My First Marathon

Now that the dust has settled on Manchester 2019, I thought I’d share my overall experience of the entire event, from the minute I entered, to crossing that finish line. The event could not have gone any better and I couldn’t have gotten a faster time if I tried. Sometimes the entire crowds, adrenaline and anxiety of race day get to you and while it did to a degree, I wouldn’t change any of it. So here goes..

Entering the race

There were many reasons why I entered Manchester 2019. Most people enter to tick it off a list and say I’ve completed a marathon! This had been something on my mind for over a year and finally I bit the bullet and decided to enter! I had always been quite a fit person from sport which I played routinely alongside the gym until the last year or so where work and other commitments got in the way, entering the marathon for a me was a way to re-build some fitness and get an overall health kick which I really craved! Other reasons were personal, I had a family matter which made me want to run this in honor of them, which I did by running it in aid of the Alzheimer’s society. Running it for a charity was very motivating, the constant support you received from the Alzheimer’s society and donations was incredible. I also found in a way you had no choice but to continue training because people were donating for you to run this marathon, I couldn’t face the disappointment of telling people I couldn’t do it so regardless of how training would go I knew I was going to do it! I also had a constant reminder from my Dad who had done 3 marathons by my age, and many relatives of mine do ultra marathons so I was sick of being left out!

Training

A typical marathon training period lasts for 12-16 weeks. It typically involves 4-5 runs per week, some low miles, medium miles and then the well documented ‘long run Sunday’. You tend to do a 3 week on and one week easy type block, increase your weekly mileage by 10% each week until you hit up to 80% of marathon distance. Training should include speed sessions, interval training and a taper week or two at the end. I wish I had adopted this approach but I went for more of the ‘fuck it approach’. I trained when I could, heavy weeks and empty weeks and wasn’t fussed if I wasn’t on track.

Why? my schedule didn’t always allow that, I just enjoyed doing what I done. My very poor training plan lasted over 10 weeks in which I had 3 weeks that I had a weekly mileage of over 30 miles, most weeks consisted of less than 25 miles, some weeks all I done was a long run and some weeks I done one 5k run. Did this affect my performance? Probably. I could have done a plan and stuck to it but I just went with my head and in the end it didn’t fail me. At the end of the day was I going to win the marathon? Unlikely. I think everybody reading this will be in the same boat, so don’t stress if you don’t think your plan is good enough, just get miles in and enjoy the process. If you felt completely out of your depth, there’s loads of free programs online to give you some guidance. Any friends of yours that run, join them for a run and pick their brains on an approach.

My difference was I had a decent level of fitness before I started from sport, gym and I use to run leisurely from time to time. So for me the element of ‘fitness’ was me just adapting to longer distances and the aches that came with it. Depending on your level of previous fitness, the typical marathon training will suit you to start small and give you time to progressively build up without risking injury. The most important thing with training is regardless of the amount of time you have, do not over-do it with drastic increases in running mileage (like me). This is the easiest way to get an injury which could prevent you training for weeks or worse stop you completing the marathon.

In terms of the actual running aspect of training, find a pace that suits you. I doubt anybody here reading this is going to win a marathon, so don’t try go as fast as you can in training cause it will never last over 26.2 miles. Find a pace you can comfortably do over long distances, a useful tip is you should still be able to hold a conversation while running. This will take time to adapt to depending on what type of running you use to do or if you done a lot of sport before this. I found slowing down to be very difficult and it just took time to get use to it. A more comfortable pace helps you set rhythm with your breathing which is very important. The first few miles of any run will always feel tough, you find your breathing out your ass and your brain is screaming to pack it in, but this all calms down and becomes unconscious as you continue into it, don’t let it stop you. Tips I found that helped for the start of runs:

  1. Run with a partner, saves you over-thinking the run and keeps you talking so you know you’re at a comfortable pace.
  2. Listen to podcasts, I can’t begin to think how many I listened to over the course of training, find a topic that interests you or something funny, eases your mind so much. There are some really good running podcasts I’m happy to share if people are looking for some.
  3. Music is a great option I used after a podcast, I always found I ran faster with music as you almost run in sync with the beat of the songs you listen to.
  4. Get lost: Running the same tracks is good for repetitive training but eventually to you exactly how far away you can from finishing each time, start taking random roads and hills and paths, the views, unexpected paths and sometimes panic as you don’t know you way home tend to help with taking your mind off the run. Wouldn’t recommend doing this at night though.
  5. Dress for the second mile, the weather is always daunting but how often do you start a run and 10 minutes in go ‘shit I’m fucking roasting’, think of how you normally feel on the second mile, dress for that!

