day off, refer to chapter 9 for information on what to do if you’re sick. Finally, if you do need to take a break of 1 or even 3 weeks, refer to the section at the end of that chapter for guidelines on how to best resume your training program.
Why do the programs increase the length of the long run only every second week? Why don’t we just run a little farther each week?
Our training programs use what’s called the “overload principle,” where each training phase alternates between building and recovery weeks. The objective is to systematically and conservatively overload the body in order to build strength. Although you need to stress the body to prepare it for the demands of the marathon or half marathon, you don’t want to be in a continual state of stress, because stress without rest just leads to more stress and in turn to fatigue, burnout, and eventually injury.
I’ve decided to start with the half marathon, but how do I find a race?
In 26 weeks this beginner program will take you to the half-marathon finish line as safely and comfortably as possible. Find a race that interests you, either by visiting a local specialty running store or by going on-line to find an event farther afield that interests you. Many runners choose a “destination” event so that they can enjoy some well-deserved downtime after such a huge task as completing a half marathon. Or maybe you could think about doing your half marathon with a charity in mind and asking your friends to pledge some dollars for every kilometer of your race.
I’ve decided to go for the full marathon, but can I do it?
This is a big commitment, but it’s doable with the right attitude. We would prefer you start with the half-marathon program and progress from there, but we know that people are making the marathon their initial goal, so we have created a beginner program that will take you to the marathon finish line in 26 weeks. But we want you to be cautious—if, at any point in your training, you don’t feel ready to move to the next week of the program, we encourage you to repeat the same week until you feel ready to push forward. The 26 weeks are just a guideline. Beginners will be approaching their training with varying levels of fitness and experience. Our generic programs cannot take into account all of the variables contributing to your individual training.
Before You Get Started, Some Last-minute Advice
Under ideal circumstances the progression of this training program will be smooth and uneventful. However, we’re not always dealing with ideal circumstances. You have jobs, children, leaking roofs, and grass to cut. Your training progressions are only one of many demanding aspects of your life, unlike professional athletes whose training is their primary focus. For example, when you have a 7:00 AM 10-kilometer training run and your child wakes up at 3:00 AM having wet the bed, you’re not entering your workout under optimal circumstances. Your training progress and response to it are modified by events surrounding it. It is impossible to control all of the variables, and emotional ups and downs are inevitable. The key is to recognize this is a healthy and normal part of any training program. Don’t be upset or put off. A word of warning: at some point in your training you will likely experience feelings of extreme fatigue, both physically and mentally, which commonly results in some degree of emotional
If you find you have an ache or pain, refer to chapter 9 for detailed information on rating your pain and how to know when you should take a few days’ rest. Or, if you catch a cold or flu bug when training and wonder how sick you need to be before taking a day off, refer to chapter 9 for information on what to do if you’re sick. Finally, if you do need to take a break of 1 or even 3 weeks, refer to the section at the end of that chapter for guidelines on how to best resume your training program.
Why do the programs increase the length of the long run only every second week? Why don’t we just run a little farther each week?
Our training programs use what’s called the “overload principle,” where each training phase alternates between building and recovery weeks. The objective is to systematically and conservatively overload the body in order to build strength. Although you need to stress the body to prepare it for the demands of the marathon or half marathon, you don’t want to be in a continual state of stress, because stress without rest just leads to more stress and in turn to fatigue, burnout, and eventually injury.
I’ve decided to start with the half marathon, but how do I find a race?
In 26 weeks this beginner program will take you to the half-marathon finish line as safely and comfortably as possible. Find a race that interests you, either by visiting a local specialty running store or by going on-line to find an event farther afield that interests you. Many runners choose a “destination” event so that they can enjoy some well-deserved downtime after such a huge task as completing a half marathon. Or maybe you could think about doing your half marathon with a charity in mind and asking your friends to pledge some dollars for every kilometer of your race.
I’ve decided to go for the full marathon, but can I do it?
This is a big commitment, but it’s doable with the right attitude. We would prefer you start with the half-marathon program and progress from there, but we know that people are making the marathon their initial goal, so we have created a beginner program that will take you to the marathon finish line in 26 weeks. But we want you to be cautious—if, at any point in your training, you don’t feel ready to move to the next week of the program, we encourage you to repeat the same week until you feel ready to push forward. The 26 weeks are just a guideline. Beginners will be approaching their training with varying levels of fitness and experience. Our generic programs cannot take into account all of the variables contributing to your individual training.
Before You Get Started, Some Last-minute Advice
Under ideal circumstances the progression of this training program will be smooth and uneventful. However, we’re not always dealing with ideal circumstances. You have jobs, children, leaking roofs, and grass to cut. Your training progressions are only one of many demanding aspects of your life, unlike professional athletes whose training is their primary focus. For example, when you have a 7:00 AM 10-kilometer training run and your child wakes up at 3:00 AM having wet the bed, you’re not entering your workout under optimal circumstances. Your training progress and response to it are modified by events surrounding it. It is impossible to control all of the variables, and emotional ups and downs are inevitable. The key is to recognize this is a healthy and normal part of any training program. Don’t be upset or put off. A word of warning: at some point in your training you will likely experience feelings of extreme fatigue, both physically and mentally, which commonly results in some degree of emotional
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