I’ll start this post by saying, I’m by NO MEANS an expert on running, racing, marathoning, etc (or really anything besides Fast Food), but I learned a ton throughout my training for both the half and full marathons I ran. I’m friends with a few runners and have some runner clients, and a few people have even asked me questions about running (which is shocking to me, but flattering!) so I thought, why the heck shouldn’t I write this post? Please make sure you consult a doctor or a coach or some other kind of expert before you decide to start training for anything! Keep in mind the only marathons I’m an expert on are Law and Order SVU marathons. If you could equate those to running marathons, you might say I’m the equivalent of a Boston Marathon Winner on Elliot Stabler and Olivia Benson. 🙂

Anyway, back to running. I definitely want to share some of the things about training that I learned that really helped me…hopefully you can apply these to any race, whether that’s a 3K just for fun like the Color Run or something, or a marathon…or even just a jog around the neighborhood!

Choose a training schedule
The first week of marathon training, I chose a beginner’s marathon training program online to use as a guideline. I ended up modifying it a little bit for me, but it was still really helpful to gauge where I was supposed to be mileage-wise by a certain time in training. I chose this one from Marathon Rookie. I took a picture of the screen with my phone (yeah, not even a screenshot, can you say GHETTO??) so I’d be able to reference it quickly whenever I started to panic about training (which was often). Because my training happened in the dead of one of the worst winters I can remember, I decided to make it my goal to run three days a week instead of four as recommended by the schedule. I honestly have mixed feelings about this. I did as well as I thought I would (just slightly slower than my half marathon pace…which was faster than I thought for being under-trained) but I’m positive I could have done even better if I had trained as according to the schedule. Some weeks I only ran twice, but maybe 2/3s of the weeks I ran three times.

Toward the end of the training, I decided to run long runs every other week instead of every week like the training doc suggested. Mostly because after doing some research and thinking about what would be best for me and my body, I decided that I needed extra time to recover in between each 15 + mile run. I ran a 15, a 17, a 20, and a 22. I decided to run the 22 mostly for mental benefits…the marathon training guides I’ve read mostly say that you shouldn’t run more than a 20 because it takes your body so long to recover, but I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it so that on race day, there wouldn’t be any doubt in my mind that I could do all 26.2.

Buy new shoes
I ran my half marathon in a pair of shoes I’d owned for about three and a half years that were also a little bit too tight…it’s no wonder I was having issues with my knees and IT band…there was almost NO support left in them. Fast forward to training for the full with a new pair of shoes, and I felt like a different runner. No knee problems. No IT band pain. And once I started doing ice baths and foam rolling, I was able to walk just fine the next day. I put my old shoes on yesterday to weight lift in them (you aren’t supposed to cross train or weight lift in your running shoes because it can wear them out/make them wear funny) and I was like no WONDER I was having problems!! I’d suggest finding a local running shop that will fit you for the proper shoes based on your feet and how you run.

Plan out your routes
Some people like running indoors on treadmills…but I don’t think that’s really the greatest for marathon training. Running outside is more challenging (but mentally more stimulating!) and harder on your body. You need to run the way you are going to run your race. If that’s on pavement, train out on the streets (DA STREETS!!!!). Or if it’s a trail race, run on a trail. You are training your body to used to what it needs to do for the race, so you aren’t doing yourself favors by staying inside on a treadmill. Okay, treadmill rant over! I ran outside for 98 percent of my training runs. Once the mileage started creeping up into the teens, I used Map My Run to find routes. One thing I learned was, my area is not nearly as pedestrian friendly as I thought! There were a ton of routes I would have liked to try, but they didn’t seem safe because there weren’t sidewalks…and some of these routes had BUS STOPS along the way?? What is that?? Who is supposed to walk IN THE STREET…WHERE CARS DRIVE…to get to their bus stop? It’s horrible!

Most of my long runs were out and backs (meaning I’d run x miles one way, and then turn around and come back) but for my 20 mile run, I tried running 5 miles one direction, then 5 miles back to the car (and halfway point) and then doing it all over again. There were pros and cons to doing it either way…you really just have to find what works for you. I would also suggest running with your phone if you run alone…that way if you turn your ankle on a pinecone (that happened to me) you can call someone to pick you up from the side of the road if you twist your ankle (luckily, I was fine). Also, I usually planned my route out the night before so I could visualize it. Visualizing was important for me, because so much of running long distance is mental!