Long Runs

You will hear so many people tell you how long their long run is, how difficult it is and how you need to block off your ENTIRE DAY as you can’t possibly do anything else. That is a bit of an overreaction. Most marathons start at 9am and finish by 4pm (if it takes you 7 hours) so why should your long run (no more than 20 miles) take the whole day? Get up early, get it done. I planned mine around football games that day i.e if Liverpool were playing at 1.30 on Sunday, I got up at 8 and had my long run done by 11/12 so I made it back in time for the game (Sorry Abi, priorities). Don’t be anti-social, cancel plans with people to fit your run in, just get it done before your plans. Yes your legs will be jelly for a bit but you don’t need your legs to have a few pints with the boys do you?

The first few long runs will be tough as its a new stress to your body and likely each one will be the longest distance you’ve done. Like I said before, podcasts, friends and music help with passing the time. In terms of distance I wouldn’t recommend doing a long run of more than 22 miles, for a beginner that is plenty! The longest I done was 20 miles and I done two of them in training and I felt prepared. Remember its not the race itself, if you need to stop and walk for a bit then stop, if you aim for 13/14 miles and only feel 10 in you then leave it at that. Listen to your body and don’t over-do it just cause your plan says so. Your plan doesn’t know you or your body or weekly schedule outside of running. Useful strategies I used for long runs was if I had a 16 miles run ahead of me, I used the old railway line in Aberdeen, I’d runs 8 miles west meaning I had to run 8 miles back to get home, it makes it so much easier than just running a certain distance to then drive home again. Also take advantage if your friend has a car and is driving somewhere that day. Hop in the car and get off wherever they are going and then run all the way back.

Before a run eat enough to keep you going, a coffee and a bagel with peanut butter and banana is always a good shout, coco-pops as a fast digesting carb, just some sort of carbs to keep you fueled. Gels are useful if you like them during a long run to stop you feeling low on energy, use caffeine free ones if the don’t agree with you or the gel sweets for something to chew on. I made the mistake of doing some long runs without and gels/food/water and by the end you feel so weak and feel like fainting so always fuel up properly. Your long run will take its toll on your and everything may be sore and tender the next few days so take a well earned rest if needed. Eat loads after the run you’ll be surprised how many calories you burn, and eat whatever shit you want your body just needs food.

Recovery

Recovery is the most important part of your marathon training, besides the actual running part. Nail the basics of recovery and you won’t go far wrong. >6 hours sleep (ideally 8), eat well, and keep moving. Don’t just do your run and then sit on the couch for 8 hours, its unproductive resting, keep your legs moving. After prolonged exercise i.e long runs, greater fatty acid mobilization occurs in females during prolonged exercise compared with males, the inverse is observed during the recovery phase, something to keep in mind for nutrition the days after a run.

Depending on the individual, other modalities can help with your recovery, but are not essential. Foam rolling can be great from a pain modulation point of view, but will do very little for tight muscles over-time, similar to cupping, massage, cryotherapy etc. In the short term they can provide great benefit if you are feeling worse for wear the day after a run, but the basics are what will help with that feeling long-term. Listening to your body is important, a Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) pain after a run is common, but a pain that is affecting your walking, sitting, day-day and isn’t going away is a warning sign for an injury, don’t ignore pain and keep an eye on it. The type of pain matters too, muscular pain as mentioned can be DOMS, if you feel it at a particular moment during a run or gym session that you pull up with it has the potential to be a pulled muscle, a pain into your tendons after a gradual period of time could be a tendonopathy, something to really keep an eye on. Tendonopathies commonly occur when the load placed on the tendon has significantly risen over a short period of time, they can be a havoc to treat in the middle of a training and seeing a physiotherapist for it is important. Similarly, sharp bony tenderness on palpation can be indicative of a stress fracture, a similar mechanism of a large spike in activity and ground contact forces, it may need a 4-6 week period of rest, so another one to keep an eye on during training. There’s a higher chance of these occurring if you up your mileage way too much or try cram all your miles into a short training period, this is why its important to go by a plan if you aren’t too sure what you’re doing! Just listen to your body tbh..

Don’t be afraid to ask for advice

Advice is crucial when you don’t have the experience of running, but do some background research yourself first, not everybody’s advice is good. You will see so many contradicting pieces online and from different friends because everybody’s approach is different. Just because one person does it doesn’t mean its gospel, people will tell you all the kit you need to buy, that once you’ve had a pair of shoes for 3 months you need a new pair, that you need this training plan, all normally points towards them conveniently shoving their discount code down your throat for their own monetary gain. I mean if your shoes have holes in them and are stained with the blood from your long runs, maybe get a new pair. If its snowing then leggings and a hat wouldn’t go a stray, but don’t go forking out hundreds on gear you don’t need just for a good Instagram photo (we all know you took on the side of the road waiting for no cars to see you so you could put the timer on and make it look like someone took it of you running).

Enjoy it.

Depending on your goals, it may be the only time you do a marathon. Make the most out of it and enjoy it. You want to be able to look back on it and think ‘ah it was a good laugh in fairness’. Tick it off the bucket list, take in the scenery, dab at the finish line, enjoy yourself.

Hope this helps, good luck!