Eating/Fueling BEFORE you run
If you are training for anything shorter than a 10K, these tips really won’t apply to you. You honestly don’t need to do too much differently to fuel your body until you are getting to a point where your runs are lasting more than an hour. Once I got into my long runs, I’d make sure I ate more carbs than usual the day before my long run, and guzzled water like a fish too. When you carb load, your body stores the extra as glycogen, which your body uses for energy after you’ve burned through the food you ate that day. So if you’re getting into your 12+ mile runs, you really need a little extra in the tank, so to speak. I also abstained from alcohol before a long run…even a small glass of wine the night before affected my performance, and as much as I enjoy wine and beer, I didn’t want to suffer through a painful run because of it. The morning of a run, I’d eat something small but carby like a waffle sandwich (two eggos with eggs and bacon in between) or a couple of mini bagels with baby bel cheese spread on top. I also started using these for long training runs once I got up to a 15 miler. Another thing you should be doing during training? Experimenting with your food/fuel! By race day, you should have this all down to a science…you should know what works best for your body at this point thanks to trial and error:) It’s always a bad idea to try new things on race day.

Eating/Fueling DURING a run
On long runs, I’d take Clif Bloks or GU packets with me. I’d take one for every four miles I was planning on running. I stuffed them in my sports bra most of the time…shhh! I also carried a bottle of water for any run where I’d be gone longer than an hour. I tried taking Gatorade sometimes, but combined with the sugar of the GU/Clif Bloks, my stomach wasn’t having it. Like I said earlier, training is the best time to experiment with what works and what doesn’t! I discovered that though GU packets are pretty disgusting and made me want to dry heave, they were my favorite supplement. I really liked the Tri Berry flavor with caffeine. I really could tell a difference between the caffeinated and non caffeinated. After my 15 mile run, I started driving somewhere, parking my car, and making that my half way point. By this time I really needed two bottles of water and an actual food snack (like a granola bar or a banana) so mid way through the run I’d stop at my car to grab another water and get some real food in my stomach.

Eating/Fueling AFTER a run
After really long runs, I would drink Gatorade to replenish my electrolytes (even though it was cold outside, I know I lost a lot of salt…I could taste it on my face!!). I actually have low blood pressure, so when I finished a few of these runs, I really felt lightheaded and almost in a daze. Gatorade helped a little bit! I usually drank it while I was in my ice bath (more on that in a bit) and then ate a snack with simple, quick digesting carbs…most likely another mini bagel or an eggo slathered with cream cheese. I noticed if I didn’t eat a real meal within an hour or two after a run, I’d start to feel sick to my stomach.

Post run habits
I learned really quickly that making sure to cool down, and then stretch at the very least, after EVERY run was critical to prevent both soreness and injury. After longer runs, I would also take ice baths and use both a foam roller and a stick roller to loosen up my muscles. After I finished my long run, I would jog for 1-2 minutes to bring my heart rate down, and then walk for another 2-3 before stopping to stretch. While I was running through all of my stretches, I’d run the water for an ice bath. My ice baths were really more or less just cold baths. I just ran cold water in the tub and dumped whatever ice we had in the freezer into the tub and sat in it for 10-15 minutes while I sipped some Gatorade. Cold baths are great for post run because they reduce inflammation and swelling. Hot baths, though they sound really amazing after a long run, are NOT good because they ENCOURAGE inflammation. Which is bad. I would actually do a cold bath, dry off and then do a leg drain before ever showering off. I just couldn’t handle taking cold showers, but I knew a hot shower wasn’t a good idea, so I gave myself a buffer of time in between. Leg drains are also great and promote healing because they push fresh blood into your legs once you stand up again. Hot baths are okay the day after the run or even later that night (like a few hours later) before bed or so. I usually did an epsom salt bath when I took a warm bath. At some point, I also started foam rolling, which was amazing for stretching and opening up my hips (more on that in a minute) and then also relieving pain in sore muscles.

Keep it up!
If you decide to commit to running a race, whether that’s a 5K, 10K, 1/2 Marathon, or whatever, TALK ABOUT IT ALL THE TIME. Tell random people, friends, family, etc. Share your journey on Instagram and Facebook. The more people you tell, the less likely you are to quit. I would post about my long run on the day I was going to do it, because I knew it would be really embarrassing for me if I basically told the world about it and then flaked out because it was cold or something. Once people started following my journey training for the marathon, I knew I couldn’t quit no matter what, because not only did people know about it, but people started telling me crazy things…like that I inspired them. Seriously…what?? Me?? I don’t consider myself inspiring at all! But once I heard a couple of people say that to me, I knew that I couldn’t quit, because I wanted to encourage the people who were following along and watching training play out that they could do it too! Does that sound silly? I hope it doesn’t. I found myself getting motivation from all kinds of places and yes, Instagram likes and comments were one of them. Don’t judge me!

If you’ve made it to this point in the post, congratulations! This post was sort of a mini marathon in itself! I know this post won’t appeal to a lot of the brides/photogs/friends who read the blog, but I just had to share it…if not to help other people, to remind myself what I did this time when I start training for the next one! Yes, I’m definitely doing it again:) I’m CRAY CRAY, guys!! Addicted. My next post about marathoning is going to be what I would have done differently…and what I wouldn’t. Can’t wait to share it with you!